Best money ever spent on a firearm?

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A little feedback for a "newbie" here? I see more that a few of us own the AR genre. I recently picked up an Armalite M15, scoped and tricked out for a great price at a local gun show. I was looking for a Bushie or a RRA, but the deal was too sweet, after some bartering discussion on my part. I've caught a little flak regarding my purchase, as of late. I understand that Armalite is not the signature it once was, but I love the thing. Performs like a champ, and is awesomely accurate. Any thoughts?
 
High Standard Military Citation

Bought it used in 1977 for $140.00
Followed me around various nations, states while in the service.
I took it to the range twice last week. I still don't shoot as well as it can.
 
1) Ruger Redhawk $475 NIB, never been fired. They are costing $600-650 at the stores.
2) Most recent: Ruger Blackhawk .357/9mm conversion $350. On the internet they are going for $350-400 for just a regular .357 Blackhawk.

Both guns came with boxes and owners manual.
 
Ruger Security Six .357, Stainless Steel, 6', pachmayer decellerator grips, drilled and tapped, barely used, $200 out the door. I couldn't be happier for a target/wilderness firearm.

as for a rifle, would have to be my $68 K-31 gunsmith special from Aim surplus about a year ago. I still cannot figure out why it was listed as a gunsmith special, sure the stock was beat to hell, but for a k-31, that is par for the course. She shoots like a dream with GP-11 ammo. And it had the butt stock name tag to boot!
 
1984, HK 91 $399 delivered. Had FFL @ the time. All (91,93,94 collapsible or standard) were same price. Wish I got a case of each. Joe
 
Ruger 22/45 - $189 new. Only gun I have that never gets left home when I go to the range; cheap to shoot, reliable, and accurate.

Marlin 60 - bought it for $60 shipped from a member here IIRC. Add an older made-in-Japan Tasco 4X scope and some rings and I have a reliable and accurate .22 for $100.
 
Ithaca SKB O/U..Model 500... 12 ga. / 3"
Bought new in 1974 for $450.
It's probably still only worth $450 (tops)...but I don't care. Man I have shot a pile of feathers with that gun through all these years.
It's a wonderful gun...for the memories!

I look at the old girl and it conjures up a thousand memories of past hunts and deceased and sorely missed bird dogs I have owned. I grab that gun and remember old hunting friends, awesome Saskatchewan goose hunts, great MN bluebill shoots, hundreds of upland bird hunts, and visions of my Dad and I hunting together hundreds of times.
They all come flooding back to me.
 
I've had many 'good deals' but the best ever was a $200 gun show buy of a Pedersoli BP 12 ga coach gun.

It's purdy.
 
Bought a watch

at a pawn shop for $100.00. Crystal was cracked & they agreed to repair. Watch was lost & I raised hell. They wanted me to "choose" something else in the place. I took a nickel S&W 29 ( no extra charge ). Shot it a lot over the next year. Friend had a early 70s blued model 29, never fired in presentation box he wanted to sell. Sold the nickel 29 for what the blued one was offered for. So no cost upgrade. Kept the blue 29 unfired & got $1,150 credit on it toward a trade on a premier Freedom Arms 353.

Tuckerdog1
 
Sniped a TimberWolf .357 off Gunbroker, $500

Turned out to be NIB never fired been kept a safe queen for 17 years. Some of the most BEAUTIFUL wood I have seen on a rifle. Wicked accurate at intermediate range and easy to handle, even for the ladies. Chambered in one of my most favoritest rounds, and I love that I can shoot it at the local indoor range. Light, quick and handy.

Great price for a hard-to-find gun in NEW condition with GORGEOUS wood and a potent man-stopping round.

I also love my Marlin 1894 (.44 mag) stainless levergun, but can't really tell you why. It's the first rifle I ever bought, maybe has something to do with it.
 
S&W 3913LS. I had a Bersa .380 at the time, and wanted to move up to a locked-breech 9mm. I thought through what I wanted (traditional double action with manual safety was my #1 criterion), did a lot of reading, decided I liked the small 3rd-gen Smiths, read up on them, decided the LadySmith was the best fit (liked the non-ambi safety and the angled front frame), and eventually bought one. Have never regretted that choice.

My WORST gun purchase? Ruger mini-14 Ranch Rifle. Wish I had paid a little bit more and gotten an AR.
 
I've always been pretty careful with what I spend my money on. My most recent acquisition, and therefore one that I'm still pretty excited about, is an ar-15 that I got thanksgiving week. It was made by a local mil-spec manufacturer, has all the features I was looking for (including everything from the AWB's list of naughty parts), and was NIB. I got it, plus a high capacity mag and a hunting-legal mag, and ammo, for under $500. Not a steal, but a solid investment.
 
