What's the next " Should have bought one..." rifle

cutter · Post by **cutter** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 10:37 am

Ok, remember the 65$ SKS carbines, 119$ Rossi pump 22's, 50$ H&R's, 150$ 94's, and 75$ Ruger 22's?

We all have our regretts about not buying one to 'put up to sell later'.
So, what is the next missed oppurtunity?

I'm thinking Taurus Gaucho, and Thunderbolt?

What do you think?

jnyork · Post by **jnyork** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:08 am

With the exception of the CZ bolt guns, I cant think of any. I think the last of the breed are reposing on used gun racks, waiting for a loving home.

mohavesam · Post by **mohavesam** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:26 am

The first time I ever heard about SKS rifles in the USA (about 1992?), my local store had a few crates of them for $39 per gun. I bought two, bought two more the next week. Ammo was ridiculous - under 10 cents per round, Chinese ball stuff.

The Russian surplus 91/30's are drying up quickly. Excellent rifles, like the Swiss K31, which have already doubled in price with the last of the imports on our shores.

We've seen the fine Ruger Mannlicher-stocked Internationals go away recently.

I'd look for the laminated Scout M77 to be sought after soon. Likewise the six-shot Super Redhawk in 480Ruger, never to be made again?

Rumors of Walther's P22 demise have begun...

YMMV

Haycock · Post by **Haycock** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:35 am

Pre-safety Marlin 1894s.

You can track the transition from 50's-style high-quality, no-B.S. guns to today's infernal/internal-lock, roll-stamped warning plastic pieces of stuff by looking at just a couple of years of transition.

For example, the first-year 1894C I recently bought off 1886 has no lock and no warning. Just two years later the 1894s had a roll-stamped warning, and two years after that they had a crossbolt safety.

Same sort of progression can be seen with other types of guns (S&Ws revolvers ending up with the "zit".... Springfield and Taurus with the internal locks, etc.).

Personally, I think pre-safety 1894Cs and pre-internal lock S&Ws are a pretty good bet in terms of being collectible... you can get 1894s and 586s (one of my favorite S&Ws) for $300 - $600 today, depending on make/model and condition (really nice 586s are more than 1894s). There is zero doubt in my mind that they will appreciate rapidly..... and soon.

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:44 am

My local gun shop has a Winchester Model 94 "Big Bore" in .450 Marlin on his shelf. The rifle comes with one box of ammo. The box of ammo has only one fired round in it. The guy that bought it touched off the one round and decided it was too much for him so he brought it in and traded it in on a bolt gun (.30-06) with a thick rubber pad.

The "Big Bore" is in excellent condition. Not a mark on it and the wood is beautiful. The gun shop owner wants $769.00 for it. I'd have bought it by now but I just don't need a .450 Marlin but I'm afraid if it's still there after the New Year I may just have to bring it home along with a Browning BLR lever action in .243 at the same shop.

If I don't get the "Big Bore", I'm sure it will be one of those guns in the back of my mind that I should have gotten.

horsesoldier03 · Post by **horsesoldier03** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:45 am

Regretfully I chose to trade off a S&W 586 (Nickel) 4" about the same time they were discontinued. I didnt learn they were discontinued until after the transaction! I just about doubled my money on it, but I am sure it will be a THORN IN MY FLESH for years to come.

Post by **Chuck 100 yd** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:55 am

I remember $89.00 Win. 94`s at K-Mart in the 60`s .
No NICS either, just carry it to the counter and hand em bux!

WCF3030 · Post by **WCF3030** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:13 pm

Win 94 trailsend 38-55.

homefront · Post by **homefront** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:15 pm

Pinned Smith's.
Full-sized .357 Blackhawks.
.357 Redhawks.
Model 88 in .308.
1895's in .30-40 Krag and .405.
Another Yugo SKS when they were $125-150.
Colt LW Commander.

As for today, I'd say a Rossi or other 92 in .357.

phlatnose · Post by **phlatnose** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 4:00 pm

I arrived in the USA in 1986. Gas was 69 cents/gallon. Cigarettes were 50 cents a pack. It seemed to me everything was on sale.
Should have bought some 71 and 1886 winchesters, think they were $600 a pop. They were selling for 900 to 1000 within 4 years. Not the best investment, but they did seem cheap.
The FN/FAL was the best deal I came across. They were going for a song back then.

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 4:45 pm

Word: Stock up on Glocks and HiCap mags. Actually, HiCap mags for anything you have or might get

Ben_Rumson · Post by **Ben_Rumson** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 4:56 pm

A crusty straight grip mod 99 300 Sav w/broken at the wrist stock, 26" barrel for $375.. & use the action to make something cool.. Mebbe a 35-300 Sav wildcat (more juice than the 35 Rem but less than a 358) or find a late mod mag rotor & go w/358 Win.. Them 99 actions seldom wear out.. stocks & barrels can be replaced...

cutter · Post by **cutter** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 5:00 pm

BlaineG wrote:Word: Stock up on Glocks and HiCap mags. Actually, HiCap mags for anything you have or might get

Your on to something there. During the high cap magazine ban, I traded a box of 14 round Para Ord mags for a nice revoler...

