O.T. Yard Sales..... Buying opportunities?

[1886]

I have been seeing many yard sales. Sadly, a sign of the times I suppose. I stop in when I can, looking for some levergun "Holy Grail". Has anyone ever ran into a levergun or firearm treasure at one of these sales? I keep trying. 1886.

[mescalero1]

Many years ago.

[Sixgun]

I have not but a buddy of mine saw a very nice 1873 and told me about it as he was not interested. I drove to the man's house (after calling) and bought the 50-60% early third model in 44-40 for 6 c-notes. I'm the third owner on this one. I have bought many nice old guns right out of estates that the owners purchased back in the thirties or so.

Lots of good guns "coming out of the woodwork" in the S.E Pa. area.--------Sixgun

[1886]

Good find. I heard of a minty 73 and 86 coming out of a old barn in my neck of the woods but I can not verify the story. I keep looking. 1886.

[J Miller]

In Phoenix you'd occasionally find some pretty decent shooting related goodies. I once hit a yard sale and walked away with hundreds of cast bullets, a Thumblers Tumbler, some powder and some other stuff.
Here in IL, I've found nothing.

Joe

[2ndovc]

Piced up a 7mm Remington Rolling block at a sale once. Was a beater but got it cheap and made a couple bucks on it.
Now I wished I'd kept it and made a target rifle out of it.


jb

[rjohns94]

until recently, never found any firearms for sale at yard sale. Last one i went to, a guy was selling a 98 mauser, and sks, and 870. i didn't buy

[piller]

Heard about it, but have never seen it or personally known anyone who got one.

[AJMD429]

I saw a S&W model 29 that looked like it had been dragged on a rope behind a car on a gravel road (was an 'under the seat gun' for a guy with a pickup truck and no carpet on the floor of the cab), and passed on it because I was short on funds. Mechanically it was in good shape, and re-finishable...

[Thunder50]

about 10 years ago, I bought a Remington 700bdl in 6.5mag for $250 and an almost NIB Rem 700bdl 8mm mag for $300

[Ysabel Kid]

About 20 years ago I stumbled on one where a widow was selling off a bunch of stuff after her husband had passed away. Getting ready to put the house up on the market. The guns her husband had owned were all passed out to the grown kids, but apparently none of them reloaded. I hit a mini-jackpot in powder, reloading gear, and some reloaded ammunition.

Only problem is that none of the reloaded ammunition was marked with load information. I bought that for next to nothing - really just wanting the components, but this guy must have believed in super crimps because the stuff (.44 Magnum cartridges) were just a bare to pull with an inertia hammer. I got lazy and decided to just shoot the stuff to get the brass. Big mistake. Blew a bulge in a S&W Model 629 cylinder. Fortunately S&W had mercy on me, and replaced it free of charge!

[CEMENTHEAD]

I picked up a Thompson Center White Mountain Carbine .50 caliber muzzleloader at a yard sale for $35.00 a while back. Mechanically good, decent wood, bore is toast. I'm gonna rebarrel with a Green Mountain. Other than that, nada. Tom

[Hillbilly]

In the mid and late 70's I stumbled across a couple of nice SAA Colts that had been night table and dresser drawer guns in yard sales. I was able to purchase those for less than $225 each... and got in a bind for cash and sold both short a couple of years later.

My boss found a nice Remington Rand 1911 for $75 bucks in a yard sale ... elderly lady sold that. I see the odd pump shotgun and stuff like 311 Stevens doubles now and then.

I missed the bid on a very nice .357 SW about a year ago... by $10 bucks ... a 97% Highway Patrolman with a very nice Threeperson's style holster and belt. Still kicking self over that one.

[winchester1886]

Yep years ago a 66 carbine in a property clearing sale in far western N S W.

[Pisgah]

Twenty or so years back, I spotted a rifle leaning on a table in a yard sale as I passed. I turned around and went back for a look. It was a FN commercial 98 Mauser carbine, Mannlicher-style stock, double set triggers, butterknife bolt handle, folding leaf express rear sights, ivory bead front sight, 6.5x55 caliber. Guy wanted $120 for it, I got it for $80! Wonderful little rifle but, as has happened alll too often, I gave in to temptation and sold it (for a nice profit) a few years later. I have also scored many, many bargains on slightly used reloading gear, bullets, brass, etc.

[Ysabel Kid]

The problem I've seen with yard sales/garage sales is not that there isn't the occassional great stuff - including gun stuff. I don't even mind wading through mounds of endless junk to find the nuggets. Rather, I am not dedicated enough to do it. Some folks practice "yard-saling" as a quasi-religion. They check the papers, plan their routes, go out each weekend, and arrive before the sales even start. The really good stuff and the awesome buys are all gone before I am even out of bed!

