Smith & Wesson M28 - Does this piece justify the price?

W

wasteland

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So I paid the guy $375.

Now that's at least a hundred over what I'd expect to pay for the model. Basically it's the 28-2 with a 6 inch pinned barrel. But the bluing is flawless all over, no rust or wear, chambers and bore are totally spotless, the action is just as smooth as I've heard about, and it's a '72 vintage. I'd call it 98%. For such an old 28 to be in this condition I'm betting it was probably locked up in various dealer's storage rooms for most of its existence.

Not bad, but I'm feeling ripped off by a little.

I'd like to hear what you guys have to say.
 
S&W fans are getting nostalgic about M28's and the price is easing up. A few years hence, they will probably sell routinely for that...and more.

Doubt that dealers will give much for one, but if you wanted a really nice M28 and will use it well with good care, it will probably prove a sound investment.

I do think you might have had it for $300 or so, but you did get a nice one, and it's only money. A really nice S&W of that vintage is... a good gun. Those are always a good deal!

Lone Star
 
The few shops around here that have one in the condition you describe are pricing them over $325 and up. Heck, good used ones are around $275. Prices just seem to be going up.
 
I _generally_ think a nice M28 is worth about $325. A little more for a "no dash" or something like that. A no dash with diamond grips could push over $400 considering what those grips go for by themselves.

But I've been down this road of trying to get something for the absolute best price possible. It's good to have a solid basic price but then be a little flexible based on condition and who is selling it. I've walked away from guns before that were $50 more than I really thought was "the right price." Then I went back a week later and discovered somebody else had already bought it. In most cases, I would rather have the gun that I missed rather than that $50 which went _somewhere_ since then.

Enjoy the gun and don't let some "little voice in your head" ruin it for you by wishing you had got it a little cheaper! They will cost more than you paid (on average) in a year or two anyway.

Gregg
 
Someone once said that there is no such thing as paying too much for a nice old gun, only paying it too soon!

I'm seeing 6" M28's selling for $325 - $350 pretty regularly around here, so I don't think you made out too badly.

Another way to look at it is where can you get a top quality, large frame, adjustable sight .357 mag for much less than what you paid :)

Enjoy it - in a few years when you get tired of it it'll be worth at least $100 more than what ya paid for it.

Bill
 
By next year that little extra cash you put out will be long forgotten. All N-frames are going up in price and the vast quantites of M28s that were out there are drying up. It isn't a great deal, but I wouldn't feel bad about it.
 
At the risk of inciting the resident nit-picker...

I think the Model 28s are generally over-priced. I bought a 95% Model 27 with the sought after 5" barrel a few months ago for $299. I think $375 is high for less refined M28. To me a nice 28 is a $250 gun. Sorry, but you asked.

But it's your gun now. If you enjoy it that's the most important thing. A few dollars one way or the other won't be remembered in the long run.
 
I bought a 28-2 6" from my brother on Christmas day 2003 for $200.00. It has a little wear around the cylinder and the end of the barrel and is in exellent mechinical condition. At that time i figured the gun was worth what he was asking. In 2002 and 2003 i used to see them at gun shows priced at around $200. to $225.00. The last gun show i went to last summer i saw a couple of 4 inchers priced at $300.00. Both were about 95%. I know one sold for asking price but i don't know about the other one.

It seems more people are starting to appreciate the 28's. The prices are only going to increase.
 
Hi, Too Far Gone,

If that Model 27 is in good shape, you got a real bargain. Still, the Model 28, while not a Model 27, is hell for rugged and a very good gun. Anyone who can pick one up for $250 should probably do so, even if only as an investment.

Jim
 
You have nothing to feel riped off about

In shops here in Indiana, if I take your condition correctly at about 90% it should bring a little OVER 400, a lot would depend on how many N frames we had in the shop and how fast they were going out. But I wouldnt feel riped off.
 
My M28-2 is a solid 98%. S/h, transfer, a set of wood and Pachmayr presentation grips cost me $405.00 for Christmas. I am happy with that.
 
I saw one yesterday, quite a nice one, priced at $475. I told the shop owner he was crazy, and said that they've been selling around here for $375-395 (which is true).

Then I bought the no-dash square-butt model 36 (85-90%) he had in the case listed for $189. :)
 
Tamara:

"To you it may be"

Well, personal opinion was solicited and that's what I offered. Markets may vary greatly in different parts of the country. All I can do is say what I would pay if I were looking for one... which I am not... so what does it matter?
 
I have to confess that I've gone for a long time thinking of the 28s as $250 guns - but in the last couple of years I've been paying attention to them again, and I'm sort of astonished to see they're being appreciated by buyers. :) I suppose it's because there are only so many of those nice old Smiths out there - they aren't making more (and the Klinton Agreement and subsequent - largely defunct - consumer boycott didn't help keep the prices down on the old ones).

It's funny. My father-in-law, who grew up during the Depression, thinks of $1.00 as a solidly good tip. He can force himself to tip more than $1, but it's hard for him. And I don't think he can quite bring himself to tip (the what I consider routine) 20% on a larger (over $80) restaurant bill.

So we in the younger generation are always throwing money under our plates when he's not looking.

And, that's the thing: My father-in-law isn't cheap, and he isn't wrong (at least from the perspective of his frame of mind). But he hasn't adjusted with the market.

So, Too Far Gone, I see where you're coming from, and I appreciate it, as I see things that way myself (until I remind myself that some time has gone by and things are now different). But I agree with Tamara's market estimation (although I think that guns might be a wee bit cheaper out there in Davy Crockett country than they are here in Aztlán).

And, Too Far Gone . . . man, you got a great price on that 5" model 27. :) Enjoy it!
 
If it came with box and papers that's about right from my studies. Without, I'd venture it was maybe 10-15% high. ( FWIW, I bought one similarly a few months back for $300. Found a mod 27 the same day for $375 in similar condition. )Having said that, they ARE going up in price. If you hang on to it a bit and treat it well, you will not loose $. Bottom line: You did OK and as long as you enjoy it, it was worth every cent. Life is short
 
I paid $250 for a M-28 a couple years ago and more recently $300 for a nickle M-27 in 6 inch.
Good deals?, yes. Would I have paid more?, probally.
I figure it's a very limited market these days and the prices will go nowhere but up, now is the time to buy. (Sounds like a 90's stock broker doesn't it?)
I also remember buying a 1981 car for $10,000 swearing I'd never pay that much for transportation. It's most likely in the boneyard now and my newer vehicles are 3X's that price rusting away in the snow now.
Makes me wonder what my neighbor paid for the '69 and '70 Chevelle in his polebarn.
What are last years golf clubs going for now? All of a sudden I'm glad I'm a gun accumalator. :)
 
I walked in a local pawnshop that occassionally check out last Saturday. I walked out the door with a like new 28-2--no scratches, not even a turn, correct grips, etc. All it cost me was a beat up old Bugarian Mak I had stashed behind the seat and $100 (out the door). :)
 
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