Need help with a potential trade!

jesus5150

New member
So after 5 years the girlfriend and I have decided to go our seperate ways... Now in my possession is a Nintendo Wii. We bought it together to use with her brother but 6 months later he passed away in a motorcycle accident so it's just been sitting for 2 years. Neither of us want it because of the sentiment it has. So i payed her back her half and put it on craigslist. I just got a call from a woman saying that her and her boyfriend would like to trade his .44 for it. I don't know anything about .44's and will post more information about it when i get it tonight. But i'm into the Wii about 350 dollars. I'd like to know about the .44 (whether it's a good round, if it's a magnum or not {not sure if they made a .44 non magnum} I'd like to know if it could be an automatic or if they were only made into revolvers. Which brands to avoid ect.) I asked her to send me some info but until then, all i know is that it's a .44... thats all. Please enlighten me with opinions and facts! Thanks Guys (Gals are "Guys" too)
 
Find out which gun it is, and you'll get some good answers.

Could be a .44 special or a .44 magnum. Either way, you'll likely be looking at reloading your own rounds if you want to shoot it often.
 
Cost of ammo high? Also what's the difference between a Special and a Magnum? (Let's assume that I have Zero Knowledge, I want to make sure my facts are correct)
 
If it's not a Rossi, and it's not most Charters, and it's not a Llama Comanche, chances are it's worth the swap.

Remember a couple of things about the Wii -- first is that it's "value" is dropping like a rock every day simply because it's a tech product. Sure, it's popular, frankly, I'm amazed that after more than two years, the system is still as hot as it is and selling for $250 (console) new. If you still have that Wii two years from now, it's not worth any $350 or whatever you have in it. A handgun's value won't drop over time unless you beat it up or wreck it.

Do they want to do an even up swap? Unless this revolver is abused or downright broken, this is a deal I'd make. If it's any S&W, it's a done deal and you'll laugh the whole way home. If it's a Taurus, it's still a serviceable, fun revolver. If it's a Dan Wesson, you've probably got a good one. If it's a Colt, you've got money.

Seriously doubt it's any semi-auto... it would have to be a Desert Eagle or a Grizzly and I don't think anyone who owns one of them is going to swap it for a video game system.

In .44 Mag, you've got a somewhat versatile and completely enjoy revolver. Even much moreso if you are a handloader. If you aren't a handloader, it's actually a REALLY great starter caliber to learn. Much like a .357 Mag, you can go from powder puff .44 Special loads to ground-pounding 300-grain-plus loads that want to register on the richter scale.

Yep, factory ammo is going to be expensive, but this is likely a deal you should make.
 
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!! That's great! But that begs another question... Why is it for trade? I have my wii listed for $225. Has this gun been in a gang shooting? Does the seller plan to call it in as stolen in a week so he can have both the WII and the gun? And lastly how do I go about trading for a gun (Both legally concerned and safety concerned, this is a private sale from a random guy on CL, can i trust him to not shoot me with it and take my money, wii, and life?)
 
I would call the local police department and ask them if it's possible to run a serial number against a "stolen" database. Hopefully, you'll get more opinions. Your best bet to hedge against stolen or crime guns is to do trading, buying and selling with folks who have at least some small sort of known history... like, for example, folks on TFL in the buy/sell area. A guy with 2 posts on the site has no history here. A guy with 300 posts can at least be looked up a bit.

I'm not sure about the state laws in Washington, but this transaction is certainly legal where I live, and should be covered only by state/local laws. If you are legally allowed to own a handgun and you don't have a valid reason to believe that it's stolen property, then it's legal in Ohio.

Why would they want to get rid of it? There's a dozen or more reasons, and many of them could be completely legal and possible. Could be that the husband bought it when he was single and never did much with it and the wife doesn't like guns. Could be that it was left to them in an estate or from a dead relative and they don't know anything about it. Could be that it was swapped to them for an X-Box360 from some random goof on Craigslist... the possibilities are endless! As for illegal, let your imagination run wild.

You could ask them for name, address and driver's license number to keep as a record of the transaction and if that makes them disappear in to thin air, then perhaps that would be your hint that it wasn't a good deal.

If they intended to rob you for the Wii with their .44 Mag, why wouldn't they simply offer cash or something else, rather then letting you know they have a handgun?

I know that Craigslist does not allow any gun related postings, but folks find work arounds to get by that rule.

Bottom line: If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. But if it's legal in your state, it sounds like a very good deal in your favor (IMO.) If the gun turns out to be stolen or used in a crime, you won't be liable for anything if you did nothing wrong. You would, obviously, lose the handgun and your Wii if the local law enforcement found that it had been stolen, but I don't see how you could be charged with anything if you did not know it was stolen.

I wonder how a pawn shop does handgun buys from people that bring them in to pawn? They must have some kind of resource that keeps them from spending their business' money on guns that have to get turned over to the police. Say what you will about pawn shops, but most of them are legal, by the book businesses and they must have a process for buying the firearms they turn over.
 
