Ever find a gun you thought you would never find or afford?
- Thread starter bushmaster1313
- Start date
A few have come my way..I found a nice 27-2 3 1/2 incher at a gun show for 575 bucks. I also lucked into a New Ithaca Double engraved gun in 28 ga...for under 1000 bucks...one of only 6 or 7 made. Thinking of selling it when I get back east
One really stands out. I found a .38/44 Outdoorsman at the gun shop one mile from my house. They didn't realize what they had!
Solid 90% plus condition with a Call gold bead front sight and its original walnut service stocks. I had it lettered and it shipped in 1934.
Solid 90% plus condition with a Call gold bead front sight and its original walnut service stocks. I had it lettered and it shipped in 1934.
SuperMan
Member
Several that I can think of....
Back in the early 1970s when I had just started handgun shooting I wanted a S&W Model 53 .22 Jet with an extra rimfire cylinder. Looked for four years before my friend finally spotted one in a shop in Massachusetts while we were out shopping...have had that gun ever since and just turned it into a .327 Federal.
Back about the same time I read a gun magazine article about a Walther P38 in .22 Long Rifle. Not many were brought into the country. Saw several for sale over the years but always at "collector" prices. Finally about 2008 spotted one at one of the online auctions and was able to get it for under a grand. Have only seen a few for sale since and all well over a grand.
My favorite revolver is the 4" Model 57/657. Always wanted a first year of production 57 and dreamed about a factory Class A engraved model. Ended up finding a 1964 57 that was in excellent condition for a good price because it was minus the Cokes.
Then found a blue Class A 4" followed a year later by a nickel. Both were unfired. The blue has just the presentation case but the nickel is a complete in the packing box set. I saw two just like them sell for $3400 last year so it was a good investment.
Dreams do come true if you look long enough....Bob
Back in the early 1970s when I had just started handgun shooting I wanted a S&W Model 53 .22 Jet with an extra rimfire cylinder. Looked for four years before my friend finally spotted one in a shop in Massachusetts while we were out shopping...have had that gun ever since and just turned it into a .327 Federal.
Back about the same time I read a gun magazine article about a Walther P38 in .22 Long Rifle. Not many were brought into the country. Saw several for sale over the years but always at "collector" prices. Finally about 2008 spotted one at one of the online auctions and was able to get it for under a grand. Have only seen a few for sale since and all well over a grand.
My favorite revolver is the 4" Model 57/657. Always wanted a first year of production 57 and dreamed about a factory Class A engraved model. Ended up finding a 1964 57 that was in excellent condition for a good price because it was minus the Cokes.
Then found a blue Class A 4" followed a year later by a nickel. Both were unfired. The blue has just the presentation case but the nickel is a complete in the packing box set. I saw two just like them sell for $3400 last year so it was a good investment.
Dreams do come true if you look long enough....Bob
44wheelman
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I can tell you, I have never found affordable prices on anything I searched for, just lucky to stumble onto deals that didn't seam like deals at the time.
You must be either willing to take a risk, or have a broad spectrum of gun knowledge & values.
You must be either willing to take a risk, or have a broad spectrum of gun knowledge & values.
always wanted a Savage Anschutz match 64 from reading about squirrel hunting with one. About 7 or 8 years ago my local pawn shop had one with a Fecker target scope from a guy I knew. He was there & I told him I'd take it. While waiting for paperwork to be done I mentioned I was looking for a Remington 540X to replace one I had stupidly sold a while back. He said he had one of those in the back of the shop he was also planning to have the shop sell. That one had Redfield iron sights. Got both of them & a case of Remington 22's for $1,500. Both shoot better than me and won't be going anywhere.
rbrbrb6
Member
These are the most recent hard to find guns I was able to work out a deal on. The one Birdshead is a Texas Longhorn Arms Border Special in 44 mag and it was Bill Grover's personal gun that he carried and used. Bill was the owner of TLA. The other is not a single gun but a three gun set of TLA guns ordered with the same serial number and in the custom leather case. No one really knows how many o f these cased sets Bill made but it is very few and we think this is the only one where the set was made in 41 Magnum. Ironically I also found the TLA Improved #5 model in 41 mag that goes with this set as well.
A couple. I had a nice Beretta over and under, but I'm not hunting birds any more so I sold it off. I also had a 4 inch Python, but didn't really like it.
OP
Don't grimace or gag.
At one time I was collecting AK-47's. I had been aware of the Norinco 86S, a bull pup variant of the AK-47, but I was not seriously on the lookout for one because I never had much hope that I would ever see one. I considered bidding on the occasional one that would show up on Gun Broker but the auction price always went higher than I was comfortable bidding.
