My long range shooting friend just made a helluva deal on a Sako in .338 Federal. Minor use only. Came with a Leupold VX3i mounted. I know dealers get some good deals. But $800 was a steal.
How about you?
Life itself is a gift. Live it up if you can.
Posts: 5277 | Location: Near Hershey PA | Registered: 12 October 2012
MODEL7400 IN 270. GUY AT THE RANGE, IT KEPT JAMING. He said he was getting rid of it I ask him what he wanted and low balled an offer for 150 bucks and he took it. it didn't have a scratch on it came with a Nikon scope. pulled the barrel cleaned the chamber and removed a few burrs where they had been digging around with a screw diver. I hunted with it several years and shot a deer or three every year... That's a good buy on that Sako
Posts: 2134 | Location: Ohio | Registered: 26 June 2000
Winchester light weight 270 with a Leopold varix3 3x9 for $426 pre64 Winchester 94 2535 pre 64 $125 Ruger 44 deer slayer full stock $250 Savage 458 $250 M1 grand Winchester $125
Bought 4 rifles from the same guy at the same time. Ruger #3 .223 Rem. $150.00 Siamese Mauser/Navy Arms $75.00 Winchester Big Bore .375 Win. $150.00 Marlin M1895 (1980 model) .45-70 $125.00
100 rds. thrown in free !
Hip
Posts: 1899 | Location: Long Island, New York | Registered: 04 January 2008
I have a shooting buddy who hunts everything up to Elk. He likes to have something that one ups the rest of us when he can. I was shooting a .340 Wby I got for a Moose Hunt and after that successful hunt took several Elk with it. He came up with a beautiful Sako .338 Lapua and started shooting it. He had about $1300 in the rifle after accurizing it and buying a lot of brass etc. he did not get the accuracy he wanted and gave it to me to find a load, which I did and got a half inch group. He loaded it the same and still could not less than a two inch group. I think he was afraid of shooting the rifle but would not admit it. He bugged me for months about selling it to me and I liked it but had the .340 already. One day he said name a price and not back up and to get him off my back I said $500 and he sold it lot me. I put a great Ziess 4.5 X 14 scope on it and since my son and a grandson and I have taken Elk with it and my son’s was a 360 Kentucky Bull. Needless to say it is all he will hunt Elk with now with a good Northfork bullet. That is by far my Best Buy in a rifle because it shoots three shots touching when the shooter does his part. Good Shooting.
phurley
Posts: 2367 | Location: KY | Registered: 22 September 2004
Originally posted by pacecars: Traded a Browning BLR for a NIB Sako Finnwolf .243 with factory peep sight. Still had the $175 price tag from the PX in Germany
Hell of a deal pacecars, I bought a Freedom Arms 454 and a Colt SAA 45 at different times from folk needing some hard quick greenery for 1K each, the Colt came with a damn nice belt rig, maybe not such great deals, but not too bad either I guess.
I bought a Remington 700 Titanium in .260Rem from Cabelas for $750.00. They listed it as a mountain rifle. That was 2018. I bought a 700 Titanium in 260 Remington new in the box from Gander Mountain on clearance in 2002 for $650.00. The one from Gander I sold in 2014 for $2400.00 and regretted it until I got this last one.
Posts: 849 | Location: MN | Registered: 11 March 2009
My best deal in a non-milsurp was a spotless FN Mauser with beautiful wood, in .243 featherweight, and with a something-to-20X scope weighing it down. $150 US (depending on the exchange) in a second-hand store.
I was at the Austin gun show about 12 years ago when I was leaving the show a guy who had a booth by the exit door had an old Savage 99 behind his booth. I asked what he had + was it for sale. It was an early model 99 in 303 Savage with a flip-up tang peep sight. He was selling it for a friend + wanted $150.00 for it. I said I'd take it. He said the guy also had 10 boxes of W.W. factory ammo for $10.00 a box. I bought all those also.
And now for the ones that got away. About 25 years ago or so at the Austin gun show, APD was doing away with revolvers + going to semis. They had 2 tables set up covered with S+W + Colts. Everything went for $150.00 ea. I walked away saying I would catch it next month. Guess what?
