How much are you guys paying for used Contender barrels. I keep seing post where you find one for a song or can't pass it up. And where are you finding them. The one gun shop around here that has barrels is charging between $175-$195 for a used factory barrel. I think that is way to high. Or am I too cheap. Lone Hunter

Lone Hunter,

Barrels just should not cost as much as they do! I agree!

Now for reality: That price range [I'd say $150.00-$190.00] is generally what you are going to pay for a good used barrel in most shops or online.

Some barrels, such as the Octagonal ported choked 357's and 44's sell for less, and some, such as the Carbine barrels, will list for a bit more.

I know in my case, I'd have to pay a lot less than most folks want for a good used barrel [on the order of $80.00-$100.00] in order to be able to turn and make any sort of respectable profit on it in the shop. So, other than my personal stuff which I trade or sell off for fun, or the rare exceptional deal I run onto where I get a whole Contender and split up the componants and sell them off, I do not sell used barrels very often as there just isn't enough money in it to make it profitable.

Guys like Ed Kirkpatrick must turn an awful lot of barrels and get into them for at least a good 25%-35% less than asking price in order to keep in the black and make such an effort worthwhile. His prices are usually very good as well. I suspect most of his profitability is in his sheer ability to turn VOLUME.

Also, as folks are becoming more educated regarding the quality or lack thereof in T/C chambers and throats/concentricity, the factory barrel business is giving way in profitability and popularity correspondingly to the semi-custom and custom barrel business.

In an ideal world, if I had, say, $50,000.00-$100,000.00 of initial capital to invest, plus a good bit of initial operating capital, I'd commission Mike Bellm to turn out a given number of barrels in a given selection of calibers and configurations, have a healthy on hand inventory ready to ship immediately, list them all on the net, and simply wait for them to sell themselves

Oh for an ideal world....

So, now that I have ranged far and wide of your initial question, what do you generally expect to pay for a good used factory barrel?

Lone Hunter,

That is a little high!! Check out the auction sites. You can find barrels from $100 and up. Personally, if i had to pay $180 for a factory barrel, i would just buy a new one....

Check out the following.....

http://www.auctionarms.com/
http://www.gunsamerica.com/
http://www.gunbroker.com/
https://www.egunz.com/indexssl.cfm
http://www.ebay.com/
http://www.alewisenterprise.com/
http://www.contendercache.com/
http://www.edstc.com/edstc/index.html
http://pages.prodigy.net/mktcdyksman/

Most used barrels I get in Central Texas for 150 or less. I just picked up a 44 Mag 14" Hunter Barrel with Muzzle Tamer for $155 and it is in like new condition...

Of course my thought was that it had the brake on it and it is a 44 so do I now have a canidate for a 444 conversion??? Hey just to add a brake cost what I paid for this barrel!

I picked up a 357 Octagon barrel for $50 a month or so ago. Of course I did use it as a partial trade for the 44 Mag barrel I really wanted last week!!!

The most I ever paid for a used Contender barrel was $140. I believe anything over that and new is the way to go. At a gun show this spring I picked up a 30-06 15" Encore Barrel with forend included at $125.
Rick

Personally, I'd have a tough time justifying paying more then $150 for a factory tube, and more often then not, you can get a factory barrel, and dies for $150, an some of the obscure wildcats will also run the same. It really comes down to how popular the chambering is. If it is unpopular, you can get barrels for $100-125, popular ones hover around $150.

The real beuaty of the used barrel is, you can buy it, shoot it to your hearts content, and sell it for what you paid. If you got a deal on it, then you can even make a buck or two when you sell it.

I think the auctions, particularly ebay, are raising the price of used barrels. I don't understand why the bidding goes so high. I've seen used barrels go for more than you can buy them at Eds. I just bought a NIB Armour Alloy 44 Mag from Ed for $135.
Greg

Lone Hunter,the last barrel I bought was a 14" 7 TCU.I gave $150 for the barrel 150 pieces of new brass and a set of RCBS dies. I don't think it had been shot more than 100 times by the look of it.
This past winter I bought a .22 Match barrel, I will say that it was way less than a match barrel. Chamber was so far off center of the bore that it wasn't funny, you could actually see it with the naked eye. I gave $160 for it, tried to get it to shoot no luck. I know TC does not guarantee accuracy, but if it is marked "MATCH" it should perform some what better than a standard chamber. I sent it back, SHAZAM!! they sent me a brand new barrel. Checked it the best I could and it looks great. Now I am just waiting for Mike B to get caught up some so I can have him rechamber to .22 mag.
As far as finding the good "DEALS" I would just keep checking some of the classifieds at various sights.
Jeff

Thanks, for the replies. I just have a hard time spending close to $200 for a barrel. Heck I just bought a used Striker for $300. The reason I originaly bought a Contender was so I could change calibers. But 20 years latter I still have the same 35REM but now its a 358JDJ. That was not cheap ether. Gun show next week hoping to find a 10" 44mag or 445SM. Thanks, Lone Hunter

We have a guy that sells T/C barrels at the Austin gun show that is out of the Houston area and he has fair prices on his barrels. I have bought several from him. He said he is overloaded with 357 and 44 right now.

I'll find his card and post the e-mail here in the morning.

Lone Hunter,
I never had a problem buying a factory barrel before I new Mike Bellm, and even after that I never really had a problem.....TILL the last gun show I went to. The TC guy there had about 10 used barrels for sale and after looking through all of them there was only one that I may have bought. The rest of them had a chamber that were so off center it wasn't funny. This is the first time I had a good look at poorly made barrels. I would have no problem paying $175. for a good used barrel but after that I would have to look through it first, and you can't do that when ya get them from one of the auctions or over the net.
Sure, You can send them back to TC and MAYBE get it replaced with a "good" new one but you shouldn't have to do that. I know there are plenty of good used barrels out there but it's a crap shoot when you buy one you can't look through first.
IMHO, with VVCG shorty sale and Van Horns prices on a new custom or even a used custom on one of the auctions is hard to beat. SSK also has blems that they sell for a good price that dosen't affect it's shooting.
Like I said on another post, I never bought a bad factory barrel...I was lucky I guess. But i've seen them first hand.

Lone Hunter,

You're not cheap, those prices are high ! I've bought two used barrels - one locally from a guy in my gun club - a 10" 7mm TCU, with sights, excellent condition (and I'm a picky SOB) for $140.00. One from Ed's Contenders - a 10" .32 H&R mag, with sights, excellent condition for $155.00. I also bought a NEW 10" .22LR MATCH barrel with sights from Ed for $180 plus $6 shipping. Got some great prices there on forends and grips as well.

If you haven't tapped Ed as a source for barrels and ANY Thompson products (scopes too) - check his site out @ Ed's Contenders

Ed = New stuff, Good quality used stuff, Good prices, 100% satisfaction guarantee. Only drawback - his web site isn't updated too often. Best to call or email him for something specific. Contact info is on the webpage.

I don't mean for this to sound like a commercial, but Ed is a great source for these products. Allows you the flexability to buy new or used at the same place, same guy, same warranty.