I kept my eye on this for a couple months, and posted about the dark stocks back in June, trying to figure out why they looked so dark. It was marked at $999 and as of two weeks ago I had the manager down to $750; still too much. I tried last week and he was out on vacation.

Yesterday he was back and on the drive over I was contemplating whether it was worth around $650 + tax and would maybe offer that. I walk in the shop and he says "Hi" and that while he was out the owner came in and said that gun needed to be marked down to half price. Needless to say, I bit the bullet and dropped $500 on it. Easy come, easy go.

BFFxxxx serial number indicates c. 1990. When I first saw it, I thought the stocks were too dark, suggesting refinishing. Turns out, after a good cleaning with BC Stock Rejuvenator and a couple light coats of RenWax, they're just original dark wood, darker than I'd seen before in person, and lacquer or varnish that had probably dulled some with age and wear.

Not a bad piece.

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Not bad at all. I wish that I could walk into a gunstore and the owner says marked down to half price. I could see doing that if it were a Taurus on something similar to it but not a Model 66. You did very well. I haven't seen a model 66 for a long time for $500.

It was a surprise to me, especially given that this is a national chain owned by an international company, that typically works on a structured price drop system based on how long they've had an item. Just goes to show, like politics, all business is local. Right store, right place, right time. I've bought a couple things from this chain pre-pandemic and could get a discount from the right manager or staffer, or a discount for cash. They're all over the place and a lot of the time it just depends on catching the right person on duty that day. Or an owner/manager who knows his local market and knows what will sell and what won't.

Congrats. You chose wisely.

Stumbling into deals like this is the main reason I NEVER get caught without cash in my pocket. I would have had a tough time getting it out fast enough and not hurt myself doing it!!!

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"Tastes just like chicken"

Great find at a super low price. I do not see deals like this in my area.

What a deal! That's what I love about pawn shops, you just don't know what you will stumble in to. Garage sales can be the same way, I just don't have the patience for that.

congrats on a great score!

Im not looking to buy anything right now and I would have jumped at it. great find, great price I hate you... ok hate is pretty strong but dont like you.

My 66 factory stocks are that dark!

Your deal proves my point when I see guys asking about dealing with pawn shops! They usually have half or less then half of advertised prices invested in their stock.

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S&W factory revolver armorer

For $500 you did great! Especially in today's handgun market.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Good to know. It gave me pause when I first saw these because I'd never personally seen stocks that dark on these "vintage" guns, although I have seen stocks that had clearly been refinished with dark stain.

It helps with some shops to be able to decipher their code on the price tag, usually a series of letters, that tell staff how much they have in each item. I've only been able to do that with one local chain, but it definitely helps with the negotiating. Yeah, the gun's worth what it's worth regardless of what they have in it, but if they've got a gun priced at $600, and I know they've got $150 in it, regardless of what the Blue Book or Gunbroker says it's "worth," I'll be damned if I'm going to give them a 300% profit because some poor chump couldn't afford to get his gun out of pawn. I'll offer $250-300 maybe and they can take it or leave it. Surprisingly, depending on who's behind the counter and the day of the week or time of day, they might just take it. For a while there, most of the shops started playing the hard role and not negotiating because reasons, but that's started to loosen up in the last couple months.