"has been hunted with" seems like a bad thing on the EE - Why?

Yes I don't get it I have had a ss stalker x bolt for sale for six weeks now for $800 hardly any bites it does have a scrape on it I think it's a fair deal. I suppose with Xmas coming up its not the best time to sell
 
So guys want safe queens, so being hunted with is simply letting them know this is not that. Myself, I don't mind getting a rifle with some dings, makes me less queasy about putting the first ones in lol. I think it's a poor time of year to sell, nothing more.
 
The core group here hunts a good deal, but the sad fact is most hunting rifles sold don't see a lot of hunting. I'd be surprised if the "average" hunting rifle sees a half dozen hunts a decade. Out of those of us far too active on this forum and in the field, that's a head scratcher and we feel compelled to explain our guns have seen the field dozens of times, even heaven forbid has been hauled in a scabbard for months every year in the bush. People seem to have an aversion to character in a rifle, unless it belonged to someone famous. :) So we are forced to add the common sense disclaimer that blanket covers all the little marks and rubs cameras don't pick up, gleaned from alders, antlers, thorns, scree slopes, and all the moments your tailbone took the brunt of it.
 
FWIW, few of my hunting rifles get carried a lot. I literally hunt every day I am not at work, dozens of outings per year, but I have a lot of rifles and they are in a rotation - lol.
 
I don't mind if a rifle is nicked up or not, hunted with or not. But the condition of the rifle should dictate the price. For example I find it ridiculous if someone has a mid eighties model 700 with worn finish and beat to hell stock and still wants $800 for it. If the price is reflective of the condition I'm willing to pay if it's what I want. But I do not turn away from an ad if it says " hunted with", it simply tells me that it probably won't be in perfect condition.
 
It means the muzzle's been stuck in the mud a few times and you'll probably want to clean dat out before firin' it. Seller din't bodder cause he din't see nothn' worth shootin. :p
 
For me NIB means it needs to be 20% off new, hunted average wear 40-50% off new, unless it is some desirable oddball, if it is a range toy then factor in a new barrel in the price, accessories don't add much. Never had a problem selling anything within these parameters.
 
'Rifles been hunted'

This rifle has many stories of being rested on animal hair, as a protector from bears in hunt camp, perhaps a plane ride to foreign lands, cleaned and cared for lovingly. It's been out in the wind, snow, rain hail and all of the above at the same time. The rifle has picked up a few character marks along the way, and the only way you will learn it's story is by taking it out and drying it by open campfire light on a far away terrain - looking for that elusive animal that has been occupying your mind from the day after the previous hunting season closure until the present.

This rifle will need to be respected by it's future owner, and cannot tolerate being stuck in a safe for long periods of time.
 
Ardent said:
The core group here hunts a good deal, but the sad fact is most hunting rifles sold don't see a lot of hunting. I'd be surprised if the "average" hunting rifle sees a half dozen hunts a decade. Out of those of us far too active on this forum and in the field, that's a head scratcher and we feel compelled to explain our guns have seen the field dozens of times, even heaven forbid has been hauled in a scabbard for months every year in the bush. People seem to have an aversion to character in a rifle, unless it belonged to someone famous. :) So we are forced to add the common sense disclaimer that blanket covers all the little marks and rubs cameras don't pick up, gleaned from alders, antlers, thorns, scree slopes, and all the moments your tailbone took the brunt of it.
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Well said!
 
Ardent said:
The core group here hunts a good deal, but the sad fact is most hunting rifles sold don't see a lot of hunting. I'd be surprised if the "average" hunting rifle sees a half dozen hunts a decade. Out of those of us far too active on this forum and in the field, that's a head scratcher and we feel compelled to explain our guns have seen the field dozens of times, even heaven forbid has been hauled in a scabbard for months every year in the bush. People seem to have an aversion to character in a rifle, unless it belonged to someone famous. :) So we are forced to add the common sense disclaimer that blanket covers all the little marks and rubs cameras don't pick up, gleaned from alders, antlers, thorns, scree slopes, and all the moments your tailbone took the brunt of it.
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Exactly!! I keep advising guys looking for their first rifle to buy used. The majority of centerfire sporting rifles have extremely low round counts even those 40 or 50 years old. It takes one whale of a lot of shooting to take the edge off a barrel's accuracy. Many times you can pick up a much higher quality rifle, used, for the same money as an entry level rifle that is brand new.
 
I am a bargain hunter as well as a hunter. Garage sales and auctions. For years before he shut down the business i would take sporting goods to a "sports replay" store. For me this typically meant little kid hockey equipment, i would buy a pair of skates for $2-5 and consign them for $30-40 when often new they were $150+. Most pairs had hardly been sharpened before the kid grew out of them. The same guys business was largely Mountain Bikes, big money bikes for 20-50% of new price. He also had too stock new "Walmart" entry level Bikes. People would see the used Bikes, but be unwilling to pay $200 for $1000 bikes and buy two Walmart quality bikes instead. Then they would stack them on top of each other to drive home, just as nicked as the good bikes by the time they got home.

That too me sums up buying a entry level firearm as well. A 20-50 year old rifle with a few alder or safe rubs and no blueing on the muzzle is passed over for a entry level rifle. A 1970's vintage Husky from say Tradex(banner sponsor) is passed in favor of a Savage Axis. A value rifle from a maker who's main line (Savage 110) was originally a value/entry level as compared to Rem 700/Win 70.

The last few years saw me for the most part sell my safe queens. Firearms that were too pretty to actually use for fear of scratching them and destroying their value. Now i mostly have guns that walk through Alders and ride on Quads. Still look after them just like the safe Queens, but i am not nearly as angry if they pick up "hunting" marks and character.
 
Ardent said:
The core group here hunts a good deal, but the sad fact is most hunting rifles sold don't see a lot of hunting. I'd be surprised if the "average" hunting rifle sees a half dozen hunts a decade. Out of those of us far too active on this forum and in the field, that's a head scratcher and we feel compelled to explain our guns have seen the field dozens of times, even heaven forbid has been hauled in a scabbard for months every year in the bush. People seem to have an aversion to character in a rifle, unless it belonged to someone famous. :) So we are forced to add the common sense disclaimer that blanket covers all the little marks and rubs cameras don't pick up, gleaned from alders, antlers, thorns, scree slopes, and all the moments your tailbone took the brunt of it.
Click to expand...

There's not many hunters on CGN, most are just shooters.
 
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