I just watched a 629-2 Mountain Revolver, identical to mine pull $900.00 on GB. What the heck is going on anymore?

I've been saying this for a couple of years. What we are seeing with price increases is just the beginning. There are all forms of pressure driving the prices of quality handguns upward and it isn't limited to just big bores.

1. There is the perception new guns are inferior to the old pre-mims, pre-lock offering available yesterday. The gap between the retail price of new guns and the after market of older guns is closing very rapidly. I can foresee a day soon when the used older S&W guns, in excellent shape, will surpass the new gun retail prices. And that won't be just for collector status guns.

2. Huge pending inflationary pressures are at hand! The economy is so bad and we are so in debt the dollar is bound to lose 20 to 30% of its value in just a few years. Materials costs, labor costs, expensive new regulations, taxation, shipping costs, political issues all will drive up the costs of new guns. Don't think for a moment the prices of used guns won't rise right along with the new....

3. The decline in personal property value and assets are real. Home values are in the dumps. Stock market values are in the dumps. Retirement accumulations are threatened and declining. Jobs themselves are insecure.

That leaves gold, silver, platinum and yes, guns, as the most secure current defenses against real inflation and outright financial loss.

4. All one has to do is look back at Europe to see who survived financially after the first and second world wars. Those who compiled gold, silver, quality precious stones, and yes guns, survived the terrible devastation and went on to prosper. Firearms, in many cases, were valued more than gold or silver as a necessary item to protect not only their assets but their very lives as well. Many people fear this world is once again headed the way Europe was before WWII.

How does all this impact the rising prices of "big bore S&W" handguns? I guess my answer would be - how do they not....

If you have a particular favorite S&W handgun in mind, I would highly recommend you buy it soon...

JMHO

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Terry

The market has gone national. Sellers can reach potential buyers nationwide -- and they all bid against each other. And the internet allows sellers to figure out what that have and what they can realistically get for it. It's getting harder to find the guy who says "Just give me what I paid for it -- back in 1978..."

Hmmm, Gun broker. A national auction site.
Out of a billion or so people I can't tell you how many times I've had to
bid against 1 , just 1, other person to win , or sometimes lose, an auction.

Rising prices just make hunting for the bargains all the more fun. And Rewarding.

Keep the faith
Allen Frame

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NRA cert.instructor&R.S.O.

The people who purchase revolvers are generally affluent and probably 40+ in age. This is a group that generally has disposable income and can buy what they want. That means prices go up because supply is fixed. Prices a probably going to keep going up over the next 20 years. At that point most guns prices with either level off or even drop as more collections come up for sale when the older generation passes.

The "Mountain Revolver" is not the same gun as the more common "Mountain Gun". The 629 Mountain Revolver is a far rarer, more specialized piece. I wouldn't gauge escalation of all S&W .44's pricing based upon the amount realized in this auction.

I've been watching 3" 29's and 629's for a few weeks on GB, and they're going for a lot of money. $900 to $1000 area.

I think I'd rather spend the extra money for another 4 or 5 screw .44 Magnum.

If I need a 3" gun that bad I'll find a barrel and install it on my 629-1 and make it a switch barrel revolver.

I'm no financial soothsayer but I saw this coming two years ago and started buying older pre-MIM and pre-IL S&W revolvers. Like the rest of us who have a collection, large or small, I'm glad to see my investment appreciating.

Just as TDC said, if there is a gun you want, buy it now! I thought I might have overpaid for a few of the ones I bought, like $800 for a 5" 629-3 Classic DX, but those prices seem quite fair today and may sound like a deal in another year.

Ed

Supply and demand. Look at the nice old collectable items on e-bay, road show, pawn shop, etc. Tangible assets are showing strong sales with price appretiation in many catagories. Mountain revolvers and all the early S&W short barrel 44's are well made, relatively rare, and have that great look and balance.

More people brings more money into the game and the supply of older guns isn't going to increase. Impact of the internet. Gun collecting will never be the same.

That impact of the internet didn't just bring more buyers, though, it also brought more sellers, too. Sure, the www allows buyers in Maine to bid on your neaighbors sale, but it also now connects you to more guns to buy than just your local market, too. It works both ways.

The internet also brings a more efficient market - meaning there's more knowledge available so a reasonable purchase is more assured (with reasonable due dilligence of course).

These two things work to bring the prices down.

I don't watch gun broker, so I can't comment about trends.

Do keep in mind that this is an auction site and auctions themselves are designed to create a self-propelling market. They're meant to generate a fervor that artificially increases the selling price above market rates.

I think there is a political factor as well. For years, the Brady Campaign spread the message that guns in and of themselves were dangerous. People are getting wise to the inaccuracy of that and SEEING more guns and less crime (per John Lott). People want to shoot and are discovering that its a great hobby. I have seen popularity at my local range increase to the point where there is an hour waiting list for a shooting position on weekends. How can you love handgun shooting without being tempted by one of the classic S&W's. The company saw this coming and introduced the "Classics" but they cant take the place of the pre-lock, pre-mim guns.

