Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Ever sold a good hunting rifle and wished you hadn't?

I've been pretty fortunate over the years in that while there are a few guns I wish I could have back......I can't really say that I regret any trade or sale I've ever made. The secret is to consider the circumstances at the time and ask yourself, "If I had it to do over again....would I"??

In my younger days I was married with children to raise and thus often broke. I was a real "gun nut" from a VERY early age, so since I had no money, I became a "wheeler-dealer"-gun trader of the frist order. I spent a number of years constantly swaping and trading just to try something new and different. I sometimes "made" money (by the "book value").....sometimes not....but never really "regreted" a single trade. It almost always worked out for me.

I once traded a factory engraved Remington 870 (don't remember the Model exactly but it had really nice game scenes engraved on the reciever) for a ......Steven's 5100 double shotgun....this was the model with plastic stocks. I "lost" a lot of money "by the book" on that one and truely wish I could have that 20 ga. 870 back. However.....I got what I wanted at the time.....a 12 ga., double shotgun.

And as it turned out that old Stevens was perhaps the best shotgun I ever owned. It was light (6 1/2 pounds) and "killed" as well at both ends (damn that gun kicked hard). It WOULD however, shoot sooooo well. Choked full & fuller, it would keep EVERY pellet from a load of #4 Buckshot in a 20" circle at 40 yards (not guessing....patterned many times) EVERY time. This was REALLY important in the early 70's when we ran deer with dogs in East Texas. And it would hammer a duck at 60+ yards......back before the days of "steel" shot force on us by an oppressive Federal government. I DO wish I had that one back too even though it was "ugly" and "cheap".

I also remember selling a pair of guns as a "set" that I would like to have back. I had a Flattop Ruger 44 Magnum with a 15xx serial number and a Marlin 336 "Texian" also chambered in 44 Magnum. The Marlin was a bit odd (as I discovered later) as it NEVER had any issues as to feeding the short .44 Magnum in the 336 action as most did. I did know that both guns were becoming "collector" arms and got a good price for the pair (I just never realized just how much they would eventually be worth).

As I recall I got something like $850 (quite a bit of change in those days) for the pair in the late 70's and though I didn't want to sell either.....I was young and broke and REALLY needed the money to pay for my daughter's tuition into an exclusive private school.

Would I do it again???? In a heartbeat....the best investment I ever made for my kids. Would I like to have those guns back....ohhhhh yeah. Kind of worked out as I "found" another Flattop Ruger 44 with an even lower serial number (107x) for a great price.....but have never found another 336 in .44 Magnum that was in my price range.

The only guns I remember that I truely "regret" getting rid of were not actually mine. When my father and I first got our FFL's and started a gun business our "stock" was the guns we already owned at the time. Two of those were guns that my father "owned" and were put in our shop....before we were able to buy/trade for more guns.

One was an L.C. Smith 12 Ga. that was the only gun I've ever handled that was as good as the Stevens 5100 I owned. It was a "killer" of the first order.....a legend in our area as a deer killer and would "regularly" knock out squirrels at 60 yards or more. Somehow sold/traded for something else in our early days in the buisness.

The second was Ruger 44 Carbine in the "sporter" style (full tight pistol grip and finger groove forearm (no barrel band). This was a gun I used as a very young man and my mother's first deer gun. It too was sold/ traded in those early days.

Since those days I've replaced the Ruger with a "standard" 44 Carbine, but not that "Sporter" and not THAT gun. I also have another L.C. Smith, but it's not as "tight" shooting and not "The Legend".

Still, if I was once again starting up a gun shop with my father.....I'd likely do the same thing. Even if I do wish I had both back today.

Have been guilty of that more than I like to admit.
I've never been lucky enough to buy one of them back. Great story. Classic Mausers are timeless. Enjoy. E

I sold my Remington 581 22LR that I used on my High School rifle team. I was one of the few or one that couldn't afford a real target model. IIRC I did OK with it. Sold it in the late 70's for $30.... and it was in very nice shape.

I needed the money? How pathetic. Otherwise, I've sold/traded a few rifles a year since 2002 and haven't missed any.

Yep...all of 'em.

Yes...an M70 Classic Sporter SS/Walnut 30-06.

Only two guns I've gotten rid of were a pair of 870 12 gauges that I traded on a 300 savage 99. Kind of wish I still had 1 for beating up in the turkey woods, but my Beretta will work. At the moment I don't plan on getting rid of anything else, read too many threads like this of sellers remorse. When I look through the safe, I don't see anything I want to get rid of anyways, whether practical or sentimental reasons, I'm keeping them all.

I had to sell a Remington 788 .308 with 18.5 in. barrel. I bought it brand new when the 788 was discontinued for $139.00. Gun always hit where I was shooting and fit me well. But my ex needed dental work and I sold it. The guy promised to give me a chance to buy it back if he decided to sell it but instead he unloaded it to a gun shop that I have always hated. When I saw it again the perfectly good trigger had been replaced with a Canjar target triger that had no safety and went off if anything jarred the gun. I tried to get it back but they wanted $350 without the trigger and $450 with it. After the "gunsmith" had screwed with it and replacement parts costing a small fortune I just could not justify the cost. I miss it but my VZ-24 .270 is lighter and just as good a shooter. Though if it crossed my path for about $200...

Have to agree with tzone on this one, "yep, all of them". Never really had a "bad" gun, that being said I haven't touched a browning.........

Well, I've let go a few I think about at times.
But I find much comfort in what I do own. Some are guns I never dreamed I would find OR afford.
I'm honestly blessed with plenty of tools. I just hope the same can be said for time afield.

I have five that I really wish that I would not have sold. Remington 700 BDL 243, Winchester 97 12 ga, Winchester 22 pump, Winchester single shot break open 22 Horrnet, and TC 50 call flint lock. There are 3 others that I really do not care about.

A few years back, I built a Ruger 77 tang safety in 416 Taylor. In her first version, my gunsmith made the comment that 'She's one fat rifle.' That's the day she got her name. I needed money and the price was right. She moved to Louisana. I remember a friend telling me that I would regret it, if I ever sold that rifle. I've regretted it from the day I put it in the box. A week ago, Butch, the fellow I sold it to agreed to sell her back to me. I don't think I've been this excited about a gun since I bought my first one, a 32 Special, back in 1961. The 'Fat Chick' is coming home.
Bfly

Two I would love to regain; a 1953 mfg Pre-64 M70FW in .308 WIN, a very nice rifle and a 1968 mfg post-64 M70 in .30-06 SPRG that I bought from a high school buddy whose Dad owned a local hardware store, my buddy has since passed on.

I can think of only 2. A Marlin mod of 1936 32sp and a Win. m-1 carb.

I can think of several that I wish I still had, but I'd rather not it kinda makes Me feel ill ..........................547.

I had a nice scoped Rem 760 pump in .30-06 that would shoot in a little over an inch. I sold it to a friend of a friend that turned out to be a real Pr*ck. I always regretted that sell.

Mine was my first M70- a pre-war .270 that put 110 Sierras into one small hole @ 100 yards.

I sold it to an older friend after his was stolen.