My brother just bought 5 guns for 1000 big ones. 2 22-250, shotgun, pistol, and a custom gun. Its a 378 Weatherby magnum nice wood Shepard scope i saw it in pictures i havnt got to handle it yet.
A few years back I bought a post 64 (1965) Wincester model 70 in .338 win for $200. It was from a gentleman who did quite a bit of hunting all over North America with it. He has quite a trophy room in his house.
The deal was he would sell it at that price IF I promised to take it hunting. The stock has lots of scratches and dings and the blueing is gone in many places. But it shoots very well with 225 grain TTSX bullets and isn't too heavy to pack in the mountains.
I've been given a couple guns too. A Savage 99 EG in .300 Savage and an original Marlin .410 lever action shotgun that were given out to stockholders. Both were from my step father which surprised me. He never freely gave anything to anyone before that day.
I also have a 1917 Enfield made by Remington in 1918 that was sporterized very nicely I'm guessing in the 20's or 30's. It's still in 30-06. I was buying a 1920's Savage 99 takedown in .250-3000 for $150 from a coworker when he said take the Enfield too. In his mind the only good American military bolt action made in the twentieth century was a Springfield. He turned his nose up at any Enfield. His loss my gain!
Roger ___________________________ I'm a trophy hunter - until something better comes along.
*we band of 45-70ers*
Posts: 2814 | Location: Washington (wetside) | Registered: 08 February 2005
Three years ago, a BRNO ZKK 600 9,3x62 (1967 year of manufacture), in EXCELENT condition, with Warne rings(old style machined steel)and a Bushnell 1,5-6x42 R4 reticle, 600 euros. Sold here the scope for U$ 300. Twenty eight years ago, a Winchester 70 pre-64 .375 H&H (1953 year of manufacture) used in EXCELENT condition. U$ 600 with two Winchester yellow boxes 300 grs Silvertip cartridges.
being an old school gun trader Ive made a lot of good buys and a lot of bad buys...I paid $89.95 for my pre 64 mod. 70 fwt. 30-06 brand new when they first came out..still have it..Don't remember the date but Im thinking it was in the 1950s or 60s,??? in El Paso, Texas at a wholesale house..I believe that was wholesale price?? I was a deputy sheriff and had a ranch leased just out of EL Paso,and bought the first S&W Combat magnum 4" at the same place for almost nothing, My grandson has that one..but I bought a new truck for $5500 as I recall. so everything was cheaper..Need to take that into account..
Best buy Ive made lately is a RJ Renner 7x57 for $600. and a mod. 71 with headspace for $375, and installed a new bolt from Jim Wisner for $25.00 as I recall and its like new..
As far as I know any Win. lever gun with headspace can be fixed with a new bolt as opposed to turning a thread and setting the barrel back and dealing with the inletting...
Neat deals. No time limits intended here. But, it would be nice if you could show the value of the item- example - I bought this XXX for $200 and they were selling for twice that back then. What made it such a great buy? It could be because of the desirability or rarity as well as value-wise.
One of my favorite buys was a Al Lind custom Model 70. Al hunted with this rifle that he built for himself. I bought it directly from him. I paid up for it. So, it wasn't my best buy by price. Best buy, hell yeah.
Life itself is a gift. Live it up if you can.
Posts: 5277 | Location: Near Hershey PA | Registered: 12 October 2012
Parker GH 12ga with 28” special steel barrels in nice condition except the missing but plate. Guy at the pawn shop told me it’s such a nice gun, it’s a shame the owner had his name engraved on it, pointing to Parker. According to him, I did him a favor when gave him $200 for it. Same pawn shop a year later I picked up a NIB 1960’s production Browning T-Bolt for $50. He couldn’t find a figure for it in his gun value book so he gave the person who pawned it $25. After the sale he bragged about doubling his money on both guns he sold me.
All We Know Is All We Are
Posts: 1222 | Location: E Central MO | Registered: 13 January 2014
I gave $200 for a Remington Model 8 in mint condition that had a tang peep sight installed. It was in 25 Remington and the gunshop proclaimed nobody wanted it because ammo was not available. I walked out the door with it and called Midway the same day to order dies and brass. Great shooting rifle. I killed a lot of game with it.
