the price of a gun today

Texas10mm said:

You can buy three guns and not even break $1,000. Or you can spend $10,000+ on a bespoke 1911.

I know what I was making in 1980, and I know what I make today. In inflation adjusted dollars I'm making 4X more money than I made in 1980. Not bad for a retired guy. I remember what guns cost in 1980 and what the quality was.

Guns today are much less expensive and of better mechanical quality. Just yesterday I saw perfectly serviceable, new, deer rifles for $225. That would be $72 in 1980 dollars. Hell, you couldn't get a NEW bolt gun in 1980 for $225 that I can remember.

Sure, if deep bluing and nice wood is your thing you're going to have to spend more than $225, but you weren't getting nice wood for $225 in 1980 either. Rifles today are leaps and bounds more accurate than rifles in 1980.

Also the sheer number of choices we have today is staggering.

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Correct, my new Rem 700 BDL LH 7mm mag (still have) was $300 plus tax when I bought it in Houston before moving to CO

NIGHTLORD40K said:

I think the most my Dad ever paid for a shotgun was $200. A dusty side-by-side forgotten in the back corner of a small town antique store in the early '90s. He'd never heard of the maker, but he liked the scrollwork and didnt have a double barrel at the time, so he ponied up what he considered an exhorbitant amount.

Turned out to be a Francotte.

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Sure wish I could find those deals! SWEET!

George P said:

Sure wish I could find those deals! SWEET!

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Me too, I never find deals only hear about them. An old friend of mine, regrettably deceased and greatly missed, could find a deal under a rock. I kidded with him one day and said "You could walk along, fall into a septic tank, come out selling like a rose and have a 50 carat diamond stuck in the crack of your butt." Now I have given people some great deals. Negative karma sucks!

FlSwampRat said:

My first Wingmaster cost me $1.50.
A friend's dad owned it and it was all frozen up. $1.00 to replace the firing pin, $.50 to replace the spring that was wound all through the racking mechanism and I had a working shotgun.

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That's how I buy a lot of guns cheap......

George Dickel said:

Me too, I never find deals only hear about them. An old friend of mine, regrettably deceased and greatly missed, could find a deal under a rock. I kidded with him one day and said "You could walk along, fall into a septic tank, come out selling like a rose and have a 50 carat diamond stuck in the crack of your butt." Now I have given people some great deals. Negative karma sucks!

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I'm like that in almost all other aspects of life, but with cars and guns, I can fix 'em, so I keep my ear to the ground and pick up deals. If I had money just sitting around, I could pick up a lot more of them.

Guns aren’t that expensive when you consider the devalued dollars we buy them with. What is true is that some of us are stupid or loose with our money or just have a lot of it to spend.

I live in California & we have "artificially high" gun prices due to our stupid roster of safe guns (https://www.oag.ca.gov/firearms/certified-handguns/search) as a result, I paid just a little over 2K for my P226 X5

357smallbore said:

When I get out and about. And I find myself at my LGS, Cabelas or a place similar. I am just amazed at the price of guns. (ALL GUNS). Today you buy 3 guns and you can have $2k racked up real quick. Without giving away too much. I have many weapons. I'm a 3% 'er for sure. I've been a gun buyer and owner since 1980.
I dont buy cheap junk guns. But I also dont buy the guns that people pay ridiculous amounts for. My question is.... Last gun I bought was 6 months ago. I pretty much shop the auctions online. What is the most you have paid for in buying a handgun, rifle and shotgun?
I have never paid over $350 for any gun. And like I have said, I have some pretty nice ones. Of course they are all shooters.
1. Handgun = $350
2. Rifle = $250
3. Shotgun = $226

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Handgun. 500
Shotgun. 1200
Rifle. 1800

I've also had a great deal of 1-700 dollar guns. Nothing really worked better than the 350-500 dollar gun, the more expensive ones were just nicer, and the cheaper ones less so.

Handgun: $545 Glock 30S ... prior to discovering GSSF
Rifle: $775 "20 HBAR Bushmaster XM15-E2S in Jan'02 ... I have assembled all of the rest for much less/ea.
The two M14 Variants that I built probably cost a bit less and the most that I spent for any of my SVT-40s (next in $$$ line) was $625.
Shotgun: $90? 1970 Mossberg 500A 30"FC ... My HS Graduation Present from M&D. I have only ever needed the one.
O'course, now I also have Dad's 500A 28"MC and the .410 B/A that his granddaddy gave him in the early '30s.

When dove hunting with my Mossberg I always missed on my first shot but never missed on subsequent shots that day. I quickly learned to not shoot them when they were too close in with that 30"FG barrel as it would shred the little buggers. I have always ascribed that 1st Shot Miss to nerves ... then I settled down and got to work.

Pistol - $750

Rifle - $500

Shotgun - $150

Guns are cheaper relative to income today than ever. A gun that sold for $150 in 1970 would cost $1000 in today's money.

Like roscoe mentioned earlier, I am stunned at how much gun you can get for so little money today.
If you have $300, you have a vast choice if decent new guns and a lot of good used guns. For those
with limited budgets, you can get a new, though ugly, Hi Point that has proven to be well worth the money.

Any newly developed gun these days seem to be in the $500 range, by design. The market of CC guns
has produced a fine line of guns under $500 to choose from that most buyers can afford. Also, at these
prices, there are a lot of choices, not 1 or 2 like in the past. The quality, at these prices, is very good as well
with good warranties and service. We are in a golden age of decent and affordable guns. For those who like the Sig P365,
they can be had today for around $500. IMO, that's a lot of gun and quality for relatively little money.

