Fair price for a S&W Mountain Gun in 45 Colt

[TomJ]

I'm selling my stainless S&W Mountain Gun to help fund another purchase. It's a 625-6 in very good condition, but it has been used. I'm seeing them listed for $1000 or more on Armslist and Gunbroker. I'd like to get a fair price for it but am not looking to take advantage of anyone. Is $1000 really the going price for these or is that high?

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

How many rounds through it and do you have the box and paperwork?

Todd.

 

[ThomasT]

To see what a gun is really selling for log in to GB and go to the advanced search and see what your gun sold for in the last 30 days.

Your gun may bring a $1000 but for me personally around $750 would be the limit mainly because I just don't really want one. But if someone had one for sale and wanted me to offer something for it that would be my limit. I am known for buying guns so get offered guns ever once in a while. If the price is right I will buy them no matter if I really want it or not. And if the seller is desperate for money I will agree to sell it back to them in 3 months for the same amount I paid for it if the price I paid was below its real value.

 

[TomJ]

How many rounds through it and do you have the box and paperwork?

Todd.

I bought it used so I’m not sure how many rounds. I have the box.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I bought it used so I’m not sure how many rounds. I have the box.

I wouldn't likely let it go below 850 so closer to 1,000 sounds reasonable for a fella wanting a Mountain Gun in .45.

S&W currently only offers a 4 inch 629 in .44 as the closest thing to your MG and it's never known whether S&W will make them again until they do and then you have to jump quickly.

I don't think asking $1,000 is unreasonable at all if it is in very, very good shape. If they DO make them again it'll probably be as a *dash* (whatever they're up to) and thus, likely have the two piece barrel which will go in your favor with a -6 gun as far as pricing.

Todd.

 

[ThomasT]

Here is the page from GB for guns like yours that sold in the last 30 days. One gun sold to a first time buyer for $1225 and he was the only bidder. A second gun sold for $805. None of the rest sold.

Well never mind. It wouldn't let me post the link. There were a couple of listings at $1,050 with no bidders and $1100 and $1119 with no bidders. So it looks like your $1,000 asking price is at the top of what the market will pay. If it pays that. Hope this helps.

Remember just because you see them listed for a certain price doesn't mean they sold for that price.

 

[Riomouse911]

^^ That’s the key. Just because they’re all listed for 1K doesn’t mean they’re all selling for 1K.

As much as people hate reserve or minimum bid auctions, you could list it as a penny-start with your bare minimum as the reserve... or put your bare minimum as the starting price and see if it goes up from there.

I paid $625 for my used, no box 629 MG about eight years ago, I can see $800-$850 being easy to reach for a 625 MG.

Stay safe.

 

[ThomasT]

you could list it as a penny-start with your bare minimum as the reserve...

That right there is the key. I did a lot of looking and comparing and the guns that sold the most consistently were the guns started with a penny auction. They had the most bids and looking at the bid list there were nearly always a couple of guys in a bidding war. Once there were a few bids that auction seemed to get more traffic and more bids.

Its hard to list a gun for just a penny. But it works. The last couple of guns I sold on GB I listed for a penny start and I got all I wanted and a little more. But I sweated it until the last day when the final bids came in.

One other thing is if I see a Reserve on the price I won't even open the auction page. If you can't bring yourself to do the penny auction then start the auction with the very least amount you could live with. Maybe in your case around $700 and see where it goes from there.

 

[Riomouse911]

Penny auctions seem counter-intuitive, but they work out to the sellers favor far more often than not. One seller I've bought numerous guns from on GB named Locust Fork (Her name is Kasey, L-F is named for a small town in Alabama near her home) I believe starts all of her auctions at a penny. She also lists detailed info about the item and about 20-30 pictures of it as well. Locust Fork is great to deal with when paying and with shipping instructions, too. (My last GB item bought from her was a Win M70 in 7-mag.)

The MG models do sell high, as they're not all that common and people like the balance between portability and shootability that those models offered. (A 657 MG in .41 would be the bees knees for me! ) You'll probably get what you want for the 625 MG.

Stay safe.

 

[Koroner]

When the local National Park rangers switched from revolvers to self loaders they sold off their gear for a song. I was able to pick up one of their Davis Leather Company holsters at my LGS (that originally sold for $139.95) for three bucks!!!

It was a perfect fit for my .45 Colt S&W mountain gun with a 4" barrel. I bought it about ten years ago for $575.
The gun has no scratches and only sees use as a camp piece in black bear country.
Nice to see what it could bring.

 

[TomJ]

This is one of the guns I may sell to finance a EDC X9S. I'll wait until I see the X9S in person to make that decision, but it looks like $800 is a fair price for my Mountain Gun and $1000 isn't out of the question. If I do go with the X9S I'd take the first $800 offer that comes along.

 

[straightshooterjake]

OP, you have a very nice revolver. This thread made me curious about its value, so I searched through closed auctions on gunbroker. I think @Ratshooter did a similar search, but we must have used different search terms, since my results are a little different. I found only one 45 Colt Mountain Gun which sold at auction recently, and it went for $940 in December. There is also an active auction which has one bid for $849 and two days left on the auction. I will be surprised if it does not get several more bids. There are also several more 45 Colt Mountain guns on gunbroker with starting bids at around $1100, and which are not getting much interest. However, that does not mean that a lower priced auction could not go past that point. Auctions are strange sometimes.

I have not put things for auction on Gunbroker, but I have a close friend who has done it quite a bit, and he puts everything at penny start and no reserve. People who actually want to buy seem to pay the most attention to those auctions.

Regarding the 45 Colt Mountain Gun, it really is a very desirable revolver, but you need to find the right buyer to get the right price. There are lots of people who like 4" big bore N-frames. But there are some people who really prefer mountain guns, and there are some people who really prefer 45 Colt. So there are some people who think that your revolver is one of the most desirable Smith's ever made. But it may be hard to find those people. Anyone who says, "I like that gun, but I would not pay more than a standard 4" barrel 44 magnum" is not really interested. That person wants a big bore Smith, but doesn't see anything special about your gun. As an example, I think the 357 magnum 686 Mountain gun is the most desirable L-frame Smith ever made. I am not the only person who thinks that, and prices reflect it.

So I am wishing you luck for finding the right buyer who will pay you a fair price, and who will really enjoy your handy and well balanced revolver. I think that the $800 you mentioned is more than realistic and might even be a price to a friend. If I was putting it on consignment in a well traveled store, I might put it at $1100 so there would be room to bargain down to $1000. With most consignments that would get you $800 or a bit more. However, prices do vary by area, and they are pretty high around me, so consignment might not work well other places. Good luck.

 

[ThomasT]

I did another search with a small difference in findings. A couple more sales. But of the 4 guns that sold 3 of them were sold to a single bidder. Meaning that buyer went looking for that gun. The 4th gun had two bidders. The winner was 5 bucks higher than the first bidder. But you never know what someone will pay for something. Anyone remember when a buyer bought a like new Marlin CB in 32 mag for a fluffy $3,500? I sold mine but only got the initial $1,500 asking price with one bidder. I was sure hoping that other guy wanted a companion piece to go with his other 32 mag.

But they aren't making any,ore of these so You won't know till you try. I like the Mountain Guns but want the 44 mag over the 45 colt.