Have you ever bid on a unseen group of gun items and when you get them, this happened?

[Dano]

Years ago, a friend of mine was at an estate sale. He had bought a
Garand and an M1 carbine. A Colt 45 70 series came up and knowing
I wanted one, he called me. I told him to start at $20 buck. You may
not believe this, but no one else bid. He paid the $20 plus fees and
brought it to me the next day. It was well used and had a lot of holster
wear, but the inside and the barrel were clean and the bore was shiny
and new looking. Shot great too. I carried it for a few years and traded
it on a series 80 Combat Elite. I've made some good deals in my time but
that is the only dealings I ever had with an Estate Sale.
Dano

 

[The Kid]

I bought two sets of S&W Combat grips at an estate sale last summer for $30, there were Pachmyer boxes about but they were empty.

Best deal was when I was lounging in the front during a slow day at the gunshop I used to work at. A younger gal came in carrying a barrel less pre war Ithaca 37. She was helping an elderly lady move to a retirement village and the lady’s husband had apparently stashed it behind the water heater. The woman wanted nothing to do with a gun of any description and had instructed the young gal to get rid of it. She thought we might want it for parts. The shop owner wasn’t interested and I said I might take it if the price was right. She told me the price was free and handed it to me. I told her to keep an eye peeled for the barrel and tried to pay her. A couple hours later she showed up with the barrel, it was hidden behind the washing machine. I had to threaten her with violence to get her to take any money from me and then she would only take a $20. I’ve hunted all over with that shotgun and still do.

My parents estate sale shop weekly and in this area the majority of old guys were bird hunters if they hunted so dad is forever more coming home with shotgun shells. He probably averages $2 a box and has thousands, we never want for 12ga shells during dove season.
A couple years ago he came across a box of 2 9/16” 16ga shells in good shape with a price of $5. When he checked out and paid the attendant told him not to forget his shells and pointed to a full case plus a couple quart jars of loose shells. Apparently the $5 was for all of them! I loaned him a 16ga and I think he has almost shot them all up at doves.

 

[RLH3175]

I've had great experiences using online auction platforms like invaluable.com, liveauctioneers.com, HiBid, and others. I tend to go for gunsmith specials—bundles like (3) .22 LR rifles or (3) British .303 rifles from WWII. That’s where I’ve found the most interesting deals.

So far, I’ve rarely been disappointed. I usually win auctions at around $70 to $100 per rifle or handgun, which is pretty reasonable. Honestly, if the firearm doesn’t need some kind of repair or TLC, I’m almost disappointed—it takes some of the fun out of it. Part of the appeal for me is the process: cleaning, diagnosing, fixing, and learning as I go.

My main reason for getting into this wasn’t just cost—it was about getting hands-on experience with real firearms. Reading about a weapon is one thing, but owning it, working on it, and picking it up from your FFL takes your understanding to a whole different level.

It’s a rewarding way to learn, collect, and explore firearms history—especially if you enjoy a little gunsmithing along the way.

I like your seabee patch. I was a EO in MCB5, 1965 thu 67 and then on Midway Island until separation in July 1968

 

[greenwellg]

Garage sale in one of the most expensive neighborhoods in York County. Spotted an old ammo can of gun parts, $20, almost broke my hand getting my wallet out. Complete lock for a FLINTLOCK musket Marked
Richmond Va. 1803!!!! also came with the attaching part that goes on the other side of the stock.
There were numerous small parts all pre civil war era.
Only 20,000 of those Richmond muskets were made over a period of 20 years. Almost all were scrapped for parts in the civil war. Original flintlock complete locks remaining, who knows? Complete functional gun $50k.
Sold the box to a friend for $375.
Thomas Jefferson brought the patterns for the musket back from France.

 

[MelvinWalker]

I like your seabee patch. I was a EO in MCB5, 1965 thu 67 and then on Midway Island until separation in July 1968

Funny you should mention Midway...There was a video that was posted a few days ago that just popped up on my feed. It was done in January of this year by a USFWS employee that bicycled around the island. Very neat perspective and I loved it....Tens of thousands of Gooney birds nesting. It has a lot of USN vets posting on the comments from their stopovers from Vietnam.

Midway bicycle tour- Current

 

[VincentW]

I like your seabee patch. I was a EO in MCB5, 1965 thu 67 and then on Midway Island until separation in July 1968

My father also served in the Navy—he was a boiler technician on an LST and caught the "freedom cruises" at the end of the Pacific War. I’ve got that Seabee sticker on my wife’s car. Always great to meet another Seabee—not a lot of folks know who we are or what we did.

