Best Gun Store Purchase Surprise?

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Made one this past Saturday

I got a pretty good deal from a small shop across the border in South Carolina (I live in Charlotte, NC). I was in the week before a spotted a JC Higgins .410 bolt action shotgun on the rack. It was something different and I was kind of interested. The price tag on it was $139.99.

I did a little research and found that $139.99 was a bit steep for a JC Higgins gun (it was made by Savage and Sears put their own brand name on it), especially since the bolt handle was a little pitted and the wood showed some wear and tear. However, it would make a good shooter.

I went back in this past Saturday and was making small talk with the owner's brother who was minding the store, and mentioned my interest in the shotgun. I asked if their was any wiggle room on the price and he called his brother. I was prepared to do some haggling as I was not going to pay anymore than $100 for a JC Higgins shotgun. As soon as he hung up the phone, he said $100. I quickly said deal and had myself a nice little .410.

When I was buying the gun the owner came back and he said as he watched me buy it: "You know, now that I think about it, I'm kinda sorry I sold that little gun." The owner's brother said something to the same effect.

Looks like they had some of that seller's remorse mentioned in one of the earliest posts. $100 might have been on the high end for a JC Higgins shotgun but anytime I get a good shooting gun for $100 in decent condition, I consider that a deal.
 
Last year I picked up an almost un-fired SP101 3" in .357 for $300. Stopped by a local pawn shop I sometimes do business with saw it and asked to see it. Guy behind the counter explained that the guy who brought it in bought it, fired a box through it, didn't like it and put it on his closet shelf. He got into a jam and thats why he sold it to him. I believed the guy 100% as the barrel looked new from the factory and it still had the factory oil on the frame. It even had the price tag on the box from where the guy bought it back in '02 for $358 from Davi's (Raleigh,NC). It sure is one good shootin' gun.
 
Drug to yard sale by wife. She's looking a t material and patterns when the man of the house brings out a gun case with a NEF 12 gauge inside. Got a few rust freckles but looks good.

How much says I ?
$25 says he.

Little 0000 steel wool and oil and looks like new.
 
About 2 weeks ago I got a Like-New-In-Box CZ Sp-01 Tactical that was on consignment at my local shop, it was $395 out the door. The guy said it had sat there for about 2 weeks, but I was pretty sure that it was a steal even though I knew nothing about CZ's. Turns out they are tough to find right now and sell for 500-550. Not a smashing deal by any means, but I was pretty proud of myself :)

Got an Intrac MKII in 5.45x39 (basically the much nicer forerunner to the Romanian WASR-2) from a local shop for $300 bucks, because "nobody could find the wierd ammo it shoots". I just watched one sell on another site for around $600 bucks.

Got a Maverick 88 Home Defense shotgun for $75 from a guy who needed the cash. It was in great shape and came with like 3 different stocks: Top-Folding, Pistol-Gripped rifle stock, and Pistol Grip only. I looked online and the folding stock alone sells for about 55 bucks.

Thats all the luck Ive had so far :)
 
I had laid away 3 guns at my shop and then came into some money (lucky button push on a lotto machine) and went to happily pick them up. When I got there and one of the fellas was getting the paper work sorted, I noticed the then new Smith Sigma's, it was wearing a 249 dollar price tag which I thought was a mistake for a new smith. When the clerk came up with my boxes and I asked about them, he said you like those? I responded that I hadn't had a smith yet that didn't at least work. He said here, take one. Gave me a Sigma 9mm like a buy 3 get one free.
The sigma was no beauty queen and I have since sold it to a friend who was just getting into the sport and was on a tight budget. He still has it and has assigned it to bedstand duty.
 
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I got a lightly used S&W 1066 for $200 because the fellow behind the counter said "its broken the slide won't stay back" turns out it was just the mag follower.

