Am I getting old or have gun prices gotten ridiculous? I was just browsing GunsAmerica.com and noticed prices of rifles have gotten out of control, here are a few examples...

Remington Model 600 $950
Remington Nylon 66 $285
Winchester Model 67 $1,695 (it had a weaver 2 3/4 scope though)
Butler Creek 25 round mags for Ruger 10/22 $100

Maybe I'm crazy, but aren't those prices outragous? I remember all those guns selling for WAY less. Has the collector market gotten so out of control that we have priced ourselves out of a hobby?

Just food for thought.

Jim

Capitalism. When demand meets supply, buyer and seller agree on a price.

You're right, those "asking" prices are awfully high. I've noticed the same thing at gun shows within the last couple of years. The prices are so outrageous that I can get brand new guns cheaper paying retail price at local gun stores. No dickering much anymore, either. Oh, sometimes you can find a deal or two but basically I seem to go to gun shows nowadays to buy a $6.25 Pepsi. $5.00 to get in the door, then the only thing I buy is a $1.25 fountain drink at the snack bar!

338Lapua: I know what you mean the used gun market is pretty strong these days. There are surges and plateaus though in various sections of the collecter arms markets. What I mean is for 2 or 3 years Colt Automatic 22 pistols will appreciate markedly then they stay at a particular level for awhile then strengthen again. I have noticed this with one of my favorite areas of collecting the pre-1964 Model 70 Winchesters. Over the last 38 years they will peak then plateau then peak again. Right now they are holding strong but not especially appreciating. I trade in them not so much as a way to make money though but for pride of ownership and a built in fascination with them. In the past I have collected Winchester lever action Rifles then for some time Winchester 22 Rifles. But I have always been a follower of the Riflemans Rifle (the pre-64 Model 70). I still own the first Model 70 I collected - I paid $185.00 for it. I recently turned down $1,500.00 for the same Rifle! Times change as well as the "value" of our dollar. Not only are Firearms high dollar items these days but lots of modern Rifle scopes are going for near $1,000.00! Yikes on that. You mentioned the Butler Creek 10/22 magazines for $100.00 - About 6 years ago a friend gave me 4 of them saying he could not get them to work reliably and besides they interfered with his ability to shoot low over his shooting table. I did not think much about them as I had thought about that hinderance in advance and never bought any for myself. I do own 3 10/22's but I just never got around to using them. Just last year I decided to sell them and with the money I got from the sale of those plastic things I bought a much needed Leupold 4X12 AO scope (used). Yeah times change and so do peoples priorities. Leather holsters are in the pits while semi-auto pistols are hot! Years ago it was revolvers hot and in demand while surplus military clips were worth peanuts. Yeah times change - usually for the better.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I think the "Auction Arms" website is a little more representative of current gun prices. I've noticed that prices are inflated on gunsamerica also. I've actually seen the same shotgun advertised simultaneously on both sites and the gunsamerica price was $400 higher. $1800 vs. $2200. This was a used english double. And it didn't sell at $1800. If you check Auction Arms on a regular basis, you can find a good deal every now and then.

Elmo

WOW! I thought those high prices were only for the guns I buy!

Seems funny, I bought a pistol at what looked like a reasonable price ($400) to me when compared to others of the same make and model, didn't even fire it as I could tell right off it didn't fit my hand. When I got ready to sell it I had to post it on several boards and do BTTs to keep it in view, then I goes and have to dump it for $125 less than I bought it for and was DAMN glad to get that!!

I have found that in general that firearm prices are dropping a bit any body that has a ffl and follows whole sale prices knows that the price of new stuff is not going up. If you do your shopping there are plenty of good prices out there. I find that the auction prices start out very high hopeing to get some fool that can't live with out it. You just have to know what it is worth and no pay more. If you keep looking you well find what you need at a good price. This of course is refering to standard models. Collector models and others vary a whole lot but you still have to beable to know what to buy for.

