I was looking thru their close out page as I often do and came across Ruger barreled actions and thought I'd take a peek. I've been wanting a .257 Roberts for some time now and have dumped a countless number of tickets in the bucket at the SCI banquet the past few years trying to win one. I figured I'd take a peek. The bargain price is $563 Now I generally like Brownells and buy a lot of stuff from them but their pricing on actions and barrled actions is insane. Do they actually find people foolish enough to buy them? I wonder what it is that demands such a price?

I don't think that they sell many. Especially to those who are informed.

I have brought a lot of stuff from them for many years. But your right their priceing on actions and barreled actions are insane.

Any body who as axcess to whole sale priceing never even thinks about buying from them.

They have closeout on Rem short actions for 241 right now..

Guy’s,

The Prices you see in Brownells catalog are not the same as the dealer prices.

Look at the letter, number sequence after the name of the product. Example for the Ruger: MkIIIR Barreled Action 4C418X95... $551.25.

The dealer price (if you have an FFL) is $418.95...not $551.25.

I buy my Remington 700 actions from them because it is the only place I know of where you can get brand new 700 actions without having to buy an entire rifle.

I’ve gone the route in the past of buying new 700’s just for the actions but then you end up with a bunch of barrels, stocks and trigger guards that you have to try and sell...and I’d rather not spend my time and storage space doing that.

Thats a good point I overlooked Rick, but even then a little high.

Ropes, I didn't see that on the Rem actions, where did you find that? That would be a price I'd pay.

Dempsey,

If you go to Brownells web site you can sign up for their email newsletter that will be sent to you when they have sales and stuff. That’s where I got the info on the closeout sale on 700 actions. That price is almost $100 bucks below their dealer price...I bought two of them.

Whenever you deal with a secondary “dealer†(like Brownells) you will always pay a bit more than “true wholesale†because they have to make money off the sale also to stay in business.

I like Brownells because they are almost a “one-stop-shopping†area for anything and everything that I am normally looking for. The other good thing about them is that they do all the “testing†for you...if its junk they don’t keep it around very long.

Sounds like a bargain to me. Take a barrel and have it threaded, crowned, chambered. Even if you use a cheapo $80 barrel your still going to be at least $250 into the project. Now add the cost of the action. For $418.95 thats not too shabby in my opinion.

I can buy a complete rifle for the $418. I don't want the stock. I'd expect a barreled action to sell for less than a complete rifle to reach bargain status.

dempsy,

I’ve been doing business with Brownells for about 35 years and I don’t recall them ever advertising themselves as a “bargain store.â€

You can get better prices on certain things at lots of different places...allot better in some cases. Have you ever priced their Multi-Vises elsewhere? You can buy their $220.00 vise at numerous places for half that price...and some places for even less than half, and they will even be pre-drilled for screw on vise jaws...which Brownells doesn’t even offer.

It’s like anything else...shop around!

If Brownells want to slow Midway down from cutting into their market share Brownells needs to start thinking about better bargins for their customers.

D Humbarger,

That’s the great thing about free markets and capitalism!

When companies have to compete for our business they have two choices...1) offer better products and services...2) offer lower prices. Other than that, going out of business is about their only alternative.

Dempsey,

I know exactly what you are taking about. I wanted a Remington 700 SA for a project rifle, and they wanted over $400 just for the action. What I did was wait for a sale at the local gun stone, and I picked up an 700 ADL rifle for $315, then I'm selling the stock & barrel & trigger.

Kory

Kory,

Brownells sells brand new 700 actions for $342.76 to holders of FFL’s. The operative word here is BRAND NEW!

Right now they are selling them for $240.00...again, BRAND NEW...and without the pain in the ass ISS feature which costs money to replace.

Buying a used 700 can be a great deal sometimes if the price is right...but not (in my opinion) if you just want the action. Used barrels and used factory stocks are not worth much money...if you can even find a buyer for them.

Now, I guess there might be places that will sell you a BRAND NEW 700 rifle for less than those two prices...if you know of any please let me know!

Hi Rick,

First of all, I don't have an FFL and do have it to shipped to someone who does, it would have cost me an additional $25 plus shipping. I have the forms, I just haven't done the finger prints yet. I also checked the reciept of the rifle, and I paid $301.50 for it. And it was brand new.

Second of all, the $240 price was not available back then (last November).

Third of all, you can sell just about anything to any fool on ebay. I see Rem stocks, barrels, and triggers selling for $40 to $80 (!!) each (maybe not the trigger).

Fourth of all, I wanted the stock initially to check the inletting of the new stock for comparison.

Regards,
Kory

Kory,

Hey, brother...I wasn’t trying to
pick a fight!

If I saw a new 700 for $300.00 I would snatch it up also.

I’m not in any way affiliated in any way with Brownells (other than probably paying several annual salaries for people working there )...but their dealer prices ain’t all that bad, in my opinion.

I have an FFL and they are the only place I have found that sells new 700 actions.

My shop is in my garage and is so crowded that it just isn’t practical for me to have to store a bunch of take-off barrels and stocks if I don’t have to.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick 0311:
Hey, brother...I wasn’t trying to
pick a fight!

Hi Rick,

I know you weren't, so if I came off that way, I apologize. I was just listing the logic behind my decision. If I have some spare cash right now, I would get one or two actions at $240.

Regards,
Kory

Rick, indeed they don't advertise as a bargain store but the price of the item mentioned came right off their "bargain" page, closeout items and such. Their advertised "bargain" price is still more than I can buy a complete rifle for. I've bought a lot of stuff from Brownells over the years including real deals on close out items. Not a real big deal as I do shop around, it just seems their prices on actions are ridiculous to the point I wondered why they even offer them. I suppose the occasional fool stumbles along and buys one but I'd have to think they don't even move enough of them to stock them.

Dempsey,

I don’t know...perhaps we are playing a game of semantics here.

If the advertised price is less than the normal price than I guess it could rightly be called a “bargain.â€

If the “bargain†price is no “bargain†to you then you have the right to shop elsewhere...I guess...and you ought to let the store know why you have chosen to do so.

That’s called be an informed shopper, I think.