Pawnshop Revolver Finds

F

flcjinflorida

New member
I want anyone who has found a revolver at a Pawnshop for a good price to post it here.

My uncle got a Smith & Wesson model 66 for $200 from a guy who didn't know what he had.
 
686-4 2.5 inch very good to excellent cond 400 and change otd.

Many more in the past years that would be worthwhile to the right person, just not me.

Buddy got a seecamp once for 200 or so. A 32 back when they brought z premium, shop priced it as any old pos 32.

Lots of mis matched buba gunsmithed and bumper chromed crud. That's what makes it fun.

I get a feel for them after a few visits, the ones that ate worth it I stop in every 4 weeks, they always have something at a minimum that is interesting or woth referring to a friend. The junk shops are just that, junk and get few to no visits from me

Funny thing is the good ones are good for everything, tools etc. And the junk ones are typically junk. I buy few to no new tools. Would rather buy a used / older US made tool than the chinease copy of a once proud American company like milwaukee.

In the past year I have seen many worthwhile 686's, model. 629, even a 696. Lots of nice tight mod 60's too. Know a shop with an odd ball sig 229 sport right now among others. prices were a little high after Obama won as part of the frenzy, now back to normal. If you want a project rem 870 or Marlin 336 etc a log if shops have older, cosmetic negative guns that are tight, serviceable and great base guns for a project.


I live in Phoenix which may help. Not a big gun broker / gunsamerica fan unless items are nib or a true rare piece, prices always seem high snd too often condition is more generous then reality in my opinion. With time most everything appears locslly
 
Stainless Ruger Single Six in great condition. Shoots better than me. $265 last year

Blued Ruger blackhawk 357/9mm convertable, finish about 95% and shoots better than any gun I own $315 this year
 
I didn't get it, but I did see a beautiful 4" Smith & Wesson 19-3, in nickel, with the original box, papers, and cleaning rod, brush, and screwdriver for $500.00. I had another gun on layaway at another store, and I've already got a 19-4 in nickel, so I passed on it. Probably shouldn't have.

That pawn shop is the only one I've ever seen that seems to have reasonable prices on their guns.
 
I want anyone who has found a revolver at a Pawnshop for a good price to post it here

Sorry...

In more than 20 years of browsing, I've NEVER seen a good price on a decent firearm in a pawn shop. What I've typically seen have been rusty beaters at prices within about 5% of brand new.

Must seem like a bargain to someone.
 
The Evil Pawn Shop Guy is up on the prices,,,

So he always tags the gun at what I call "Texas Tourist" prices.

He almost always comes down a bit for me,,,
I don't haggle and counter-offer with him,,,
I ask for his "best out the door price",,,
If it's in my meager budget I buy it,,,
If not, I thank him and pass.

He let me have a pristine S&W Model 15-4,,,
In the box with the unopened tool kit,,,
Out the door (including tax) for $500.00

Well used but not abused Model 18-2,,,
Out the door (including tax) for $375.00

Pristine S&W Model 12 with 4" tapered barrel,,,
Out the door (including tax) for $425.00

Excellent condition S&W Model 34, 2" snubbie,,,
Out the door (including tax) for $500.00

Maybe not the best bargains in the world,,,
But reasonable as all heck by my book.

Aarond
 
Sorry...In more than 20 years of browsing, I've NEVER seen a good price on a decent firearm in a pawn shop. What I've typically seen have been rusty beaters at prices within about 5% of brand new.
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That mirrors my own experience. A pawn shop near where I work has a display case filled with handguns that look like they were dug up out of the ground at some point--I mean what do you have to do to make a Glock rust?!--but the owner wants over $500 for a beat up G17. No box. One mag. Poor condition. The other shop down the street has a NIB basic GI model Philipine import 1911 that he wants over $600 for. :confused:
 
I think the main reason you don't see fair pricing at a pawnshop is that they cater to a clientele used to more nontraditional financing, AKA, getting screwed. Most pawn shops have lay-away, only if you pay their full price or will accept the trade of non-gun items toward purchase of a firearm.

Lets face it, if the gun ended up in a pawnshop, chances are it was not a cherished item to its owner, hence the usual low quality, poor condition stuff we typically see there.

Not saying bargains are not to be had, just that they are few and far between.
 
Lets face it, if the gun ended up in a pawnshop, chances are it was not a cherished item to its owner
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That's probably true to a large extent, but in my experience I think it is also true that in too many cases that when a gun [or set of tools, or bicycle, or Les Paul or gold earrings, etc.] ends up in a pawn shop, it was a cherished item to its owner, but the owner would rather part with a beat up old gun than actually have to report to the police that his meth addict grandson stole it from him to pawn for drug money. Seen it too many times..."oh, it was old and never got shot anyway and junior has been in enough trouble already without me adding to his problems."
 
