I found, quite by accident, that it really, really helps if you work p/t at the 'honey hole'.
This goes back to an observation I've made here in the past. Gun shops aren't the best places to find spectacular old guns. They might be the worst, in fact. There are a bunch of factors, but almost no one trades in a fine old S&W on a new plastic semi auto. The only people who want the semi's are young kids. The only people who own the S&Ws are us old coots. What it amounts to is a disconnect. So where do the guns in the gun shop come from? Often they're sold or offered for sale either by the owner who needs money (the economy) or by his widow. Its a sale of last resort or desperation. A situation where there are no male relatives that want the gun, or by an anti gun widow who still wants the value. If they don't, they turn it in to the local PD for destruction. That can of worms sometimes leads to the gun being stolen by a cop that can't bear the idea of destroying a work of art.
But say the widow sells the gun to the store. Gun shops are known for low ball offers. They pretty well know the person isn't a regular (regulars know the values, sort of) so the trek to the store with all those evil guns is uncomfortable. Even if they know what the gun sold (was bought) for originally, the price offered is probably equal or even a little above. They can take the money and run, or take all the guns back home and try another shop some other time. I'm guessing that doesn't happen often.
So the shop has a new gun for the used counter. Guess who gets first shot at it. If the clerk who takes it in steals it (for the price paid), the owner gets really hot and hires a new and smarter clerk. But what usually happens is the shop owner inspects and gets first shot at the gun. He's got a great collection, specifically because he picks off the plums. If he doesn't want it, then the clerk can buy it (but probably for a small profit.) Only after the other clerks have the right of first refusal can the general public get a chance. And as you've read here, the favorite customers get a call before it hits the glass showcase. If you're Joe nobody, you only have a chance at a gun that isn't good enough for a half dozen other guys.
Every wonder why gun shops aren't on the side of gun rights? They really like the idea of all transactions going thru them. It builds their collection.
Where can you find the choice items? Where gun owners go to buy and sell is the best place. Some states don't allow it. Move from there if its the situation where you live.
In a week and a half comes Court Days down in central Kentucky. On Saturday there will be about 10,000 (it could be more, or maybe a few less) gun owners trying to buy, sell, or trade. Some are scoundrels trying to milk the last $ out of a junker. But for the most part its just scoundrels like me, hoping against all hope to score a single treasure, whatever it might be. One year, a few back, I guy had a K22 Outdoorsman with a serial number I remembered. He wouldn't budge on the price, so I reluctantly declined. It was about $450 as I remembered it. So when I got home I used the SCSW to discover it was in the first couple of hundred made (632373). So I kicked myself and swore not to let that kind of gun get past me again. But as luck would have it, both of us reappeared the following October. Same gun, same condition, same price. So I offered him $425, he said no, so I paid his price.
But it was a good gun at what now seems like a great price.
And another year I picked up a M58 in near perfect condition... cheap. And then there was the 396 no dash, at what I considered cheap. And the 617 4" that wasn't such a deal. The price was right, but my son wanted it. One year I bought a set of factory pearls (small gold medallion) for what I considered a good price, maybe $100. Wish I'd kept them. I don't go expecting any specific gun. If anyone does, they'll declare it wasn't worth the time or expense. But I know if I spend enough time on "the bridge", I'll see a bunch of nice guns (not just S&Ws). But its like a gun show, its a living breathing thing. Guns come and go, as do buyers and traders. If you think you can go and walk the area, or the fixed vendors that set up nearby and see it all, you're mistaken.
The only problem I have is my wife goes along. I could hear her gasp from 10' away when I pealed off $100 bills to buy the 1950 Target a week ago. But when was the last time you found one for sale? And she won't understand why I want to circle back to the bridge several times during the day. Its probably because she knows each cycle there's a chance of finding a real score.
So how do you build a decent collection in this day and age? Sure, you go to gun shops on the outside chance. Just like pawn shops. But you use the other, unconventional venues too. If I find a keeper at a place just once every 5 years, I'm happy. The reality seems to be not that I shouldn't go, but that I need to find even more places to sneak into.