A guy at work brought me back a 5 gallon bucket of shotgun shells and "gun parts" from his vacation. he paid $35 for it and wouldn't accept money because I had helped him around his house. Turns out it was about 8 or 9 boxes of BB T and 000. The better part is the gun parts was a whole Izzy marked 1919a4 less the right side plate. I ordered a plate but once I had started piecing it together my wife flipped, she realized what it was and what the ammo costs were going to look like. I sold it and end up with a cetme instead.
 
deals

Well, gotta say the best find was a box full of 1911 parts, three sistemas complete only apart and one ballester riguad,
I still have them, shoot them and fondle them,
50 bucks at the sale,
I felt like a thief, but only for a minute or two.
 
A few weeks back I was at a friends house shooting when his brother
shows me a Mini 14. He said it's for sale for $250. She came right home with me. I'm not a fan of Ruger mini's so I knew it was going to be
used as trade fodder. This past Saturday a friend and I hit a small shop
and I traded the Mini for a very nice Chi-Com SKS and $200.
I might have been able to do better,but was happy to add another SKS
to the collection for $50.
 
A few years ago I started talking with a co-worker who was really into guns. All I had personally at that point was a Remington .22 that was passed down from my Dad, and I really didn't have any interest in anything other than knocking cans over once or twice a year. He was in the market for his latest AR, but his girlfriend was kind of running out of closet space and patience, so he had to "dispose", her word, of something before he could buy another gun.
All he could bear to part with was a Mosin, an M44 to be precise. He sold it to me for TWENTY BUCKS, with an option to buy it back in 6 months for double that. I kept it in the back of my closet all winter, and with about a week to go, I finally got around to buying some ammo and went back behind the parents house to finally fire it. An hour later, I had burned through 100 rounds, my shoulder was a single massive bruise, and I had a raging case of Mosin-itis.
I didn't know it at the time, but my first Mosin turns out to be one of the rarer M44 variants. She's a '44 Tula, and until I finally get a '43, she's the queen of my 11 Mosins.

I also picked up one of the myriad variants of the Mossberg 20ga. bolt-action shotguns, $35 out the door thanks to a thoroughly locked up variable choke and a hard bolt. It spent a week muzzle-down in motor oil, and worked perfectly after pulling it out and cleaning it. The bolt problem was simply lack of cleaning. I used it three or four times for shooting skeet with friends, and they laughed at it until they realized that I could get three rounds off bolt-action in about the same time that some of them took to run a pair through with pumps. I had to sell it when a job got pulled out from under me and funds ran low. I still miss that little thing....
 
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Not a shop, but a flea market. And I still didn't know what I had until THR finally identified it for me.

My dad's been a flea market dealer since I was tiny. So, naturally, I grew up in the environment.

A few years back, he was a partner in a local flea market and the snack bar folks quit. So the wife and I took it over on the weekends and made a couple hundred extra bucks each.

Everybody got to know us there real well.

I had sold my only .22 a couple of years before and my dad told me a lady had a .22 on her table for 50 bucks, but he thought it was broken.

So after we closed for the day, the wife and I went to check it out.

Keep in mind I didn't know what it was, and the story I got from the lady was that it set in the corner of her grandpa's house when she was a kid. She was in her late 40's early 50's.

The .22 was in 2 pieces, I didn't know what it was, and really didn't know what a two piece rifle looked like. So we wheeled and dealed and she sold it to me for 40 dollars.

The next day I went back and bought the other rifle she had on the table. She had 85 on it an we dealt down to 65 because she wasn't sure of the caliber, 8mm something or other. She said someone was coming to buy it, but I convinced her that 65 now is worth more than 65 invisible dollars that weren't here.

To reassure that I pass on the wealth and karma.

The .22 is a J.H. Stevens Model 16 Crackshot. From what I've been told, they're aren't many Model 16's left in the world that work, and if they do, they aren't original. This one is flawless and all original.

It stays in the safe now, but it was a fun plinker when I thought it was a model 26.

