About William J. Ricca and Surplus Sales
Started full time in Mid 1976 by me, a former serious collector of U.S. Ordnance Tools, and
accessories. After inserting a full page ad in the Shotgun News in 1979, the company grew by
providing customers with honest grading, fair prices, and rapid service. For year I ran two page
ads several times each year.
Our goal has never been to be all things to all people. Just be the best at what you do best. Our
formula for success was simple; have the best items available for sale, and have the knowledge about
those items, including their history of use and development.
Catalogs were never a part of our marketing because unlike others, we will not stock foreign
reproductions, new made, low quality items, just to keep the catalog filled. We did not prey off the
uninformed individual and feel the more information the potential customer has, the better advantage
we have.
These guarantees have given peace of mind to serious shooters, collectors, and enthusiasts for over
25 years. They gave us a try and were not sorry.
William J. Ricca, Owner, Amateur Historian, and contributor to many small arms authors
Life Member:
NRA
FDHAS
NY State Arms Coll. Assn.
Empire State Arms Coll. Assn.
Ohio Gun Coll. Assn.
Michigan Arms Coll. Assn.
Military Vehicle Preservation Assn.
Member and long time contributor:
Garand Collectors Association and its publication The Journal.
Contributor to the Carbine Club
Bill's Introduction
Welcome to my website. The site has been revised to be easier to navigate and read. Many of the URL's have been changed to
reflect the name of the items they link. Now, when you save individual pages, the URL will help to identify the page.
The navigation bars will bring you to each article. All pages are linked back to the home page.
My product line consisted of US GI parts and accessories, with a few commercial or reproduction items. I did not back order,
nor did I charge credit cards for items I do not have. All commercially made or reproduction items were stated as such.
All items were guaranteed to perform as originally designed. Items purchased for something they were not originally designed
to do voided the guarantee and their application is strictly at the risk of the user.
I did not sell receivers, M2 carbine parts, or conversion kits. Emails asking
for these items were deleted and no reply was sent. I did not accept orders nor ship anything outside the US.
I invite you to navigate the site and enjoy the histories. Each history is approximately 95% original research from government
and/or ordnance records. Some histories continue with an additional link at the end of the page.
Many of the histories generate questions. Historical questions are fine and can be asked on the forums of
The Carbine Collectors Club. I discouraged e-mails asking what something is worth.
Value is between the seller and purchaser and I could not and cannot predict what somebody else will be willing to spend on something I have not
seen or inspected.
Sorry but I no longer have time to answer inquiries.
As a final note, thank you for visiting the new website. Remember that the old website and web pages are no longer acive.
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