who has made pawn shop rifle purchases?
- Thread starter ReloadKy
- Start date
All pawn shops and most gun shops are much like prospecting for gold. When found, it is right where it is. So much looking pays off.
Pawn shops seem to run in opposites. One finds a two year old .22 lr low cost rifle with the bore rusted and the stock looking like it was used as mallet and jack handle. Next to that one is a 1930s Mannlicher sporter for a silly low price.
One never knows. Take money and look bored.
Pawn shops seem to run in opposites. One finds a two year old .22 lr low cost rifle with the bore rusted and the stock looking like it was used as mallet and jack handle. Next to that one is a 1930s Mannlicher sporter for a silly low price.
One never knows. Take money and look bored.
I was lucky enough to make (in my mind) a pretty good purchase this past weekend. This was the second rifle I have purchased from this pawn shop both Ruger Americans and both are tack drivers!! Amount paid for both rifles combined was $350. One has Redfield Revolution and the other was unscoped.
I bought an ishapore rifle from a pawn shop that had a table set up at a gun show. I wish I had known more about the rifles and what to look for before purchasing it. I got a fair price but ended up having to replace most of the safety components and the extractor. Luckily these are readily available and not that expensive so overall it was still a positive experience. Plus, if anyone needs help putting together an ishapore safety, I'm an expert now 
Soclosenotnear
New member
I run a pawn shop for a living and have for the last ten years. I've bought 30-40 rifles in that time with very few complaints. I've sold countless rifles to same notion. Deals can be had and rare birds come around relatively often.
Don Fischer
New member
I bought a Bernadelli shotgun at a pawn shop but don't recall what I'd paid. That was back about 1970 or 71. Seldom go into pawn shops looking for rifles. Did years ago and got the feeling each one was playing games with me. Just easier to buy used guns in a gun shop for me.
Northrider
New member
I've purchased an M1 Garand from one pawn shop and a Wingmaster shotgun for my daughter from another. Both were reasonably priced and the guns shoot well. Had my share of "should have done it" moments for sure.
Pawn Shop firearms...
Awhile back during a 50%-off Pawn Shop Weekend (One wknd annually, ALL the shops in town put on a big sale and advertise as an industry), was making the rounds and came across a NIB 20 ga./28" Vented mod. Remington 870 Wingmaster (one of the early ones on the 12 ga. receiver) for $250 dollars - marked down to $125. Have a 12 ga. just like it so I bought it. Works perfect for dove and rabbit, as well as a sheet gun for the boys coming up.
Also found a 1955 High Standard 3" 9-shot 22LR R-100 Sentinel revolver.
Was looking for a kit gun for fishing and bow hunting, and this one looked just right. They wanted $150 for it, marked down from $300. It looked to be in very good shape... until I opened the cylinders and used a business card as a bore light. The bore looked rusted out with almost all the rifling gone.
I showed the resident gunsmith and he said it would clean up, and he took it into his bullpen and scrubbed the bore with solvent and a brush for about ten minutes and then brought it back out.
No difference.
So I told him that I wasn't interested in it any longer as a $125 dollar kit gun as it probably couldn't hit a snake at 6 inches, much less 6 feet.
Then I told him that it might be OK for snake-shot in the boat, but not for that price, and since he figured no one else would buy it with a bore like that he offered to mark it down another 50% to $75 dollars.
So I bought it.
After I got it home and was cleaning it to no avail, I decided to run a military .22 Cal. stainless steel bore brush I had picked up at a gun show for stripping lead and copper fouling. So I pushed it down the muzzle, and then pulled it out, once, and then ran a jagged patch through it a coupla times.
What greeted me was a pristine bore, with sharp clean rifling and no sign of pitting.
What had appeared to be rust... was just 40-odd years of polymerized cosmoline, cardboard fibers, and drawer lint.
Pawn Shop firearms...
Red
Awhile back during a 50%-off Pawn Shop Weekend (One wknd annually, ALL the shops in town put on a big sale and advertise as an industry), was making the rounds and came across a NIB 20 ga./28" Vented mod. Remington 870 Wingmaster (one of the early ones on the 12 ga. receiver) for $250 dollars - marked down to $125. Have a 12 ga. just like it so I bought it. Works perfect for dove and rabbit, as well as a sheet gun for the boys coming up.
Also found a 1955 High Standard 3" 9-shot 22LR R-100 Sentinel revolver.
Was looking for a kit gun for fishing and bow hunting, and this one looked just right. They wanted $150 for it, marked down from $300. It looked to be in very good shape... until I opened the cylinders and used a business card as a bore light. The bore looked rusted out with almost all the rifling gone.
I showed the resident gunsmith and he said it would clean up, and he took it into his bullpen and scrubbed the bore with solvent and a brush for about ten minutes and then brought it back out.
No difference.
So I told him that I wasn't interested in it any longer as a $125 dollar kit gun as it probably couldn't hit a snake at 6 inches, much less 6 feet.
Then I told him that it might be OK for snake-shot in the boat, but not for that price, and since he figured no one else would buy it with a bore like that he offered to mark it down another 50% to $75 dollars.
So I bought it.
After I got it home and was cleaning it to no avail, I decided to run a military .22 Cal. stainless steel bore brush I had picked up at a gun show for stripping lead and copper fouling. So I pushed it down the muzzle, and then pulled it out, once, and then ran a jagged patch through it a coupla times.
What greeted me was a pristine bore, with sharp clean rifling and no sign of pitting.
What had appeared to be rust... was just 40-odd years of polymerized cosmoline, cardboard fibers, and drawer lint.
Pawn Shop firearms...
Red
I have haunted and searched the Pawn Shops for firearms for 50+ years. And have bought some of the nicest and most accurate firearms I own in them. I really buy very few NIB guns. I believe the best time to start looking is right after Xmas and after the hunting seasons close. Right thru to late summer before hunting starts again. The prices are usually the cheapest at this time of the year. And I really enjoy doing this. I have also made some fantastic buys in the Pawn Shops parking lots.
ken
ken
When I read this I thought you must be from California. Then I saw it was Canada. Close enough.