Then ....... a few years ago at a gun show, sitting at the back of a rifle rack, among a lot of other rifle racks crowded close together, I spied something different, and much shorter than all the other rifles. It was mostly hidden. I was curious and not really sure what it was. When I asked the vendor to pull the rifle out for me I think my pulse went up 20 beats when I saw what it was. It went up another 20 beats when when they affirmatively answered my question about the box and accessories. Depending on your point of view you might say it is interestingly ugly. Between the rifle and the background rug I hope you don't grimace or gag too much.
At one time I was collecting AK-47's. I had been aware of the Norinco 86S, a bull pup variant of the AK-47, but I was not seriously on the lookout for one because I never had much hope that I would ever see one. I considered bidding on the occasional one that would show up on Gun Broker but the auction price always went higher than I was comfortable bidding.
Then ....... a few years ago at a gun show, sitting at the back of a rifle rack, among a lot of other rifle racks crowded close together, I spied something different, and much shorter than all the other rifles. It was mostly hidden. I was curious and not really sure what it was. When I asked the vendor to pull the rifle out for me I think my pulse went up 20 beats when I saw what it was. It went up another 20 beats when when they affirmatively answered my question about the box and accessories. Depending on your point of view you might say it is interestingly ugly. Between the rifle and the background rug I hope you don't grimace or gag too much.
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Gryff
Member
S&W 547 for $750 (gun show) and a 3" M66 for less than $850 (Gunbroker). The M66 wasn't the deal the 547 was, but I never expected to find a 3" for less than a $1000 in California.
Well, for a long time I was one of those that to sell a gun to buy a gun. I was blessed to find a job that allowed me buy a few more guns. Then I fell into hard times and it was a struggle to keep some of them.
One of the ones that took forever to find was a 3rd Model .44 Special. I bought it at the big gun show in Chantilly VA. Turned out to be one that was in the first shipment to Wolf & Klar in January 1927. The second one was a Darne pattern 12 gauge double barrel with the sliding breech.
One of the ones that took forever to find was a 3rd Model .44 Special. I bought it at the big gun show in Chantilly VA. Turned out to be one that was in the first shipment to Wolf & Klar in January 1927. The second one was a Darne pattern 12 gauge double barrel with the sliding breech.
Mine are based on price. I wanted a Winchester 94 but had zero need for one. Kept seeing them at prices too high for me, given it was a want, not a need. Found one for less than 1/2 the going rate because it had about 1/8" of polyurethane over the wood! It looked like a ten year old had done it, smears and streaks. I bought it. Removed the wood and carefully stripped it using only soft plastic scrapers and fine steel wool. There was zero polyurethane slopped on the metal! The defacer had obviously removed the wood to do his dirt. And the metal is perfect! The serial number predates widespread plastic stocks, so my theory is that someone wanted a rain-proof gun and made one. Carefully yet inartistically. I Tru-Oiled the wood and the gun looks showroom new! Yes I realize "you aren't supposed to refinish an old gun." But I have a perfect 1968 Winchester 94.
Next story -found a 95% 22 Masterpiece for a stupidly low price. Another gun I'd never have bought at the market price.
Next story -found a 95% 22 Masterpiece for a stupidly low price. Another gun I'd never have bought at the market price.
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nocents
Member
Been looking for the ever elusive $500 Shorty 45 for years.....it could happen 
The first one ever was a Springfield M1A. Years later a Browning High Power and in between a S&W Model 25 4" in .45 Colt. I guess a 4" Model 19 to replace the one I blew up in 1997 makes this list, too, and if it wasn't for this Forum I don't think I would have ever found either of those Smith & Wesson handguns.
BigBill
Absent Comrade
Ruger Redhawk in 357mg/5.5" barrel s/s
Ruger Redhawk in 41mag / 5.5" barrel s/s
Swede Mauser m96 all matching numbers metal and wood.
Chilean 95 Mauser all matching numbers metal and wood.
I been looking for decades for these mausers. Tough to find.
I replaced a few handguns I parted with but can't replace my Python. The cost is crazy.
Ruger Redhawk in 41mag / 5.5" barrel s/s
Swede Mauser m96 all matching numbers metal and wood.
Chilean 95 Mauser all matching numbers metal and wood.
I been looking for decades for these mausers. Tough to find.
I replaced a few handguns I parted with but can't replace my Python. The cost is crazy.
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Long time ago I found a Smith & Wesson Navy Victory Revolver at a gun show. An older gentle man give me a real deal.
JaPes
Member
Because I save up the cash to indulge a want, it's really not a matter of being able to afford a purchase. Rather, it's a matter of finding the firearm for a price I find fair and reasonable. Paying what I perceive to be too much for a given firearm sours the experience.
