I have a used Chapuis Brousse 470 that I am toying with the idea of selling in order to help finance my first safari. I noticed that current new prices for a Chapuis Brousse are around $11.5k or so. (I saw one dealer listing a new one at $12.5k.) What is a used Brousse in good condition worth?

Thanks for the help.

Well, I think you know the answer... it's what someone is willing to pay for it, and there are two different buyers willing to pay for it.

Assuming the gun is used but "as new."

A dealer, is going to give you about 60-70% of the replacement value. There's 11%fet and about 20% dealer profit built into the initial selling price of that gun, and the next dealer isn't going to reimburse you for those. Relatively speaking, it's an expensive gun and those percentages aren't always directly proportional... but a good rule of thumb.

Sell it to an individual and you ought to be in the 80% range for replacement. Which is about what the "dealer" above would sell it for. He may "advertise" it for more, but that's about what he'll actually SELL it for.

Now, if you've had that gun for more than 2-years, you bought it when the dollar was trading at about 1.00 to .85 to the Euro.

Today, it's trading at about 1.00 to 1.30. You've "made" 55% on the gun and I would STRONGLY suggest that you keep it.

If (rather when) the dollar goes up, do you think that dealers will lower their prices, or do you think they'll just hang on to that extra margin for themselves?

That correction is a ways off, add to that increased mfg cost, inflation, and you'll never be able to replace that gun for as little as you have in it.

If you've purchased it more recently than the last year or so, well then you've got more in it than the previous scenario, and that comes down to what you've got in it, and whether or not you'll want another one in the future and what you are willing to pay for it then.

IMO - KEEP the gun and find another way to pay for your hunt.

Yes, I sold some euopean guns two years ago, thinking they'd be easy to replace... I sure wish I had them now!