What are a handful of the very best guns that got away from you?

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This thread sounds familiar; There have been other "regret" threads on here before.... But only two that I kick myself for. One was the Model 39 Smith & Wesson pistol in 22LR that I sold because I needed money and a buddy of mine made a great offer on it. The other was the most beautiful, pristine, Model 95 Chilean Mauser in 7x57 that I think I've ever seen in person. A gun that nice is obviously a "safe queen" and I wanted to make some room in one of the safes at the same time I was drooling over a 7.5" stainless Ruger Redhawk in 44 Mag.. Took it to a gun show, a guy gave me what I asked with no haggling and now I miss it. And that's why I've become a bit more reluctant to sell guns.
 
I assume 'got away from you' meant they were in my possession. So I'l go with that.

Win 101 I picked up for $400. I made money selling, but I do miss it.

S&W Model 19 2.5" I bought for $125, but I had a 2.5" Python at the time, so I traded the 19 for a Colt M1908. I eventually sold that for a nice profit, but I'd love to have either of them, or that Python, back.

7.5" Stainless Redhawk I traded a 4" Python for. I'd like to have either one back.

Some I missed snapping up;

A Mainz-made Drilling 16x16x9.2x74R, for $400.
A Perazzi O/U for $400, needed repairs.
A nickeled 4" Python for $250.
M1917 Eddystone in issue condition with bayonet for $600-I don't feel bad about that one, though, because the kid brought his great-grandpa's service rifle to have the gunsmith "turn it into a deer rifle". I set him up on another forum and he sold it for $600, and bought a new deer rifle with the money.
 
Dan Wesson revolver. Probably a 15-2. $250. I had just turned 21, and it was on a weekend trip. Didn't have the cash on me.

SAR-1 Romy AK. Also $250. I was barely 18 and it would literally have taken every penny I had.

Remington Model 12. 12 gauge. Somehow also $250. I was fantasizing about police surplus riot 870's, and feeling sickened by lending my brother my Ithaca. He told me about firing slugs and steel shot through the fixed FULL CHOKE, and on top of that, brought it back dirty, full of sand, and with noticeable blueing wear. Funds were a little tight, but I could have afforded it. I decided that I didn't really need another shotgun, and especially a fancy one I could never, ever, allow him to touch.

Sporterized Springfield, still in .30-06. $250. I don't go hunting, .30-06 is much more expensive than .308, and I found that firing my buddy's Savage in .30-06 from the bench was rather uncomfortable. The price started at $450, and dropped $50 every few months. By the time it hit $250, I decided that maybe that's not so bad. Except the pawn shop changed hands, and the new owner was morally unable to sell firearms. He'll buy them, sure, but selling them is not ok.
 
I passed on some good ones. But I most regret some of the ones I did own and traded off or sold, 98% Pre War (1935) National Match Colt, several SIG P210s,etc:(
 
Only two. The first was one of Ruger's early SA pistols with the round receivers. It had the 7" barrel and was a good shooter, even with the crappy LRN ammo of the mid-1970s. Ended up trading it for an Astra .380 a couple of years later. Still have the Astra but wish I had that Ruger too. :(
The other was a Marlin Golden 39A .22 lever gun. It had a half-cock safety (this was before the "transfer bar" stuff) and was fairly long for a .22. It would shoot Shorts, Longs, and LR ammo, even if mixed in the magazine without any problems. IIRC, the magazine was so long it could hold 30 Shorts, 22 Longs, and 19 LR (plus 1 in the chamber). After I mounted a 4x Weaver scope on it, I could hit the 1" x 2" neck area of a squirrel target (on 8 1/2 x 11" paper) at 50 yds. 3 out of 4 times using that cheap LRN ammo. At 75 yds., that dropped to about 50% on target.
In Illinois, if a cop tells you to come out to his cruiser in the street and to bring your gun with you (off of private property), DON'T DO IT!! That's how I lost that rifle, the first one I had bought myself in the early 70s. :what: :fire: :cuss:
 
One buy that I regret passing on was a Tikka T3 in .308 for $400, with a scope that was probably worth $500 alone. I had recently been laid off and was only getting work part time, so I didn't think it was smart to buy it.

Later that summer, a guy I knew was selling a LNIB full sized USP .45 for $500. I decided not to make the same mistake again regardless of my job situation. However, I never could shoot that gun well so I sold it a couple years later to a buddy for about the same price. Turns out I couldn't shoot ANY handguns well back then, but I didn't realize it until I bought a Buckmark and spent a full summer working on handgun skills. But I'd really like to get that USP back now that I know what I'm doing!
 
kozak6 said:
Remington Model 12. 12 gauge. Somehow also $250. I was fantasizing about police surplus riot 870's, and feeling sickened by lending my brother my Ithaca. He told me about firing slugs and steel shot through the fixed FULL CHOKE, and on top of that, brought it back dirty, full of sand, and with noticeable blueing wear. Funds were a little tight, but I could have afforded it. I decided that I didn't really need another shotgun, and especially a fancy one I could never, ever, allow him to touch.
Click to expand...

