Best Used Gun Value Books

Horace & Daniel

Horace & Daniel

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What are the best books for acquiring the most up-to-date gun prices for revolvers and semi-autos? I'm interested in handguns from S&W, Colt, CZ, Sig Sauer and Ruger.

For overall values of several gun makers, is the Blue Book of Gun Values, 32nd edition a good choice? For S&W exclusively, I guess the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 3rd edition hardcover would be good.

I just don't want to waste my hard-earned cash on a **** book.

Thanks for your help.
 
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Those are both good books for a value comparison, though not entirely based on reality, because the market sets the price on premium guns.
 
The SCSW3 is now over 5 years old, and there has been quite a shift in gun prices during that time. The Blue Book is a "yardstick" but many disagree with those values. The most reliable is going to Gunbroker and doing a search on "completed" auctions where the guns have actually sold, not just been re-listed. That would be the current fair market price. Keep in mind condition is "everything" when it comes to evaluating a firearm, and two identical guns may have several hundred dollars difference in price due to variations in condition. I wind up using several different books, the two mentioned as well as "Standard catalog of Firearms", a Gun Digest book. The books need to be continually updated with new editions.

The true value of a gun is what a willing buyer will actually pay.
 
The biggest caution with using completed auction prices is that, most likely, the one person that absolutely wanted that gun bought it at the price they were willing to pay.

Gunbroker doesn't really take into account the regional price differences that occur around the Country. Demand is different in different locals.

I have always liked the Standard Catalog of Firearms. The info seems pretty good, and as long as you understand and adhere to the condition definitions, the values seem pretty good, for the most part. In the 2010 edition I have, they have even identified "Sleeper Guns". These are the ones that prices realized have started to outpace value, due to collectability, or other factors.
 
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