We can buy a decent AR today for ~$400. Back in the day when you had 1 or 2 choices, the price was a lot higher
(comparatively speaking). The line of hunting rifles and quality target rifles has brought the prices down to where the average
guy can afford it without mortgaging his future. Optics may cost about the same but you get 2x or 3x the quality for the
price than not that long ago. When you consider inflation, you have more choices for better quality for the same price.

At my wife's request I keep a list of my guns with an estimated value and the friend or relative I'd like for her to give each to if/when something happens to me. Two of what I consider among my most valuable were inherited but I estimated those in the list.
The most I ever paid for a gun was for a 1911 from 1918 that I bought from the widow of the sailor that brought it home from WW2, a reissue no doubt. I gave her $1000 for it.



The total (and somewhat inflated) value of the list is slightly over $10K

Most expensive handgun: Desert Eagle L5 in 50ae. A splurge when I turned 50 - $1589... one of the very few guns I have bought retail. I bought one of the first ones available... worth every penny.
Second most expensive handgun: Dan Wesson 744 with 8" barrel and scope / mount - $680... and a heck of a deal at that price!

Most expensive rifle: HK-91. $650 used from a friend that was moving back in the 90's.
Second most expensive rifle: Sweedish Ljungman AG42 in pristine shape - $375 back in the 90's.
There is a local Belgum FN-49 in 30-06 in great shape for $1400. I have always wanted one but have been able to resist so far... I should have bought one of the .308 Argentine FN-49's back in the 90's when I had my C&R license and they were going for $350 or so.

I have purchased one shotgun, a Remington 870. $150 used back in the late 80's. I sold it for $200 a couple of years ago when I inherited my fathers Ithica. I have looked at the tactical shotguns and they look like fun but have resisted buying on so far.

As I have gotten older and my collection has grown my tastes have gotten more expensive. I have enough guns to keep me busy... it is hard to shoot every single one of them in a years time. So my buying has gone WAY down, but when I do buy I buy nice guns and I am always price conscious... except the Desert Eagle.

I fall into that discussion on the shrinking mid-class across the board. Prices are still in that range and as mentioned above, CA prices on new is not as easy a choice. The last one was a new HK P2000 that after buying additional mags hit about $1K. Online I'd have saved about $90 which while helpful wasn't that big a motivator since a local purchase supports the shop and economy. Used is nice though I am not on a hunt.

On a tighter financial resources side, shooting sports is out pacing what I'm comfortable spending. I'm cut-off from what I'd like: S&W M&P 9, HK VP9, Sig 320, etc. I don't channel the $ as much in that direction lately.

The problem is are you just counting the initial purchase? Or are we counting the scope, accessories, extension tubes, triggers and whatnot?

Rifle - Noveske Light Reece Basic - Inital cost : $950 - After Trijicon Acog, Geissele trigger, Eagle Tac light, Magpul VFG about $2000



Pistol - Fletcher custom Browning High Power - $1200



Shotgun - Stoeger M3K after extension tube, bracket etc $850 or $900

It's called inflation, or the shrinking dollar.

i have built about 2 custom high end muzzleloaders a year for the past several years and i have to charge a fair stiff price as parts and good wood cost me a lot. even sandpaper is high priced. i make very little but i do it for the fun and the shooters are always very happy with them. i am surprised at how a quality revolver can be even made for 600 to 800 dollars and a decent savage bolt action for the what i think is a low price. i have several uberti colts and they all have gone up in value. also when i get them i go through them and they are good lookers and shooters when im done with them. they are not losing value. they are going up. my ruger lcrs are not cheap to buy, they are worth every nickle i payed or am paying for them. they will last a long time and are very well made. im glad quality is being made and i will pay the price when i save enough for them. the waits is part of the fun. when i get the gun the joy never leaves. if you saw my east deck, it is full of thousands of rounds of 22 long rifle spent casings. you save and save, wait and wait then one day you get a gun that is well made.

Handgun - $750
Rifle - $625
Shotgun - $350

Rifle could be higher if you count the total cost of swapping out stocks and/or other parts.

The most expensive (but not the highest quality)-

S&W 22-4 $650
FAL $600
Mossberg 930 SPX $550

Many have pointed out about inflation-adjusted dollars, but that doesn't account for the radical increase of prices in the used market. It wasn't that long ago that I was regularly finding minty S&W revolvers, Winchester lever-actions, and postwar Walther PPs and P-1s, all in the $250 range. I wish I'd bought more of them and kept all of the ones I did buy.

I have a $1500 Benelli shotgun that is worthless to me as a tool for what I use a shotgun for . But I bought this little sucker and worth it's weight in Gold for the task I ask of it. Weighs 4 1/2 lbs, solid as a Rock and cost $150.00.
18" barrel. Accepts Benelli chokes.Fiber optic sight., Shoots Buckshot dead on.
But the gun does not stop at Buck Shot. Will Shoot 9mm..22.rimfire and a host of other rounds.Just ordered a 20ga adapter to see how well that shoots.
Find the right tool, do some shopping and there are Gems out there in the Firearms world.
(also bought a second one with a 24" barrel, drilled and mounted with a scope base)

-I think that I just found a replacement for my old Topper... .