Opportunity knocks….Should I? Would you?

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BigBore44

BigBore44

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So my buddy that works at the pawnshop text me yesterday. He has a Wilson Combat Recon in 458 SoCom he is thinking about selling. It’s a full build from Wilson. QD sight set and finished in the burnt bronze. Said I could have it for $2800. The build sheet says it was $3014 in 2016. It now wears a Burris P.E.P.R. mount and Vortex Strike Eagle 1x8. It comes with 4 magazines, hard case, and about 220 rounds of Underwood and other ammo plus some brass. It only has about 150 rounds through it.

I know Wilson makes exceptional 1911’s. I would assume their AR’s are built just as well. I don’t need it. I have plenty of other rifles. And this would be my biggest purchase of a firearm. So my question is, should I? If you found this rifle for this price, would you? I’m really torn on this one. I get everything in the picture DC8E1F6B-8EE4-472F-8C2C-05B690C955ED.jpeg
 
This looks like it is one of those buys that don’t really fill a need for you other than “I don’t have one.”

The only one who can answer “do I really want one” is you.

The cost is high, but the original gun cost a bunch, and you’re getting a couple hundred bucks worth of accessories and ammo, so that $2,800 asking price makes sense.

If you have the $$ to spare and want the gun. I’ll say go for it.

if you do buy let us know how it shoots for you! :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
AJC1 said:
Have you ever shot one and do you respond well to that level of recoil. Some guns are cool but aren't very fun to shoot. Enjoying your expensive toy is important.
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I shoot full power handloads in 444, 45-70, 338WM and 375H&H. Also have 2, 450BM AR’s. The recoil won’t be an issue at all.

The only thing I would need for the rifle is a set of dies.
 
AJC1 said:
Have you ever shot one and do you respond well to that level of recoil. Some guns are cool but aren't very fun to shoot. Enjoying your expensive toy is important.
Click to expand...
Recoil on the Socoms pretty reasonable.....i was about to say minor, but it does shove you pretty good.
Id doubt that rifle weights anything less than 8.5lbs, and the recoil energy generated is going to be about the same as a heavy (non-magnum) field load....so maybe 23-24ftlbs of energy, but its also spread out by the action.
 
maybe im the wrong demographic, but I would buy a kit rifle, twice the ammo, a suburban, or maybe a thunderbird, or camaro for that money. It wasnt that long ago I saw 458 uppers for $400. I get its a brand thing but I would probably go the bear creek + decent old car rout.
 
mjsdwash said:
maybe im the wrong demographic, but I would buy a kit rifle, twice the ammo, a suburban, or maybe a thunderbird, or camaro for that money. It wasnt that long ago I saw 458 uppers for $400. I get its a brand thing but I would probably go the bear creek + decent old car rout.
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That’s actually what all my other AR’s are. Bear Creek uppers on PSA lowers with a few upgrades. And I’ve been happy with them. But this is a complete, factory built, Wilson Combat. I love my RIA 10mm. But I know it’s not a Wilson Combat.
 
mjsdwash said:
maybe im the wrong demographic, but I would buy a kit rifle, twice the ammo, a suburban, or maybe a thunderbird, or camaro for that money. It wasnt that long ago I saw 458 uppers for $400. I get its a brand thing but I would probably go the bear creek + decent old car rout.
Click to expand...
Not sure if youve looked in on used car prices lately, but you're not going to find a running Suburban, Camaro, or T-bird of nearly any vintage for $2800 these days. Maybe a severly rusted example, but even then probably not.

To the OP's question- I say do it! Its a beautiful gun and life is short. :thumbup:
 
Here is how I analyze a situation like this.

It is a good deal but it is still pretty expensive for most of us mere mortals. For that particular rifle, there are other options that get you very close in practicality, functionality, and looks for nearly a third of the price. If this wasn’t an AR type, where these options exist, then I would be much more tempted. If I wanted a configuration like this and this rifle was tempting me, it would be very easy to say “no thanks” and then go to the nearest internet and order up the parts to make one similar.

