Used Rifles: Why Bother?

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Clevinger

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I frequently check out used gun racks and sites like gunbroker for a deal on a used rifle I want.

What has consistently surprised me is that the prices for the used rifles are often so close to the new guns that you might as well just buy new.

If a new Tikka T3 can be found for $549-599, for example, why would you bother with a used one for $500+ that might have problems? :confused:

The used rifle market kind of sucks for deals.
 
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I totally agree. All the shops in my area apparently don't know what the word depreciation means! No way in hell am I paying 350+ for a used Remington 870 wingmaster. Gun shows aren't any better that's for sure. I generally buy new, for a hundred more I usually can. Seems much worse this past year for obvious reasons here in NY.
 
By and large, Americans aren't wired in to arguing price on used stuff. I figure that if a new rifle is $600, and the seller of a used version wants $500, I'm gonna try him at maybe $350.

If I'm in the market for a used rifle, I'll browse around the hock shops. I figure that they have maybe half the asking price in the gun, and make offers accordingly.

I did the gunshow table thing, two to four times a year, for right at 30 years. I took many a used rifle in on trade. I'd test them at home, maybe do minor tweaking--but I never had any real problem with any of them.
 
Why bother? Because there are lots of fine used guns that are only available on the used market, for one, and for two, there are tons of good deals to be had.

Just understand that not every make and model will be a deal at any given time or in every place. Local demand has a lot to do with used prices. A gun that is popular in your area will keep a higher price than one that isn't.
 
Art Eatman said:
By and large, Americans aren't wired in to arguing price on used stuff. I figure that if a new rifle is $600, and the seller of a used version wants $500, I'm gonna try him at maybe $350.
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Absolutely, you got to learn the art of haggling if you want to buy used. Just realize that most prices at pawn shops and gun shops is a suggestion not a hard price. If they won't budge then don't be afraid to walk on them, and you can't get a deal if you don't ask.
 
The used rifle market kind of sucks for deals.
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Gunbroker is not the place to look for deals on popular guns. Gun shows can be but usually aren't. I haven't paid asking price for very many used guns and I have bought a lot of them over the years. If I'm at a gun show and see something I want I usually offer a lot less than I'm willing to give. Say something is priced at 500 I'll offer 300 and go from there. If I can get him down to 400 I'm happy and he's happy or he wouldn't let it go. If I can't get it at a price I can live with I leave it there because I know I'll find another one sooner or later or something else entirely that I didn't know I needed til I saw it.:D Pawn shops can be a good place. They give pennies on the dollar but know what they can get in the long run. They will usually take a good bit less for a quick sale but don't expect them to give it to you for next to nothing. You lose nothing by trying to haggle except maybe a gun you gave too much for.
 
You do have to sometimes walk away. But if there's room in the store or shop, just walk to another section. Years ago I made an offer I thought was fair and I laid my checkbook on the counter. He would not meet my price, so I went over into the reloading section and got a few things. After a while the sales guy drifted over and said "Hey, were you serious on that price?" I said yes, and he said that he'd thought it over and was ready to do my number.

If you are negotiating, you have to be ready to walk away. If not, you aren't really negotiating.
 
I do decent at a couple of pawn shops who have older gentlemen running them. Most shops think more of used than they think of new. Its a lot harder to deal than it used to be. If you really want some good deals, catch the person who walked in and walked back out of the pawn shop with the same firearm.
 
For deals on used rifles, hit the consignment racks in the gun stores .... in the first 1/2 of the year, becaues in January and February, credit card bills are coming due from Christmas, construction/trades work is often slow (in the northern 1/2 of the country), and because the hunting seasons are pretty much over, guys figure they don't REALLY need that deer rifle as much as they need to pay bills. Come March-April-May, tax returns come in and guys are selling the rifle they have to augment the return of their short term interest-free loan to Uncle Sam to get the rifle they want ......

Carry cash, and haggle.

My dad got a perfectly serviceable Remington 721 in 30-06 last summer .... $250 OTD.
 
I have to agree with what Art and Taylorce1 says, hell if it wasnt for used rifles I wouldnt have any in my cabinet..

I always haggle prices on used guns, and I also study used gun values. Theain thing to me is use, if a rifle has been rode hard and put up wet, and its something I need I make a cheaper offer than what Im actually willing to spend then I haggle til they give up or I walk.
I buy used stuff and tweak it til its a bonified shooter then I can use it for trade or let family hunt with them.. Workin on guns is way to fun..
 
Pawn shops are not an option in my state. Cant even make deals face to face with out going to a gun shop for a transfer, really putting a damper on the used market around here. Once in a blue moon you can find a good ol' boy selling a collection...
 
