Your most 'interesting' gun purchase

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electricfactory

electricfactory

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I'm still shaking my head over this one. Last night I found a nice and early M1861 revolver online at a purveyors site which I decided I couldn't live without.( it's in the blackpowder forum) I called the place and spoke to the owner, we had a very pleasant and lengthy chat and I told him that as we were just sitting down to dinner that I'd call him after dinner to arrange payment, shipping etc. We negotiated a price a little less than what he had it listed for and all was well. He said no problem and I called him after dinner as promised. No answer. Oh well I thought, no problem, people are busy. I left a nice phone message, thanked him again and asked him to cal me back at his convenience.
This morning I was mildly surprised to have gotten no reply either to my VM or email. No problem I said to myself, folks are busy, I'll call him early this afternoon. And so I did so and that's where this story turns south.
I called, 'Hello Mr _____, it's me Jon from last night!' I reminded him of our agreement and asked if he'd received my info that I emailed. He replied, ' I don't know, I'm too busy!' I reminded him of our nice chat. He told me he never spoke to me before ( !! ) and frankly sounded very annoyed. Completely nonplussed I stammered, ' but Mr _____, don't you remember our chat and talk about the gun??' He told me he never spoke to me, must've been someone else. If I wanted the gun it would be at the listed price- and then hung up on me!
I was driving during this exchange and was so unnerved I had to pull over and collect my thoughts. Had I called the wrong place ? Had I spoken to an entirely different person ? After cross checking the contact numbers and online listing I confirmed that this was the number I called and the outfit which was in fact selling the gun. A couple of deep breaths later I called him back, very politely told him I still wanted it and would he be able to ship today or tomorrow.
Still sounding annoyed he mumbled something about maybe next TUES and I left it at that. I considered calling the whole thing off as I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. As the gun was a kind of one-of-a-kind I decided to instead to move forward. But I'll never call this guy again.This was absolutely the strangest exchange i've ever had in making an online purchase of anything.
How about you- what's your strangest gun purchase, online or otherwise ?
 
electricfactory said:
How about you- what's your strangest gun purchase, online or otherwise ?
Click to expand...
I guess it would have to be the Shiloh-Sharps 45-110 (Quigley's rifle) my wife ordered for me for our 25th anniversary. Because it wasn't that long after the movie, "Quigley Down Under" came out, Shiloh Rifle Company had a 2 to 3 year backlog on rifle orders. So I didn't actually get my 25th wedding anniversary gift until after our 27th wedding anniversary.
It was nice though - our youngest daughter was living in Missoula by then, so my wife and I drove up to Big Timber, Montana and picked up my rifle, then we drove over to Missoula and visited our daughter for a day or two.:)
 
I'd stopped at a estate/yard sale a while back and a fella in his 60's was selling off his father's collection. He had about 30 guns out there with no price tags. I'd told my buddy who owns a gun shop about it, and he sent money with me in case I was able to make a good bundle. There were no collectibles and most weren't in "nice" condition, but all were useable.
I told him I may buy several if the deal was right and he replied that would be great. Then proceeded to price everything at 100%+ Blue Book value. I only use the BB as a reference, so it wasn't a big deal but surprising. Then when I'd try to bundle 3or 4 together, his prices would change.

Me " If I take this, this and this, would you do $600?"
Him "No way, I have $450 on that one!"
Me "you just told me $300 2 minutes ago"
Him "No, I'd never sell a Mossberg 500 for $300"
Me "You're probably right"

I did end up picking up a few beat up old cheapies though, but didn't invest any of my buddy's money. Hardest guy I've ever dealt with.
 
My good Friend and former LEO partner called me about a neighbor selling two "Old Rifles." My Friend is not a gun guy and all he was sure of was they were .22's. I drove over and this nice elderly lady said I could have the two Mossberg 151 (a)'s for $20.00! They were needing a cleaning and had some minor rust, but both were equipped those front sights with multiple post's and those micrometer like receiver rear sights. I gave her $80.00 and still felt like I was robbing her! Mossberg 2.jpg Mossberg.jpg
 
A 14ga Martini/Greener Egyptian Police shotgun for 79.00 bucks from Sportsmens Guide. Yeah it,s a uncommon gauge and they had the triple/trident firing pin so they were useless. BUT!!! Mine was the early version, standard FP, that takes a regular 14ga shell. Guess what? 16ga shells wrapped with 2" masking tape fit and eject fine. Odd but fun.
 
