doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Cheap as chips or even a cheeseburger

I have from time to time marvelled about how cheaply a working shotgun can be bought at auction in the U.K.

I gave not yet got one this cheaply.

He buys for 2 bucks and gives,10000 in advertising for the auction house.i would offer 2.50

Neat video. Thanks for sharing!! 😉

I saw that. Short tubes (26-inches IIRC) and he mentioned "light". Moreover, he only worked on it for 1 measly day to make it serviceable. It was/is an off-brand Rizzini so at least he had something to work with. Not much for chokes either. I think somebody offered him £300 for it at the end.

There is, of course, a reason why such guns don't cost much there. In order to "buy" one you need several things, (1.) A shotgun certificate (I presume this includes something akin to our "federal/state background check"), and then (2.) you must have a "safe & approved" place to store it. (3.) Some money (of course!) and then (4.) a "legitimate" place to use it (which isn't a cheap proposition either, I suspect, at least not like it is here). If you actually have the means and a place to store & use them, something like this "old bone" isn't likely going to be of interest you. Guns cost more here because it is far-easier to acquire and then legally use them (we take sooo-much for granted here!). I am, of course, open to correction on this as I've never actually been to "Old Blighty".

Nearly right. We do have to apply for a Certificate which checks your background and requires the support of a referee. Recently we have had to get clearance from a doctor that we have no health issues which may be relevant. A securely fixed gun safe, a wallet with at the most £50.00 in it and you are on your way. There is no need to have anywhere to use it, only that you may want, for example , to go clay shooting or accept an invitation from a friend to shoot on their permission at some time or other. As for the cost, many of us have hundreds of acres of free shooting which may be anything from pigeon/rabbit pest control to being given a free rein by the landowner. Its hard work finding free shooting but most seem to manage to some degree. So, a trip to Holts to pick up a SxS for under £50.00 is very easy. The main reason SxS guns are so cheap is the impending lead ban which is causing a lot of folk to fear for the survival of their light game guns when used with the brutal steel cartridges, not to mention the cost of them. Sensible people are stockpiling and take the attitude that despite any ban, they will have find you using it first. There is a surprising amount of cover in our small island.

In Arizona we have a lot of public hunting you can stay busy in the field from Sept 1st through feb.hunting squirrels rabbits quail doves blue grouse ducks,and big game if you draw a tag.

It all comes down to the laws of supply and demand.

With so many good value, though sadly all imported, guns in the market these days there is less interest in the second hand market and the bottom end gets pushed towards the scrap heap.

I hear a local dealer will throw in a serviceable gun from his “scrap” rack if you buy a £35 gun slip.

I love a bargain and field grade SxS are there already. The only limiting factor is the cost of importing them. A 300 pound buy ($381.27), plus 25% to Holt's is a 375 pound invoice, which equals $476.59 and then quickly becomes a $1000 plus gun by the time you get it in hand. So cheap gun buys are relative and you need to take in the final total price including shipping. 300 pounds becomes $1,000.00 which is tripled, but a 1,000 pound gun ($1,270.90) only cost about a $2,100.00 total. Auction premium, taxes and importing drives up the final cost. So hear 300 pounds but know in you head that 300 is $1,000.00 in the end.

Still you can find a deal sometimes. I bought a Remington 1100 Sporting, 20 gauge that I had just under $700.00 invested in by the time it arrived. It was mint condition and I had been looking at several in the $1,700-2,100 price range. But no average gun worth a few hundred is going to be as much a bargain as you think. When the flood of old guns begins, and I expect it to occur in three to five years, there will be a few gems in the pile. It is just up to the buyer to see and buy them. Looking is 99% of the fun sometimes. A thousand pounds will buy a decent side lock, without a decent name on the side, in good condition, or a worn out named side lock or just about 95% of all box locks sold at Holt's. Sort through the box locks first.

Thruxton:

Thankyou for that. The review by a mental health professional before issuing the certificate is a new one to me(!). It's death by a thousand cuts anymore, even here. I'm hoping that senescence takes me out before I get so enraged by it all that I do something regrettable.

$2.00 for a working firearm is a pretty good buy. My best gun buy was even cheaper, and purely accidental.

Some years back, my wife bought a baby grand piano from the estate of a co-worker's mother. I was going to enlist a few buddies to help me move it, but I decided to hire a moving company to bring it home. Good decision, because the pros have all the equipment to make it almost effortless. That weekend, they were having an auction to sell off the other contents of the house. So she wanted us to go to the auction so she could make sure her piano wasn't damaged by the auction crowd. I had wanted to go hunting that day, but since the weather was going to be very warm, I reluctantly decided to go to the auction.

I registered to bid, and bought some gardening tools, etc. Near the end of the sale, I paid for my purchases and took my tools to my truck. When I got back, my wife told me she bought one more item. I asked her what she bought, and she said while I was gone, they auctioned off all of the items on the back wall of the garage, and the contents of the workbench. Nobody else bid, so she bought it all for $1.00. I was kind of annoyed, because I hadn't seen anything there I really wanted. I paid the dollar, and decided to look through the junk to see if there was anything useful. I boxed up about 40-50 lbs. of nails, screws, nuts, bolts, hardware, and several hand tools. Not bad, so far. Then I looked under the workbench and grabbed what at first felt like a length of pipe wrapped in an old bath towel.

The "pipe" was actually the barrel of a Stevens Crackshot .25 rimfire rifle. The gun was in very nice condition overall. All of the metal was coated with grease, so no rust. Most of these old single shots have pitted barrels from neglect and old corrosive ammo. But the bore also had a heavy coating of grease, so it was in perfect condition. I had thought about just walking away and leaving it all behind. I'm glad I didn't.