I have bought my last few rifles/revolvers online. I think SOME of the prices online at places like gun broker and auctionarms are reasonable compared to local sporting goods shops. All of my purchases were used, however, the prices I paid were more than fair. The last few times I never even placed a bid. The opening price is usually too high, and nobody is interested. When the auction closes I send the seller an email stating a price I would be willing to pay-you'd be amazed how many are willing to negotiate a new price.
As with all auctions though sometimes people really bid prices up, and that's usually when I just pass, and wait for another to come by.
When I go to local shops I can't believe what some of them are asking. I know I can find it much cheaper at GB or AA.
300H&H

"Gun prices are out of control"..........

It seems to me I heard the same thing twenty years ago. Guns probably won't be getting any cheaper in the future, so I'd bite the bullet and get your hunting battery finished out now, then spend your money on hunting trips in the years to come. Two of three good hunting rifles are enough........

AD

Collectors demand for certain guns raises the prices beyond their utility value.

The Remington 600 is a good example as it was not really popular nor was it very good yet it's getting talked up so someone overprices it in the hopes of landing a buyer.

This high pricing hurts those who just want to buy a gun for what it was made for. I did what it seems the 600 seller is doing once when I got a free ad in The Gun List with a subscription and advertised a Ruger #1 with a rare barrel for a high price. I got no bites.

Yet all manner of guns are litterly flying off the dealer's shelves 'round here. You almost need to take a number like at the deli counter.

I bought a new rifle through GunsAmerica and the ffl dealer from Texas dropped his price $200 and shipped it for free. I asked, would you accept this price, and he said, yeah sure. I know he still made a profit.

It makes you wonder how the nation's economy could be in the dumps with all this high-priced gun buying going on. I know I'm doing my share.

I've got to agree with one of the previous posts, Gunsamerica seems to be incredibly high on many guns. Gunbroker has had some reasonable things, and at auction arms the starting prices sometimes are more than retail also. I think a lot of it is some dealers just trying to set new market prices, certainly they are not representative of prices at shows. I've had pretty good luck over the past year.

Shopping around is the key. I've found good deals on all three. As a matter of fact, I've found many posts for RUMs that are well below dealer cost!!! You can't beat that.

I agree with Allen, I already have my collection pretty well finished. A few years ago I traded quanity for quality, now I have pretty nice stuff. It just amazed me to see, for example a used Nylon 66 for $285 when I was a kid these were $40-$60. Or the 600 about 10 years ago these were selling for about $275-$300. And those clips were like $10 a piece.

I was just in shock I guess, I know better prices can be found, but yesterday I just had an epiphony when I saw those prices, that I am older than I thought.

Oh well, just interesting to reminisce.

Jim

Good quality guns purchased intelligently should continue to hold their value, just like in the "good old days". In my opinion the higher acquisition cost of decent guns is more than offset by the way they hold their value. A serious hunter should probably be able to get a couple good rifles that will last them the rest of their life and still be worth what they paid for them for less than the price of even the most spartan week long hunting trip. (I have a 20 yr old Ruger M77 plain jane that is still worth what I paid for it 2500 rounds ago.)

I had a buddy try to sell me a rifle, but his price was way high. When I pointed that out, his response was "Look at the same gun on Gunsamerica (or Auction Arms, whatever), I'm selling it for the same price, and with no shipping". My response was, "Look again, none of those guns have a single bid. Maybe that means something".

The (asking) price only matters if you decide to meet it. If it's fair, and I want the gun, of course, I usually just pay it. If it isn't but is reasonably close to the figure I had in mind, I will counter. If it is ridiculously high, I just mentally mark it off my available list.

This is my procedure at gun shows as well as on line. Lots of dealers at gun shows price their stuff 25 or 30% too high to allow for trades or haggling. I think this is counter productive, but I am not the one paying for the table.

Surely you guys know that the 10/22 magazines are expensive because of the federal ban on production of magazines over ten rounds.

Pertinax

Mikelravy,

I agree. I got my Dakota 76 in 1994, the sticker was $2,995. The rifle had an upgrade to exhibition grade bastogne walnut included 100 pieces of 330 Dakota brass, RCBS dies, Dakota bases and Leupold rings. Today, with everything to buy new it would be ~$4,500 new retail.