The other point is, do you really want it? Your OP indicates you don’t really want it. You are very tempted though. This would be your biggest gun purchase ever. Here is an option. What do you really want? How expensive is it? If it is the same or less, get that instead.

For example, I found a rifle that seemed great for a higher price but still a good deal. I was willing to pay that price for that rifle. I got to thinking about it though and thought about a different gun that cost similar money but that I had been thinking about and wanting for years. I figured I should probably make that happen rather than make a big purchase on something just because it happened to be here and now. Here and now are powerful circumstances that can separate people from their money and have them spend that money on that here and now instead of what they really want which is only an FFL transfer away these days.

So I am empowering you to turn this rifle down because you obviously don’t want it. You are willing to pay for it though so that means you have a $2800 budget to get the thing you want. $2800 can get you something pretty darn cool.

And that cool item ties directly into this sage advice:

NIGHTLORD40K said:
To the OP's question- I say do it! Its a beautiful gun and life is short. :thumbup:
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I should also add that I am not the biggest AR fan. However, I am a fan of high quality tools. I have never owned one but I have handled and fired a few higher end factory built ARs and they are a true joy to experience.

My dad always said you could always tell when you were using a Snap-On tool. Many other similar looking tools would still do the job but there was something special about a Snap-On tool that had to be experienced.

I believe this is the same with the higher end ARs. This Wilson even comes in a much more useful cartridge than 5.56/.223 as well.

Do you see yourself wanting an AR as your most expensive gun though? For me, if I justified $2800 dollars towards a gun purchase, it would be for a Big Horn Armory 90 in 460 S&W. (It would get me most of the way there)
 
I own a WC Recon in 6.8 SPC; a fine rifle in all respects. If the rifle is worth more than the money to you, then trade the money for the rifle. If the money is worth more to you than the rifle, keep the money. You ask would I buy it, the answer is “no” and for reasons unrelated to your desire to buy it and my answer is absolutely meaningless to your firearms world - follow your gut.
Edit: 44 - because I have zero need for another rifle in any configuration or caliber; I do not shoot what I own now - that is why I said “unrelated”.
 
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earlthegoat2 said:
I should also add that I am not the biggest AR fan. However, I am a fan of high quality tools. I have never owned one but I have handled and fired a few higher end factory built ARs and they are a true joy to experience.

My dad always said you could always tell when you were using a Snap-On tool. Many other similar looking tools would still do the job but there was something special about a Snap-On tool that had to be experienced.

I believe this is the same with the higher end ARs. This Wilson even comes in a much more useful cartridge than 5.56/.223 as well.

Do you see yourself wanting an AR as your most expensive gun though? For me, if I justified $2800 dollars towards a gun purchase, it would be for a Big Horn Armory 90 in 460 S&W. (It would get me most of the way there)
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It’s not that I don’t want it so much as I don’t need it. I have more rifles than I’ll ever need. If we remove the collectors from the equation and just stick with hunting rifles, I’ve got to be sitting on….well I don’t honestly know how many. 25-30 is a good guess. Surely I don’t have more than 30.

The other thing that gets me is he said I could pay it out. No time frame. But it’s still $2800 no matter how you slice it. I can buy a BCA/PSA 458 with PEPR and Burris E1 for right at $850 after taxes and shipping. So I can literally buy 3 complete rifles with optics for the price of this one rifle. But they aren’t Wilson’s. I really like the looks of this rifle. And I know it’s accurate. He’s had it for over a year.

I just don’t know if the cool factor negates the cost factor. I can’t find one for sale to compare it to.
 
I get it is a Wilson Combat, but if I were going to spend $2800 on a firearm an AR would be down the list a bit. That is just me.