An elderly lady walked into my buddies shop while we were having lunch with a package wrapped in an old kitchen rag.

"My husband said to give this to you when he died," she said, and walked back out.

He unwrapped the bundle, took a quick look between bites, and slid it across the counter at me. "$50 if yer interested," he said. "Save me the trouble of booking it in."

Inside was a rough, but functional .32-20 M&P in need of some serious TLC. I slid him a $50 and we finished our lunch.
20191019_003208.jpg
(After resto.)

"Ok, now that youre on the hook, just so happen Ive got six boxes of ammo for that thing around here somewhere....." he said, shuffling to the back of the shop.

Dang, he got me, I thought as I fished out my wallet again.:D
 
Several years ago, I picked up a local classifieds paper and was glancing thru it about 8:00 at night. An ad caught my eye that said “yard sale with guns for sale”.
I called the guy and he had several that I wanted at great prices. I asked him if I could come over that night and he said it was kinda late. I asked if I could come over the next day about 6:30 am on the way to work and he said that was too early.
Then he said he would hold them for me and I said great, I’ll see you at noon.
I went out there on my lunch break, the guns were sold and the guy acted like he had never talked to me.
 
Early 80's. I used to often run through a well known Pawn place. The owners knew I had a thing for Mil Surp 1911's that were often showing up then. One owners tells me he has one. Pulls pistol out it's a nice 1911 but commercial. I don't think the guy really knew the difference until I pointed it out. Price was $300. At that time a NIB 70 Series ran about $400. I told him if he would take $250 I would buy, he said yes. I get it home and look it up, was made in the early 30's. Blue was still in amazing shape. Had to have spent life in some drawer. Took it to next show and some guy who just had to have it paid me over twice what it cost me out the door. It made me wonder how much the pawn place had paid someone for the damn thing.
 
I worked part time at LGS. Guy comes in with what appeared to be a very, very old long gun. Blunderbuss style. Wanted to sell it for maybe $1,500 cash. Don’t remember. I had no idea what it was worth.

Pre Internet days.
 
Got a R700V 308,26" barrel in the HS stock and two halfway decent scopes. Bought over the phone from a friend of a friend who was in a nasty divorce...... hey,he called me. Think,a cpl weekends of hard beer drinking monies.

Another,"you're goin to H*** for that deal" was a #14 Smith that the guy bought thinking it was a 357.

Have lots more. But have even BETTER stories about machine equipment. 600$ Bridgeport,with tooling. Got a 14" Clausing lathe for hauling it away. A Wade 8A lathe(rare,nicer than a Hardinge) for beer monies..... sheet,I could go on all day about cheap guns and equipment.
 
I’ve mentioned the Redhawk purchase before but I guess it is sort of an odd story so it fits here, too.

A few years ago I went to a police-oriented gun store in LA County looking to buy a couple more Ruger mini-14 mags when I saw a bunch of hunting rifles and big handguns up on the wall behind the counter. The two that caught my eye were a Win Mod 70 Featherweight in 7x57 tagged for $850 and a CZ 550 in 6.5x55 for $800, both very clean (almost unfired?) and topped with Leupold glass.

I asked a clerk why they were in there, since the only long guns in this store were AR pattern patrol guns, sniper type bolts and patrol shotguns. He got the manager.

The manager said that they have been sitting there for quite a while, as a local resident was convicted in a domestic violence incident and was ordered by a Judge to dispose of his firearms. Instead of turning them into the local authorities for destruction, he consigned them all at this police-oriented shop to pay his legal bills.

I filled my magazine need, left the store and thought about buying one of those rifles. I returned about a week later and everything that was there before was still up on the wall.

Clearly none of the usual shoppers there knew what they were looking at, they go in for the latest plastic pistol or operator-grade rifle. Knowing this, I offered the manager $500 bucks for the CZ rifle/scope. The manager left to make a phone call, presumably to the seller, then returned with the paperwork as I grabbed my MasterCard.

Also on the wall was a 7.5” Redhawk .41 Mag and a 7.5” SRH in .480 Ruger. Both Redhawks had a $650 tag on them. I left those untouched because I had just bought the rifle.