The Remington Model 12 is a .22 pump rifle. Perhaps a Winchester Model 12?
 
hdwhit said:
Universal M-1 Carbine.

Yeah, I know, Universals are the Rodney Dangerfields of the Carbine world, but it was my first center-fire rifle.
Click to expand...
The one I had was a long way from being my "first center-fire rifle." But it was dependable, and accurate enough out to about 100yards.
Now I have an AR .223/.556 that I keep around for the same purposes - fun to shoot and could serve as a home defense weapon. However, (and I don't mean to start an argument here) for those purposes, I really see no advantages of my AR over the M-1 Carbine I foolishly traded off 30 years ago.
 
I have a few. The Nagant Revolvers for less than $100 make me feel even worse than the Mosin Nagants my local Dunham's had on sale for $79 fairly regularly 5 or 6 years ago. My worst one though is a Dan Wesson 32 magnum. I can't remember the model number but I thought making $100 on it selling it at $400 was a good move. It was complete, three barrels, barrel tool, near perfect box. I have seen guns less complete and in much worse shape sell for over $1000 on gunbroker. At the time there were no 32 magnums on gunbroker and I couldn't find any price info elsewhere online for it.
 
Nothing too irreplaceable. A Ruger Blackhawk .357 and a Ted Stevens 30/30. The only thing that can't be replaced are the memories of buying them back when I was young.
 
A Colt Gold Cup and a Sig P220. Early in our marriage, my ex convinced me to sell them so we could use the money for a vacation. :cuss: I replaced the P220 a year or so ago, but never replaced the Gold Cup.
 
One that got away for me. A 1920's commercial Luger P08 in nice shootable condition in 30 Luger. I have always loved Lugers, and I had a chance to buy it from a lady my mother is friends with. $500 and it was mine...or so I thought. Day of the deal, she decides that she needs an extra $150 for the ammo and holster(not original to the gun). Before I could get the extra cash out for it, she changed her mind entirely, so no deal. I later found out she gave it all away to a guy that had been a friend of her deceased son, and he took it and ran, along with some other nice firearms she had...oh well, that's life.
 
For the longest time I wanted a West German made P220 in factory nickel finish. Put in what I thought were ridiculously high bids but was always outbid.

Now I'm glad I never won. I got over the itch and don't want one any more.
 
Only three, really.
Was offered by good friend (and LGS owner) on of the first of the SA converted Suomi/Psh carbines, for a whopping $350. Which I had in my pocket no less. At the time I thought keeping a supply of 7.62x25 was goinf to be too much trouble. Did I mention it came with both a drum and coffin mag? There was an outfit in Houston that had just started up making them, and let dealers have them for a song. They were $750 each, when available, just 2 years later. Durr.

Same dealer, different day. He offered me his deal of the show which he had scored at the opening of what was an all lookee-lou gun show. A clean Sig-210, for all of $300. Had my checkbook with me and could have afforded it. But, I did not want to raid my savings account. Idiot. They are going for about that rpice right now, other than that extra zero on the end. Sigh.

Third wa a victim of 2008. Foolishly sold my all Inland M-1 Carbine, which I had $400 in for a measly $300. Should have simply sold my Python for another $300 more than I did. Idiot.
 
Besides every gun I ever had and then sold or traded there were a few memorable ones in there. Some that come to mind were a Beretta Model 90 Roma, a S&W Model 57 and Model 58, a Beretta Model 84, numerous S&W Model 10s and Model 36s, numerous Ruger Security Sixes, and a couple of Colt Trooper Mk.Vs.
 
Hmm, pre ban H&K 91, S&W model 520, 58, 29 & 25-9, Winshester Garrand, 1972 Colt Python. OK, now I have go sit quietly for a few minutes and reflect on bad decisions.
 
I forgot one. While in high school I bought a Franchi Falconet 20 ga that was beautiful. After I got married I decided that I needed a motorcycle more than the gun, so I traded it. Possibly the dumbest thing that I have ever done. I mean trading the gun. I kept the wife for 46 years.
 
One of the guns I regret selling now is a first year production 2.5" Colt Diamondback in 38spl. It was probably about a 90% gun. It didn't cost much at the time and I was beginning to collect Colts and a 90% gun didn't fit into my collection aspirations. It was a few years later that I wanted a "truck gun" and that 38spl would have been perfect for the task. But it was long gone. At that point, it was difficult to buy a 2.5" Diamondback for what I would have considered a reasonable price for its intended use. I got a Detective Special instead for this purpose. It's probably too nice for a "truck gun".
 
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