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 5:25 pm

Is there enough room on the sites mainframe for all I have to list?
I remember in the early to mid seventies:
1.) a nice standard 1886 went for $3-400--no finish ones went for $200
2.) 71 deluxes were $250
3.) standard pre-war '94's were $150
4.) 2nd gen Colt SAA's were $200 (yes, NIB)
5.) Ruger OM's went for $87.50 ( a nice ftattop went for $100-$125
6.) Colt Pythons were $250
7.) S&W Model 29's were $3-400 (yep-big money in those days)
8.) pre-war Marlins went for about 30% than the equivilent Winchester
9.) standard Model '92's went for about $2-300
10.)M-1 Garands & Colt AR-15 Sporters went for $400 (yep, pricey too)
11.) I was a young man making about $100-$125 a week (before taxes)
12.) My mortgage was $218 a week
13.) I bought a 75% Colt Bisley in 38-40 for $400
14.) I bought a 90% Model '92 in 32-20 for $225 (still have it)
15.) I bought a 80-90% Model 1886 in 45-90 for $400 (blew it up 30 years
later.)
16.) In late 1972 I bought an OM Ruger with a factory brass frame for
$107. (my first handgun, and no, its gone but I still have the box.
17.) I bought a nice pre-war 1894 takedown in 38-55 for $150
18.) Bought a new 1976 Ford 4X4 --LOADED for $7100
19.) Not much has changed other than back then we had to have the cash
--today, everyone (but me) whips out their VISA
20.) In the late seventies and eighties and even the nineties I did buy lots
of good stuff, a lot of which I still have. ( A super nice 1886 SRC in
45-70 with a special order shotgun butt---big money-2G's)
21.) Liberal thinking was becoming mainstay
22.) Al Sharpton & Jesse J. were honing their talking skills
23.) Bill & Hillary were thinking big.
24.) I'm sick now, please excuse me while I vomit.
25.) It was legal in Pa. to slam down beers while driving
26.) Merry CHRISTMAS and may the Good Lord bring you all sorts of
goodies in the coming year!-------------Sixgun

oregon73 · Post by **oregon73** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 6:22 pm

I can't think of any guns that are cheap enough right now to warrant buying and stashing for later...

But BlaineG is totally onto something with the hi-cap mags. They basically doubled in price during the ban. If I could get a NIB Beretta 15-round mag for $60 during the ban, I was doing good. Now they are $30. Mini-14 20-rounders went for around $80 - $100, depending, and those are now about $40-$50. Those are just a couple examples.

If I had the cash to stash stuff away, I'd be buying ARs. I think about a dozen, as they are made right now with the collapsable stocks, flash hiders, and a hi-cap mag, even the bayonet lug. These should see an appreciation of about 50% the minute President Hillary signs the next assault weapons ban.

In other words, an $800 rifle would become a $1200 rifle. With a dozen rifles, that would be a profit of ..... nearly five grand. (Hope my math is correct, there

). But don't think you're going to buy the guns as the bill is going from Congress to the White House. The racks will be empty by then.

Anyhoo, that's my two cents. Soon to be four cents.

Rob

gordylew · Post by **gordylew** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 10:13 pm

In 1982-1990 I was a teenager working in a gunshop. let's see
I had a 73 Winchester made in 1900 in 38-40 90% patina finish paid $225
sold for $600 kick myself now YES
I had a 1873 Springfield carbine low serial numbers with the original cleaning kit in the butt stock paid/traded $180 sold for $350 kick myself now again yes
sold Poly tec AKs for under $300 all day long how many did I buy? 0 could have went to college on the profit if I could have bought a boxcar of them.
those ugly AUG assault rifles with the plastic clip. could have bought them for under $600 on close out.
sold a Scmidt and Bender scope for $60 because we had never heard of them.
Winchester .375 BBs could have got them on close out for $165
the list goes on and on

PPpastordon · Post by **PPpastordon** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 3:15 am

Swiss K-31
Spanish FR-8
and the occasionally found, used, .357 Rossi lever action.

Pastordon
pastordon.wordpress.com

4t5 · Post by **4t5** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 11:49 am

RUGER model 77/44

Gihon · Post by **Gihon** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 12:20 pm

Thinking back over time, there are to many to list, but I believe the one I regret not aquiring the most, when it was new and affordable, is the Browning B-92 in .357 magnum.

John in MS · Post by **John in MS** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 4:40 pm

I think of the currently-available rifles that will be bargains in short order, one of the top candidates is a K-31 Swiss straight-pull bolt gun. These used to be $89 or $99, now they're up over $200 most places. It's my understanding that tthey are drying up now. They have a very unique application -- most are very, very accurate, and have been well cared-for. They have wonderful, light, crisp 2-stage triggers out of the box, and are making a real name for themselves in the NRA/local club vintage military rifle matches that are becoming increasingly popular.

These matches have largely been dominated by the Swedish 6.5 Mausers, and the K-31's are moving up really fast. They have advantages over the Swedes -- extremely easy to reload for rapid-fire strings (their stripper clips really WORK, or you can use a spare box magazine), great accuracy, barrels by SIG or Hammerli, great triggers, and use standard .308" diameter bullets that you can find cheap easier than 6.5 bullets.

The Swedish Mausers point the way to what I expect to happen to the Swiss K-31's. You could buy Swedes in excellent condition for as little as $69 - $89 when they were plentiful, but they shot up to over $300 when they dried up, and there is an ongoing market for them among both general shooters and military rifle competitors. Same thing seems likely to happen with the Swiss K31's...

FWIW, I used a Hawkeye Borescope to select among 6 K-31's that were on a local dealer's rack, and ALL had excellent barrels. They are very smooth and look hand-lapped like Shilens, Kriegers, etc. 1 or 2 had a little crown damage (easily fixed) and 1 had a little throat erosion, but all would be great shooters. There was NO copper or carbon fouling visible in any of these rifles -- an indicator of the care the Swiss took of their rifles. (Try even finding a commercial sporter in America that doesn't have at least some copper streaking in the barrel...) Most do, and not one of the six K31's did.

One last tip: if you are looking at them and see a 2-digit date stamped on the tang behind the bolt, such as "54", etc -- that indicates a rebuild in that year. If the barrel was bad, it would have been replaced, or otherwise it was considered good at that time. I got one with a rebuild stamp and the barrel on it is brand new.

Hope this helps,
John