The One That Got Away- What Was Yours?

[Yankee John]

As a newbie here, I've read thru most of the posts with facination (mostly ). I find it quite entertaining to read the "oldest gun", "worst gun", etc... posts.

So I ask:

What gun did you own that you shouldn't have sold or lost. Or, What gun did you come close to buying that you are kicking yourself for not buying.

Please, No "If I only had $100,000 I could have had a Walker" stories. It must be an event where you had a legitimate chance to get, or you did actually own them at one time.

Post away!

John

P.S. As a newbie gun owner, I don't have any story to tell- yet!

 

[chaim]

Or, What gun did you come close to buying that you are kicking yourself for not buying.

About 3-3.5 yrs ago there was a beautiful nickel Beretta 84 or 85 with nice wood grips that I passed on. It was (and still is) one of the most beautiful guns I've ever seen. However, I didn't have that many guns yet (so I was buying for utility more than just "want"), it was relatively expensive (and at the top of my possible price range at the time), and it was a .380 that was bigger than some 9mms. So, I passed and figured I'd buy later.

Well, a year or so goes by and there don't seem to be nearly as many of these around anymore, and seeing one in nickel is extremely rare. Then MD passed a law banning handguns without a built-in lock. These don't have built-in locks. Beretta basically decided to write off MD business due to ever changing and ever more restrictive MD laws. Then MD allows a loophole (a good one) to the lock law, approving a specific external lock as an internal lock allowing all autos again (providing the manufacturer supplies a fired casing, another MD law). However, Beretta basically doesn't ship to MD anymore and new 84s, 85s, etc. become essentially extinct in MD.

So, I've never bought this gun and possibly never will

 

[cobb]

Hey YJ, how about a story in reverse and close to home for you.

A few years ago, a North Mankato police officer got rid of a Kimber PRO CDP, traded it to a small town gun shop. I bought it and found out it had feeding problems, the mouth of the case would sometimes catch on a sharp point of the chamber on the left side. This only appeared to happen with factory, but not my handloads, I think my crimps were a little tighter. So, a little work with a dremel on the pointy edge, and I do mean a little, I have had zero problems after a couple thousand rounds.

I sometimes shoot with this officer and asked him about the problem. He said he "REALLY" didn't have a problem with it, but said it seemd to have an ammo preference. I told him what I had found, how I fixed it, and now how it shoots. I believe this is one of the few that you find that just plain shoots, with Speer Gold Dot, it shoots better than any of my other 1911's, and close to par with my 2 Les Baers.

So my story, or should I say his story on the one he let get away. He has asked me on a couple of occassions if I wanted to sell it to him. Of course, the answer is no.

 

[Colt46]

4" S&W 624

I could of got new about 15 years ago. Always kicked myself for not biting the bullet and picking it up.

 

[dodge]

Mine was a Colt Diamondback .22 with a 4" barrel. I even had it on layaway but finicial (sp?) problems came up and I had to take it off layaway. This along with a Colt Commander in 45 acp that I was paying off when I was in the service in Germany but was I got orders to a change of assignments before it was paid off and I couldn't have gotten the paperwork back in time to bring it back into the states.

 

[Blue Line]

Beautiful mint 2' Colt Python. The guy I got it from didn't know what he had and I didn't know what I got. I immedatily traded it for a mini 14 straight up, THEN i looked it up and found that it was worth a case of mini 14's back then! :banghead:

 

[Zundfolge]

I still kick myself for not picking up a Saiga 12 when they where in the $250 range ... now they are around $400

 

[Hazwaste]

That would be the Marlin Camp Carbine 9mm I bought "for my wife" back in the late 1980's. She wanted something for home defense while I was traveling on business. She didn't like what I had chosen for her, so I brought it back and got her a .38 S&W revolver instead. I regret not having either one of those anymore.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

Well, I had this LC Smith. The steel shot era came and I decided it was worthless and obsolete, so I traded it off.

'Nuff said.

 

[DMK]

Last year I went to a gunshow and saw a beautiful FR8 for $150 and a perfect "pre-B" CZ-75 for $280. I might have even been able to talk them down a bit. However, I also saw a Colt CCO which I really wanted for a CCW. It was a really tought decision, but I went with the CCO. Sure wish I had more cash with me.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

Close but no cigar

For me it was a Street Sweeper. In .45-70 no less! I stood there looking at it, caressing it, while the guy stood behind the counter smiling with his arms folded. Yeah, I know, not much utility, which is probably the only reason I didn't buy it. But I should have, simply for the cool factor.

 

[Dave Bean]

S&W 686, 7 shot, 357mag. very good condition. Got away this year for $375. I'm not too bitter because I did a little research and it was produced after the HUD agreement....so I won't have bought it anyway. If it was before HUD, maybe.

I'm still bitter about the HUD agreement. S&W can just kiss my arse.

Dave Bean

 

[UberPhLuBB]

I had a Dan Wesson 15 lined up for purchase last week. It was gorgeous, the exact gun I was looking for at a price I wanted to pay. Had everything set up and ready to pay when I found out that because it wasn't approved for sale in California (no Dan Wesson firearms are) I couldn't buy it, even though it was an older gun and clearly not made to California safety standards because they didn't exist when the revolver was made.

It's ok to drive dangerous older cars with rickety suspension and terrible gas mileage without a smog check (which is required for all newer cars) or safety inspection in California because they're old, but absolutely no older guns without triple safeties and drop test checks! How many more cars than guns are involved in deaths in the US?

 

[Justin]

I once passed up the opportunity to purchase a Broomhandle Mauser for $250.