I joined through the delayed entry program in April 1984 but had to wait a year for an opening in A-school. I became a CE (Construction Electrician). My active duty ran from April 1985 to December 1991. I later joined the Reserves, but it just wasn’t the same.

I did boot camp and basic electronics school in Orlando, FL, then went on to A-school in Gulfport, MS to learn the trade. After that, I was assigned to NMBC 40.

I qualified and was the fire team leader on the .50 caliber machine gun, and earned expert metals on both the M16 and the .45 pistol. I spent a lot of time cleaning weapons in the armory, did not always appreciate the opportunities at the time.

You’re from that era when we had some really tough, strong Seabees. I still remember an old steelworker and I settling our differences behind the welding shop in Guam—old-school style.

If you ever need a patch or a sticker like mine, let me know and I’ll be happy to pick one up for you.

Thank you, sir, for your service.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

... and these literally brand spanking new Goncalo silver washer, K frame targets which were probably removed from a brand new gun and put in the Pachmayr box.

Moral to the story...Always check inside Pachmayr boxes. I told my wife when I bid on them, "Y'know....I have seen brand new grips stuck in replacement boxes".

This is exhibit "A" of that.

When I was a cop that is the first thing everyone did switched out when you bought a new revolver.

 

[GregPaulman]

So, an estate sale happened a few states away and I looked the items over. Your typical hodgepodge of stuff and I did a little quick counting and made a bid:

View attachment 763042

I did this mainly because of the Pachmayr box. It arrived Friday and I paid particular attention to the NIB looking grip box marked $14.99

View attachment 763043

So then I opened the box...Uh oh:

View attachment 763044

View attachment 763045

View attachment 763047

So, to recap...I ended up with two original Civil War Spencer carbine combination tools, ($125+ each on Ebay), an 1879 US marked Trapdoor Springfield combination tool, ($25) a German WW2 G43/K43 original barrel band, ($50?), some Polish VIS 9mm grips which may be newer repros, a set of older smooth walnut Colt 1911 grips, a new in package, 1970's Colt Python Pachmayr presentation grip and these literally brand spanking new Goncalo silver washer, K frame targets which were probably removed from a brand new gun and put in the Pachmayr box.

Moral to the story...Always check inside Pachmayr boxes. I told my wife when I bid on them, "Y'know....I have seen brand new grips stuck in replacement boxes".

This is exhibit "A" of that.

What a bargin

 

[Green Frog]

Went to a local auction this morning and only won one lot of 3 boxes of Remington ammo from the '60s; .30 Mauser, .218 Bee, and .32 Auto. Paid $69.30 after premium and tax. Mauser box was partial, .218 was full, and then opened the .32 box and found it full of these....

That box of RF 32s is the stuff of collectors’ dreams! In the original box would have been better, of course, but still quite the treasure.
Sometimes it goes the other way though. More than once I’ve seen boxes for tang sights (for rifles) that instead of the advertised target sights contained plain barrel sights worth about a tenth of what the tang sights would have been worth.
“Some days you eat the bear and some days the bear eats you!”

 

[Jay Hall]

I'm a traveling RN/NP, my area I cover 7-8 cities, I am always stopping at yard sales and estate sales. I bring home tons of ammo, mags, grips, holsters, and , before Virginia enacted FFL transfer rules, I used to buy tons of weapons. I still do, just have to make the trip to the dealer. My most recent finds were a 55g drum of oem NIB s&w wood grips for all models, a ton of s&w 3rd gen mags, 2 taurus deputy 357/38 NIB, a Cimarron pistolero nickel 9mm saa, 2 cases of imi 158gr blue tip, 7 cases of 45lc 255gr fmj, 3 cases of cci lawman 45acp. If I'd been faster on the gas, I'd have got there fast enough to grab a crate of moving and 3 sky's with synthetic camo stocks. Moving went 220 each sks''s went for 325. I can't complain.

I also got my hands on a brand new AGIP gas globe.

What a score! Congrats.

 

[Daisyman]

Went to a flea market auction many years ago, and a guy was standing there about half in the bag with a full nice Winchester box of .348's he was thinking about putting up for auction. I said, "what do you want for those?' He looked at me glassy eyed and said "I doned care what anybody says, I ain't takin' less than 2 bucks for 'em from any body ". I said, "well you drive a hard bargain, but I'll take them." What a hoot.

 

[VaTom]

Best estate auction find was this K-Bar USN MKII. In a box of old knives, sheaths, misc items. Had to buy the whole box. (The Ithaca 1943 1911A1 was not part of the deal).