The price sounds reasonable considering the original price, condition, and extras. If that is something you have been wanting and it does not kill your bottom line go for it. :)

-Jeff
 
I had a .458 SOCOM. Power is quite impressive, and recoil isn’t bad. Maybe equivalent to a shotgun with field loads.

The “cool” factor is high. Problem I had is that the cost of feeding it is also high. Maybe 10-12 years ago when I had mine, just the bullets were over fifty cents each. I’m sure now it would be close to $1 per round. It hurts when it costs $10 for one magazine full.

It was great when I could use it for deer. Now we have unlimited deer cartridges.
 
BigBore44 said:
I can buy a BCA/PSA 458 with PEPR and Burris E1 for right at $850 after taxes and shipping. So I can literally buy 3 complete rifles with optics.

I just don’t know if the cool factor negates the cost factor. I can’t find one for sale to compare it to.
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Yep if you really want it get it but this would be my thinking. Just because it's a Wilson don't make it the Holy Grail imo. Yes Wilson builds some fine weapons but when I can build one that will accomplish the same objective for a lot less then I have my answer.

I wanted an Alchemy Custom 1911 and I know they are fine 1911s but in the end I just could not justify the price in my mind. I knew that in the end it would be cool for awhile and then I would want something else and I would have a high end pistol that I probably could not recoup near what I spent. YMMV...
 
BigBore44 said:
The only thing I would need for the rifle is a set of dies.
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Dies are kinda hard to find now, but usually feeding the thing isn't a huge issue. Its not a gun your going to be dumping a huge quantity of ammo from...40-50 rounds was about all Id shoot per outing
Mine shot cast bullets just fine, but leaded up the barrel something awful......could have simply been the kinda crappy rifling job on the Radical upper, and bullets not quite large enough for the bore. Also, when 300gr Nosler MZ bullets are available they are usually about 20 bucks for 50, and those things are the beezneez for the .458 and lighter medium game.

I actually found one of my old 458 shells in a random coffee can of rifle brass....almost made me tear up....


Just found dies on Amazon...lees are running about 82 bucks. Thats about 50 more than I spent on mine.
 
LoonWulf said:
Also, when 300gr Nosler MZ bullets are available they are usually about 20 bucks for 50, and those things are the beezneez for the .458 and lighter medium game.
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Shows what I know. I didn’t even know Nosler made ML bullets. Shame they don’t make them in .452. My 450 might really like them. But I’m also sitting on 650 300gr Speer Deep Curls that I still need to load and test (adulting sucks).

I’ve got plenty of bullets in .458 (350gr Hornady RN) that have never failed me for my 45-70. Do the Noslers stay together pretty well? I haven’t been able to recover one of mine to find out. But I know they make big holes in big pigs.

$80 for a set of dies. That’s ridiculous.
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Not sure if youve looked in on used car prices lately, but you're not going to find a running Suburban, Camaro, or T-bird of nearly any vintage for $2800 these days. Maybe a severly rusted example, but even then probably not.

To the OP's question- I say do it! Its a beautiful gun and life is short. :thumbup:
Click to expand...
easy enough
NIGHTLORD40K said:
Not sure if youve looked in on used car prices lately, but you're not going to find a running Suburban, Camaro, or T-bird of nearly any vintage for $2800 these days. Maybe a severly rusted example, but even then probably not.

To the OP's question- I say do it! Its a beautiful gun and life is short. :thumbup:
Click to expand...
https://bellingham.craigslist.org/ctd/d/bellingham-1999-chevrolet-suburban/7324588469.html

https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/45...gas-system-1-14-twist-standard-handguard.html

And I would still have money left over. But if the OP likes it, and can justify the cost, go for it.
 
Not for that price. But I choose to assemble all my own AR’s. I could assemble a very nice AR in 458 for sub-$2000 and I wouldn’t be stuck with a Strike Eagle (not a fan of that line of Vortex).

But for someone who likes to buy their AR’s this would be a pretty decent deal for the time we are in given the ammo and brass which is expensive for that cartridge.
 
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