Not a rifle, but I was in a gunshop and saw an old model Ruger Blackhawk in 357. Well used but not abused with what appeared to be white plastic grips. The guy behind the counter was a pompous know it all and wouldn’t even show me the gun without a NC handgun permit. I handed him one and he let me look at the gun. While he was lecturing another customer on the uselessness of revolvers, I heated up the point of my pocket knife with a lighter and stuck it to the end of the grips. Nothing, they were ivory as I suspected. I paid the $300 asking price for that “useless revolver” and ran out the door.
Posts: 887 | Location: Wichita Falls Texas or Colombia | Registered: 25 February 2011
We're a spoiled lot. What mass produced modern hunting bolt rifle is not a good buy? Which one, properly chambered and properly handled, won't reach out to 300 yds to reliably kill a deer or elk? Dunno, but the idea that I can stretch my hand out that far never ceases to amaze me. Jeff Cooper thought so, too.
Maybe I'm too easily impressed, but most of my hunting rifle "buys" exceed my capabilities. They're all "best buys".
Posts: 670 | Location: Dover-Foxcroft, ME | Registered: 25 May 2002
Humm...Well, I had two clients give me 338's after their hunts, They were recoil shy and someone had convinced them anything less than a 338 would not kill an elk. Unfortunately, scopes were not included, hunted with them for a while but wasn't that fond of them and sold them for a nice bit of change at a local gun show.
I was at a gun show and had a older 700 in 270, looked fine, shot good, but real vanilla on the table. Kid comes up and asked if I wanted to trade for it. Short story, I got an almost new, fired less than 20 rounds, Ruger Super Redhawk in 454 straight across trade. I'd originally paid $150 for the 700 a few years back and had $450 on it and at the time the Redhawk was about $850 or more even used.
Posts: 763 | Location: Montana | Registered: 28 November 2004
About 10 years ago a friend of my son's was a moving contractor + had moved this family + they were $800.00 shy after the move + the guy asked if he could make up the difference with a few guns. My son got 1st dibs + paid him $500.00 for a 1st gen. 1873 Peacemaker in 41 L.C., I bought from him a 99.9% Mauser banner Luger 1936 w/ a holster marked Berlin 1936, all matching w/ extra mag + tool. He asked if I'd pay $450.00.
About 1973 I bought a new 'Bentley' db shotgun (AyA?) for $90 because the local Target was going out of guns. I was heading overseas a year later and wanted to buy an SLR camera, so sold the gun - for $120.
Twelve years later, when on my honeymoon, I saw a Winchester O/U .30-06 in a shop for $1000. The rifle looked beautiful and I knew a new one would cost $5000 (in South Pacific pesos ), so told my bride I would buy it as a speculation.
Well, it seems Nikko(?) did not regulate them at all but I still had three guys important in the gun world interested in it. The massive profit I'd hoped for did not transpire but I finally accepted $500 and three guns provably worth another $1100, within a year.
If only I could get a similar percentage for the Heym I bought new two decades later!
Posts: 5161 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 31 March 2009
One of my favorite buys was a Al Lind custom Model 70. Al hunted with this rifle that he built for himself. I bought it directly from him. I paid up for it. So, it wasn't my best buy by price. Best buy, hell yeah.
I would treasure that one too!
Roger ___________________________ I'm a trophy hunter - until something better comes along.
*we band of 45-70ers*
Posts: 2814 | Location: Washington (wetside) | Registered: 08 February 2005
Holts auction - I won my Verney Carron Demas 470NE for GBP2000! Final cost with rifle in hand after shipping, customs clearance, GST etc was around US$4000. Any reasonable offers?
I once traded a Savage 99 in 300 savage for an old Tikka M55 in 308 in a gun store. I then traded the Tikka for a Sako hunter 308 in far better condition - private deal.
Last one was a Sako hunter in 270 Win with a cute 4 X scope on it that I desperately wanted on my Rem 660 308Win. The shop owner thought it was an older Sako & I grabbed it. I took off the scope and sold the rifle to another Sako specialist shop for $100 profit. The scope went on my 660 - 308 Win.
"When the wind stops....start rowing. When the wind starts, get the sail up quick."
Posts: 11396 | Location: New Zealand | Registered: 02 July 2008
