What's Your Best Gun Trade?

[Halo]

I had a nice little Colt Agent lightweight 2-inch barrel .38 revolver that was pleasant to carry but no fun at all shooting with lots of flash and recoil and little to absorb it.  It allowed only five bullets, four if didn't trust having one under the hammer.  

So I traded it even for a Ruger Security-Six 4-inch barrel .357/.38 revolver that is larger but MUCH more pleasant and accurate to SHOOT, which is the main idea of any firearm.  The Ruger allows six bullets, including one safe to have under the hammer.

More accuracy and firepower at cost of more weight and size.  Dreaded shooting the Colt Agent, love shooting the Ruger Security-Six.  Such a deal.

[eagl]

I haven't done any trading, but my favorite acquisition so far is a San Diego County Sheriff Commemorative Ruger Vaquero "second".  They did the laser engraving wrong on a bunch of these things and sold them to local law enforcement for about $250 each.  It's easily a $400-$500 gun, shoots really nice, and is chambered in S&W .40 so SD law enforcement can use the same ammo that they use in their service autos.  They're all stainless/plated and many of the seconds came with nice laser engraved wood grips, although some came with plain wood grips instead.

I should have bought 2 and kept one as a collector's piece, but of course I didn't and now it's too late.  The one I got looks really nice and the laser engraving on the barrel doesn't even look all that bad.  It's just a tad high off vertical center from where it should be.  It would be noticeable if it was a display piece but you'd never even see the flaw when carrying/shooting it.

That's my best ever gun deal.

[Jackal1]

I was dove hunting one day and had taken an old single barrel twelve that I had bought for twenty bucks just for kicks. The guy I was hunting with had bought a new Rem 870 about a week before. He was moaning and groaning that he couldn`t hit the side of a barn with it. I was doing pretting good with the ole one boomer. The longer we shot the more he became frustrated.
He finaly said that if he had it to do over again he would just get a single shot like the one I had. Later in the day he asked me if I would trade. Done deal.




........................and no, I didn`t kiss him.

[Widewing]

I have been fortunate several times. I traded a Franchi LAW-12, semi-auto combat shotgun for a mint 1943 BRNO 98k. I was generally bored with the Franchi as it is a pure combat weapon with no secondary use. You can't even plink as it will not cycle shooting low brass loads. My Mossberg 590 is more than adequate for home defense and far more flexible.

That Mauser has matching serials, laminate stock and near perfect bore. The owner threw in a bayonet, scabbard and frog as well. Few war issue Mausers are in better condition. It hasn't been fired in years and likely will never be fired again.

Another gem trade obtained by me is an Enfield No.4 Mk.1 in exchange for a Marlin 25MN, .22 mag bolt rifle. The Marlin had been re-stocked and received a trigger job. It was fitted with a 3x9 scope. It shot excellent groups and was nicely balanced and great for small game or even turkey where rifles are permitted.

A dealer saw the rifle at the range, tried it and loved it. He offered to trade if there was something he had that I might want. He wanted the Marlin for personal use. I suggested that he could build one himself for not much money, but he was not interested in taking the time and money to do so. I agreed to look at what he had. Two weeks later at his store, I saw the Enfield. It had just been delivered. This isn't your typical No.4 Mk1*, it was manufactured by Savage under Lend Lease contract to the US government. The receiver is stamped US PROPERTY. This was a mid-run rifle. It's overall condition was very good. Very minor wear of the bore. The two-groove rifling still has pretty sharp edges. The wood is almost completely free of dings and there are no cracks. As nice as this Enfield is, it still didn't have the value of the Marlin. So, the dealer also offered a Mosin-Nagant M1891/1930 which was in armory new condition. I thought that he must really be smitten with that Marlin, and I readily accepted. This became a range shooter, while the Enfield was retired. That same fellow still has that Marlin (16 years later, mind you) and he still enjoys it.

My regards,

Widewing

[Toad]

I traded $100 for a ticket to the DU Sponsor's Banquet and that won me a 50th Anniversary Weatherby 20 ga O/U Sponsor Gun with luggage case.

Very good trade, IMO.

[culero]

I have a stainless steel Ruger Blackhawk .357MAG with 4-5/8th" barrel, as shown here:



Its what I carry with me when I'm out in the boat. I got it in barter about 20 years ago when a customer in my car shop was $125 short of what he needed to pay me for rebuilding his diesel injection pump. I'll take that deal anytime

I did another swap for the same price ($125) for one of these once:



Same gun, just blued finish and 6-1/2" barrel. I then traded it to a friend who builds computers for a P200MMX box (I needed to upgrade from my AMD K5-133). This was when the P200MMX was less than a year old and going for ~$800-$1,000. I'd do that again, too!

I don't know if you'd call it a trade per se, but I once bought a pawn ticket from a guy for a S&W 686-3 in .357MAG with 6" barrel, like this:



I gave $20 for the $200 pawn ticket. My wife really loved that birthday present! (Its her favorite gun of her entire collection.)

culero

[Maverick]

I tried to get a Ruger .22 auto pistol for my exwife but the guy that had the pistol figured it worked better than my exwife did. bummer.



I really haven't traded for firearms at all. I tend to either sell them outright (very very seldom) or just hang on to them. That's why I have a freaking vault stuffed to the gills with my collection in storage.