Any of you ever have been to a gun auction? I had the pleasure of attending my first, held at a local American Legion Hall. Had to fight traffic and rain but thankfully they postponed the start so I could preview some stuff. About 95% guns, a welcome change from gunshows and beanie babies.
Got myself a $4 mixed drink and a surprisingly good chili dog from the nice legion ladies and sat down. I didn't seriously plan on buying anything, the estimates in the catalogue seemed high. 10% buyers premium but some guns went for quite good prices I though and of course the biddinmg got heated sometimes and guns went for too much too.
I managed to snag a 7.7 Japanese Arisaka with the aircraft sights and bayonet and a barely defaced mum for $150, I figured the Bayonet was worth at least $50 alone so I guess it was ok. I also got a pretty decent CZ52 rifle with the regular wood stock, not the ugly Century arms black paint for $125, ammo is problematic though.
I missed a S/S Ruger bearcat at $225 NIB or ANIB and a French MAS 49 at $175. I'm looking forward to attending another if it comes up but I'd like any tips from you experienced auction attenders.
I already know to stay sober but what is the best time to bid? I would stupidly not bid on an item first that I wanted but has low desireablity, for example a Chinese O/U NIB 12ga. Little interest but one guy snagged it and I wouldn't go $125. Also I would bid first like on the MAS 49 at $150, someone did $175, and I was not willing to do $200. Any strategies you guys have and I know next time to get to the preview early and check for problems the guns I'm especially interested in.
All in all it was a positive experience and I plan on bringing more cash next time. They also had pretty younger girls holding up the firearms which was nice!
Another thing I noticed and would appreciate feedback on is if it a good thing to wait until later in the auction to get deals. I noticed one fellow consistantly outbidding me on the milsurp. He spent quite a bit and was quite willing to get in a bidding war, I saw him pay too much for a Carcano too. Maybe not surprisingly, he may have run out of cash as I was unopposed pretty much on my two milsurp purchases. Maybe towrds the end people are reluctant to spend any more or they might end up leaving as the auction did last over 3 hours.
Got myself a $4 mixed drink and a surprisingly good chili dog from the nice legion ladies and sat down. I didn't seriously plan on buying anything, the estimates in the catalogue seemed high. 10% buyers premium but some guns went for quite good prices I though and of course the biddinmg got heated sometimes and guns went for too much too.
I managed to snag a 7.7 Japanese Arisaka with the aircraft sights and bayonet and a barely defaced mum for $150, I figured the Bayonet was worth at least $50 alone so I guess it was ok. I also got a pretty decent CZ52 rifle with the regular wood stock, not the ugly Century arms black paint for $125, ammo is problematic though.
I missed a S/S Ruger bearcat at $225 NIB or ANIB and a French MAS 49 at $175. I'm looking forward to attending another if it comes up but I'd like any tips from you experienced auction attenders.
I already know to stay sober but what is the best time to bid? I would stupidly not bid on an item first that I wanted but has low desireablity, for example a Chinese O/U NIB 12ga. Little interest but one guy snagged it and I wouldn't go $125. Also I would bid first like on the MAS 49 at $150, someone did $175, and I was not willing to do $200. Any strategies you guys have and I know next time to get to the preview early and check for problems the guns I'm especially interested in.
All in all it was a positive experience and I plan on bringing more cash next time. They also had pretty younger girls holding up the firearms which was nice!
Another thing I noticed and would appreciate feedback on is if it a good thing to wait until later in the auction to get deals. I noticed one fellow consistantly outbidding me on the milsurp. He spent quite a bit and was quite willing to get in a bidding war, I saw him pay too much for a Carcano too. Maybe not surprisingly, he may have run out of cash as I was unopposed pretty much on my two milsurp purchases. Maybe towrds the end people are reluctant to spend any more or they might end up leaving as the auction did last over 3 hours.