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Ed45

One other factor is that the dollar is worth far less then it was even just 5 years ago. The old revolvers have really been pretty steady in value if you take inflation into account. They are very much like gold and silver as a hedge against inflation. The olds Smiths might hold up better than the metals if the value of the dollar rises though. I don't see that happening any time soon.

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AL
Pax Per Potens

I used to have the 629 classic 44mag, 6 in barrel. Bought it used for $600 in the late 90s. Sold it for about the same price around 2005. Now I see them used for $900! Wish I held onto my longer

There are several things beside the falling dollar and national market with affluent collectors already sighted.

1. Value bibles use public & private auctions but Gunbroker often is well beyond those values. making it the value bible in todays world.

2. VIDEO games for the last 15 years have been focused on WWII, so a generation of young men were raised much more aware of m1 garands, mausers, and BARS than any generation since 1957. These young men want the older surplus guns from the video games or the newer modern rifles. After 1 purchase they begin to look for guns in films & books. This leads them to wheelguns

3.Retro is cool and look at how well the dirty Harry series is on netflicks.., They are still in the top 500 most viewed films. add in the yonger generations interest in Peter Fonda, Michum, and other super masculin figures from the late 60s & 70s

4. With all of that plus the above cited factors 44s are going up

5. The internet is making for more savy buyers who want rarer pieces if they have features they want.

6. One thing some younger shooters want is no Full barrel lug making a gun lighter and easier to carry This is pushing up bidding on already rare mountain guns.

The falling dollar likely has nothing to do with prices of used S&Ws being bought and sold in this country.

The dollar falls and rises in comparison to other currencies or goods where components of those goods are bought internationally. A *used* product is all ready divorced from the international production. It's also not a product that is freely sold across national borders.

Used S&W guns are largely isolated from foreign markets. Therefore the relative value of the dollar to other currencies is very likely a nonfactor.

Like I keep telling all my investment guru buddies... I invest in carbon and stainless steel, various rare woods, brass, copper and lead.

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Isaiah 55:8-9
Phil. 4:13

There are lots of reasons like the many already mentioned but the most important factor is the internet and gun auction sights. This is because sellers can reach a large amount of sellers all looking for the same gun and those that really want one will pay what they believe is the going price even if at the time they are setting a new market high.

I know several dealers that I have become friends with and they either hate the internet or love it with few in the middle. The ones that hate it hate it because it spreads knowledge and lets people see what the actual selling prices are and in some cases drive their margins on guns in their inventory down. The ones that love it love it because it brings them lots of customers that they would have never reached at in their shops or at local or small gun shows. The dealers that like it also like the fact that when looking at taking a gun in trade they can quickly look at prices sold and figure out what to offer.

Blue books of gun values are a joke to the smart buyer and seller as they are often out of date when they hit the streets and aren't current on the most recent trends like the surge in Model 28-2 and S&W 22LR revolver sales in the past two years.

I am not familiar with the Mountain Revolver, nor do we know the condition of the one that sold for $900; however, it is curious to me that we are surprised, and yes, I am guilty of it, when a used-but-in-excellent-condition, LNIB, what have you, sells for a price roughly comparable to a new similar gun. What does a new Mountain Gun or something similar, perhaps the Backpacker or the 629PC for example, cost? I'm thinking they are around $900, give or take a few $.

In economic theory it all balances out but I don't see prices going down, the auctions appear to be driving prices higher as the added interest in guns is bringing buyers with more disposable income into the mix. Does anybody see prices going down? I don't.

My 401k tanked several years ago and still has not returned to where it was. My guns are still worth the same or more than they were then.

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Si vis pacem, para bellum

I'm with hayes1966...

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Isaiah 55:8-9
Phil. 4:13

I bought a 686 new in 1986 for $310. At the time my income was somewhere in the low 20's. I'm retired now with an income in the mid 60's. The value of the 686 has perhaps doubled while my income has tripled and my value to society is now zero.

All things being equal ie inflation and my contribution to the welfare of my fellow man the gun should now be worth $930 but alas it is not, its value did not keep up with others aspects of my financial situation.

The only stock I am going to buy from now on is hogs and cows. I can eat them. Larry

It's happening again. A 629-5 MG just passed $950.00. I must resist the urge to list mine.... must... resist......

I like 44 special chambered S&W's. I have three of them. Paid a good price for each one and am happy to have them. Having said that, I plan on holding on to them until they shovel the dirt over me. I bought them to shoot and not so much for collecting. Gotta love a S&W big bore 44. I even have a ruger redhawk 44 mag. Haven't shot it since I went on a S&W 44 special fix. The 44 special is probably one of the most underated cartridges going. Great on targets and while I'm on a roll does just about anything one could wish for. Frank