Anyone having trouble trading/selling your bolt gun?

Maybe you have the problem I have. I can't decide between my AR15 7.62x39, Winchester 94 30-30 or my 7mm-08 bolt for deer hunting this season? I know, first world problems and all...
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My favorite style of hunting is still hunting deep into the thick woods; have a soft spot for my 44 mag rossi lever gun for that. : ) But yeah, the one huge drawback of having a large collection is deciding which one to use (and work up proficiency with).
 
The market is saturated at this time. After 8 yrs of leaning left, the closets filled up and the shelves are full as well. Every maker and their uncle has been pumping out guns for some time and competition leads to cheaper end product. For $369 you can buy a nice Savage 6.5 Cr. varmint which will make your $600 gun worth that at best. Off the wall cal. will be a crap shoot.
I was in Cabela's the other day, they had a 30 day pause on buying any used guns and now very select, nothing AR and nothing in plastic. No 40 cal pistols, only top line others.

Going forward, it will be some time before you will see much change. Manufacturers will scale back and maybe pull the plug in certain lines. This too shall pass....
 
As a side note, with all of the guns out there, no one makes one I want. For some silly reason I want a 7mm-08 with a heavy barrel. My buddy has a .308 so a 7mm-08 with a 26 inch barrel would drive him nuts. :D

Remington actually had one in their offerings many years ago. So, the market may be flooded but it means nothing if you can't find what you want. :rolleyes:
 
I wonder what the long term implications are given all these cheaper, yet accurate, polymer guns on the market for. It may get to be difficult to buy a production rifle over $1k. And true gunsmithing may become s dieing art.

We live in a throwaway society now days. You used to go get your leather shoes resoled. I still do with my $400 cowboy boots. But why bother rebarreling a Ruger American Rifle? The gun new is $400. So rather than put a new decent barrel on it costing $300 or more for the barrel and another $200-300 for Smith work just buy a new one. Also, there is no need to refinish a polymer stock and piller bedding makes glass bedding unnecessary.


I personally prefer the look of wood, but the poly or laminate stock is actually superior in nearly every single way perfomance wise and and with respect to durability.
For example, you won't see a wooden stock on the firing line at any F-CLASS match.
 
I personally prefer the look of wood, but the poly or laminate stock is actually superior in nearly every single way perfomance wise and and with respect to durability.
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You need to spend some time with the empty shell of a joke that's attached to the Remlington XL7 I just gave up on.
No weight.
Makes any barrel contour balance horribly.
Resonates.
Acts like a drum while hunting.
Easily twists and distorts with even light pressure.
Sneeze on it and the trigger guard screws strip out.

I gave up on that rifle because of it's extractor (even bigger joke than the stock!).
But that stock is an absolute insult to real firearms. Marlin's X7s at least had a bunch of closed-cell foam packed in the crappy stocks. When Remington took over... Nada. Completely hollow.

Somewhat in Remlington's defense... At least the youth stock that I bought for an XS7 in .223 actually had six or eight packing peanuts inside the butt. :rolleyes:
 
You need to spend some time with the empty shell of a joke that's attached to the Remlington XL7 I just gave up on
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Oh sure, I will submit that there are some stupid crappy plastic stocks on the market. My savage Mk II FV-SR 22 LR had the worst stock on it I have ever seen, and it was plastic. But I put a Boyd's laminate stock on it and now it is great. But the bell and Carlson stocks for hunting or McMillan polymer stocks are more durable, have more features, and won't ever soak up water and warp, and are piller bedded allowing for more torque on the action screws.

But as you pointed out Frankenmauser, a crappy stock is a crappy stock no matter what you make it out of. And if it's cheap, at least wood has some heft and structure.
 
I paid $549 for a NIB X-bolt Composite Stalker a few months back----so good luck trying to get anything out of your used one.

Also, I don't even look at wood stocked rifles--as they are more range toys than hunting pieces----hard hunting will give that wood stock more character than I could stand in a matter of minutes.

Probably better to keep it and enjoy it for what you bought it for--or wait and see if the market will turn around
 
There are plenty of cheap modifications to make to those entry level composite stocks much better. Just use a little ingenuity. I'm OK with woods stocks if it's in a lever gun or just a 100 yard walk to a deer stand. A day of walking or mountain hunting no thanks.
 
Also, I don't even look at wood stocked rifles--as they are more range toys than hunting pieces----hard hunting will give that wood stock more character than I could stand in a matter of minutes.
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Stop using firearms as wheel chocks, pry-bars, hammers, and tent stakes, and the situation will improve ... greatly.

My wood-stocked rifles see the same usage as the plastic fantastic. The only one that has been significantly harmed by real world use is a Handi-Rifle that I was carrying when I got hit by an unforeseen snow storm (no forecast, no warning, came in like lightning). Most of the finish flaked off the stocks after I got the rifle thawed and dried out. But, even that was due to Remington using a crappy finish, rather than use or abuse.

A close second would be some gouges on my Ruger 77 Mk II. A borrowed, home-built set of shooting sticks lost their protective caps over some screws, and the screws gouged the bejesus out of the fore-end. Looked like absolute garbage ... until I touched it up with a little oil and wet sanding. Now, even if one knows they're there, one must really look to find the remaining damage.
Had it been a plastic stock... no chance for repair. It would have just looked like crap forever.


