What was your best deal on a used handgun?

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LNIB Ruger P89 and 2 hicap mags
$150 (private sale)

Since traded in on my 75BD.
 
My best gun deal was when an elderly lady moved in next door after the man that lived there died. She bought the house fully furnished from the man's family who just wanted rid of it. She moved in and had squirrels in the attic (literally, not figuratively).

She came over to my house and asked if I'd help. I went over there and crawled up in the attic and patched the holes the squirrels were coming & going through (they were outside). Upon leaving the attic I noticed a canvas bag that was thickly covered in dust and called down to the lady and told her and she asked what was in it - I looked and there were 8-10 old handguns... many were just old worn out junk, but one was a well used Colt Single Action Army 1st Generation in 32-20.

I brought them down from the attic and told her that I'd like to buy them... she said that she should offer them to her grandson first, but that she would sell me one for $25.... which one do you think I bought? A 1st Generation Colt SAA in good working order for $25.00 - bet no one can beat that deal???
 
I love this stuff!!!

I think my best deal was an internet buy where I got an honest to god NIB Model 28-2 with box and all paperwork from 1976 for only $300. In my part of the country I had been paying $289 for others "well used"

It was satisfying to get such a pristine example of one of my favorite revolvers...but it was nice to get it in a "national" venue in open competition.
 
My best handgun find was a couple of years ago -- late sixties 4" Highway Patrolman that was absolutely filthy. It check out tight, the bore looked fine and the trigger was OK so I figured it was a good deal at $200. When I finally got it cleaned up (four cleanings with soaking in No.9 between cleanings), it was almost unfired -- didn't even have the line around the cylinder. As far as I can tell, someone fired a box of dirty .38 reloads, then hosed it down with oil and let it set in a dusty place for thirty years.
 
I haven't had some of the super screaming deals others have, but I haven't done too bad.... I'm not sure which was the best deal.

"Loaded" Springfield Champion I bought at a local dealer with a "pit" of a range(You UT members will know what I am talking about). Sold as used, but I swear only one box of shells was put through it before the owner traded it for a Glock $400.00

An "ugly"(in relative terms) stainless Python that locks up tight and is in time $400.00

CZ75B Pristine $269.00
 
Tough to choose...

SigPro 2009 Blue Line w/NS in original box, (w/3 10-rd Mag's), excellent condition, $450 OTD.

Glock 23 (Gen 3) w/NS in original box, (2-15rd mag's + 2-10rd mag's), excellent condition, $575 OTD.

Safe shooting,

CZ52'
 
Colt Woodsman Match for $75 that I picked up at an estate sale in a brown paper bag and all in pieces. At the time I purchased the guy running the sale told me that it was missing parts and had been in the bag for about 10 years. I spent $23 for a couple pins and a spring. The best $98 I've ever spent! :neener:
 
Best deal on used: Taurus 92AF with 3 fifteen round mags, and two boxes of ammo. 200 bucks, cash. And no yellow forms to fill out. Had less than 200 rounds thru it. Now has over 2000 rnds thru it and still looks and shoots like new.

Bill
 
1917 Colt New Service Army model, $275. Mine is a re-blue but you can't touch a 1917 for that kind of coin.

FEG Pa-63 $100. Never has jammed, good shooter.

Colt Magnum Carry $425 took me a LONG time to find one. Maybe it wasn't a steal, but I've seen them selling for $600.

Have a couple other Colts that I "inherited".
 
Best used deals. Hmmm.

Gotta well-used 4" Taurus M-82 .38 Special for $99. Great trigger, super accurate, ugly finish. The new kitten peed on it right after I got it. Out-shoots my brand new $500 Mountain Gun. My sleeper gun.

My as-new Shansei Arsenal Broomhandle Mauser was $1241. One of these in the condition mine's in listed for $5000 in the Standard Catalog of Firearms a few years back. Dunno if it'd still bring that, but I've never seen one for sale for less than $2000, and mine's nicer than all the others I've seen.

A Harrington & Richardson-built "Secret Service Special" .38 S&W top-break revolver (A wanna-be Smith & Wesson. It tries harder, and says ".38 SMITH & WESSON ctg." on top of the barrel, and has a fancy-script "SSS" at the top of the grips.) in 90% condition, for $85. Tight, shiny bluing, nicely accurate. My birthday gun one year. :)

An AMT Automag V in .50 A.E. for all of $500. Never seen another for less than $700, and these are rare. The lightest of the big 50's.

A gray-patina'd 1921-vintage Police Positive Special, with about 50% of it's bluing left, and shiny bore, $125.

An arsenal-refinished 1913-stamped Steyr-Hahn M-1912, with the crest belt-sanded off, :)() $149.