She wants to trade her boyfriends .44 for the Wii. Hmm. Hope they don't bring it loaded, then they would leave with both the Wii and the .44, potentially! Any decent brand of large bore revolver like that is worth more on the market than a smaller cal, such as a .38 or something. Either .44 mag or special, it has market value. That is of course depending on whether the gun is a piece of junk with the serial number filed off or a nice Ruger Blackhawk or, if you are a fortunate type, a Smith and Wesson .44 mag. Yea, ammo is steep, but all ammo is steep right now. Cheap to reload with lead bullets if you are into it. I don't know if you informed them of your area of interests beforehand, but a Craiglist deal where some stranger wants to trade you a nice gun for a high demand game setup, sounds kinda too good to be true in some aspects, proceed with caution, as if it was a trade in some back alley!
 
You could ask them for name, address and driver's license number to keep as a record of the transaction and if that makes them disappear in to thin air, then perhaps that would be your hint that it wasn't a good deal.


Not totally true. I don't like giving this information in face to face sales because it isn't the law. I provide my drivers license or show my HCP to the seller to verify that I am a state resident, but I don't want some guy who knows I own guns writing down my name and address. A gun is property. If I sold the Wii, I wouldn't give the buyer my address. That being said, once you get a model name for this gun, let us know. This could be the trade of your lifetime.
 
Not totally true? It was a suggestion, not a statement of fact.

All I'm saying is if you ask them for name, address, and DL number and they wig out, maybe it's not a trade you want to make. If they calmly explain why they have no qualms about it being a legal deal for a non-stolen gun, but also don't want to give you a copy of their personal information, then I'd feel much better about it.

Yes, I agree, it's not required by law or by otherwise.

I still say that nobody who is planning to meet up with you and steal a video game system is goofy enough to tell you that they are trading a HANDGUN for it. Of course, there are all kinds in this world and crazy types are certainly unpredictable.
 
I have done buy/sell transactions at the range inside Bass Pro--they clear and lock the gun at the front door, you walk to the range, they check to ensure it is empty, and unlock it for you.

A gun shop might be a good choice as well; at least that way, he won't be the only one armed :)
 
A two part bill of sale that you make up yourself is legal enough proof of ownership. Basically, he signs a receipt for the Wii that you keep stating that he received the Wii in exchange for make/model/serial number of gun. You sign a receipt for the gun in exchange for the Wii and he gets that.
 
At a MINIMUM I'd have a "visitor" friend over who packs and can shoot too :).

As to the gun. Probably THE most common 44 in a situation like this would be maybe a Ruger Superblackhawk in 44Magnum, which is basically an overgrown SA cowboy gun on steroids. In decent shape or above it's worth $350, although you do see a lot of "woods beater" SBHs with some holster wear and grip ding or two in that price range or a tad below, as low as $250 for blue, finish wear and a 7.5" tube. (Mind you, it will likely still shoot fine.) Basically a big woods-bumming/hunter of a gun, it'll be able to handle real rip-snortin' loads. Sometimes known as "The Official Alaska Handgun" as it's the cheapest thing you can get that's at least able (in the right hands) to stop a Griz :). And among the toughest, they're stone-axe reliable...a great wilderness survival weapon. Barrel lengths range from 4.68" through 10"(!) with 7.5" probably the most common. The shorter-barrel variants usually fetch higher prices at resale time, and stainless is desirable too.

Unless it was beat to crap or the blue 7.5" type, I'd do this trade for one. One caveat though: if you're looking to turn it around fast, yeah, the gun market is hot right now BUT it's hot for the sort of thing Obama and company might try and ban. Revolvers of any sort really aren't on that list...it's high-cap autos and various "Sport Utility Rifles" that are going like hotcakes. So a fast buck in this deal isn't likely, OK? As others have said, long-term this deal makes tons of sense for the right gun.

If I were placing bets, I'd say it'll be an SBH more likely than anything else. The fact that they're single action limits their potential market some and would explain a trade.

A Charter Bulldog in 44Spl is also a possibility. This is the smallest (and weakest) 44Spl made, similar to a snubby 38 in size and handling. Hot 44Spl ammo will tear one up in a hurry. I personally would give that a skip.

What others have said holds....if it says "S&W", "Colt", "Ruger" or even "Taurus" on it, it's almost certainly worth the trade pending "the checkout" (see stickied thread, this forum).
 
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also, this might not be someone that is into value on firearms. I have run into a few people like that as well.
Just some old revolver I have had in a drawer, figure it is worth a couple hundred. Interested in trading.

Last year I ran into a bunch of deals like that. Got a 1950's s&w air light, a 1954 colt 1911, and a high standard 22 all for under 400 bucks plus a couple of shot guns thrown in just to get them out of the house.

So unless more flags than cheap trade come up, I would not worry about it.
 
Nevermind...

Well the boyfriend came to his senses and wants to keep the 44 so it's a no go. But i'm excited to have learned all of this, definately not a waste of time! Thanks guys.
 
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