Remington 721 (30-06)

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Checkman

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My wife's grandfather bought this 721 brand new in 1952. He was an active hunter for approximately thirty years and this was his sole hunting rifle. It's seen use, but not abuse. Approximately 90% of the finish is still there. The stock has dings, but no major cracks or gouges. It shoots just over a one inch group at 100 yards. The bore is in good shape. It has the original Weaver scope that he purchased in 1954/55(?). I'm not very knowledgable when it comes to optics.

Well he wants to sell it now. He's looking at going the consignment route and was wondering waht would be a good asking price. I'm thinking between $350.00 and $400.00. We live in Idaho and there are still many hunters, but I think that to alot of folks this would just be an old rifle. Any ideas?

I'm not looking to buy it because I already own a 30-06 and I don't hunt. I have two hunting rifles (just because) and that's enough. Any suggesstions would be appreciated.
 
If it was mine Id sell it to a friend that needed a deer rifle for $250.
It might be worth more, but you would have a hard time selling it. It's a nice older rifle but people today think that if it dosent have "Tactical" in the name it is obsolete.
 
Go hunting with it

Keep it in the family and take it hunting or pass it down the generations.

Likely enough at today's prices it's worth more than I would guess off the top of my head but I've seen better values go for less than you are talking about here.

After the consignment fees there may not be as much left as you'd hope. For anything but a distress sale I'd put it on Guns America or Gun Broker myself or post it here or the Firing Line even if I limited sales to face to face in Idaho.
 
the 721 is a pretty good gun, but i doubt you'd get that much for it. they are common around here for $300 - and 2 years ago i bought mine for $175 from cabela's.

this is one of those cases where the gun is probably worth more to ya to keep. it was an economy model of sorts, and many hunters steer clear of them because of the excessive drop in the stock. whether fair or not, they have a reputation for kicking extraordinarily hard for the cartridge they are chambered for.

my suggestion is to pick it up, swap out the trigger for a remington 700 trigger, upgrade the glass and maounts, and at your first opportunity, re-barrel it to something that floats your boat; would make a dandy semi-custom. maybe a heavy barrel 25-06 ai? or whatever...
 
thanks for the advice. I was told basically the same thing by one of the local gunshops. I'll give him a call and see what he wants to do.
 
I bought one last year that could be a twin to the one you described, except mine did not come with a scope. I paid $275 for mine and have been very happy with it.

I noticed that the factory scope mounting holes on mine consisted of a pair on the receiver ring and only one hole on the bridge. After a little searching, I found a vintage Stith mount that was made for the three-hole set-up and cost $90! I didn't buy it, but if yours has this kind of mount for the scope, it would add to the value of the rifle with the right buyer. Some people really like the older Weaver scopes, too.

So, if you have that Stith mount and you find the right guy, you might be able to get $350-400 for it. Those are alot of "ifs", though. Check out the online auction sites. There are usually a few 721's up for bid.
 
I would be inclined to sell one of the hunting rifles I already owned, and probably wasn't going to use anyway and buy Grandpas gun as a replacement to keep it in the family. Assuming the rifles you already have aren't heirlooms themselves. If you ever have children they may want to hunt and doing so with great Grandads rifle is a wonderful thing.
 
Ditto Lawyerman. Do whatever it takes to keep Grandpa's rifle. On down the road you may wish you had, if you let it slip away now.
 
Listen to your Lawyerman. ;) He gives good counsel. Seriously, I don't think the price you can fetch will ever come close to the intrinsic value of Grandpa's rifle. At least for me it wouldn't. YMMV.
RT
 
a rifle doesn't take up much space. the 721 is inexpensive enough... just buy it and stuff it into a recess somewhere and forget about it until a convenient time in the future...
 
I'm buying the rifle from him. Last night he told me how he bought it brand new at the local Montgomery Ward in 1951 for $75.00 and how he took nine elk and countless deer over the years. That rifle was used to feed his family for many years.

He was a working man in Western Idaho at a time when there wasn't much in the way of good paying jobs. If you weren't a farmer then you were a laborer. He was fortunate to have a job in a sheet metal shop, but the pay and benefits weren't great. He would go hunting every fall for both fun (two weeks at a hunting camp) and pragmatism. I told my wife last night that I didn't think it was right to let go of this piece of family history. I'm buying it. I don't plan on altering it. It'll stay like he used it.

Incidentally I cleaned it last night. Wow. It hasn't been touched in probably twenty years and it's in excellent condition. Very clean. And he shot CORROSIVE ammo through it for years. The surplus ammo was cheap and like I said he was a working man. The bore is in almost pristine condition. I'm very impressed.

So I'm doing my bit for family history and I adding a rifle with some character.
 
This is one of those threads that are aboslutely worthless with out PICS! :)

Especially since I was going to make a move for it. BTW, which shop told you to keep it?
 
ID Shooting.

Little gunshop in Caldwell. I'll try to post photos of it. Keep in mind this is a working man's rifle. For those of you who are into the fancy (i.e. expensive) custom rifles might be disappointed.
 
Checkman,

Of course it is "working man's gun." But it also has a ton of history for you and to me that makes it fancy in it's own regard.

I do agree that you did good by keeping it.
 
Good on you!

To me, it would have been a small tragedy if you had let this slip away. I would have grandpa either write down the history or do a tape recording etc.....We lose more of these great old folks every day and the stories they have to tell about how they lived are lost with them. They have lived through hard times and yet managed to raise families etc.....it is something to know and be proud of.
 
"Working Man's Guns"

Checkman:

You made the right decision. You won't regret it, I'll bet, especially when you have kiddos & their first ceterfire rifle shot is with great-granddad's rifle.

I'd eat shoeleather before I sold my grandpa's guns:
JC Higgins 12ga bolt-action shotgun, 30" bbl, with split forearm
Marlin .22 bolt-action Model (81?), pre-serial number
Savage-Stevens .410 single shot (actually my dad's first shotgun)

Workingman's guns, indeed! Not a monte-carlo stock or jeweled bolt to be seen.
 
I would have grandpa either write down the history or do a tape recording etc.....
Click to expand...

More good advice. I grew up listening to stories from my Grandparents, like most of us. Now, as I get older I find it harder to remember the stories to pass along. I wish I had taken the time to record the verbal history of our family I've lost.
What would a story about time at the hunting camp be worth to a young kid getting ready for his\her first time in one?
 
Rem. 721

In its day, the Rem 721/722 series of bolt-action rifles represented strength, accuracy and value. In your case Checkmate, the rifle has a built-in feature you can't buy in any other gun: an ancestor's rich hunting heritage. You will never regret keeping this rifle in the FAMILY.

If your'e looking for a special "niche" in your battery of scoped rifles you might want to consider taking that old Weaver off and going with the existing irons or adding a good Lyman or Williams peep. Due to the "excessive" drop in the 721's stock, it is more suitable for irons than scopes and I think its a good idea to have at least one spare/back-up rifle around having the advantage of the simplicity and ruggedness afforded by a good set of iron sights.
 
Good job - I have a pair of 721's in 30:06 and 300 H&H - been in family for a 50 plus years now. Plain jane medels - not especially "pretty" rifles but very clean lines - dark wood - fit a big guy well. Clean 'em every year and would never want to part with them.
 
I inherited my 721 recentley from one of my dad's close friends, has the original weaver, k 4 i belive, scope, really a sweet rifle to shoot can't wait to take it up hunting. it's in 30-06, beautiful stock on it too.
 
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