How have you found your best buys?

Garage sales, local newspaper ads, word of mouth, the bulletin board at the local gun club, pawn shops, CDNN, placing a "want to buy" ad on various places

ALL have worked well.

As to defending your future homestead, lessons and ammo will work just fine for what you currently have.

You might want to add a .22 in handgun and rifle for small game, plinking, and general practice on the cheap and a rifle for bigger game hunting
 
My best deal was from my roommate who was PCSing to Ft. Meade from Ft. Carson. He had a newer Taurus PT140 in his possession and tried selling it for about $250 to a few others in the unit. When they came to me and asked how it was, I told them I absolutely hated the pistol and they shouldn't buy it. Now I really do hate that pistol, and I can't wait to get rid of it, but it was for my sister, she had been wanting a .40 for a while. So he came to me a couple days before he signed out of the unit and asked for $150 for the gun.

How could you say no?
 
I walk into my LGS and ask "What you got I can't live without?" They start pulling stuff off the walls while my wife stands there and says "Get it if you want it."

The price on the tag is just a suggestion. Make an offer. The worst thing they can say is "no."
 
I personally prefer to haunt gun and pawn shops. I get a feel for what stores are pricing guns to sell,and what stores are trying to get rich off of one sale.

Many pawn shops try to sell for what they see on the internet. Others will sell at a profit depending on what they have into the gun.

I find the better deals in local gun stores. For example earlier this month I got a Browning High Power for $650. NIB, a Like new Mini14 with a decent scope mounted to it for $600. OTD, and a 3" R/B model 13 in decent shape for $300.
OTD. (blew my gun buying budget for the year in one week).

Besides I find it a lot of fun visiting with like minded people, and being able to closely examine so many different firearms.
 
I have a range that I frequent and a salesman I generally deal with.

I buy my new guns from him and ask him to keep an eye open for something I might want to buy.

He found the blue Ruger Redhawk that I bought on the local Back Page here as well as the like new Model 29-3 that I bought last week.

I also frquent an outdoor range and bought my Ruger Service Six from a Range Officer just as he getting ready to put it up for sale.

Thr Ruger 77V 22-250 that I really wanted was gifted to me by my brother in law.

In the past year, I have run across some really nice guns and while I pretty much paid the going price, they were guns I really wanted so I do not feel bad about the deals.

I would really like to run across a nice Browning Challenger 6 inch and a Colt Sports Woodsman 4 1/2. . .

Geetarman:D
 
How have you found your best buys?
Click to expand...

Instead of focusing in on a particular gun, I've been willing to buy that good deal when the opportunity arises, by being willing to take what fate hands me, what falls in my lap so-to-speak. A few of my best deals have come from various forum clasifieds, a couple from the "big three" auctions, but most have been found in local gun shops. :cool:
 
PSP,

Good point. If you can find a good deal on something you do not really want, you can trade it for something you do want.

Someone almost always would like to have a gun you have.

I have heard the best way to make money on guns is not selling them for top dollar, but buying them right.

I don't get to make money on mine, it seems I am in the buying mode.

Geetarman:D
 
Lots of good advice here. I say you need to narrow it down to a few guns thru methods mentioned here. Then shop Bud's and/or Gunbrokers. If you know what you want and what they "usually" go for then you just wait for the right price and pull the trigger.
 
All good advice, I do most of my business with 3 or 4 different local gun shops. Get to know the owners and frequent buyers. I buy both new and used - latest is an old Model 34 .22 revolver that I have been watching.

Read up on whatever interests you - the web is invaluable for this. After seeing the 34 in the local store I went home and researched it to find out what the going price for them in similar condition is. Took that knowledge and cash in for what I consider a great deal (half what a new comparable one would cost and just as good quality if not better).

One thing I have noticed over the years around here is, a lot of guys have to dump their guns around this time of year. 2 main reasons:

1) DUI arrest while out celebrating too much...or
2) Need the cash for Xmas presents. Often they put them on consignment, or outright sell them. Usually don't want to part with them but have to. This is especially true with this bad economy. Similar to earlier post on purchasing from widows, it kinda sucks to take advantage of other peoples bad luck (or stupidity in the DUI case) but it is a great way to add real nice guns to the collection.

Bottom line is frequent the shops often as the used guns available changes often so you never know what you will find. Kinda like Christmas morning!

Good luck - you have a couple great firearms already
 
gunsamerica has some of the highest prices i see on the internet, bud's otoh has the lowest.

they offer they sig 220sport for $1269 with polymer grips, i got the 220 sport from bud's for $899 with nills grips and comparing the other firearms, ga comes up with the same higher prices.
 
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Thanks for the tips

Thanks for sharing how you have either gotten lucky or became methodical at getting what you wanted.

best regards,
john
 
Believe it or not I sometimes find a good deal on a used gun at my local Gander Mountain but they have been cutting back on the selection recently. Don't know why. In the last couple years at GM I've bought:

CZ 40P............................ $290
CZ Rami 2075..................... 400
Smith Wesson 5906............. 400
Ruger GP100....................... 400
Ruger mini 14 tactical rifle.... 550

All of these were in 95% condition. I passed on a Smith Wesson Sigma 9ve priced at $250 because I already had a 9ve and a 40ve. Went back two days later to snag it and it was gone. Typically their guns are no bargain and some used guns are so overpriced it makes you laugh.

Wherever you shop the key is to go back on a regular basis.
 
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