Current prices of antique handguns
- Thread starter tbrwlf
- Start date
....I for one am not interested in bidding against other Canadians on a very limited selection of overpriced antique revolvers. My guess is that many of those who are importing antiques from the US are not bidding on the few items that are available to Canadians on the on line auctions. To buy at a lower price and to have a better selection, one needs to either spend time in the US or have a close contact there; that allows one to bid on many more guns and to find guns in places other than the on line auctions. There must be real gems available at local shows and pawn shops and gun stores.
In my opinion, some of the best deals out there on antiques are on the double action Webleys and Smith and Wessons. These are great guns, and one can buy a fully functional revolver for $1000 to $2000. And one can buy .455 or .44 Russian ammo without having to reload. Compare that to the expensive SAA Colts that typically go for $3000 and up - and up. Another thing is that the Colts often are not all that collectible because of the addition of non-original parts. Even if they are original when found in the US, importers are modifying the Colts before bringing them across the border to make them fit our caliber restrictions.
In my opinion, some of the best deals out there on antiques are on the double action Webleys and Smith and Wessons. These are great guns, and one can buy a fully functional revolver for $1000 to $2000. And one can buy .455 or .44 Russian ammo without having to reload. Compare that to the expensive SAA Colts that typically go for $3000 and up - and up. Another thing is that the Colts often are not all that collectible because of the addition of non-original parts. Even if they are original when found in the US, importers are modifying the Colts before bringing them across the border to make them fit our caliber restrictions.
Thanks for the reply, Fig. Countless Canadians spend their winters in places like Arizona, Texas, and Florida. I'm not one of those, but if I were, I'd be making the rounds of the local shops and swap meets to break the boredom of sitting in the sun. We see this with collectible cars; each spring a new batch comes north with the returning snow birds. Not sure if this is happening with guns.
1873
Because i wait and check sometimes a deal is on an auction......
and some guys want more then the real value .....
this is capitalist way period.
if you have two man who really want something on ebay or auctionsarms or gunbroker the price will touch the moon.
Because i wait and check sometimes a deal is on an auction......
and some guys want more then the real value .....
this is capitalist way period.
if you have two man who really want something on ebay or auctionsarms or gunbroker the price will touch the moon.
tumbleweeds13
CGN Regular
About 5 or 6 years ago, I picked up an absolutely perfect French 1873 on Gunbroker. Even with shipping and taxes it was just under $500 to get it here. The same gun now seems to start about $700-$800. As has been said, they aren't making any more of them. There are occasionally some deals on the auction sites, but you have to spend a lot of time and try and find the auctions that aren't given a standard header. (I"m saying this knowing that it'll probably cost me a couple of good guns,but...) Think of ways that a non educated person would list the gun (the header line) and search on those. Usually if a person dosn't know how to describe a gun, they also don't know what it's worth, and the starting price can be pretty low, and it's exposed to less bidders, because most don't take the time to do an exhaustive search, so it doesn't get driven as high either. Sometimes it's a matter of how bad do you want it. I've got a Webley WG that I was absolutely raped on, but I wanted it really bad, and it is wonderful to shoot such a nice gun. I've also got a S&W new model # 3 that I paid about a quarter what it was worth, and it's like a brand new gun. Most accurate handgun I've ever owned. Ultimately you can find what you want, for the price that you want to pay, it just may take you a lot of years. Remember that some of us will die someday, and our widows will be selling our stuff for what we told them we paid. (Honest honey, that Webley was only $200...........) There will be deals for everyone then. Cheers
The real value is exactly what somebody is willing to pay. Anything else is just a figment of imagination.
Because i wait and check sometimes a deal is on an auction......
and some guys want more then the real value .....
this is capitalist way period.
if you have two man who really want something on ebay or auctionsarms or gunbroker the price will touch the moon.
You are right, looking at gun broker, these are the better prices along with the lightning .41's and percussions. I think I like the S&W .44 Russian although those Webley's are cool too!
Just looking at gunbroker, I am thinking the prices on EE ( fom the sane guys!) are not that out of line. If the prices are high, no one buys them and it is reduced ! Anyway, another Question I had was, parts availability,, new or gently used! Let's take the ones talked about. S&W .44 russian and webley and such? Can I get springs, cylinders, barrels, and timing parts?
What did you buy and price?
US prices dropped a fair bit on most antique firearms about 2-3 years ago due to the high unemployment and economic problems in the USA.
The first antique i bought several years ago in the US was with a 80 cent canadian dollar, and on higher US prices than they sell for now down there. Our C$ is at par and prices are lower than they have been for years. Right now is the "golden age" of antiquing in Canada.
Just learning but reading the flow chart sticky, the saa .45LC and 44-40 still have to be registered as restricted am I correct? However the .455 webley,.41 colt and .44 russian are ok for antique status, as long as they are pre 1898 handguns!
MauserMike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
I think most antique guns, especially all large caliber centerfire pistols are a steal right now. The market weakened here in Canada since the LGR demolition got on it's way last year. But there are other foreign markets where sellers will turn to if sales should stay stagnant. Just wait and see.
It would not surprise me if the market for registrable handguns goes down slightly. When only handguns had to be registered, many people held off buying one because of the hassle of registration. With the long gun registry, it was no more hassle than buying a long gun. Now in the absence of the long gun registry we are back to the conditions pre 1995. The difference is that a lot of people got RPALs because it was not a lot more hassle than a simple PAL and / or better get it now before they become more difficult to obtain for the first time.
cheers mooncoon
cheers mooncoon
- Location
- Not really sure.
^Personally, I despise owning guns that I don't actually OWN. When they are registered, the government owns them.
How is that ever a good thing?.
How is that ever a good thing?.
Actually i think the price on some of the antique handguns has actually been quite stable except for a short period about 2-3 years ago when the price went stupid crazy for about 6 months. There was an unexplained feeding frenzy happening at that time but then prices went back to "normal" and have been like that ever since.
Prices in the US are starting to edge up but i think some of that is actually because of the increased demand from Canadian antiquers. There's a lot more antiques and collectibles of all kinds coming across the border now than there was 5 years ago due to our strong dollar and the poor economy in the US.
Prices in the US are starting to edge up but i think some of that is actually because of the increased demand from Canadian antiquers. There's a lot more antiques and collectibles of all kinds coming across the border now than there was 5 years ago due to our strong dollar and the poor economy in the US.
