Visited my range today to pick up some 22lr and to shoot my MKIV LITE. Upon conversing the used rifle/handgun showcases , that are pretty bare by the way, I noticed a used COLT M1. Price was wait for it.......$30,000. I thought this is a joke right. Turns out the rifle is " Fully Automatic " which supposedly justifies the high price tag. Most expensive firearm I've ever seen. PS - The rifle is there on consignment.
FA can get expensive. Its worth it to someone out here. Not this one. For that price I would rather buy a nice used truck. Or complete a safe room in my house.
Yeppers....expensive. Real cash....bespoke shotguns and double rifles....forget the truck, and talk about a house
Yeah, full auto's get real expensive real quick. How bout a full auto AK for $75K? https://otbfirearms.com/communist-chinese-ak-47-amnesty-registered-7-62x39/
With no new full autos made since 1986 they got real expensive, $30,000 is on the low end. Think about it, 1986 was 34 years ago and no new ones being built that we can buy, only LEO and military.
If they're ever successful at banning semi autos in this country, full autos (illegal ones) will get lots more common and cheaper.
I have a friend I shoot with; he lost a good buddy of his to cancer last year. That guy's wife called my friend to see if he wanted his Fabbri O/U. They used to shoot pigeons together when both lived in Chicago. he got a steal buying it from the widow for $40K. New, after a 5 year wait, is closer to $100K. Such are the things dreams are made of. Don't even look at Peter Hofer's stuff..............some of his guns go from $350K to about $1,000,000..............one of a kinds............
Most pricey gun I ever held was a documented 7th Cav. SAA. Only the upper frame and barrel were original and they still wanted $16k. They got it too.
$30k for a class 3 is a good deal because they're guaranteed to increase in value better than the stock market.
I was only thinking of the hunting guns like: Purdy, H&H, Boss, and the like. Not the highest end competitive guns....
Hofer builds one of a kind hunting guns. Google Peter Hofer "Hummingbird" to see an exquisite double rifle in 22 Hornet that weighs 1Kg - 2.2# and is inlaid with gold etc. amazing workmanship
What exactly is a FA "Colt M1"? Obviously not a Garand, since they are not FA and Colt didn't make any. Nor a Carbine. Perhaps a Thompson? Well, not an M1 Thompson, since they were all made by Savage or Auto Ordnance. That leaves an M1921 or M1928 Thompson, from the original batch of 15,000 made by Colt. $30,000 is a not-unreasonable price for an M1921. Could be even more if it's in excellent condition. Well, no. You can still buy a belt-fed Browning for less than $20,000. The guns that run to $30,000 or more are Colt Thompsons, brand-new-in-the-box Colt M16's, M2HB's, and M60's. You can get a FA M16 aftermarket conversion for $18,000 or less. Nothing is guaranteed. FA guns could drop like a rock if either (a) they get outlawed or (b) the Hughes Amendment is repealed and the artificial scarcity is lifted. Anyone who thinks of FA guns as an "investment" is a fool. Either that, or he's good at justifying his expenditure to his wife. The reason to buy FA guns is because you like them, not because you plan to make a fortune on them.
FA can be an investment. If you get in low and sell high. Bud paid 3K for his Colt way back, sold for 15K. Know several doctors that do Knob Creek and have some spendy toys. How much is an M60 going for nowadays? IIRC back in the Shotgun News they were advertised way back at 3500.
On the subject of expensive firearms, there is a gun store about a 40 minute drive from here in Findlay, Ohio where you can pick any number of shotguns off the shelves in the $30,000 t0 $50,000 range. I have not been there for a while. One of the last times I was there, in the glass showcase was a shotgun in a fitted case with 2 barrels, gold plated screwdrivers, snap caps and few additional plated items but no price. I asked the employee in the corner of the room about the price and he told me $120,000. In the late 70's or early 80's the owner had Purdy make for him 21 shotguns in various gauges all with fine wood and engraving. As a bonus Purdy included a cabinet so that when the two front doors were opened there were 21 shotguns arrayed from left to right all evenly spaced and lit. The case itself was of the finest wood with inlays. I really need to make the drive one of these days.
Well, yes. But the days of "getting in low and selling high" may be over. There are lots of reasons for this, including the general state of the economy, the aging of the demographic which is interested in and can afford to buy these guns, and increasingly long waits for ATF approval. I've made out like a bandit, but I bought before the Hughes Amendment was enacted. Since I had no idea that was coming, my gain was a pure windfall. Windfalls are not "investments." There are various flavors of M60's -- Maremont factory guns, RIA rebuilds, etc. But a starting point seems to be about $35,000. I bought mine for $1,200. ETA: If you set aside the spurious (IMO) "investment" rationale, then the decision process boils down to whether the expected enjoyment is in proportion to the cost. I can see where the enjoyment of owning and shooting a full auto can be worth a couple of thousand. I can't see it being worth 20 or 30 thousand. In that case, I think somebody's priorities are seriously warped. But what do I know? I'm just a frugal person who has led a non-ostentatious lifestyle.
It's funny that the US is the largest legal civilian gun market, but an old AKM is so high due to our laws. You can find that thing all over the globe for $75 without the K. No thanks.
Bob Willman Would that be Jaqua's Fine Guns? I remember seeing their ad in Shotgun News. They had some mighty fine guns back then, well above my pay grade but still fun to look at and dream!
AK's are a special case. Imports of full autos were halted with the Gun Control Act of 1968, so very few bona fide full auto AK's (a handful of Vietnam bringbacks) made it in before then. It's true that semis could have been imported after that, and domestically converted to FA up until May of 1986, but a converted semi isn't nearly as valuable as an original FA. Those are so valuable because they are so rare.
And, it's important to remember that individuals in Military and LE cannot buy post 86 Title II arms. Only Agencies can. The only "individual" that can own post 86 is a museum's incorporation (as a non-corporeal entity).