Pawn shops are not an option in my state.
Cant even make deals face to face
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Pawn shops that deal in guns have FFL's
They are "gun shops"

Used guns are just something that hold their values well, and can even gain in value.
 
Roughly 80% of all the guns I've bought have been purchased used at a substantial savings. Sure there are lots of overpriced guns out there. I just don't buy those. Lots of my favorite guns are no longer in production so used is really the only option.

My rule of thumb for used guns is 50-75% of what a comparable new gun sells for. How close to 50% or 75% depends on the individual gun and how bad I want it. It also depends on whether I'm buying or selling. Lots of guns, if old enough, can be bought/sold for 50% of a new guns price and still bring more than that gun sold for new. Nothing wrong with that either as a buyer or seller if the gun is worth it.

My most recent used prize. A SS Winchester Classic in 300 WSM. I paid $400 for this gun, including the $200 scope from a big name gunshop. A gunsmith named Bubba had ruined the stock so I spent $50 for the replacement with plans of buying a McMIllan for it later. It shoots so well as is, I'm not changing anything. $450 invested. to buy the same rifle and scope new would be over $1000.
 
As others have said, you have to haggle and not be afraid to walk away.

I'm always on the lookout for used and abused Savage rifles. I keep praying that I'll find one where the barrel is rusted hard and the action has a tiny bit of rust. Oh, it'll still be posted for 180 or 200 (even though a new axis can be had for 360ish), but I'll offer 130 or walk away. I'll walk out with it in hand, and have a cheap action for my next build :cool:.

At any rate, again you have to haggle. Pawn shops are in the business of making money. The more the better, so they start those prices on up there. They are negotiable.
 
well.. some rifles just can't be had new. i like vintage military rifles. there is no currently manufacturer of an Arisaka t99, or swedish M38, or a US Model 1917.

getting away from VIMBARS, there is currently a great majority of Ruger NOs that were only released for a short periods of time in varios configurations such as an international(full length stock short carbine) in 30-06 or a medium sporter in 303 brit. other guns like left handed winchester model 70s are also no longer made and you would have to shop new.

with all that said the internet is not the place to go for deals most of the time. everyone that is selling has the resources to know what people are willing to pay and the less supply there is the more the price they can command to meet the demand... I have only gotten a good price on one rifle I've bought online and that rifle was beat to hell and rusted like an old cannon on a sunken ship but it cleaned up well and I got it for a good 30% lower than it's closest competitor so it's no big deal for me.
 
With the type of shooting I do( target ) I would never ever buy a used rifle. You don''t know the history or round count. I leave them for the other guy to buy.
 
Some rifles just can't be had new and there are definitely deals to be had. I check out the pawn shops at least once a month, everything is negotiable and our pawn shops around here are always getting new inventory of good stuff, thanks to all the gamblers. I've only ever bought 1 'new in box' gun, and that was off gunbroker.

Many times the deals you can get on a used rifle, with a some haggling, can even make it worth a little work (or rebarreling/chambering, depending on what you are looking for).
 
Buying used, why bother?

Well, there's that Howa 1500 with scope I picked up for $125.00. The scope, mounts, and rings alone would have cost more than that, so I basically got the rifle for free. Rifle was in .270, a caliber I don't load for, so I bought a box of Remington ammo and took the rifle to the range. Three shots into 0.75 and I was pleased.

Then there's the Remington 700 in .308 with a Leupold scope that I picked up for $300.00. Not a bad deal, considering the scope, which has a lifetime warranty. Granted it's a VX1, so it would only have cost about $200.00 new. I hunted with that one for two years, then gifted it to a grandson for Christmas.

Or the tang-safety Ruger 77 with scope I picked up for $350.00. It was in .25-06, a caliber I wanted to play with, and it turned out that the rifle would shoot into MOA with very little work. That load has become one of my pet loads and the caliber has become one of my favorites. We've now got four of that caliber in the family and it continues to knock holes in things with boring regularity.

I don't know why I bother even looking at the used gun racks.
 
The used market generally stinks right now, and has for the past several years, because the new market has been so incredibly hot.

People either can't get what they want, or don't want to pay the inflated prices, in the new market so they hit the used market, and that drives prices up.

It's not always been like this, and it's not going to be like this forever.
 
People either can't get what they want, or don't want to pay the inflated prices, in the new market so they hit the used market, and that drives prices up.
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Are you saying that there are not enough goods for the dollars out there?

Too many dollars chasing too few goods ........ hmmm ..... there's a term for that .....

It's not that the things we want are expensive. It's that the dollars we buy them with are worth less.

If They keep making them up out of thin air, things we NEED will be unobtainable with dollars ....... because the words "worth" and "less" get pushed closer together every time they do.
 
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