I can't sort out a fair price on this gun. Comparable guns just aren't for sale in the usual places I look, nor have any sold in quite a while that I can find.
The gun itself is very high condition, and all correct:
It also lettered to going directly to an individual:
The prices for the 22/32 HFTs are all over the place, but every gun I have seen sell lately has condition issues, plus none of them have such a neat and (as I understand it) rare letter.
I'd appreciate opinions on the price. Thanks so much!
Beautiful revolver. I wish I could afford it. 😢
murphydog is probably pretty close but in today’s insane market who knows. I would imagine it would sell pretty quickly.
Letter is worth $100 and is not rare for an individual to order a gun directly from the company. If he is a well known or awarded shooter, that can increase the price of sale. From watching these guns at auction, it would be an easy sell at $1000 and most likely would sell for quite a bit more
That's in beautiful condition. But it could have been factory refinished which will affect the price although not near as radically as a non-factory refinish which I can tell it does not have.
Therefore check under the left grip for a factory date stamp on the left lower front side of the grip frame before you decide on value.
Otherwise it's a $1000 plus gun.
By the way, regardless of what the letter calls it, it had been renamed the .22/32 Target model by its shipping date and probably marked so on the box if it was with the gun; because the heavier frame K22 had been introduced about that time.
I agree that a 22-32 HFT is a hard animal to place a "value" on, not just because of hyper-inflation in the used gun market, but more so because of their unique character. Of course if it happens to be a Bekeart numbered original (in any condition it appears) then there seems to be an "automatic" premium attached to the list price.
For the non Bekeart's I would surmise that the originals were purchased by folks that were fairly "comfortable" financially speaking, and probably not with the intention of squirrel hunting for the family stewpot.
Also current "value" depends highly on condition, and yours certainly appears to be high condition. Other than the factory Letter did you get any accessories with the gun? These of course add to the value, but by how much is certainly open to debate. The Letter does cost between $65 and $100 but may not have any value to a future prospective gun buyer.
My case in point: My 22-32 HFT purchased a couple years ago out of an 80 fine gun collection. The gun itself is absolutely mint. The box, and paper document inserts are also original and the "oily finger warning" is seldom seen anywhere. The cleaning rod still wrapped in fragile rice paper is another neat accessory.
Mine is also Lettered but again....how to value the "package". I valued my "package" at $2,000 for insurance. I feel confident that at the right sales venue...it would maybe bring that price, maybe more at big box auction places, but is still a **** shoot.
You know what you paid...so only you can place a "value" on the gun...IF you list it for sale on this Forum...you will know fairly quick whether you are high, way too high, but until you sell the value is only important to you alone.