A Meriden Arms Co. hammerless .32 S&W top-break, with a neat little prawl on the grip, and a scroll-pattern front sight, tired nickel finish, and qaa bit loose, but it runs. Free. :D (Came in a box fulla broken-down crappy little guns. It was the only one that worked and wasn't missing parts.)

Johnwill's picture of a gun that's a teensy bit nicer than mine, but not by much:
Colt_1903_32ACP.jpg


My 1923-vintage 1903 Colt has almost all of it's bluing, and has the "HARTFORD CT U S A." part of the slide rollstamp double struck with "HARTFO" from the backside of the "O" onwards to the "U" in "U S A.". (OOPS!) Brilliant iridescent/electric-blue finish on the trigger, mag release, recoil spring plug pin, safety, extractor, extractor pin, and the sights. Crisp, unscrathed grip panels. It's about 90%, and I got it for $275, where these go for about $400 in this condition typically. Definitely a prize.
 
Best deal on buying a used gun was a Colt Trooper MK III for $60.00. That was in 1971-72 but he paid $120.00 I believe, so 50% of new for a 99% gun was a great deal.

Best deal I've made selling a gun was when I traded my Beretta Elite II .40 for $1200.00 worth of materials and labor on my car.
 
Best deal I got was a High Standard Sentinel MkII .357 Mag for $50 from my girlfriends mother, her husband had passed away and she wanted to get rid of it. Prior to his passing he gave me his AMT Automag II .22WMR and both of us his Coonan Model B .357 autoloader (mine on condition that we get married one day :) )
 
A friend of a friend had a death in the family, and needed to sell some of the deceased's guns...so I was able to buy two (2) Randall stainless 1911's for $600, and a Charter Arms Bulldog .44 for $160.

I also once bought a gently-used Beretta 92F with three full-cap magazines for $375.

Last but not least, I found my constant-carry BJT DA38 derringer ANIB for $185 at a gun show - American Derringer Corp. bought the design, and their version of the same gun costs almost $400.
 
Airweight manna from pawnshop

S&W Model 37 (no dash) was in a pawnshop for 250.00. It had a bit (ok, a lot) of holster wear, but seemed to be in good shape. I talked to the shop owner, who said he was getting out of handgun sales and that he wanted to 'move' his last few pieces.

He asked if 180.00 out-the-door would seal the deal. So he worked the price so with tax it was 180.00 even.

How quickly can you say YES without drooling at a good S&W for under 200?!!!

Add a Galco belt and a DeSantis Mini-slide and I'm up to 280.00 for a complete carry rig that is comfortable and classy and concealable, even under a white T-shirt in humid 90 degree weather!

From what I hear, in some locales, you can't touch a used S&W for under 300-350.00. I'll never sell this gun.

An Airweight for 180.00!
 
Great Rossi snub

My 2nd best deal ever was a Rossi 68, blue steel with comfortable rubber grips.

Talked the shop down to 175.00 and the gun appeared unfired. It was brought in by an elderly woman recently widowed. Mirror-perfect bluing, smooth pull.

I agreed to the offer and asked if a detail cleaning could be included in the price. When I picked it up, the 'smith said he recognized it as his own work-they had sold the gun there and he performed a slick action job on it! The contact surfaces had all been polished and smoothed. The trigger pull is 7.8 lbs double action and consistent on all 5 chambers. The break is so smooth it is a surprise, even dry-firing!

Lockup occurs WAY before hammer fall, never spits lead due to pristine alignment.

A 99%, perfect bluing, action tuned revolver for 175.00-and it fits in all my pre-existing J-frame leather!
 
1911

Without a doubt, the best deal I ever got was this 1917 Colt USGI Army 1911. All original and shoots better than any Springfield or Modern Colt 1911 I ever had. It's tight and has a really nice crisp trigger.

The best part? I got it for $400.00.


1911.jpg
 
I didn't see this thread the first time around, but I might as well post anyway.

Colt Lawman Mk 3 .357 4" with Pachmyr grips for $150 in '95. My first handgun. It was kinda grungy, but after I got it home and took some Hoppes and a toothbrush to it, it looked better than new. I love this revolver.

Recently, I got a Colt Mark IV Series 80 in .40 for ~$500. It's two-tone with a blued slide and ss frame. Never been fired. It's my 10mm project gun now. :)
 
I was pretty happy picking up a S&W 6906 for $299 about 12 years ago, but my best was a "broken" Browning 1910 .32 ACP for $15.00 A new sear spring and mag for $32 was all that was needed. (until I broke the firing pin by dry firing it 30 seconds after installing the sear spring. :banghead: ) Idiot!!
 
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