I was thinking about the Redhawks, but I have a 6.5” 629 and a 7.5” SRH .454, so these really duplicated what I already have... but I didn’t have a .41 Magnum.

I returned after the mandated 10-day wait to pick up the rifle... the Redhawks were still there. A sign?

I called two weeks later... both were still there. Indeed, a sign!

I drove back the following week and offered $350 for the .41. The manager didn’t even make a call, he brought out the paperwork and I got out the Visa.

By the time I picked up the .41 (10-day wait again) I was told one of the staff had bought the .480 and another one the 7x57.

Stay safe.
 
Riomouse911 said:
I’ve mentioned the Redhawk purchase before but I guess it is sort of an odd story so it fits here, too.

A few years ago I went to a police-oriented gun store in LA County looking to buy a couple more Ruger mini-14 mags when I saw a bunch of hunting rifles and big handguns up on the wall behind the counter. The two that caught my eye were a Win Mod 70 Featherweight in 7x57 tagged for $850 and a CZ 550 in 6.5x55 for $800, both very clean (almost unfired?) and topped with Leupold glass.

I asked a clerk why they were in there, since the only long guns in this store were AR pattern patrol guns, sniper type bolts and patrol shotguns. He got the manager.

The manager said that they have been sitting there for quite a while, as a local resident was convicted in a domestic violence incident and was ordered by a Judge to dispose of his firearms. Instead of turning them into the local authorities for destruction, he consigned them all at this police-oriented shop to pay his legal bills.

I filled my magazine need, left the store and thought about buying one of those rifles. I returned about a week later and everything that was there before was still up on the wall.

Clearly none of the usual shoppers there knew what they were looking at, they go in for the latest plastic pistol or operator-grade rifle. Knowing this, I offered the manager $500 bucks for the CZ rifle/scope. The manager left to make a phone call, presumably to the seller, then returned with the paperwork as I grabbed my MasterCard.

Also on the wall was a 7.5” Redhawk .41 Mag and a 7.5” SRH in .480 Ruger. Both Redhawks had a $650 tag on them. I left those untouched because I had just bought the rifle.

I was thinking about the Redhawks, but I have a 6.5” 629 and a 7.5” SRH .454, so these really duplicated what I already have... but I didn’t have a .41 Magnum.

I returned after the mandated 10-day wait to pick up the rifle... the Redhawks were still there. A sign?

I called two weeks later... both were still there. Indeed, a sign!

I drove back the following week and offered $350 for the .41. The manager didn’t even make a call, he brought out the paperwork and I got out the Visa.

By the time I picked up the .41 (10-day wait again) I was told one of the staff had bought the .480 and another one the 7x57.

Stay safe.
Click to expand...
A .41 Redhawk for $350?! :eek::what::thumbup:
 
I bought an FNC for $300 without a magazine (they use AR15 mags.) Found it in a pawn shop. Guy at the counter thought it was a Daewoo. I didn't have the heart to tell him. I held a poker face and bought it.
 
I was scanning used Ruger case the local Cabela's and a .22 Mk II 5 1/2" Target for $425 caught my eye. Something was different about it, so based on my suspicions, I noted the serial number and left to do some homework. I came later with my best poker face and asked to see the gun and box...

Serial number in correct range- CHECK
Black emblem grips- CHECK
Blackened stainless finish- CHECK
Special letter from Ruger in the box- CHECK

I told them I wanted it, so the buying process began with me just saying I wanted a good Mk II and that one seemed nice.

What I actually purchased was one of 80-something guns of the contract overrun of the weapons custom built for the SEALs in the mid-80's. Cabela's completely missed what had they had, and priced it like a "normal" NIB Mk II.

Example shown in this thread...

https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=335496

They are pretty cool looking.
 
