Unfired Bren Ten - Worth 20 grand?

[Whitens Moss]

LGS owner has a brand new unfired Bren Ten, which he values at between 15 and 20 grand. I had asked him about the most precious gun in his vast collection and he replied: "The Bren Ten in my safe." This guy owns hundreds of guns and that was his answer.
Mas Ayoob discussed what apparently was a big flop in the firearms industry:
Massad Ayoob: History of the Bren Ten
Anyone familiar with this gun?

 

[DR505]

Yes, familiar. Dornhaus and Dixon story, the 10mm, Jeff Cooper, etc. Is it worth $20,000? Not to me.

 

[rwsmith]

Not....

Not to me.

 

[Bullet Bob]

I didn't read the link, because like Elmer Keith, "Heck, I was there!".

Ask the people who received a gun but no magazine (because they couldn't make them work), or better yet the folks who put down a deposit and only received warm air what they think one's worth.

 

[oneflycowboy]

The Bren Ten was the gun carried by Sonny Crockett on the TV show Miami Vice back in the mid 80's...

That's probably the reason I remember the gun at all.

Never seen one in real life.

I'd like to hold one....

 

[S&W Fan]

Count me as another who put down a deposit to never see it. Even if I had the money I wouldn't spend $20k on one today.

A friend had a shop and had one with a magazine in his personal collection. It was one of a bunch of guns that were stolen in a burglary. It was eventually recovered but really scratched up, funny side note-it was taken without the mag, not that the idiots realized it at first.

 

[10mmauto]

I've owned five of them - a Special Forces Light and Standard Model - both direct from the factory. Two Marksman's Specials bought second hand and a Standard model bought second hand. I wish I had any or all of them back.

Worth 20 grand? Nope.

 

[federali]

Bren Ten

I would offer him nothing. No way this gun is worth $20,000.00.
Keeping this gun running could cost a fortune as parts are not available and replacement part would have to be custom made.

Colt single Action Armies are a well established collectible with a grading and value system up to seven figures. A Bren Ten? I've never seen one, nor have I ever heard of someone wanting one, either in person in in this and similar forums.

I think your LGS throws this out as bait, hoping that eventually, somebody will be dumb enough to bite.

 

[VictorLouis]

I see them occasionally at shows, usually from$1500-$3k, if memory serves. Obviously, having even one mag ups-the-ante, LOL.

 

[Rpg]

They are certainly worth more now than the original price.

20K?

Not to me.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I know a Deputed Sheriff here in town.
He sent his money in and waited. He was transporting prisoners, so he set up a trip to Lost Angel City. He went out to the Bren co and they confirmed he was sure as hell was on that list. But it didn't speed up delivery!
So be waited some more. It finally came! Then he took it out to the range to qualify so be use it as a duty gun.
He was telling us this at a gunshow in uniform. He was wearing a gun rig with ammo loops in front.
I look down and say, are those 10mm, they look like 45s?
He replied, they are 45s. When I took the Bren out to the range, the slide split after I fired a few rounds.

 

[therevjay]

Shoot, I thought you were talking about a WWII Bren gun. Now that I think about it, I'm not even sure I'd pay that much for one of those. (that's if I had 20K of course)

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Worth every penny of 20,000.000-all one needs is another person that thinks the same thing and has $20,000.00 of disposable income lying around. Stranger things have happened.

 

[scooter123]

I look down and say, are those 10mm, they look like 45s?

He replied, they are 45s. When I took the Bren out to the range, the slide split after I fired a few rounds.

That more than anything else is what killed the Bren Ten. As I remember it the first full production batch of slides were investment cast with internal flaws so bad it's recommended that NO Bren Ten should be shot until AFTER the slide has been X Rayed. When word of the leaked out nobody wanted a Bren Ten at any price.

Interesting tidbit in that article by Mossad linked to. In that article he puts down the 40 S&W a bit as being an "also ran" when compared to the 10mm. Then he cites the ultimate manstopper for the 10mm as being a 135 grain bullet loaded to 1450 fps. I guess Mossad hasn't ever done any reloading. Because a quick glance in the Lee 2nd lists a 40 S&W load for a 135 grain jacketed bullet at 1434 fps using 11.5 grains of Longshot smokeless powder.

BTW, I load my practice ammo for my SD carry load using Longshot and while it's a miserable metering powder and nearly as loud as a full house 357 Magnum it does allow the 40 S&W to come quite close to the 10mm. BTW, that load is a 165 grain pill moving at a clocked 1150 fps which exactly duplicates the Speer Gold Dot I carry with.

 

[mc5aw]

$20K buys me a nice Registered Magnum and ammo.

 

[sipowicz]

I would offer him the same Michael Corleone offered to the Nevada senator for his gaming license.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

Lets see now, a semi auto pistol with no magazine available, what's it worth? I'm feeling generous, I'd go two saltine crackers and a glass of water, even up trade.

 

[Rock185]

I guess they have become collectible. I had an early Bren Ten and wouldn't pay $2000.00 for another one, much less $20,000.00. I was acquainted with Tom Dornaus and Michael Dixon, worked SHOT show with them, went up to Gunsite with them one day to shoot the guns with the Colonel,etc. I always thought that to introduce a new pistol, in a new Metric caliber, was going to be real hard to make a success. Tom Dornaus mentioned something to me about frames cracking, and that he thought he'd designed enough beef into the frame to prevent that. That was when the only factory ammo was the Norma. I really like the caliber, and have owned most of the commonly available 10MM autos and revolvers, at one time or another, since the Bren Ten days but think that better, more durable, certainly more sustainable 10MMs came later.........ymmv

 

[A10]

I'd go buy a Registered Magnum, an Automag, three Wilson Combat .45s, and maybe have a buck or two left over.......

 

[sipowicz]

If you look this good with it, buy it.