An auction of unused or obsolete firearms, ammunition and drones was held September 12 by the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office.
The offerings included two drones, one of which was a very expensive model that is no longer made. However, Sheriff Travis Daugherty said that the drones have been replaced and worked very well.
Also available were seven Colt AR-15s, nine shotguns, all Remington 870s, and four pistols, all Glocks. In addition to the hardware, there were multiple boxes of ammunition to be auctioned as well as several ammunition clips for various weapons.
The SO has upgraded its firearms and these were no longer used. Some of the ammunition was for weapons – like .40 caliber – that were no longer issued to officers. There was no backstory on the multiple ammunition cans available, other than the department had overbought previously and some of the cans still contained sand from their previous campaigns.
About 50 bidders crowded into the dining room of the Foley Building at the Blaine County Fairgrounds. They came from Watonga, Geary, Hinton, Canton, Seiling and Okarche. Some bidders did not state their city of residence.
Anyone wishing to purchase a weapon had to advise the department how they intended to pay and could pick up their new prize at the Gilchrist General Store in Canton. Everyone had to pass a background check to complete the purchase and pay the $25 Federal Firearms Licensee transfer fee as well as 8.75% sales taxes in Canton. Anyone using a card rather than greenback dollars to pay was also faced with an additional 3.5 % fee for processing the card. No checks were accepted.
Before the auction began, Daugherty joked that it was like a charity auction or a cake auction. “Anyone who wants to pay more than they bid gets a free t-shirt” he quipped.
In the crowd were local business owners, school board members, county commissioners, and employees of the Department of Wildlife and also the Department of Agriculture.
No word was available on the amount raised by the auction as of press time.