Grandpa's Guns

[Happy]

A friend of mine has asked me for help in determining the value of several guns that belonged to his grandfather. I would like to get your opinions, since I'm not familiar with the market.

They are:
Remington Model 1100
From the barrel markings, I believe it was made in March 1974. Doesn't appear to have been shot much at all. A few scratches and dings on the wood. Beautiful gun.

Remington Model 550-1
No serial number, seems to be in good shape. Has seen some use, was not cleaned before it was put away.

Eastern Arms Company 101-1
The most heavily used of the four. Has some rust on the barrel. Looks like something it was stored with melted and stuck to the stock.

Crosman 1400
Sweet little air rifle. The bolt was stuck shut when I got it, but I've gotten it open. Very nice air rifle. Think it needs new seals. Doesn't appear to have been shot much at all. Still has the sticker proclaiming rifled barrel on the side.

I appreciate any help you can give me,
James

 

[Happy]

More pics.

 

[Happy]

The air rifle and I forgot to mention there's a box of old ammo. I'm not so sure I would shoot it, but would it be collectable?

 

[SaMx]

These guys could tell you more about the Crosman. Other than that I have no idea.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

That ammo might have a little value to a collector--but it doesn't appear to be more than 40-50 years old. I'll tell you--that old Remington .22 will probably work fine and was accurate and well made (assuming the boxes are holding their original contents). Not worth much except to someone that likes to shoot that old Remington .22 ammo. The other stuff will probably work fine as well. Don't let your pal just pitch any of it.

As for the guns it's hard to say and I'm no expert on any of them. A Reminton collector will probably chime in. The air rifle may suprise you, too. If your pal is not a gun person, just try to keep him from dumping them at some estate auction.

 

[Glockfan.45]

I recognize that air rifle, Cabelas sold them about 10 years ago. The sold for about $200 or so then. That twin cities .45 (if thats what it contains) may be of value to the right person. Other than that it looks like pawn shop material to me.

 

[wrench]

I would love to have that box of Twin Cities .45, if you decide to sell it.
Shoot me an email or a PM....

 

[Seancass]

if you want a little help about the value of the guns, look on gunbroker.com search for the guns you have listed and find ones of approximately the same condition. you probly wont get this value from a pawn shop or gun store, but it'll give you a range to look at.

 

[Tommygunn]

I own a Remington 550-1 I inherited from my father. I'm not sure what the value is ... maybe @ $200.00 or so, not much. It was a fairly common Remington semiauto. It was also a very accurate one from what I've heard.
Mine doesn't have a serial ## either. But I sent in a description of a symbol I found on the left side of the barrel, just in front of the reciever to Remington and they were able to tell me when it was made (June 1951 IIRC).
I'd clean it up nice, shoot it and see how it performs .. and keep it! Darn nice rifle!

 

[Jim K]

I think investment in a copy of Fjestad's Blue Book of Gun Values (available from www.bluebookinc.com or www.rayrilingarmsbooks.com) would be a good idea.

If the Remington 1100 is the ordinary field grade, it should bring $300-350. The Remington 550-1 would be worth around $150-200, with the single barrel shotgun going for $150.

Note that guns made prior to 1968 did not have to have serial numbers and can be owned and sold legally without them. (A dealer would just mark his record as "pre-1968, no SN".)

Of course, those are retail prices, not what you can get selling them to a dealer. If you sell through a dealer, consignment sale is the best way to get a reasonable percentage of the selling price.

Jim

 

[Leanwolf]

My father gave me a Remington 550a-1 in 1950, for Christmas. It was an outstanding semi-auto and I ran thousands of rounds through it. Accurate as it could be. I still have it, albeit with some bluing wear and some "character" dings on the stock. As said, no serial number.

I would not sell mine.

If you want a good semi-auto .22, that Remington would be just the ticket.

L.W.

 

[ABTOMAT]

The Crosman was a model they made in the '70s, it was part of a series (I forget when the last ones came out) that was sort of their copy of a Sheridan or Benjamin. From what I've seen they sell for less on the used market because they were never were as popular and the trigger weight changes depending on how you pump the gun. Sold new for around $25. A guy I spoke with recently bought one for around $30-40 on Auctionarms.

If you were to sell (or trade) the Crosman I'd be pretty interested in buying it. I've been looking for an old .22 pump-up rifle to repair and shoot target in the basement. I can provide a loving home and regular playtime.

 

[rritter]

As for the ammo, I inherited a similar-looking lot from my father. I checked a couple of the boxes on-line, and the value seemed to be about the same as current ammo. I decided to shoot it instead of selling it

 

[Happy]

I appreciate all the comments and I have price guesstimates for everything except the 1100. I'm having a hard time determining precisely which version it is. Any easy ways to tell?

Wrench, there're several boxes of Twin Cities 45 there. I'm not 100% if the ammo inside is original, any easy way to tell? I opened one up and I seem to recall the bullet being silver colored. I'll try to get over there sometime this week and get better pictures.

Abtomat - Sorry, I've had my eye on it since I saw it (assuming I can afford it). Really neat little thing.

 

[Mac Attack]

I have that same Crossman air rifle. It is a model 1400 and looks to be in great shape

 

[akodo]

The guns themselves don't have any real collector value...yet. Maybe in 50 years that 1100 will be something special, but right now, it is just the best they could make before they made 11-87s etc.

Remington 1100 I believe these only take 2 3/4th shells, while yours is in good condition, a person can pick up an equally good condition 11-87 or somethign similar for $350 or so. $300 would be a reasonable price for a guy to expect to pay a gun dealer, but I'd say $250 if i was doing a face to face. Of course selling TO a dealer, probably just $100.

The Remington 550a, got to ask yourself, why wouldn't a buyer just pick up a new 10/22 or a slightly used one, or a brand new marlin for $120. $100 if you are lucky.

The single shot shotgun, that is going to be a hard sell. Again, you can get a somewhat worn winchester or remington pump for $200, and a Coast to Coast or Sears pump for $175, or a mossberg or coast to coast bolt action shotgun for $100. These are all going to push the value of the gun down. Heck, even a brand new H&R 12 gauge single shot is $150. That Eastern Arms you will be lucky to sell for $80.


That being said, nothing really wrong with those guns, just most folks aren't going to be interested in them, when spending a bit more can get them a more modern product, easier to service and get accessories for, or something that just is better (an extra $50 to upgrade from a well worn single shot to a well worn pump? done!)

The real value is that a 22 rifle and a 12 guage repeater are kind of a standard 'basic' gun closet. Probably someone in the family that could use them. Sell em as a pair for $300 to someone who can appreciate them.

Maybe you could find someone who would spend $75 for the single shot 12 for a truck gun or barn gun to blast skunks and whatnot.

 

[ABTOMAT]

I couldn't help but pull out my old 1965 Shooter's Bible. They have the Crosman Model 140 (turned into the 1400 a few years later) listed with the air guns, other classics like the early Sheridans, Dianas, etc. One of these days I'll find one to play with.

Those were the days. I had forgotten how popular Iver Johnson, H&R, and Llama used to be.

 

[wrench]

Happy, sent you a PM...