doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Trading Guns

Curious as to the best gun trade you've made.
Doesn't usually work out for me. I'll start with a matched set of Purdeys and within 3 trades I've got myself a Mossberg 500.

"Brown" vh Parker for a minty HD military High Standard and a WW2 Randall fighting knife.

I have a friend that sold a gun on a dove hunt and came home broke. He said never again...

Not a trade but went to an estate auction that had two Winchester Model 12s, a 20ga and a 16ga. Two guys ran the 20 gauge up to $650.00 and I walked away with the minty 16 gauge that must not have had a box of shells fired through it for less than $200.00. Go figure.

You sure he wasn't at a Pigeon shoot

Refinished 3 double guns for a customer who traded me an unbutchered, minty 28" 20 ga. Philadelphia Fox Sterlingworth as payment...... A good deal for us both........

Passed on a completely disgusting "plain jane" Scott Crystal Window 12 bore in its case when a guy asked if I'd pay $4000. He carried it around a collector's gun show all day and no one would even pick it up because it literally had 1/16" of black grease all over it and the barrels had some sort of insta-blue put on it.

At the end of the day the guy came back and asked what I'd give him for it as the show was breaking down. I didn't handle it then, I felt bad for the guy and gave him $1200 cash thinking I'd restore the Oak and Leather case for another gun I own and that I could find someone to give me $900 for the old Scott.

When I bought it I thought it was the Scott OEM branded version of what Holland and Holland called the entry level "climax". (a not very desirable entry level gun) It was so filthy I didn't even want to inspect it that closely when I bought it!

I took it home and the insta-blue on the barrels came off, it may have been blue sharpie marker. (I sent them out for browning) I removed the 1/16" of grease from the receiver and engraving began to appear. The gunk on the stock came off and I was able to bring it down to the original finish without going any further. A pink eraser removed all the additional residue from the engraving. It turned out to be a Scott Premier grade in unrestored original condition with prolific engraving that may have been by Kell.

So yeah, that was my best find I acquired thinking I was going to pretty much break even. The bad news was it was the only show I've ever done. I wanted to sell 6 guns I had and promised my wife I'd come home with some cash since we had our second baby on the way. Turned out I sold nothing and came home with another gun and I was short another $1200! I took painful lumps for that one but karma evidently rewarded me for helping the guy out by purchasing the old gun no one at the CADA show wanted for any price.

Moral of the story. Clean your guns and at least know what model they are before you try to sell them. If it is too gross to handle, you probably aren't going to get an optimal price!

I traded a set of Japanese binoculars I bought at a pawn shop for $35.00 for a 12 ga Beretta BL3 less the barrels...I had a set of barrels at home that snapped on!!

I once traded two nice 26" Winchester 12 gauge skeet guns, a 12 and a 21, for a nearly unfired, minty Lindner Daly Krupp barrel eight gauge. I had seen the Daly at a show about 25 years before and had no idea what had happened to it.

Bought S&W mod 1000 for $300 because wife said buy something you'd not normally buy.Jamm city!Traded it for BPS.Got $300 for trade-in and added $75 and got BPS. Never looked back!Bought Springfield 20 ga pump $125.Ceaned it up &refinished stock.Got $200 trade in on Ithaca NID.Only had to add $175.Still looking forward!