Found an old 1995 Shotgun News today...

Add about 70% a to account for inflation since 1995 to get prices in 2020 dollars.

That was the kitchen table FFL's bible; I used that starting in the 80s..............

I used to stay up late at night reading Shotgun News as a kid.

Ha, its funny that the Springfield M1As were roughly the same price then as now.

$49 for a No4.Mk1......

$179 for a Walther Olympia....

$189 for a M581!!!

I had one of those Norinco Uzis, they only imported them for one year, '95. Mine was a hopeless jam-o-matic.

Funny how some, like the Ruger P-series, could be purchased at almost the same price just 6 months ago.

I loved that publication!

A Colt Anaconda cheaper than a Glock.

I miss KY Imports! It’s a real shame he lost his FFL.

Just remember the median income for a FAMILY, not an individual, in 1995 was just over $34,000/year. It was just under $69,000 in 2019.

NIGHTLORD40K

I used to stay up late at night reading Shotgun News as a kid.

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Me too only I had to wait til my older brother was done reading it because the subscription was in his name! I seem to recall it came three times a month and while I was too young to order anything from an FFL I loved to look at all the ads for Army surplus stuff, especially if it came from Europe. Those were the days!

Ahh. I remember ordering a rolling block back in the day. My sister used her id to buy it and I got a hiding when pops found it and how I had gotten it.

He signed off on the 2 1888 commission rifles I ordered in '97.

My Dad subscribed to Shotgun News...
I do recall paging through those in the Eighties.
Are they still in print?

bannockburn said:

NIGHTLORD40K


Me too only I had to wait til my older brother was done reading it because the subscription was in his name! I seem to recall it came three times a month and while I was too young to order anything from an FFL I loved to look at all the ads for Army surplus stuff, especially if it came from Europe. Those were the days!

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Yep it came so often, I never had time to go all the way through an issue before the next showed up. Bought a lot of guns through that as well as a few distributors' paper catalogs - Nationwide Sports, Buckeye Sports, Jerry's, Ellett brothers and a host of others - mail off the FFL copy and a MO and wait for it to show up.

Sure wish you could still get an L1A1 for $449!!! Fun stuff, thanks for posting that!

Pat Riot said:

Shotgun News was rebranded as Firearms News in 2015. Apparently they still publish 30 magazines a year. I am tempted to subscribe.

I used to learn a lot from the old Shotgun News and the slew of older gun enthusiasts I worked with back in the 90’s as we discussed various ads and guns for sale in that magazine.

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My dad gets them, not bad just about the same as the old ones. Some good articles to.

troy fairweather said:

My dad gets them, not bad just about the same as the old ones. Some good articles to.

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You answered my question.

Shotgun News is still around, but they changed its name to Firearms News a few years back.

Very cool, and thanks for sharing. Sure, the dollar is worth less now, but it doesn't mean its not fun to look at things like this. I have a 1963 shooter's bible I found in an antique store. The original price on the book was $2.95.

That was fun. I made a large order around then through my FFL neighbor and those are the prices that are still “the right price” for those guns in my mind. I wish I’d have bought 20 anacondas and King Cobras though.

Shotgun News used to sponsor a great gun show in Reno back in the 80s; held at the Hilton, the biggest hotel in Reno, it took up two huge rooms with 800+ tables............back when gun shows were worth going to.

Pat Riot said:

My wife was going through some old boxes and she handed me an old Shotgun News from December 1995.

Wow! Some of the prices of things surprised me. I had forgotten how good and how bad some of the prices were 25 years ago.

Here are some photos of a few pages.

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Start of the AWB then with perfect example why it was so dumb. Just look at all those yucky post-ban neutered rifles without bayonets, flash hiders, or normal pistol grips. As cheap as many items look now due to inflation, step back a couple years to 1992/3 would show those 1995 prices were inflated LOL!

Seriously though, looking at the old catalogs is always fun to see what was around then that actually had the popularity to stick with us 25 years later. Many of the pistol designs have been discarded as better polymer ones have overtaken the market.

Well the fact you found that to be”old” Is depressing. I retired in “97”.
I subscribed to that for a few decades. Never bought anything thru it but was a reference for the many gun shows I attended over the years.

illinoisburt said:

Many of the pistol designs have been discarded as better polymer ones have overtaken the market.

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Well, cheaper to manufacturer. Not necessarily better.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

Well, cheaper to manufacturer. Not necessarily better.

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I would argue a current generation G19 or G23 are better designs than a SW5946 9mm or SW4006 popular with police departments back then. Definitely take any duty sized polymer (other than HP) over the old Ruger P-series. Those things ate whatever you fed them but weighed a ton!