What was your best gun buy?

About 4 years ago,I stopped in a lgs to have them check a revolver that was all bound up.I noticed a dirty model 60 sitting in the used gun case,so I offered $270 cash and brought it home.The gunsmith was very nice,only charged me $30 and kept a straight face when he explained what was wrong with my 586 :-) Boy was I surprised a few years later when these guys starred in a reality tv show :-O
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My best buy was a Japanese Type Zero Take-Down Paratrooper rifle. I paid $110 for it and turned around and traded it for a 9mm Mauser Military rig and Inglis Hi Power rig. Both pistols had correct and in the case of the Mauser, matching wooden holster stock and 1917 dated leather harness. Both of the pistols were in excellent, like new condition. The Hi-Power had a matching magazine also.

The second one was a M1917 S&W revolver. The person who had it said he was told that it would shoot .45ACP ammo but every time he tired, the round was just pushed into the chamber by the firing pin. He was very unhappy with it and wanted to sell it. I asked him what he wanted for it and he said, "For 25 bucks, its yours." I paid him his $25 and bought some half-moon clips on the way home and I've never had a miss-fire since.

I still have the three pistols in my collection.
 

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In the S&W department, I have a few I consider good buys but the best is probably a 2-1/2" Model 66-4 I bought on GunBroker four or five years ago. The seller described it as being in "average" condition and had posted a minimum bid of $416. This was of course during the current snub-nose craze and while not a fan of those guns, I watched the auction to see how crazy high the gun would go.

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It looked more "like-new" than "average" in the photos, one of which is above, so after several days with no bids, I placed the minimum bid just to help the seller out by getting things rolling. Three days later, there were no other bids and I was the proud owner. The gun truly is "like-new" and looks good wearing Combats in this photo with its Model 66-2 kin.

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My other "best buy" is a Remington Model 700VTR. The VTR is that goofy looking "varmint/tactical rifle" with a triangular barrel. A young man won one in a gun raffle but was only interested in shotguns so he posted it for sale on trapshooters.com for $450. A friend of mine had paid over $600 and waited three months for one just like it - a .223 with an integral muzzle brake and the Desert camo synthetic stock, so I bought it with intentions of turning it for a few bucks profit.

After it sat in my safe for a few months, I decide to shoot it. I mounted a 4-12x 40mm A.O. Leupold VX-2 scope with their target dot reticle and did some handload development for it. Long story short, here's how it shoots at 100 yards with nothing done to it but replacing the trigger group with a Timney.

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Another Remington is a Model 700VLS, the varmint rifle with a brown beavertail laminated stock and a 26" barrel in 6mmREM. A guy's wife bought it for him but he didn't think the 6mm was a good cartridge, so he put it up for sale brand new in the box for $600 at a gun show. As any savvy rifle guy knows, the 6mmREM is an excellent cartridge that lives under the shadow of the slightly lower performing .243WIN and now is not chambered in any Remington standard production rifle. It shoots fairly well for me and that load chronographs at 3,710 feet per second.

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This a fun and very interesting thread - thanks for starting it!

Ed
 
I have a few but the one that comes to mind is a Colt Trooper in 22lr in pristine condition nobox
The day before Thanksgiving 2011 Cabelas Hammond IN marked 279.00 and I had a 20.00 coupon in my pocket

The action on that gun was not made on this planet its fantastic

Hank
 
My Best Handgun Purchase

Hello all:

I was blest to stay with an old couple for about three summers when I was doing my resident work on my doctor's degree (academic not medical). They took me in and treated me like "I was their very own son." Heck, they even referred to me as their son on occasion.

The old gentleman and I got to be very good friends. He use to be the 1/2 owner in a Western Auto Store back in the day. When it when out of business he had a bunch of weapons that were not sold and he just kept them. (Do you remember when you could go into your local WA and purchase a gun?!).

Fast forward: He died a few years back. His daughters knew of his fondness for me and contacted me about "daddy's guns." They asked me if I would be interested in some that he had kept?

When I went to see them, lo and behold--there was a Ruger Security Six 357 4" barrel. It was pristine. It was manufactured in 1979. Had a more expensive rubber grip to help with the recoil. It is indeed a beautiful weapon.

Bottom line of the story: they asked if I would be willing to pay $325 for it. Of course I jumped at the chance.

Forgive the "trip down memory lane," but I thought you might appreciated the story that goes along with the gun?!

Cheers! :D
 
My best deal was for a 1919 model 1905 4th change in .38 Special. I bought it based on an incorrect description, and extremely poor photos from an on-line auction for $175 about 2 years ago. It turned out to be engraved and used by one of the US Army competitors in the Inter-Allied Games of 1919 in Paris. Confirmed by Roy Jinks in a letter which ended by saying "This is a great collectable revolver".

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my last few pick ups:
a 627 no-lock v comp w/pc case etc 750 otd pawn shop find
686 w/scope barrel cutouts ( only 1100 made ) w/burris scope and factory combats...600.00
smith model 36 snubby,as new 300.00 from the same guy.
these in the last couple weeks.
 
I've had a few.

Purchased a new, full size CZ in 40 S&W for $350 several years ago.

Picked up a very nice 1970's Remington 1100 for $275 a few years ago. It had some minor surface rust and had never been properly cleaned but was gorgeous underneath.
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Recently found a nice 3.5" five screw nickel pre-27 in great shape for $800. While not a steal it's extremely reasonable these days.

In the 90's I purchased my Colt AR-15 new for $750. Everyone was scrambling to find pre bans at the time.

I purchased a Romanian PSL sight unseen online for a reasonable price right after they dried up. It was $750 when they were selling for $1000 or more at the time. It ended up being the nicest I've ever come across cosmetically and a great shooter. While they sold for less initially, I was not going to miss something like this again (explained below).

My first Smiths were purchased from the PX at great prices. They were sold used ten years later for about what I had in them and have been replaced with guns suiting my more developed tastes.

Really, I can't say I've had a bad deal yet. Here's hoping it stays that way!

The deal that got away was a Saiga 12 I could have purchased new for $450 prior to the elections. The monies fell through and I just couldn't make it happen. I would not purchase one at today's prices.

Another was the Russian Dragunovs when they were being imported. I had the money but thought it could wait. Bummer.
 
Last year a nice Browning Nazi Hi Power for $300, with original barrel, an extra new commercial barrel, the original WWII magazine and two extra commercial magazines. $180 in it after selling the extra parts, then spent $300 for a nice WWII holster and $130 for a second matching WWII magazine.


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A Pre-64 Model 70 .270 about 75% AND a Pre-64 Model 94 .30-30 about 90%, both for $300 (not each) at a garage sale.
A Model 640 stainless .38 w/CEN prefix, covered in tiny nicks & scratches for $150. I still carry that one.
 
My best was a smith model 629-2 in 4 inch. Awesome revolver. Bought it from a neighbor for 300 bucks about 6 months ago. My dad bought his 629-3 in six inch at the same time for 400. I doubt I'll ever find another deal like that. I reluctantly sold it about a month ago for a price I couldn't say no to. I should have said no.
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For semi autos I'd have to say a 3914NL for $300.00 plus tax out the door from a local dealer. Close behind, maybe even tied is my 3913TSW (pre rail) for $425.00 out the door from that same dealer.

For revolvers a like new Model 10-5 that spent it's life in someone's sock draw. $190.00 plus tax from a dealer at a small gun show.

No papers, boxes, papers, or accessories with any of them, but since I bought them to shoot, I didn't much care.
 
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