Gun Auction Buys

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Prof Young

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Usually go to gun auctions for the educational value. Take along my "blue book" and see what things are really worth compared to what they go for.

Well I got the bug this time and came away having bought THREE GUNS!!! Anyway here is what I got and you can tell me how you think I did or comment on the firearms.


A nearly new Mossberg Plinkster with Mossy Oak Break Up finish, adjustable sights, crome lined barrel and reciever and a schnabel forend (whatever that is) for $110.00

Ram-line Syn Tech 22 LR Semi auto 22 made of synthetic alloys, polymer steel lined barrel, two motion safety, fifteen round mag, fixed sights etc. I bought this mostly because is was so "funky". $80.00

A nearly new Taurus PT22 with hard wood grips. I know this gun gets mixed reviews, but I think it will be fun. For $150.00

The other thing that was interesting was to watch a couple Browning Semi Auto 22's that were "shorts only" sell for 800 plus bucks. I may be mis-understaning how to read the "Blue Book" but it looks to me like the "shorts only" version of that gun should sell for less than $500. Hmmmmmm . . . . .

Life is good
Prof Young
 
Venom

Venom, that's what the description said. I handled gun before auction but didn't look in barrel. They had about five plinksters in the auction. Maybe is a chrome plated barrel. I'll get back to you on that.

Life is good.
Prof Young
 
Mossy oak Plinkster for $110? Dude, that's a good buy, you probably saved $70 off regular prices for what is not a bad .22 rifle.
 
+1 that you did good and picked up some nice .22's. Let us know how they shoot.

And the Brownings? I suspect the name will always have a certain, I don't know what, mystique??? that will bring premium prices.
 
What year Blue Book do you have ? I have found a Blue Book is often not very close on a lot of guns . Some Auto Brownings are hard to find but you are giving much to go on . It is all about the Person buying and the firearm being sold . Places like most on line gun actions will be way closer on value then the Blue Book .
 
You have to keep your wits about you at auctions. I am always calculating the total cost which includes buyer's premium and sales tax. I even attended one auction years back where they had an FFL person on sight to handle background checks. He charged an extra thirty-five bucks per gun.

Last year, I acquired a S&W Model 66-2, and the hammer dropped at a very good price of $450.00. I ended up paying $534.60 with the buyer's premium and sales tax. It was still a great deal on a 2 & 1/2" barrel version in wonderful condition.
 
Your thinking is backwards. The value of the gun is what somebody is willing to pay for it. That's first. Second is what somebody is willing to sell it for. Book value comes in third.
 
I was at an auction about 20 years ago and there was a guy next to me taking notes on sales. I had to ask. He said he was gathering info for gun values. Book values come from shop sales and auctions. Problem is, they can't keep up with the current trends.
 
jag2 said:
Your thinking is backwards. The value of the gun is what somebody is willing to pay for it. That's first. Second is what somebody is willing to sell it for. Book value comes in third.
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I agree. The book for me is just a ballpark reference.

As far as gun auctions go, I have only been a buyer at one auction because guns usually go way too high at auctions for me.

I went to a DEA auction several years ago where surprisingly a lot of the guns sold for reasonable prices. I think I picked up six that day.
 
"I went to a DEA auction several years ago where surprisingly a lot of the guns sold for reasonable prices. I think I picked up six that day."

Please tell us more. Are these guns that are retired from the DEA or are they ones that have been confiscated in the line of duty?
 
Keybear . . .

Keybear:

My blue book is the 37th edition, copyright 2016. I probably looked up 30 or so guns in the auction and it had every one of them including some that are a bit obscure (Stinger pen gun). The other thing about the Blue Book is just learning about guns. Lots and lots to learn.

And yes, it is a guideline. Sometimes there is a gun you just really want and they have it and you go for it. I've only done that once (Remington Nylon) and got it for just about the Blue Book value.

The transfer fees were $15 for the first gun and $10 each after that. There were no other fees of any kind. The auction company took their cut out of what they were paying the seller.

I picked up the guns today, but haven't spent any time with them. Will clean and take to range soon. Will get back to you then.

Life is Good.

Prof Young
 
When it comes to auctions, around my neck of the woods guns always bring more money then what the book says.
Every now and then one can find a good buy at an auction but most of the time not.

Many of the auctions I've been to are not gun specific but what we call farm auctions and the guns are bought without any paper work, I think that's part of what drives the prices so high.
I watched a Ruger Blackhawk 44 mag (no paper work) sell for $875, you could have bought the same gun new for much less.

Best Regards
Bob Hunter
 
I work for an auction and we have to send guns to an FFL for back ground checks. One of our customers was refused. He didn't realize the dope charge from the 70s was still on his record.

There are a lot of variables to guying at auction. Ratio of retail buyers to resellers. Number of similar item, eg if there are a bunch of guns the collectors may run out of money before all the guns have sold. Buyers may over look a shooter if there are sparkly guns before or after it.

At the place where I work most guns go for about retail. Some collectible guns go for more. On occasion they go for less,
 
jag2 said:
"I went to a DEA auction several years ago where surprisingly a lot of the guns sold for reasonable prices. I think I picked up six that day."

Please tell us more. Are these guns that are retired from the DEA or are they ones that have been confiscated in the line of duty?
Click to expand...
They were confiscated guns. Most of them were in great condition including two that I bought that were NIB.
 
Finally got the guns out and . . .

Finally took the three auction buys out to shoot.

The plinkster shot fine with several different types of ammo. Jammed once in about 50 rounds. Relatively accurate. A fun gun that I will enjoy shooting and letting the kids shoot.

The Syntech Ram Line shot okay. It was fun to shoot but the semi auto action was slow and I never got through a full 15 round mag without at least one jam. Over all it's kind of an oddity that I will shoot once in a while but mostly have just as part of my "collection."

The PT 22 was a touch finicky on the ammo, but it had more to do with the shape of the bullet than the power. I think it was the winchester ammo that had a kind of flattened nose and the gun didn't want to chamber those as smoothly as one might hope. The 8+1 magazine was actually 9+1 with no strain. I really enjoyed shooting it and am sure it will see a lot of range time. Oh and I did get some "slide bite" on the web of my right hand. Put the gloves on after that.

All in all I think I got decent value for my money and had a good time in the process with more good range time to come.

Life is good.
Prof Young
 
One last word on auctions . . .

I think the next time I go to a gun auction I'll attend the day before preview as normal, but only really look at the last 150 or so guns. Then the next day I'll come to the auction about three hours after it starts. That's about when they'll be hitting those last 100 or so guns and the crowd will be about half or less than it was at the start of the auction. Prices are much better then. If I'd been in the market for a decent pump action shot gun I could have gotten one for less than $200.

Life is good.

Prof Young
 
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