The best deal you have ever gotten on a firearm?

[arjay]

A mint 60s era 4" Python for $900 before prices skyrocketed.I thought I over paid lol.An early 80s dirty model 60 wearing pachs for $175.It cleaned up nicely and the correct stocks cost me $35.Still have the model 60,but the chance to triple my money on the Python a few years later was too tempting ;-)

 

[Gary Hogstrom]

I think WYO wins, a RM for $225 , even 27 years ago was quite a deal.
That gun today probably 20 or 30 times that.

 

[tlawler]

If I can include a two-gun deal, my best deal would be a Model 657 No Dash snubbie with box for $500 back in 2020 or '21. I picked up that 657 and a Model 66-1 for $2000 from a guy and later consigned the 66-1 to someone on gunbroker. After fees and paying the consigner, I netted very close to $1500 on the sale.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

Several come to mind. At a gun show I spotted a Colt Detective Special marked $675…this was about five years ago. That was a fair market price at the time…the seller said it was from 1939…but I recognized something different about it. It had a square butt rather than a round butt…only very early Dick Specials in the late 1920s were like that…and WWII examples purchased by the military as they specified square butt.

The Colt serial number lookup on the company website did say it was from 1939…but Colt's website is notoriously inaccurate on dates. I bought the revolver figuring the worst I could do is buy a gun at fair market price. I ordered a Colt Archives letter which stated it was a 1943 build and went to Army CID. So my $675 investment automatically became a nearly $2500 value.

There's some others but that's probably the best bargain.

 

[Ameshawki]

Fairly ordinary Detective Special. Serial number put it in WW2. Price was $300 I think. Lettered it several years later. OSS gun, in the last batch they bought.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

In my favorite gun shop about eight years ago I saw a Remington Model 81 .300 Savage with tang sight for what looked like $50. It was reblue over some pitting. I said, "Hey, you forgot the first digit on the price tag" and the store owner said No, it's $50. I bought it, sold the tang sight for around $100, then sold the gun for $275. Don't ask about the many times I screwed myself in other deals over the years. That's a whole new thread.

 

[dwh]

I traded a marlin guide gun 45-70 that I bought used for a 3in 13-3, 3in65-3 and a model 60 from cop buddy. They all had box's, holsters and all had been sent to S&W for action jobs. It worked out to about $125 per revolver. I also bought 4 22lr rifles, hi standard pump12ga, marlin 336 30-30 and six grocery bags of ammo from a very angry divorced woman for $100. I figured that I probably saved her ex husband's life.


Oh,and lnib browning hi power for $300. There was about minutes left at a small local show and the guy didn't want to lug it back home.

 

[LVSteve]

I have been a frequent recipient of cries of "Stop!! Thief" while milsurp collecting. It is hard to nail down which is my best deal, so here are some candidates.

Best S&W, tie between the 686 Plus I got wholesale when Galyan's became Dick's, about $525, and the used, $300, 3" Model 65 with combat grips from CDNN.

Best modern pistol, Walther PPS M2 for $310 in my hands during a Palmetto Armory contract overrun sale. Fantastic pistol in my hands. Another candidate would be the barely used new model SCCY CPX-2 I recently picked up for $81 OTD, but I've yet to shoot it.

My best milsurp deal is hard to quantify, do I judge on money or by collectability?

Money: Finnish Mosin Model 28, listed as a 'Mauser'. Won with an $85 bid, followed by about $65 in shipping, NICS and FFL fee.

Collectability: Mauser M48 BO bearing the crest of the Iraqi royal family. Fewer than 50 are belived to be in the US.

 

[robertrwalsh]

I once got a Walter PPK .380 for free. That is fairly cheap. An acquaintance of mine left it to his wife when he passed. She didn't like it, it wouldn't even feed hardball reliably so she gave it to me. I polished and opened it up a tiny bit and I now have a functioning PPK that I never shoot because it bites me.

 

[lowriderfxr]

2,
1st Generation Colt SAA 4.75 nickel 38/40 for 225.00
And
5.5" registered magnum for 5k, later the original box , tools and paperwork for 4K.A lot of money to put out but sold the package for 20k.