The 8mm something or other was a military styled rifle and I couldn't find any info on it. I took it to the local shop and he identified it as a French Lebel 1892 and told me it was worth about 50 bucks.

So to share the wealth, I was on a kick and wanted a Mosin. So I went to a gunshow with the lebel looking for someone to trade a mosin. None of the dealers wanted to trade. So I bought 2 91/30's.

Still walking around the show, a guy stopped and asked what it was that I had. We spoke for a little and he asked what I wanted for it. I told him I wanted a mosin. He said he would trade if I could meet him at his house later that afternoon. He said he had a case in his manroom and would swap one to me for it.

Low and behold, I get to his house a few hours later. He opens a fresh case of M44's and tells me to pick one out. So I do, he cleans the cosmoline out and tells me to test fire it a see if I like it. I do.

So, just as human nature, we chat for about an hour and he asked me where I got the lebel. I told him I bought it at a flea market a couple of months earlier. He asked if it was from a lady at the flea market I was working at. I discovered he was the guy that was coming to buy the lebel. He had seen it and only had 50 bucks on him. The closest atm machine to this particular flea market was about 20 minutes away. So while he was gone, he didn't leave a deposit and I scored the lebel.

Mosin M4 worth 100 or so
8mm Lebel 1892 300 or so
Local gun shop, lie straight to your face to make a buck.
 
A week ago i picked up a Ruger Redhawk .44Mag with the adjustable rear sight and scope rings for $275. Seems to have been used very little. It has by far the smoothest trigger of any revolver I've ever fired. In DA the trigger feels like a 4lb trigger.

Last month I picked up a Savage Mark II in .17hm2 for $60. I've spent about $80 on a bi-pod, sling mount studs and a killer deal on a bushnell scope on closeout and have a tack driver for under $150.

Lastly I got a Mossberg 590 with heat shield speedfeed stock, hi-viz fiber optic front sight, and receiver scope mount, 50 rnds of 00 and 25 000 for $300
 
last week i scored a Factory ruger Stainless mini 14 folding stock for $175!! The thing is in mint condition and it was in their bargain box!! I paid and ran!

Travis
 
Just this month I found a lovely 1980 SW Model 27-2 for $450. Aside from a faint turn-ring on the cylinder there is no wear whatsoever. Not the greatest deal here, but a good buy for that weapon in particular.
 
Working in Florida about 5 years ago at my dads campground i saw one of the old folks walking to his truck with a shotgun. I asked if he was going shooting and he said Nope! Going to turn this in at the PD as i am to old to have guns around and i have no kids! I asked if i could buy it and offered him $100 to save a trip. Got a beautiful original model 11 Remington Automatic circa 1942!!! The sad thing is the day before he turned 11 handguns in to the PD. He was a retired Navy Senior Chief and i don't even want to know what he gave away........................
 
I'm at the local Sport Authority, back when they were called Garts. This was about a year or two ago. They had all of their handguns marked 20% off, and in the case was an un-molested Browning Hi Power MK III 9mm with zero scratches or wear marks typical of excessive handling at said store. Scored it for around $480 bucks. Still have it.
 
Had a buddy come in to town to visit and blew a head gasket & needed 150.00 to get it fixed. He offered 3 old guns in the trunk to me for the 150 and after he popped the trunk, I couldn't get him paid fast enough. I was wanting either a Rem 870 Wingmaster or a Marlin 30-30 for christmas and here they both were and also a Marlin 12ga bolt gun. The wingmaster was made i nthe early 70's and the 30-30 was a Marlin 30AS. Took all 3 of them for 150 and you couldn't get the grin off of my face with a stick for a long time. :neener:

Walked into a local toy store and told the owner I needed a carry piece. He pulled out an Astra A-100 in 9mm for 389+ and he got talked down to 300 OTD for it with 2 mags. I felt real good about that and even better after I fired it. It seems to love shooting 7.62x54 brass at 65'. :)
 