Two come to mind...

A Star Arms semi-auto pistol in 38 auto for $25 from a former boss. He thought it was broken -- would fire OK but wouldn't extract. I took it into a smith right away (didn't even bother to fire it); they called me and asked what ammo was being fired in the pistol. Since I had just bought it I didn't know but it turns out it was a .38 super auto and the previous owner was firing the wrong ammo. Nothing wrong with the pistol at all!

The second is a 70's Colt Python (4"/blued) in 95% condition for $300 from a buddy that needed money.

Regards,

Mark
 
My Yugo 59/66 SKS. Its built like a tank, can take a lot of punishment, only requires a minimum of maintenance, its a lot of fun, shoots a very effective anti-personnel round, can be used for hunting in a pinch, and its accurate enough to get the job done.:D Best part of all.....it was $150! :D :evil: This is my "screamin' good deal".
 
It's a tossup.

1) The $350 I spent on one of those NorinCommie 1911s. It deterred a burglar without me getting shot or him getting shot.

2) The couple hundred I spent on a used Remington 870 for a friend when she took the oath and became a US citizen.
 
AR-15 mag release buttons, bought them for less than $5, sell them for $50, with a drilled and tapped set screw to make a CA compliant AR, quick $500 ;)

Best deals off the shelf, S&W 1000 trap gun from consignment for less than $300 - It's worth about $450-500, but I'll never part with it.

I bought a LNIB 870 Express 20ga for $250 from a guy that needed money, came with a decent Hard Case, gun cleaning kit and a lock.

So far I've only parted with one gun that I bought, a Ruger P944 .40 S&W, paid $400, sold for $400 - I just couldn't get the right grip on it to hit COM
 
My first Les Baer. I thought my Series I Kimber was accurate, wow. Superb accuracy, great fit and finish, and one lovely shooter. The undercut trigger really separated it from the rest. It may have been expensive, but it was very worth it. I got some great memories with that thing already. Mainly matches and Bruce Gray's class. That darn gun made me put away all my other 1911s.

I have a 2nd Les Baer that just sits around incase my first one dies, which I doubt would be anytime soon. They're just that much fun to shoot.
 
1) $30 for a SIG P228.


Okay, that is not entirely accurate. I swapped something else that I wanted to get rid of, and the dealer at the gun show charged me the tax on the purchase price of the SIG. I have carried that P228 regularly in the nearly two and a half years since, and shot it at almost every trip to the range. It fits my hand perfectly.

2) Less than a month later I picked up a practically unused Ruger SP101 and leather OWB holster for less than $300. The previous owner inherited it from his father-in-law, and since he already had a S&W model 60 he let it go. We both came out good on that deal.

Hard to choose between these two as to which is my favorite. They are both carried regularly (the Ruger more lately) and both shoot like an extension of my hand. I hope I never have to part with either one. I would say the money I spent on them in that three week period is the best money I ever spent on a firearm.
 
I consider every purchase I've ever made money well spent.

If you are asking what unbelievable deal I've come across,the answer is none.I've found nice specimens at a fair price,or a nice specimen where I might have paid a little extra even but I don't regret it one bit.

Sadly finding a Garand or Luger for a $100 or something at a yardsale or someone desperate for cash seems to happen to others,never me.:confused:
 
Sig P229 .40SW purchased for $350.

Browning Buckmark 5" slabbie, purchased for $139

SW 585 6" for $200
 
I think I've figured out why this is so hard for some to answer... it really depends on how you measure it.

As I had responded earlier, if I give it enough time the Marlin 39a will probably top my list overall. I'm sure I'll get a lot of good times out of it. Many years and many rounds.

But what about my first handgun that I still have? It works great, and for dollars divided by years my other guns can't beat it. Didn't get a steal of a price on it or anything, though.

For sheer steal of a price, it would be something else entirely, probably the SKS. Hard to beat for $140, and people have done better than that but it was before my time as far as rifles so I still feel great about the figure.

And for a whole different angle... do improvements count? I'm looking forward to some new sights that will probably make my .30-30 a whole different animal. I don't know about "best", but I'm pretty sure it's going to be good money spent, and it's technically on a firearm.


Nice thread.
 
I think it would be the mint condition Remington 597 stainless barrel w/wood laminate stock that came with a case - ok a crappy zipper case - for $75 at a yardsale/fundraiser for the local Kiwanis Club. Boy was I thrilled!
 
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