Model 21 skeet gun in the box for $800 which was about 10 weeks wages back then. Purdey 28 guage with 2 sets of barrels for $5500 at the old A&F store in Chicago which was a years salary so I suppose they don't really count.More recently I had the chance to buy a LC Smith A2 with 2 sets of barrels for $1000 and when I got back to the table after I borrowed the money it was gone.

my dad passed on this one..a lc smith 8 ga in really good shapoe for 250 dollars this was in the year 1959...i personally had to pass on a winchester model 21 12 ga that was as new in a oak carrying case..my friend wanted 250 dollars for this gun.i wanted this gun bad but atlas did not have the money this was in 1966... man if i could just go back in time....charlie

The other side of the coin....at a Syracuse Gun Show, many years ago, I came upon a Winchester model 61 in .22 shot. It was the early one with the feame matting and looked like a miniature model 12. The dealer wanted $800 and I was willing to pay $700. We could not come to terms and I left to find my wife, Sylvia, at the coffee shop. I told her about the gun. She said, "where is it, and give me the money." I did so and she left. About 10 minutes later with the gun and a smile. The dealer sold her the gun for $650. I still have it today. They now go for the price of a nice DH.

Hey Bill, would you ask Sylvia if she would be willing to go gun shopping with me?

I was driving truck accross Nebraska a few years ago. I stopped in Cabellas store in Sydney. There in the used gun racks was a pre 64 Mod 70 in 30.06
with a beautiful blonde maple stock. When I picked up that rifle it just jumped right into place. Everything fit just right. If I remember correctly it even had a Leupold scope. But alas I didn't have the 1200.00 they wanted.:crying:
Another time I was at a pawn shop here in town and found a Greener SxS. they wouldnt come down off the price the 100.00 I wanted to pay so I walked out. 2 days later I went back and it was gone. I could have afforded the asking price but was too hard headed. I think my wife will attest to that without hesatation.

I've let a few nice guns slip through my hands over the years, but never a quality double, especially a Parker. I own half a dozen Parkers of various grades along with a lot of Ithacas, Bakers and some nice English guns. But my favorite is a Parker 16 gauge Trojan on a #1 frame that I got from my mother on my 12th birthday in 1958. My dad had purchased the gun for the lofty sum of $18.00 as a present for my mom in 1938. I harvested a lot of grouse along with pheasant and rabbit with that homely little gun. I've been offered more than it's worth a couple of times, but it's not going anywhere.

Paul if it's any consolation I doubt that the stock on the M70 was original to the gun.

Oh, I know that wasn't the orginal stock but it was this close to being the perfect gun.:crying:

I recall back in the early '60s, when I was a law student in Salem OR with a wife and two little ones and a night shift job, I saw an ad in the Statesman for a 70, 300 H&H, 26" bbl. and a Redfield scope, for a $100. I went to check it out, and it was in top shape. The seller was in a similar family/financial situation as I was and needed to part with his hunting rifle. I had (still have) a nice Mauser '06 at the time and didn't really need another rifle; so I passed. Bet that old 70 is still out there getting game.

DH 10 ga
 

Well guys, what about that 32" DH Titanic steel barreled 10 ga that Bill Hadfield over at Robin Hallow had a few weeks ago for $4,500. I saw it day one and called him. Yep they were Titanic steel barrels, supposed to be only a few hundred of those made. But, I already have one with 30" Titanic steel barrels....

Gee maybe I ought to buy that one with the great wood and sell mine, hmmm let's think about this for a couple of weeks.

Too late, it's gone.

I can't get that boot out of my butt.

I rarely hesitate, but I just couldn't get excited about it at the time.