If "hind sight is 20-20" What firearm do you kick yourself on for not buying?

Chinese Maks. When I bought one for 99 bucks. SVT rifles when I could buy them for 350.

castile said:

Chinese Maks. When I bought one for 99 bucks. SVT rifles when I could buy them for 350.

Click to expand...

Small local store offered me a crate of 10 new MAK90 with accessories for $750 back in 1992. Wasn't interested enough to care even though I had the cash. I didn't really like shooting my own (short stock, hard to find mags, way less accurate than my SKS) plus these were even uglier with greenish wood thumbhole stocks.

I was very tempted to step back into the AK game in 2005 when the 74s were $269 at Aim Surplus and crates of 545x39 were $135 delivered from ammoman. Sadly I lived 4 hours from my rifle club so I was more focused on trap and handguns I could shoot locally.

(Mostly my regret is because my son got the AK bug a few years ago and I hated to see how much got invested into WASRs and a custom built Romanian 74 after getting burned by Century and JRA.)

Back about 1976 (or so) I bought a Dan Wesson 357 mag. 8in barrel (which I still have) ..Instead of a Colt Python 6in..Now I wish I bought the Colt...

Thinking about all the pending anti gun legislation pending, I wish I bought that Remington 7615 back in the day

I take that back.

Ruger Gunsite Scout.

Neglected to pick one up and in the past year they are going for as much as $1800 at auction and have become extremely sought after and difficult to locate, especially the synthetic stock variety.

More beretta APX's when they were around $250. I should have gotten the FDE one, the carry and centurions.

One that I regret not buying was a 3" Colt Detective Special. The other is a S&W 624 3" with left hand leather (Im left handed).

When SW 432s were being dumped as discontinued, I bought just one for $309. Should have bought two.

A long time ago a ruger old army blued for 225 when my dealer offered me a gold cup for 400.00 A "mutt" of a belt fed NFA 1919 Isreally for 2000 and a full auto nfa AR for 1800 in 91 And old Interarms 30-06 bolt years ago... and many of the HK 91,94's from the eighties for mid 400's

OH and a few of the S&W model 16's! back when they came out!

About 8 years ago I ran across original marlin 39. It was in fantastic condition but very old. I didn’t want to spend the $150 the old guy wanted for it.

#1. Colt Python (original run not new production)
#2. Ruger blackhawk in .357

6" Colt Python

Back in the mid-nineties a buddy and I went to a gun show in Orlando. There was a dealer there with a '92 Winchester in .32-20 with a tang sight (Marbles, if I recall correctly).


Right next to it was a S&W in the same caliber.


Obviously these photos are not the actual guns I saw then. The '92 was in nicer condition! They both had some wear, but most of their bluing was intact, no big scratches, the bores were crisp, the trigger pulls were great. I handled both of them. Lapped the show, stopped and looked at them again, went around the floor once more, looked at them again. My buddy offered to loan me the part I could not come up with, but ultimately I had to walk away. I was living on a security guard's wages then with two room mates and to cover that would have reduced me to ramen for a long time while leaving me with a large debt to pay back which I wasn't sure I could.

Of all the guns I ever walked away from that pair are still my chief regret.

Twenty five or so years later I now have a Henry in .327 Fed Mag, and a SP101 in same, but that pair in Orlando will always be in my mind.

Many years ago I saw a Savage Model 99 in .22 High Power in a pawn shop. It had a box of ammo and a set of reloading dies. The $300 price tag was more than I thought I could afford at the time. Dumb Guy, Dumb Guy!

For me it's not anything I passed up on, but the ones I wish I hadn't sold.

There are so many...a Colt Python with a 6-inch barrel. The SSG-82 a local shop had. A real, live MP5.

Remington Model 600 in 350 Rem. Mag, and a Winchester Model 88 in .358 Win, or a Winchester Model 70 in .458 WM., I know, more than one.....I have lots of regrets! memtb

Many pallets of 1893 Turk mausers and many more UFIXEM MN91s for $7.87 -- shipped!!!!!

In the 1980s I was at a gun show and there was a couple of nice Swedish Mausers for under a hundred dollars. I wasn’t that interested in milsurp bolt actions, didn’t buy one, told a friend and he bought them both.

Nuclear said:

In the 1980s I was at a gun show and there was a couple of nice Swedish Mausers for under a hundred dollars. I wasn’t that interested in milsurp bolt actions, didn’t buy one, told a friend and he bought them both.

Click to expand...

Now you really dregded up another one. Not buying a pallet of Centuries swede 96's at sub $50 each. Nowadays any under $500 is a steal.

1990: I passed on a fully sporterized Gustav Swedish Mauser, complete with hand rubbed walnut stock, for $650. The gunsmith who did the conversions was an old guy who really knew his stuff. How do you spell moron?

There have been quite a few:
In 1975 I bought a new S&W Model 17 for $145. Right next to it was a Colt Diamondback .22 for the same price. I was in college and couldn’t afford both.
I was at an estate auction a couple of years ago. There were over 200 lots, all gun or gun related. I guess word didn’t get around to the gun guys because things were going cheap.
I bought a Marlin 39A, a 1981 Win 94 in 30/30, a 1959 Win 94 in 30/30 and an old Colt 1911.
There was a Win 94 in 7-30 Waters and several Thompson Center Contenders that I wish I had bought (they went cheap) but I figured I had spent enough money that day.
About 10 years ago I was at an estate auction and bought a Marlin Camp 9 for $200.
There was a COP (4 barrel .357) that went for $225 but I didn’t know what it was until later.
Funny thing, I went to auctions at both places several months later and prices were sky high.
I guess word got around.

I remember, back in the day, every gun store had a barrel full if M1 Carbine, Sks, and Enfield for $99.
M1 Garands were $299, 98K's were $299.

If I knew then what I know now!!!

A Belgian Hi-Power that came across the used counter at the store. Guy was selling it to us. We couldn’t take in at a decent price to be able to resell (it would sit too long) and still make the guy happy. I should have given him whatever price so we could take it in and then buy it myself.