 

[Rubone]

I've had so many good deals over the years it is hard to say the best. One good one was a package deal on 4 firearms. A Remington 870 Magnum with a factory rifle sight barrel, a West German Sig P226 from 1990 in unfired condition with a couple spare mags and a period Desantis shoulder rig, A winchester model 63 22 Semi Auto, and a like new Ruger MKII Target 6-7/8" tapered barrel. All for $1200 including several boxes of 9mm and .22 ammo, a cleaning kit, a couple of rugs, and a small range bag type duffle.

 

[diyj98]

I was at a large auction once and the auctioneer had fell behind in trying to get through all the items. One of the items was a 1873 Winchester. He started off with who will give me $2,000, $1,500, etc. part. Like normal, the crowd was waiting for him to get down to a complete ridiculous number before bidding it through the roof. He just yelled "no sale, next item" and kept pushing thorough the estate. When I was paying for a couple of small items I'd won, I asked the clerk what the reserve was on the 1873. She checked the books and came back and said "would you give us $300?". I ended up with a nice rifle for a fraction of the value.

 

[BKLooney]

The best deal I ever got was on this Colt Police Positive, circa 1969.

An old friend of mine had it and needed money, quick money. Problem was that he was a bad alcoholic and spent just about everything he'd get on his pastime…not a great story…anyway…

Was up at his place on day and he was talking about needing money, pawing stuff etc.. We had just been shooting and a few handguns were laying about, I was absolutely joking when I said "fill that old Police Positive up with ammo and I'll give ya $75", again, just a joke. He said yeah right, I don't think so!

It was about an hour and a half later I got up to leave, before I get to the door he said, "were you serious about that $75".
I said bud, you really considering selling that for $75, "gimme the money and it's yours"..

The gun is as tight as a brand new one, it hasn't been fired very much at all. Nothing to note except for a little bit of holster wear on the end of the barrel. I know the providence on the old revolver, it was first purchased by the Sheriff of Dickenson County VA in '69/'70.

I've had the old revolver for at least 40 years..

 

[Grimjaws]

Two come to mind

A 19-3 4" with Herrett Trooper grips OTD for $350 at a local gun show.

Best deal was a coworker was moving and sold me
Saiga AK 7.62 x39 rifle unfired but no box
Henry Arms AR-7 .22 unfired in box
Rossi large loop 16" .357 lever action used but in fantastic condition
and a S&W AR-15 16" model with ACOG scope
plus 120 rounds 7.62x39
plus 100 rounds 5.56
plus 100 rounds .357 magnum
plus a brick of .22

All for $750 total

I sold the Saiga for $750 to a friend
so got three rifles plus ammo for free

My son "borrowed" the AR when he got out of the Marines and I don't expect it will make its way back any time soon.

 

[DR505]

Gun show in VA Beach in 1987…guy from Indiana had a pallet full of Model 29-3 .44Mags, selling for $200 each brand new. I should have bought more than one.

 

[gmiller0737]

Sometime in the Early 1990's 4" Stainless Colt Python Very Good Condition $500

 

[kbm6893]

Like new 19-2 with diamond Target stocks serial numbered to gun. $249 about 7 years ago. Kid working the counter said he just bought it that morning from an elderly woman whose husband had just died and she wanted it out of the house. He probably gave her $100 for it. He said to me "nobody wants these old revolvers anymore". It was so perfect that I hated even holding it thinking I'd screw it up and I sold it for $750 a few months later. I regret that very much.

 

[Farmer17]

98% condition Smith & Wesson model 58 .41 Magnum from a guy at Church for $650. It was Mark San Francisco Police Department and sold it a few months later for $1550

 

[wood714]

Would have to be these two.

The 870 Wingmaster was like new for $239 shipped.

Bought the 686 off a cop for $500.

 

[cherrypointmarine]

This is not my best deal , but to me it counts . A while ago a club member offer myself and my range buddy 2 Colt 1943 1911 A-1's . One was a military/civilian model , pretty rare . Both were unissued , very nice condition . My buddy took the civ/milit one , I took the other . I gave $750 for mine , my buddy gave $1300 for his . The guy wanted $1000 for both , but we were not out to steal from him . He was happy and we're more than happy . I see those civ/mil one's go for $3-4000 and mine about $2-3000 . WE told him he should put them up on GB , but he needed the cash now .