I wanted a Hi Power Mark III, but couldn't bring myself to spend the street price for a new one. The "character" of surplus Hi-Powers didn't add any purchase justification. One lucky day, I was there as the LGS took in several firearms from an estate. One of them was a 2009 Hi Power Mark III that was like new in box condition. I paid $500. When I got it home, I found the original purchase receipt with the manual. Original owner paid $1,200.
Pretty sad. The previous owner paid $1,200 and either shot a magazine or two through it and put it away, or tucked it away in the safe without ever firing it.
I wanted a Hi Power Mark III, but couldn't bring myself to spend the street price for a new one. The "character" of surplus Hi-Powers didn't add any purchase justification. One lucky day, I was there as the LGS took in several firearms from an estate. One of them was a 2009 Hi Power Mark III that was like new in box condition. I paid $500. When I got it home, I found the original purchase receipt with the manual. Original owner paid $1,200.
Pretty sad. The previous owner paid $1,200 and either shot a magazine or two through it and put it away, or tucked it away in the safe without ever firing it.
Whenever I find one of these "pearls of great price," it seems like I don't have the price.
mjr
Member
A few years ago I bought a Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless with factory nickel plating and original pearl grips (with no cracks or chips!). And the price was about half of what I would have paid.
deadin
US Veteran
I kind of have a collection of pre-WW2 .22 auto pistols and this was one I thought I would never see...
It's not only a pre-war Walther Olympia, it is a "Schnellfuerer" in .22 Short.
This was the gun that swept the Rapid Fire pistol competition in the 1936 Olympics.
(Not many were made. It is in pretty rough shape and shows modifications of a true competitor, not a collector.
(One thing of interest is the aluminum slide and the highly modified grip.)
Unfortunately I still need a M1911 Ace or Service Ace. ($$$$)
It's not only a pre-war Walther Olympia, it is a "Schnellfuerer" in .22 Short.
This was the gun that swept the Rapid Fire pistol competition in the 1936 Olympics.
(Not many were made. It is in pretty rough shape and shows modifications of a true competitor, not a collector.
(One thing of interest is the aluminum slide and the highly modified grip.)
Unfortunately I still need a M1911 Ace or Service Ace. ($$$$)
Father Joe
Member
A used Model 41, 5-1/2" heavy barrel that showed up one day at a sporting goods store in my town.
It makes me look like I'm more accurate than I really am.
It makes me look like I'm more accurate than I really am.
I disagree. It shows what you are capable of when the gun doesn't amplify your errors. And it shows what you could do with your other guns with more practice or some gunsmithing.
Several actually. The one that stands out the most is a Remingtong 40-X .22 with a Shillen barrel and a Timney trigger on a custom made bench rest stock all put together by a master builder who has built some of the best target rifles on the planet. And the price was only $1000. It could have sold for > $3000. But it was like the week after Christmas and my funds were low. I should have broke down and got the money on a credit card but I hate those things. I thought I could get some cash together and get it soon but it was gone before I got back. Oh well. I bought a great rifle with the money anyway so it took some of the sting out.
Ed Fowler
Member
Went to an auction of mostly antique Winchester rifles, the auction was well attended and there were many collectors and the antiques went high dollar.
There was one Remington 40XBR .222 with 20 power target scope in mint condition and high ticket case, an easy $1,000 set up in the early 60's. When it came up the auctioneer started pretty high and kept coming down until he asked for a $100 dollar bid, that was all the money I had. I bid and no one else bid!! I absolutely could not believe it, no one but me was interested in it. I could not believe I was the high bidder at $100.
Most accurate rifle I have ever shot, real sweetheart. Still have it and by gosh may shoot her this week.
There was one Remington 40XBR .222 with 20 power target scope in mint condition and high ticket case, an easy $1,000 set up in the early 60's. When it came up the auctioneer started pretty high and kept coming down until he asked for a $100 dollar bid, that was all the money I had. I bid and no one else bid!! I absolutely could not believe it, no one but me was interested in it. I could not believe I was the high bidder at $100.
Most accurate rifle I have ever shot, real sweetheart. Still have it and by gosh may shoot her this week.
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Got an Inglis Hi Power with wooden stock/holster and leather holster for the whole thing at a gun show while helping a friend with his tables. I bought 6 guns from him when I went to look in the trunk of his car. I knew he had a few guns as I knew him. He just wanted to get rid of some he didn't shoot. At another gun show a dealer had a really nice 27-2 3 1/2 inch. I traded a decent airweight kit gun and 200 bucks for it.. I had 200 in the 22. Never expected to find a 3 1/2 inch 27 for under a 1000 bucks. Hopefully the pics are below
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