Quality does hold it's value. But what's amazing is the cheap stuff increasing, what seems exponentially, based on what may be percieved as a collectors market.

But as other's have said, supply v demand. If folks are willing to pay, I guess that's what it's worth.

Jim

It is all relative. I find guns cheap in comparison to the enjoyment I get from them.

Gas is cheap too, but everyone likes to bitch about it when it goes up a dime.

As a point of reference I bought my Remington Model 600 new for $100. Gas was about $.30 a gallon.

Any way you cut it, guns are cheaper today than they were 30 years ago. Look at the price of a Model 700 Remington in both 1973 and today versus a Chevy pickup truck and you'll see what I mean.

When the regs changed to allow dealers to sell at gunshows, gunshows went to hell. A gunshow used to be an assemblage of hobbyists and enthusiasts who were just interested in swapping for something new or different or to fill in a collection. If one of those guys cleared ten bucks on a trade, he thought he'd hit the jackpot, since his motive was not to make money, but further his hobby. Now, 90% of the exhibitors are full-time (or part-time) dealers who are trying to clear 20 or 35 or 50% on each trade. Have you compared what they'll give you for a Ruger 77 to what they want for a Ruger 77?

At any rate, gun show asking prices and internet asking prices are pretty irrelevant to the real world. I bought a nice shotgun in new condition from an acquaintance a few months ago for $700, which was about $200 below what it might have brought if he wanted to go through the hassle and expense of advertising and screening buyers. I saw the identical shotgun in used condition advertised for sale in Gun List for $1895. It's still available, if anyone is interested.

Another factor which has pushed up asking prices is the phenomenon of an uninitiated buyer walking into a retail store and buying a rig (rifle, scope, mounts, gun case, and amunition) at FULL RETAIL. When the weather warms up he decides he wants to be a scuba diver instead of a big game hunter, so he advertises his "rig" for sale in the paper. With tax and all, he paid a thousand dollars for his Ruger 77 with its 55mm Jap scope mounted in see-through mounts and two boxes of Hyper-Velocity Super Premium ammunition; so he figures that it's still just like new and he'd be doing you a helluva favor to sell it to you for $800. Now you've got a $500 value (maybe) offered for $800, and your brother-in-law, who's got a rifle just like it, is telling you how valuable his gun is.

The problem is that most dealers today are acting like used car salemen that want to give you nothing for what you have but want to make a killing on every sale they make. Bunch of scumbags!:::MV

You think your prices are bad? Try living in Canada. I see ads for an affordable gun in a U.S. catolauge say a Savage 110 for about $399.99 and then see the same one in a Canadian book for 699.99. Whatever a new gun goes for on your side of the border, add at least $200 to it.

Kensco,

Very well said. I totally agree.
I know this might be a sore spot, but THAT never stopped me. I can remember paying $1.32 for regular gas in 1982. I was ready to bet the farm that I'd be paying $5.00 a gallon by now. And happy to be driving instead of walking! I filled up yesterday for $1.37. So every time I see a pound of gunpowder at $18 and Barnes bullets for $35 I just smile and thank my lucky stars that I live in a country that still allows me to pursue my favorite hobby.

There is hope! A buddy came up to the house last night to show me his latest deal. He found an 1950 FN Mauser in near perfect condition, at a dealer, for $350.00.

This rifle has a stepped 24"barrel marked "chrome vanadium steel" and is in .270 Winchester. The stock is magnificent on this with special carving on the pistol grip and full wraparound checkering on the forend. It also came with a 4X Lyman All American scope which is his favorite (he has six of them now) and mine also.

What a find! We think this rifle is worth over $700!

[ 01-11-2003, 23:48: Message edited by: Savage99 ]

I went to the Lexington,Ky. show, last Saturday. I was staggered by the prices I saw!
New rifle and pistol prices were going 20-30 percent higher than store prices. Used prices were about the same.
What really blew me away was some of the so called "customs". I saw mediocre Mausers built on milsurp actions with 2nd and 3rd rate barrels,poor wood finish and mid grade optics priced from $650.00 to $1,600.00!!
My local dealer will beat these prices with a wide margin every day of the week.