Soft gun prices

[Joe Graziano]

I tend to agree, and can relate to the story about sellers. I recently saw a hammer shotgun for sale on GI. It was sort of an oddball 20 ga, made in the 1950s. Very well worn and from a previously unheard of maker. An "expert" advised him it was really a Beretta, because it was made a Brescia-made gun. It surely was not a Beretta. The seller isn't a gun guy and wanted nearly $1000 for the gun based on the expert's advice, which was entirely unrealistic. From what I have seen, it may bring $200-250 at auction. We exchanged email, I did a bit of educating and I politely suggested keeping grandpa's old gun in the family. The family really wanted to sell and would take $550, again unrealistic. I figured it would be fun on a quail hunt this fall and offered $300. The guy disappeared. My guess is, he thought I was trying to rip him off when in reality, $300 was the most he was going to get for it. At auction, the family would probably net maybe $150. Such is life.

[Bill Murphy]

I think we are seriously overthinking the soft market for double guns. Average guns, in condition or rarity, are of little interest to collectors and are almost impossible to sell at any reasonable price. Hot guns, whether in condition, rarity, or bore size, sell quickly at a reasonable price. Collectors are still searching for and buying hot guns. What is a "reasonable price" is a matter of opinion and sets the market for these hot guns. I recently bought a wonderful original late NID Ithaca 12 gauge with factory single trigger and ejectors, much color, for $280 from a local gun store who had had it for weeks with that price posted on it. If it had been posted by one of our dealer friends on the internet, it would have been priced at $750 or $800, or even more. The sellers of average guns are their own worst enemy in their search for ignorant and uninformed buyers. I agree so much with Craig Larter and Bill Mullins that I will keep buying great guns with no expectation except to enjoy them.