Years ago, before I was married and still had extra cash left over from payday for some new toys, I read a magazine article about a new and improved Browning Hi-Power that was being made. Finally a P-35 with decent high visibility sights, a well designed ambi safety, and a great trigger pull right out of the box. So on my day off, I drove down to a big firearms dealer/distributor about 2 1/2 hours away; the reason being was that at the time, they operated a small store front operation for retail sales. I got down there and sure enough, they had this new Hi-Power that I had just read about. At the time, I think the factory retail price was around $399. Looked at the one in the display case: Dealer Price-$284.50. Okay, so I figured I'd pay something close to the $399 retail price; hopefully a little less because everything else in the place was discounted already. Just hoping for the best. Tell the salesperson I'll take, and they proceed to write up the sale at the Dealer Price of $284.50!!! Now I never pretended to be an FFL and I wasn't about to argue about the price, so I walked out of there with this beautiful Hi-Power at an incredible price. Best deal I ever made, so far!
 
OK. I can't come close to some of these stories but with my last purchase a sling,mag and rifle case were included to my suprise. Doesn't take much to make me happy!!
 
couple months ago scored a cetme sporter .308 w/2 mags for free. someone took it apart and could not get it together. shop owner said it was mine if i could assemble it. someone did not realize that with the two peice bolt, that it needed to calked inorder for rollers to retract to put back into receiver. i could see someone hammered it trying to force it home. stone and files work well, and so does a 600 dollar weapon.
Then the same shop owner showed me a hakim rifle. asked to to make an offer. Uhmmmmm, $75, sold and out the door. :what:

once in a lifetime offer :D could not pass up.
 
My best after purchase surprise is a SIG 226 I bought new a year ago. Gander Mountain had it clearance priced $400.00. It was chambered for .357 SIG and had been in the case for two years. The surprise was that 2 months later I learned that SIG had a $100.00 rebate offer. So for $300.00 I got a gun that they had originally priced at $800.00. For another $150.00 for a .40 barrel it will shoot 2 calibers.
 
It was way back in the fall...of 19 and 93, I reckon...

...that I saw an add in the local paper: "For sale - Ruger Mini-14GBF and Colt SP-1 Carbine. Serious inquiries only. Phone number."

I called the guy. Turns out he lived about 45 miles away and wouldn't discuss the guns at all other than to tell me they were basically in new condition and as advertised, all original. He said if I was serious I could come to his place and take a look as other folks were also on the way. Bring cash, he said. I told him "have a nice day" and hung up the phone. Thought, "Awww, what the hell?", called him back and got directions. I really wanted the Mini and knew the Colt was outta my reach financially. I scrounged up 5 $100 bills and headed out.

I got to his house and found both guns to be not only exactly what he said they were, but NIB w/original sales receipts. Now, keep in mind this was 93. I asked what he wanted for the Mini and he said, "I've gotta have $450..." when I interrupted him. I said I thought that was a little much for the Mini. What he said next just floored me:

"No, you don't understand. If I don't have $450 by tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock I'm going to jail because I can't pay a DUI fine. I want $450 cash for both of them right now. There's another guy on the way from Denver if you're not interested."

I actually gave the guy the 5 $100 bills I had and told him to keep the change (he didn't have $50 and I WAS NOT gonna lose this deal over $50!). As I left with my new guns I thought to myself, "Man...I love our justice system!"

A few years later during the AWB I sold that Colt for $2400 on GunBroker. I sold the Mini for about $600 if I recall correctly but I had replaced the folder with a standard wood stock. Sold the folding stock for about $375 about 5 years ago.
 
Bailey, thanks for keeping me out of jail. When that other guy from Denver got to my place, he was a little upset. Glad to hear you made out alright.
 
Bailey, thanks for keeping me out of jail. When that other guy from Denver got to my place, he was a little upset. Glad to hear you made out alright.
Click to expand...

:D

I thought you looked familiar!
 
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