What gun do you most regret not purchasing?
For me, it was a John Wilkes 16 ga SL. I let my friends and wife talk me out of purchasing the gun. My friends thought I should be able to get a sleeved gun really cheap and my wife could not figure out why I went to these folks for advise and then did not want to follow it. It would have been my 1st English SxS and it was the 1st gun I came across that I really liked. At the time I figured there are lots of guns out there. It haunts me still.
Well I purchased mind but let it get away. A Daly Lindner Diamond and I ain't shot a box of shells sence.
Man, happy hour can be tough on a Friday.
Around about 1980 I was in a shop the had a Win 21 with a butcher job shortened butt (to about 12"). I passed on it because of the stock and $650.00 seemed like a lot of money when a new Wingmaster could be had for around $150.00. I think of that gun everytime I see a model 21 for sale with the current going price listed.
I don't wanna think about it. Talkin about it makes it worse. Typing it on the internet would be excruciating.
I looked for years for an older Ithaca Model 37 in a 12 gauge to match my 20 gauge with a solid rib. Finally I found it at a gun show in Indianapolis and it was in perfect shape. A perfect match for $300.00 bucks. And that was exactly what I had left in my pocket that day (after buying a 20 gauge Model 21). But then I noticed a nice Parker SXS with cut barrels that I thought would make a nice home gun for $300.00. I ended up buying the Parker and have been kicking myself ever since.
A Wm. Golden double 4 bore hammer gun for $3800 I'm sad to say. I won it on the first internet gun auction I ever bid on. But the seller wanted to screw me around and I told him to get lost. I should have just driven out to Jersey and done the deal face to face.
Destry
I used to make monthly trips to Dunns Fine gun room in it's heyday....I hate to even think about it.
Those days of searching for a piece of the true cross of gun happiness are over. No redos, up-grades or rehabs!
If it doesn't fit right away the place I hunt - I'm not interested.
Its a land/gun thing.
I passed on a Holland & Holland 4bore fowler...what the hell am I going to do with that, other than chat.
You could've used it on the poachers ?
It's only a "little" less useful then .416 Rigby double square bridge magnum mauser.
Back in the 70s when I lived in Indiana there was a gunshop with a 50 gal. barrel or two of doubles all priced under $100. The assortment usually included Parkers,Smiths and English guns with some Belgian clunkers mixed in. Naturally they all had damascus barrels so I didn't buy any of them.
Jim
Six months ago I saw a Fox 16 gauge with 32" barrels at MW Reynolds listed at $3,400. It was described as having been case colored again. I emailed and got some questions answered. Then I called. I passed. Then about three months ago it was on Galazan's for $7,400. In the interim I had learned enough about Fox's to realize that those were original Fox colors. It was gone from Galazan's after two weeks.
Best,
Mike
When I was in college I was shooting Trap on Wednesdays out at the old Seattle Skeet & Trap at Redmond, Washington. I was using either my Super-Fox or my Father's Parker duck gun. I wanted a real trap gun. One day when checking on things at the Safari Room in the sporting goods department of Frederick & Nelson's department store, there was a near mint Parker Bros. DHE-Grade double trap with all the options on consignment. The price was a 1960s college student staggering $1000!!! I worked my Uncles and my Father and every other source of funds I could think of and actually came up with the money. When I got to F&N there was the original owner taking the gun back, saying he must have been crazy to think of selling that gun!
I bought a Parker AAHE 12 in perfect shape, sold it a month later to double my money. BUT I have been in agony over that stupid move. I'd like to kick my butt!!!
Here's one I let slip...
I inquired about this gun last week...
http://www.gunsamerica.com/919885748/Gun...lock_Hammer.htmAsked the guy my normal questions..."bore dimensions ?"..."wall thicknesses ?"..."any pitting on the breech face ?"..."tight on face ?"
Here's his reply...
"It's not a perfect, mint gun. You should look elsewhere. Thanks,"
bOy it sure wuz an "attractive" gun....
With a "mint" price.
Back in about 1977 I bought a Holland and Holland 12 Bore double rifle for a 4 1/4" case shooting 10 drams of powder as indicated on the side of the rifle and also on the charge card in the case. It was in its original case with bullet mold in almost new condition and nearly unfired. I found out from Hollands that it was an experemntal rifle made for the Nawab of Bhopal. If I remember right, there was a single 12 bore made for the 4 1/4" case too. I paid a lot of money for it at the time and owned it for about 3 months, then needed money so I traded it for a Purdey single shot .450 and cash. I wonder what it would be worth now!
I had to let a Winchester 21 Duck through my hands in the late 80's. Was in high school and had zero money at the time. I should have sold every item I had to raise the $1000 ask price.
Winchester Model 21 that went for $800.00 at an estate auction about 5 years ago. I am only 24 right now and at the time I knew very, very little about guns, especially double guns.
I wanted the gun at the auction but had no idea what it was worth so I didn't get in on the bidding. Big mistake that I regret often.
I had the luck of buying four English guns from an antique dealer, a friend of mine, who imports entire households of goods from Great Britain. He buys everything for one price and has a agent sort through the stuff and send him the best of the lot. In his container were two doubles and two double rifles. He failed to have them imported properly and got sacred. Called me and offered me the four for four thousand dollars. I bought them. All were pre '98 so no harm no foul.
Sold the small bore double for more two grand. The large bore double rifle went for almost ten grand. That buyer was "thinking about" going to Africa. Far as I know he got no closer than New Jersey. Swapped both of the doubles for other doubles later.
Saw the large bore rifle two years ago and the asking price was over 30K. It sold, but for how much I do not know. Funny thing is that the gun had been "refreshed" and called a high original condition gun. It was a 50-60% gun when I had it, but it looked at last time I saw it a high 90% gun. Since this refreshing would not have been that unreasonable if it was still back in GB I guess it is fair. I still have no need for the large bore but wish now that I had saved it. Been thinking about going to Africa myself. Or at least New Jersey some day.
A scant 3 yrs. ago I hadn't read the Sherman Bell articles in DGJ and I didn't know this site existed. I was still in the dark about Damascus guns and generally avoided them, saving my sheckels for fluid steel shooters. I went to a gun show, one of the few I attended without a Bluebook in hand. Saw a big kid walking with a gun in a case and asked if it might be a double. He pulled out a Lefever saying he knew nothing about it and had been told by several dealers it was worth $350 to $425. It was very nice but the Star Damascus barrels turned me off and I chose not to pay that much for a wall-hanger. I wasn't sure of the grade. It had the scalloped receiver bottom, a single clover engraved on the breech balls, and the rebated rear portion on the sideplates. I said I'd think about it and about 3 minutes later I decided to buy it. This kid was about 6'6" with bright red hair and I couldn't find him. I ran outside hoping to catch him in the parking lot, but no luck. It got worse when I got home and got my Elliot Lefever book out. I'm all but certain it was a B grade, almost identical to the one on pg. 212 that was owned by Grover Cleveland. Thanks for dredging up this rotten memory.
John this thread is about "the one that got away"...not the ones you made a bundle on ?
A goodly many years ago, when I was in college, I had the duty of returning the film club's borrowed reel to the New York City rental company. (Told you it was a long while ago.) There was a gun dealer near the company and I dropped in. They had a Holland Royal rifle in 465 in as new condition. Cased in oak and leather. Complete with a set of dies. And 60 empty brass cases. All for the price of $750. Of course, that was half a year's tuition. And, those were the years when 465 ammo was totally unobtainable. So, I passed. (By the way, a new rifle would have been about GBP 1000.) I could have traded it for a Bentley now.
