Selling Rifle - No responses ???

[davidjoe]

Supply: I don't see that decreasing. We're talking about very durable goods here that are still being produced.

Demand: I don't see that increasing. Bolt action rifles are perceived safe from legislation. Bench rest, is it really all that popular? Couple that with ever changing trends in chamberings and such. I'd wager chances are demand decreases.

The vast majority of hobbies are like this. You'll get pennies on the dollar.

The manufacturers don’t have it much better, guys. These boutique business concerns mentioned above are their personal passion, and as a group we are fairly thrifty stewards of our bucks.

They have to compete against each other and also against us, actually, and a number of shooters could host entire matches. If spread out a different way, there may be the next 25 years worth of of gear already in safes.

I’ve wondered if our golden age of selection is sustainable. Buying new, even if it’s only on sales, keeps the manufacturers orders coming in and employees working. Classifieds can still help manufacturers if sellers mainly spend the $ on new gear.

 

[Bc'z]

Bench rest is a niche (shooting) sport at best. ANY of its disciplines, i.e., short range Group, Score, UBR, or long range, 600 & 1000, etc, etc, are "sub-niche," if there's such a word. Anyone involved in one of these activities already has TOO MUCH equipment, so selling something to them is a tough sell. In general, someone just getting started is looking for bargain-basement prices, and not willing (or able) to pony-up a sh*t-load of cash to do so.

I tried several times to sell a late 60's vintage 6 PPC, Hart BR rifle, and finally had to "part it out" to get anywhere near my money back, which I didn't! Not to mention, I got stuck with a barrel that cost over $600 to purchase, chamber, and have fitted to the action.

Another option: contact Bob White at Shooter's Corner. He buys and sells BR rifles and equipment and is a great guy to deal with.

Chris Mitchell

We have to keep in mind this sport is a consumable hobby. I had this conversation with @Boatschool02 just the other day.
Barrels are like bullets.
A bullets life expectancy is it's time of flight.
And good bullets aren't cheap to bounce them off steal or stuff em in a dirt bank.
Now let's look at barrels. Life expectancy of what 12-15 seconds before it doesn't meet the accuracy requirements of the shooter to send those expensive projectiles down range.
To quote @Dusty Stevens 1 shot on a barrel is a used barrel!! Barrels are worth what their worth as a blank, once chambered to one person's specs may not meet the next person's requirements.
Just yesterday I looked at a custom action, I believe customer paid right at $1500
What I saw was a poor polish job and a soldered bolt handle. REALLY $1500???
You got to be kidding me !
I'm thinking I really like my Remington after seeing that at least I got what I paid for.
So from my perspective a mild custom on a Rem action retale value is better, as cost to produce would be cheaper and suffering less of a loss at sale versus a full blown custom built to one person's tastes and requirements where the loss could be more significant at time of sale.

 

[Milo 2.0]

A lot of boomers have the money now but down the road, it's a foregone conclusion that a lot of hobbies will be only for the wealthy.

Bingo !!!

 

[Lone Hunter]

I wish mine cost over 5K! I was asking $2K! lol

I really hope youre wrong about the long range thing. We need more people involved in shooting sports.

Unfortunately I don't think he's wrong. It used to be trucks jacked up with big mud tires sounding like an ambulance going down the road. If you didn't have that you couldn't go hunting (yeah right) then it's a certain type of hunting clothes(killed them with blue jeans and plaid flannel shirt on) you had to have,now it's got to be a certain brand of action with a certain brand of barrel with a custom bullet custom case custom primer ,,list goes on .Big money pit. It's not always the biggest and best wins but I like to get the best I can afford, which these days isn't much. Seems like everything is a fad for a little while.. Just my 1/2 cents

 

[Bc'z]

Unfortunately I don't think he's wrong. It used to be trucks jacked up with big mud tires sounding like an ambulance going down the road. If you didn't have that you couldn't go hunting (yeah right) then it's a certain type of hunting clothes(killed them with blue jeans and plaid flannel shirt on) you had to have,now it's got to be a certain brand of action with a certain brand of barrel with a custom bullet custom case custom primer ,,list goes on .Big money pit. It's not always the biggest and best wins but I like to get the best I can afford, which these days isn't much. Seems like everything is a fad for a little while.. Just my 1/2 cents

Yes sir!
Not to pick on the new bullet on the block...
But for $75 I got a box of bergers , a 5th of vanilla crown, 12 pack of ginger ale, and a cool bag to clean my rounds after sorting and loading.

 

[Damon555]

I can see spending a little money for bragging rights.....but to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on something that nets you nothing other than bragging rights seems silly to me. Hey, I spend lots of money too for little more than personal satisfaction but the el-cheapo Savage target/varmint rifles that I've built shoot just fine for my needs.....

I browse the ads all the time and wonder how the heck someone can spend that much money on a hobby.....then I think about the last 30+ plus years of my life....Yeah, I've spent a bunch of money too!

 

[wvlongshot]

Used custom rifle is only worth the parts value, any labor cost is lost except for some of the best smiths. Lots of gun plumbers putting stuff together now. Everyone trying to make a living on the labor side of it. More custom parts avaliable now than ever.

Younger groups won't spend money traveling hrs away, shoot some groups, if lucky win a $7 plaque and drive home.
That will be what does these hobbies in.

 

[br1111]

I can see spending a little money for bragging rights.....but to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on something that nets you nothing other than bragging rights seems silly to me. Hey, I spend lots of money too for little more than personal satisfaction but the el-cheapo Savage target/varmint rifles that I've built shoot just fine for my needs.....

I browse the ads all the time and wonder how the heck someone can spend that much money on a hobby.....then I think about the last 30+ plus years of my life....Yeah, I've spent a bunch of money too!

after the huge loss on selling your rifle, get ready to take a dive on the scope. you will loose 25 to 40 percent but if it has a ring mark, oh my gosh you will have to pay the buyer to take it and that's if you pay the shipping.