[brucew44guns]

My father-in-law went to a garage sale in 1970 in Pittsburg, Calif, and spotted a 1912 Win shotgun in 16 ga. standing in the corner of the garage that was not part of the sale. He asked the woman if he could buy it, she said 15 bucks. It was made in 1912, serial # 40XX, first year and in good shape too, pump action. He gave it to me, I gave it to my son-in-law when he gave me a new Red Label O/U in 12 Ga. Bet that woman got chewed for selling it so cheap.

[sniper58]

Not a lever gun, but I found a Franchi "Silver King Aristocrat" 12 ga o/u at a yard sale a few years ago. It had a broken firing pin that cost me $55.00 to have repaired.
I paid $65.00 for the gun, had the pin repaired, and sold it to my brother for $400.00
He considered it a "deal". I considered it to be "payback" for all the grief he put me through when we were growing up!

[wm]

I bought a Ruger 'Air Rifle' 15 years ago........I went to a sale and saw a Ruger 10/22 resting in the corner and I asked to see it. The guy doing the sale was kind of rude and shoved it at me saying it was a 'piece of stuff Ruger Air Rifle' and it was broken because the co2 cylinder is stuck in the stock.

Long story short the hex head on the 10/22 magazine had backed out just enough to tie it up. I asked the guy what he wanted for it and he said $10. I paid him and took it home. 30 second of work with my knife and I managed to pop the magazine out, a little loc tite and I was off to the range.

Nice little rifle and the best $10 I ever spent, but I have never managed to get that lucky again.

Wm

P.S. I did spend $150 about that time and get a Krag carbine and a Mossberg 42 but they both needed a good deal of work to bring them up to snuff.....but I still have them and they are good shooters.

[morgan in nm]

Its hard to find good gun deals around here because the antique dealers will go out to where the classified ads say the sale is going to be held and buy up everything 3 or 4 days before the sale. The unadvertised sales are usually hard to find. Occasionally, I have found some brass. One in particular, I found almost 100rds of 44 russian that I still have even though I have nothing to shoot it with. My dad found a suitcase full of rifle magazines not that long ago for $15 that included 4 polytech mags, 8 30rd AR mags, a colt 20rd and a sterling 40rd.

[TNBigBore]

About 20 years ago I spotted a rifle on a yard sale table. It was an H&R Officer's model trapdoor 45-70 that looked new and had the box for $150. I only had $10 with me. He would not hold it and by the time I got back from the bank thirty minutes later it was gone.

[geobru]

A friend of mine told me this story. His wife is really into yard sales and she drug him off early one Saturday morning, much to his chagrin. They get to this place and are walking around looking at the stuff and he spots a Browning auto 5 standing in the corner. He asked the woman there if it was for sale and she yelled into the house to her husband and asked, "is that gun of yours for sale?" Almost immediately, he yells back outside, "yeah its for sale but I won't take a dime less than $150 for it!" Needless to say, it went home with him.

[rhead]

I picked up a NEF 12 gauge mod barrel a few months ago for $75. Not a super bargin but a pretty good deal. Also got two cartons of CCI cb shorts at less than retail. I have picked up a few from the local online bullentin board and estate auctions but that is the only garage sale gun. Reloading gear, gadgets and goodies follow me home occasionally.

[Griff]

I got a 1924 Win 1894 rifle in excellent condition about 1996 for $250 at a neighborhood "yard sal" in owa. The guy also had a Colt SA .22 for the same. Would NOT take $400 for both! Grrrr, of all the days to be short!

[Kansas Ed]

About 10 years ago I picked up a Stevens Visible Loader Pump .22 for ridiculously cheap at a garage sale. It's beat up some, but shoots OK...shot a young coon with it several years ago for Christmas dinner.

Ed

[Les Staley]

'bout 25 years ago my wife was at a garage sale, I was home,, she called me and ask if I wanted a 22 rifle for $20.. I asked if the bolt was in it, she asked the guy, and said yes... brought home a Winchester 77 semi auto.. still have it.. shoots great..

[AJMD429]

I hit a mini-jackpot in powder, reloading gear, and some reloaded ammunition. . . . Blew a bulge in a S&W Model 629 cylinder.

Maybe you should have asked WHY the lady selling it was a widow; his reloading skills may have already claimed him as a victim...

[Mokwaw]

I've never been lucky enough. Usually around here if they advertise a sale with guns, they're gone as soon as sale opens or are so high priced you'd think they had solid gold butt stock. Occasionly find good buys on old knives and a sword now and then, but seems like mostly clothes, used shoes or baby items and tons of used fishing rods around here. Most of the guns seem to show up at estate auctions and then the price really goes through the roof.