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Went to an after-hours party with two friends of mine, one that knew the guy holding the party, and one other. After an hour or so, the guy knowing the host left, so I and a buddy are still there, knowing no one else. A crap game breaks out, and money starts moving. A good amount of it my way. Some dude is having a tough streak of luck. Tosses out a Baby Browning .25 auto asking who'll cover it for $100. Coulda heard a pin drop. I offered $75 cash, figuring at least I was in control of it, and getting it off the table. Told the guy it was his for the $75 if he wanted it back at the end of the night. His luck never turned, so needless to say, it went home with me. I actually had a pretty good night in addition, so I was glad I had it for multiple reasons.
 
armedwalleye said:
Went to an after-hours party with two friends of mine, one that knew the guy holding the party, and one other. After an hour or so, the guy knowing the host left, so I and a buddy are still there, knowing no one else. A crap game breaks out, and money starts moving. A good amount of it my way. Some dude is having a tough streak of luck. Tosses out a Baby Browning .25 auto asking who'll cover it for $100. Coulda heard a pin drop. I offered $75 cash, figuring at least I was in control of it, and getting it off the table. Told the guy it was his for the $75 if he wanted it back at the end of the night. His luck never turned, so needless to say, it went home with me. I actually had a pretty good night in addition, so I was glad I had it for multiple reasons.
Click to expand...

That's awesome, and I like and subscribe to your comment/gesture, "I offered $75 cash, figuring at least I was in control of it, and getting it off the table."
 
My most... interesting... was recently. I had listed my Taurus m327 for trade with a pile of ammo worth more than the gun. Being as ammo is few and far between I figured it would give me a solid leg up for negotiation including nearly 1000 rounds of good and premium ammo. I had one guy realistically interested and he was seriously interested. Offered a few higher end toys for trade that I just didn’t have much interest in but I bit on an unfired Chiappa Rhino .357. The Taurus is a $350 gun, and the ammo was a solid $400. Dude was willing to drive 3 hours from the opposite end of the state too. Seemed very odd that he was THAT interested in my gun. Turned out he had one before and sold it, regretted it. At the time the gun I got was selling for $1000 on Gunbroker because they are in super short supply.
 
I wish that I could get into my old computer for pictures but alas, it crashed. I bought a rifle from an individual at a gun show that was absolutely unique. It was German mauser 22RF single shot training rifle that had been sporterised in the old 1950's fashion. The stock had a shadowline cheek piece, rosewood pistol grip cap and forearm tip. There was black diamond inlay under the forearm, bottom of the grip cap and on the side of the buttstock. The checkering was 20 lines per inch and was flawless. The skeleton buttplate was blued steel with the center wood checkered. Metal finish was immaculate with the receiver drilled and tapped and wearing a 2 1/2X Weaver. Some of the best workmanship that I have ever seen. I bought it for $500, kept it several years and sold it for $1000 online. Definitely a one-of a kind rifle.
 
The time I walked into a small LGS I'd been in just enough for the owner to remember my name. He points at me as soon as I walk in and says "there's the guy you need to talk to. I bet he'll buy your shotgun"
I glanced around and another customer speaks up "any interest in buying a Mossberg 500?"
I reply that it's June, so it would have to be cheap
12 gauge, decent shape...ribbed barrel and rifled slug barrel.
He says $100, I said $75, he says sold. Paid the man and he left. Less than 2 minutes after I walked in.
Owner looks at me and says "Man, if I knew he'd sell it that cheap I woulda bought it"
"Well, you shoulda asked"
 
.455_Hunter said:
I was scanning used Ruger case the local Cabela's and a .22 Mk II 5 1/2" Target for $425 caught my eye. Something was different about it, so based on my suspicions, I noted the serial number and left to do some homework. I came later with my best poker face and asked to see the gun and box...

Serial number in correct range- CHECK
Black emblem grips- CHECK
Blackened stainless finish- CHECK
Special letter from Ruger in the box- CHECK

I told them I wanted it, so the buying process began with me just saying I wanted a good Mk II and that one seemed nice.

What I actually purchased was one of 89 guns of the contract overrun of the weapons custom built for the SEALs in the mid-80's. Cabela's completely missed what had they had, and priced it like a "normal" NIB Mk II.
Click to expand...
Gotta love a deal like that.
 
There was also the community yard sale in a subdivision in Columbus, OH. Guy had a couple old shotguns against the wall "behind the counter".
I asked if they were for sale and they were. Asked how much and he said $80. Before I had a chance to reply, his wife says $60. I said I'll take them, get money out of my pocket and ask if they have change for $100. Thinking it was $60 each, I handed her $200. Wife says "you gave me too much" , and handed me back $140.

Carried them about a half a block before I realized how it may appear, so I stuck them in the stroller and carried the kid the rest of the way to where I'd parked.
 
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