 

[300_whisper]

after the huge loss on selling your rifle, get ready to take a dive on the scope. you will loose 25 to 40 percent but if it has a ring mark, oh my gosh you will have to pay the buyer to take it and that's if you pay the shipping.

That gave me a chuckle. Sadly, I’m one of those ring mark jerks. Ring marks drive me crazy for some stupid reason.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Sandy Hook. It was Sandy Hook.

Before Sandy Hook a USED rifle was a USED rifle. It sold for a FRACTION of the NEW PRICE. After Sandy Hook any piece of crap you had lying around become an investment and new guns that were $800 started going for $2500. And people bought them.

Then people got used to selling their USED rifles for NEW price. Then the market become super flooded with ***NEW*** rifles, with all these new guys making rifles, but people still think their USED rifles are worth ****NEW*** prices. Which they are not, unless they are a collectors item.

Used rifles were never worth new prices. Ever. The panics perverted the market. People think they should be able to buy a rifle and MAKE MONEY when they sell it. Do you remember the mortgage crisis? People were so used to making money on their houses they didn't know what to do after they lost money...

 

[Bc'z]

That gave me a chuckle. Sadly, I’m one of those ring mark jerks. Ring marks drive me crazy for some stupid reason.

They don't bother me so much, you can't see them once mounted, and I saved huge money.

 

[davidjoe]

I can see spending a little money for bragging rights.....but to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on something that nets you nothing other than bragging rights seems silly to me. Hey, I spend lots of money too for little more than personal satisfaction but the el-cheapo Savage target/varmint rifles that I've built shoot just fine for my needs.....

I browse the ads all the time and wonder how the heck someone can spend that much money on a hobby.....then I think about the last 30+ plus years of my life....Yeah, I've spent a bunch of money too!

Bragging rights? Heck I spend all that money and drive all those miles just to end up in the middle somewhere!

 

[urbanrifleman]

I can see spending a little money for bragging rights.....but to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on something that nets you nothing other than bragging rights seems silly to me. Hey, I spend lots of money too for little more than personal satisfaction but the el-cheapo Savage target/varmint rifles that I've built shoot just fine for my needs.....

I browse the ads all the time and wonder how the heck someone can spend that much money on a hobby.....then I think about the last 30+ plus years of my life....Yeah, I've spent a bunch of money too!

It is kind of a chuckle when a Savage beats a whole row of Bats.

 

[atblis]

The manufacturers don’t have it much better, guys. These boutique business concerns mentioned above are their personal passion, and as a group we are fairly thrifty stewards of our bucks.

They have to compete against each other and also against us, actually, and a number of shooters could host entire matches. If spread out a different way, there may be the next 25 years worth of of gear already in safes.

I’ve wondered if our golden age of selection is sustainable. Buying new, even if it’s only on sales, keeps the manufacturers orders coming in and employees working. Classifieds can still help manufacturers if sellers mainly spend the $ on new gear.

Yeah, one does have to wonder about things being sustainable. I think we'll see a contraction (or already have). Another thought train of mine is regarding combat grade handguns (Glocks, etc.). That market has to be saturated at some point. The round count lifespan on those things is way more than what 99.99% of shooters will fire. AR15s, again very very durable. I think if you account for inflation, prices have come down on handguns.

At the end of the day, this hobby (and many others) are all about buying gear and chasing the latest gear trends so it all really doesn't matter. Competition styles/rules shift too, so that drives it. If your gun is more than a few years old, chances are it's worth a lot less than you paid for it.

$5k dollar ARs are absurd. $2k is where the diminishing returns curves gets steep IMO. I aim for about $1k to $1.5k on

Okay, enough dead horse thrashing...

 

[group therapy]

$2800 AR! WOW! Did it have a $2000 scope on it? Sorry just had to.

 

[Milo 2.0]

after the huge loss on selling your rifle, get ready to take a dive on the scope. you will loose 25 to 40 percent but if it has a ring mark, oh my gosh you will have to pay the buyer to take it and that's if you pay the shipping.

That is funny in a sense because you saved 100 on your rings of choice, now hang on.

 

[Terry]

Have a rifle for sale 6BRA + 6XC barrels What I think is good quality reasonable price.
Action is Havercamp, is that a problem, I don't see much talk of them on the forum?
LitlBoy Any help appreciated

What are you selling?

 

[spclark]

Hunters and precision shooters are a minority.

I’d have ‘liked’ that post but as there’s “No, I DON’T like what you wrote!!” I offer this post instead....

You have a solid grasp of what’s happening around us these days.

 

[300_whisper]

I’d have ‘liked’ that post but as there’s “No, I DON’T like what you wrote!!” I offer this post instead....

You have a solid grasp of what’s happening around us these days.

I don’t know...my younger brothers are all on social media and there’s huge gun guys on there. A lot hot chicks hunting, guys shooting comps, gear reviews, etc...maybe they are all over there instead of being on forums like this. There are gun channels on YouTube with over a million followers. My brothers shoots damn near every weekend, but it’s out at buddies farms or at indoor ranges. I think it’s more alive than we will ever know.

Small example of gun popularity on those social media sites, My brother is 22 and he was following Joel russo and Curtis custom on Instagram. I thought that was hilarious. He said hey look at these stocks this guy makes. I was like yeah bro I’ve been following him on LRH for 10 years now. Lol

 

[6ShotsOr5?]

If you’re selling used goods to buy new stuff, you aren’t going to be happy with that deal. Try finding something you want that’s used and you can benefit from this market. Buy used components you like to avoid pulling half the stuff off after you buy.

Just watch what I do, and then do the opposite...