 

[outofbattery]

H&K SP89 for $759 at Shooters Express in Belmont,NC.Granted, that was $4500 in college student $ but I should've used plastic and got a better return on my investment than my college degree has been.

 

[akluvr]

2 SP89's in shoulder rig for $1200. Stood there for a minute, thought I'll just get this setup in a few years and have fun then. 1 year later, Klinton took office and I weep about this often.

 

[rbmcmjr]

1993, Bob's Gun and Tackle in Norfolk, VA: Beautiful, lightly used, Class A Model 66, with 2.5" barrel. I hemmed and hawed for over an hour before goign home to "think about it". Came back the next day with money in hand only to find it sold.

Nine years later, I found another for a reasonable price and bought it as fast as I could the check and FFL to the seller. When I can carry, it is the one I use.

Guess I learned my lesson.

Rick

 

[Azrael256]

Grandad liberated a Schmeiser in France, and, by his account, about a batallion's worth of Lugers. He must've sounded like a sack full of cans walking through the woods.

Some army doctor jerk told him he couldn't keep them in the hospital after he was hit in Belgium, and that was pretty much the end of that.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Swedsh Ljungman AG42B

I bought a beautiful Swedish Ljunagman AG42B. It was marvelous, but I got the bug for something else and I decided the Ljungman had to go. I had purchased the rifle for $450.00 and ended up losing $25 to sell it for my new "toy".

I miss thet gun.

BTW, the wonder gun I had to have was later sold because of FTF problems :banghead:

 

[wizard of oz]

Not so long ago if you went to a rural fair here, shipping container loads of sks rifles were being sold out. Of course, since semiautos were banned after 1996, they have all been bought back by the government now. Buy what you can while you can.
For me, the one that got away was my SLR (ie FAL) - similar to the one I was trained on in school and in the army - which overnight and without legal recourse, became illegal for civilians to own. The government gave me a good price with which I bought a legal rifle but it was not a voluntary sale.

 

[lee n. field]

Or, What gun did you come close to buying that you are kicking yourself for not buying.

Stainless Ruger Mk II that I looked at back in the late '80s, when I was going to order my first handgun. It was right about the same price as the Taurus Model 66 I did get, and had the "just right" feel when I held it. I could have gotten it, but didn't. I still think maybe I should have got that instead.

 

[cowboy77845]

Hi All. What a great site.
Passed up a Winchester Model 21 Grand American at H. Cooks in Las Vegas in 1876 . They wanted 2500. I had the money. They sell for over 25000 now and are beautiful. Still kicking myself. Do not have the money now.
A pair of consecutive numbered New Service Colts in 99% condition marked Royal Canadian Mounted Police at The Vegas Gun Show in 1975 for 600.
The list of sruff I bought and should have passed on is much longer.

 

[Moonclip]

1998 or 1999, nickeled Beretta 85 for $150, sold before I saw it.

2002, Dan Wesson 22lr revolver for $250

2002 in presentation case looked excellent S&W Mod 27 6" for $400

2003 S&W mod 19 blued 2 1/2" sold to guy who rushed in to gun shop before me when it opened,he had seen it the day before. $250, hope he broke it with hot 357mag ammo

Winchester 1200 with the equivalent finish of the Mossberg marinecote. 2001 or so, $200.

Heres one you'll like. Colt Woodsman, not sure of vintage but had the thin barrel, has original box but no magazine, last week, $350, can't afford it and got a S&W model 18 for $250 instead in 97-98%. I know I should have sold some blood and got both, but I have less use for the Colt. I will always remember that one though as having let it slip by.

Not great but I regret not picking up a Marlin bolt action repeater with minor rust in 22mag for $75 and a Chinese paratroop SKS for $150.

S&W 625-2 in 2000 for $200, I picked up a Colt Agent for $150 instead but I did get the rarer model of 1988 a little later for $300 but it needed $40 in gunsmithing.

Rem 870 wingmaster in 20ga looked pretty ok for $180, had no real use for it though but good deal.

Bernardelli mod 60 380acp and Russian Makarov 380acp both $100 in 2001.

Saw a 380acp Walther PPK/s for $300 last week, passed as I want an actual PPK.

Llama downsized 1911 clone in 32acp for $150, figured I did'nt need it.

I've been seeing excellent used Sigmas for close to $200 but I've been passing for now.

Blue worn but with case and mags Ruger P90 two tone for $230, probably should have got it.

NIB Ruger SP 101 22lr 4" for $300.

NIB SP101's in 357mag in 1998 for $219!

NIB Ruger mini14 for $300 in 1998-99

Missed getting NIB Star firestars for $169 in 1998 or so. I wanted a 45acp starvel one and as they only had 9mms left I stupidly passed.

There are more but thankfully the list of guns that didn't get away is much longer.

 

[Hardtarget]

one that got away...Walther .380 . One guy was turning it down...till he realized I wanted it.
One I ran away from...1927 Thompson sub. So hot you could toast marshmellows!
Mark.

 

[Working Man]

Welcome cowboy77845. New guy buys the beer and ammo.


Years back I had a chance to buy a new Calico 950 with a 100 rnd tube for
$300 and change. It is a 9mm handgun that holds a 50 or 100 rnd tube on
its back. They used it in the movie Stone Cold with Brian Bozworth as full
auto.

Now if you can find it used it is around $900 and the 100 rnd tube is about
$250. Sure looked cool.

They have a new model the Liberty III but it runs $1,200 to $1,500.

and...

Marlin lever action .45-70 SS Guid Gun, just over $400.