Most people buying bolt actions are buying plastic/composite, because that's what is most readily available and most affordable.
Me? I have three and a half in plastic (my son's Crickett isn't a whole rifle). The rest have wood stocks, and all future projects are currently slated for wood ranging from decent (surplus Winchester 670 blanks) to very nice (highly figured specialty blanks).

No matter what the stock material is: If one treats their firearms like garbage, they'll look like garbage. Treat them well and take care of them, and they'll look good for a very long time.
The same goes for longevity. Treat 'em like crap, they die, and you're right back in the market for the current flavor of the month. Treat 'em well, and the investment lasts much longer.
 
I've had two plastic stock rifles. First was a Remington 700 Light Varmint Stainless Fluted. The light part was the POS tupperware stock they put on the gun. That went bye bye pretty quickly in favor of a Boyd's Thumbhole Laminate. Great improvement.

The second was/is a Ruger Mini 14. Not a bad stock at all. Much better than the limp plastic POS that came on the Remington but I may still get a wood stock for it.
 
Shooting "action" sports have not helped either. When was the last time you heard of someone buying a bolt action gun to compete in whatever event they were interested in. Three gun, cowboy action shooting, traps, and skeet seem to rule the roost. Sure there are bench rest and egg shooting competitions but many of those doing these are doing them as secondary to whatever else they do.
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A number of the shooting sports have been declining in number for years. I am thinking of NRA highpower, that is across the course, Bullseye Pistol, Smallbore prone. I think the average age for Bullseye is in the 60's, Smallbore Prone is getting up there. NRA highpower used to attract those who were interested in shooting iron sights and "Service Rifle". Across the course shooting takes all day and it is a lot of work. Mid range gets a good turnout, but I don't see X Bolts, the most common non custom I see are Savage and Rem 700. It is my recollection the X Bolt is a three lugged affair and rather stiff to open.

Hunter participation is dropping in all categories. A Browning X Bolt in 223 Rem is not going to attract the attention of those who are interested in combat shooting, which based on the number of people I see at the range with military weapons seems to be increasing, rather it is a hunting rifle and that is on the decline.
 
I have read and 100% believe the AR market is soft right now. I see a lot of used AR on the rack and not quite so many new as I recall pre-Trump. If bolt actions are going for cheap, I am not seeing it.

I have a pair of CZ in 223 varmint and carbine and I would not want a browning. But, I know a Browning is a fine gun. It takes a person who wants an x bolt and wants a medium weight 223. Not a varmint hvy wt and I guess (really guessing here) not a woods super light carbine.

There was a Remington model 7 in 223 that was a slow seller and yet in 7mm-08 is would be an easy sale.

The other issue with 223 is twist. Cannot be fast enough for some and then I buck the trend wanting 1-12 optimized for strictly small game & varmint. No idea what you have but whatever it is you probably loose 1/2 market either way.
 
I think as someone enters the shooting sports, or in my case re-enters, they tend to have a maturation curve.
No doubt many will want to cover the AR and smaller pistol caliber semi. guns first. But I have found the nuances of a bolt gun to be irresistible and fun to shoot. Slows down the process, and adds a different element to practice\training.
Perhaps some of the younger or new to the sport shooters will follow this path also.
 
Quality, desirable bolt action rifles will maintain and even appreciate in value. I have a 37 Remington with a Feckers scope that I got for $900 and was offered nearly twice that for it but it is not for sale. When I see a good deal on a 40X Remington or Walther 22 target rifle, Kimber 22 etc, I buy them and have not lost anything to date. If you pay a lot for something common say a 30-06 or 270 and want to flip them for a profit, that will be a bigger challenge. It just depends on the rifle. YMMV
 
High end guns are not something to sell in a hurry. You hold onto them until you find the right buyer. Many times, you hold onto them long after production ends.
 
Is anyone else having trouble selling or trading bolt guns?
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These days the answer is YES! Especially in 223. The gun shops around here act as if I walked in with a dead raccoon when I came in with a LNIB Rem. 700 VLS thumbhole rifle. The problem with my rifle they say is, "Its not a .22-250." One local shop did offer me a trade on a Savage 12BVSS in 223 but at a price that was much lower than I was looking for.

Back in the 1990s/early 2000s I was able to easily sell and trade a few bolt guns - a couple of 223s and a 308.
 
The 223 is not something people want in a bolt gun. Most
buyers want something that looks really good on ballistics
tables. If it breaks your shoulder and ear drums they like
it, at least up until they shoot it. You see lots of magnums
on the used market, all for sale by people that can't stand
to shoot them. They can be hard to sell also.

The typical 223 bolt gun user is an experienced shooter that
shoots a lot. He likes the low cost surplus brass, bullets
etc. He also already has a 223 bolt gun, one that he
actually shoots.
 
Works been off an on slow here, so I offered up a couple rifles that I thought maybe I could live without.
Absolutely 0 response on an otherwise damn busy firearms selling forum here in the midwest....
Just no interest at this time of year, and I aldo think theres no firearm panic now like the last 8 years has been...
 
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