I sold a piece of junk TGI AMD 65 with a gas block placed about a millimeter too close to the front trunnion so that the gas tube lever had to be forced shut with vice grips, which pops back up after half a mag, the entire gun stripped to bare metal and buffed to a shiny silver finish(until I could get around to duracoating it, which I never did), that was shot in the rain and left in the trunk of my car for two weeks before cleaning and oiling and going back in the trunk for a couple months, that lived in a woodshed for a month, and that I modified(ghetto-rigged) the trigger group to fire on both the pull and the release, that I paid $500 for brand new, for..... wait for it....... $750!
Yes. You heard right. Granted, I threw in 5 surplus com-bloc steel 30 round mags, and a few hundred rounds of Wolf FMJ 7.62x39 to sweeten the deal, but I still made out like a bandit on that one. And before someone calls me shady for allowing such a deal to take place, I know the guy pretty well, and he knew all of this.
But anyway, I took that money and went and bought a Polish Tantal AK-74, and 1080 rounds of 5.45x39 the first day the stores were open after the holiday. The Tantal is a Century build, but it far surpasses anything I've ever seen with Century's name on it. Looks, feels and shoots as a proper AK should. Chrome lined bore of the proper diameter, no keyholing with any weight bullet, not a single malfunction of any kind, and I've put about 3000 rounds through it since I've owned it. I love it, and don't plan on getting rid of it.
This past year has really been my year as far as getting incredible deals. That's only the beginning. This time last year, I sold two crappy sawed-off(at 18.5 inches. I'm not THAT dumb.) Maverick 88s, one with original stock and one with pistol grip only, to fund my Mossberg 590 and all the extra goodies I wanted for it. Then a few months later at the end of last summer, I bought a brand new Bersa Thunder .380 for $100. My buddy bought the gun and a box of ammo, we went out and shot it that day, and then two days later he decides he can't afford it, and sold it to me for $100. It had 50 rounds through it before I bought it, and 25 of them were shot by me. I LOVE this gun, but there is a catch to this situation. I only had it for a few weeks before I found out that you have to do an official transfer when buying or selling a handgun, so I went to my favorite gun store to see what I had to do to make that happen. That's when I found out that you have to be 21 to have a handgun transfered to you, even in a private sale, and I'm only 20. I didn't want to jeopardize my ability to own guns, so even though I had already paid for it, I gave it back to my friend that I bought it from to hold on to until I can legally take possession of it when I turn 21. This was in August. I turn 21 in about three weeks, and unlike almost everyone else I know, I could care less about being able to drink. I just want my pistol and my carry permit! These next three weeks will be the longest three weeks of my entire life.
But anyway, this past fall, I was given a Romanian bolt action .22lr that shoots 1.5" groups at 100 yds with Federal Auto match ammunition, and a really nice shooting rest for a half hour of recording time in my studio.
A couple weeks ago, I bought a Mosin Nagant 91/30 in fantastic condition with a perfect bore for $70. I know that isn't all that great of a deal, but it sure feels like it was.
Then this past week, I bought a Remington 722 in .222 Remington for $50 off a friend who needed the money. The gun is 50 years old, in perfect condition, and shoots .5 MOA. I am posting a thread about it in the rifle country section, so if you wanna hear about it, check there.