Well, it may bring far less than my estimate.
Prices vary by region -- and the durn fool with an itiching pocket that walks in the door!
It seems to me that, today, anything that will hurl a marble across a room is worth $100. Prices on guns, at least around the Salt Lake City area, have gone up considerably in the past year or so.
Perhaps I was way off-base on my estimate. I'm going by the 2008 Standard Catalog of Firearms, and added a little fudge factor for the rise in prices since last summer.
If I could find a USA-made CVA Mountain Rifle or Hawken Rifle for $200 or less at a gun show, I'd buy it. I know from experience that the early CVA Mountain Rifle is a great firearm: accurate, well made and attractive.
But perhaps I'm overly optimistic on price. So many shooters today think that the lead ball is an embarassing anachronism and that they MUST have plastic stocks, glowing sights, stainless steel barrels, sabots and WunderHammer X-13 ZX jacketed bullets just to get their deer.
My gawd, how did our ancestors survive against elk, grizzly, moose, deer and the occasional enemy soldier or bad man with just a lead ball in a greased linen patch over black powder?
Did game get tougher and grow a Kevlar hide?
As far as the price, I'd guess that a nice looking,
browned CVA Mountain Rifle with pewter forecap and iron triggerguard would bring $300 at a Missoula gun show -- if only as a decorator for some rich yahoo's log home.
I dunno. I may be off-base. Muzzleloading rifle values are not my specialty. I don't follow them all that closely but I've seen enough around here (Salt Lake City) to know that you can't touch them for less than $200 anymore.
Andif it's less than $200, the bore is a rusted wreck and the stock looks like it was beaten with tire chains.
Your mileage may vary.