I've bought a dozen or more very good revolvers from my local gunshop/pawn shop ...S&W model 19's, 66's - 27's - 28's -- 29's - 629's ..and 617's and 18's ....

but probably the best buy I made was a pair of S&W .44 mags - a model 19-2 Nickel 8 3/8" and a S&W 629 DX model 8 3/8" ...for $ 900 .....both were fired but no wear ....and combined they were worth at least $ 1250 ....
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but I try and go by that shop at least twice a month - just to see what he has...( and I have a standing order for a model 27-2 Nickel in 4" ...) if he ever gets one ...maybe two ....
 
Never had much luck at pawn shops. I did buy one gun at a pawn shop though. A snubby H&R 732 in 32 s&w long. VG condition for $86 (about 3 years ago). He was asking $140 and had it for quite a while. I guess he got tired of looking at it.
 
Two of my clients are pawn shops. One traded me a 686-4 for a bit of accounting work. My out of pocket in staff wages was less than $200. Most of the time, however, their guns are less than interesting. I am holding a Browning rifle in 7mm mag for someone to encourage them to pay me cash. No wages, just my time on that one.
 
I recently came upon a used Smith 586 at my local pawn shop i put it on layaway and a month later walked out the door with it for 325.00 tax included i thought i got a great deal. :D
 
That's probably true to a large extent, but in my experience I think it is also true that in too many cases that when a gun [or set of tools, or bicycle, or Les Paul or gold earrings, etc.] ends up in a pawn shop, it was a cherished item to its owner, but the owner would rather part with a beat up old gun than actually have to report to the police that his meth addict grandson stole it from him to pawn for drug money.
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That's exactly what my experience has been, as well. We even had several incidents within our family, where firearms had to be retrieved from pawn shops. When you walk into the shop, hand the owner a list containing make/model/serial/caliber/accessories/scopes, and tell them they have 3 minutes to produce everything, as the police have already been notified that the shop knowingly bought stolen property..... They start jumping around like you shoved a hot poker in their 'back door'.

The worst part, for us, was that the pawn shop owner KNEW the legal owner of the firearms, in each case, and KNEW they were cherished possessions. They never would have been allowed to end up in the hands of Mr. Meth. (It was particularly bad in this small town, where everyone knew everyone, and everyone knew Mr. Meth had already pawned all of his own possessions.)

Mr. Meth is enjoying a long stay in an Arizona prison, now. Arizona let him do his shorter stints in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, first. ;)

Those experiences aside -
I have never found a good deal at a pawn shop.
The closest thing would be a Super Blackhawk I bought from a wholesaler/broker. It's a Law Enforcement supply business that also runs a gun store, and runs a pawn shop on the side (but specializes in musical instruments). But, it wasn't any 'screaming' deal. I paid a reasonable $275 (it had some minor pitting and a lot of holster wear).
 
I buy most of my guns in pawn shops. I guess in this part of the country, pawn shops are more concerned about their clientele.

Just last spring, I picked up a Ruger Security Six for $225.00. Being locally owned, many of the pawn shops here will also order guns for customers, or serve as FFL transfer points for a nominal fee. For example, I can order a gun from Davidson's or Lipsey's, have it delivered to my local pawn shop and pay them a $25.00 transfer fee. No problem.

Mainly what I buy in pawn shops are rifles, and I've picked up some really nice examples over the last several years. For example, I picked up a nearly pristine Remington 700 ADL (1983 manuf code) in .308 with a Leupold scope for just a little over $400.00. Or, the two Winchester 94's I scored for $150.00 each. Or, the Remington 870 for $225.00. The best steal was probably the Howa in .270 that I got for $150.00, with scope. I gifted it to my nephew, a good kid starting a family.
 
The worst part, for us, was that the pawn shop owner KNEW the legal owner of the firearms, in each case, and KNEW they were cherished possessions. They never would have been allowed to end up in the hands of Mr. Meth. (It was particularly bad in this small town, where everyone knew everyone, and everyone knew Mr. Meth had already pawned all of his own possessions.)
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Not trying to judge or offend but was charges pressed against Mr. Meth? Obviously the shop should not have purchased goods that knew were stolen, but I believe that charges should have been pressed on the family member. I realize he ended up in prison but was it because of this?

Proving they knew they were stolen could be difficult.

I say this because owning a pawn shop is one of those things I would love to do but will never actually do. I would never take possession of items I knew were stolen, but If I did so unknowingly and a family member came in demanding the guns back I would have no problem returning them after I see that charges had been pressed on the crook.

I work in customer service for a large bank and we see things like this all the time with debit/credit cards and checks. Someone comes in to dispute an item that did not make or authorize. They say their grandchild did it but they didn't give them premission. That is fine you can get your $ back but you must press charges. Alot of people get really upset. They act like since it was a family member they should get their $ back without hadling it they same way as any other theft.

I know it is not the exact same thing but it is similar (in my mind at least) and again I apologize if I offended. I was just curious
 
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