Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Guns you wish you'd NEVER traded away

Just wondering about what folks have gotten rid of (other than spouses)that they wish they'd never traded/sold off?

Mine are 2 guns:

788 in 223
H&R Handi-Rifle in 223 bull barrel.

Both accurate and both sold/swapped with regret (now):(

The top ones on my list are all very similar rifles, but one. All model 70s, all fwts, two pre 64s, one classic and one winlite, 30-06s and 280s. They could have easily been 270s and at least two of them would still be here if they were! Two of them in mcmillan stocks, a fwt and a compact edge.
The odd one out was an early sako forester in 243, nice because it was an early sako in nice shape in a medium action.

I had one of the first 10,000 Remington 870's ever made that I sold to buy a Browning A5

The guy I sold it to promised he would sell it back to me if he decided to get rid of it, and then sold it to his brother in law instead

I had more Ruger MkII Stainless guns with the zytel stock. I like them and wish I had more. Not to say I don't have enough for what I NEED. It's a want thing.

Voere 2165 in 270 win. Exquisite stock double triggers and accurate as a bench gun!

Model 70 Browning pistol in 380. Still wish I had it back.

Remington 700 KS 338 win mag
Early 1960's Rem 700 very low serial number, about 98% condition. 30-06

I had a BLR with the steel receiver and and straight grip in 308 that I wish was still mine.

Winchester Model 47 Target

Model 94AE in .307 Win. Traded for a bow about 20 years ago. Not that I had great love for the rifle, but guess which one didn't depreciate to zero.

Remington 700 BDL LH .22-250


Remington 7600 7mm-08. I bought them both new and they both would shoot into 1/2".

Remington rand 1911, 788 243 & the savage 99e 308 my parents bought me, only because they bought it for me as a gift.

Lazzeroni 7.21 Firebird.

Kimber Super America in 7mm-08

donsm70

A Ruger No. 1-A in .338-06 and a CZ Model 3 in .300 WSM.

Winchester 88 in .308.

Winchester M 70 .375 H&H stainless steel.

Pre 64 Westerner .264, 4x Lyman, case and bx. of ammo, bought it for $125 about 1969.

S & W 4" model 29, completely engraved by Bill Johns now of Cody, Wy. sold it in the late 70's..

Ruger #1 6mm with the most beautiful wood I have seen on a #1..

m99 Savage .358..

Mt first rifle I purchased. Sold it for medical bills. Got it back 20 years later... Now it's my oldest daughters first gun. Pretty much covers the 30 I built and sold to my best friend. So now I just borrow them

W

Here's a few from 1990... don't regret selling them, but they were a nice group.

1st Savage 99 EG 308 Win (1956) 100% new and unfired when I got it.

2nd Ruger 77 RS 358 Win (19" bbl. limited run-500 qty).

3rd Ruger 77 RSI 7x57 (18.5" bbl. limited run-500 qty).

4th Ruger 77 RSI 250 Savage.

Ruger 77/22 RS (freaking accurate!)

Ithaca model 100 side by side 12 gauge and a Savage 99 detachable magazine in 7mm 08. I bird hunt now and that shotgun was sweet, and the Savage with that tang safety was a great still hunting rifle.

Rem Ti 7TMAG

Forgot this one,a CZ 550 American .416 Rigby.

I sold a 270 I got for a payment. Thank God there. Hate 270s.

But guess what the only gun I ever won is.... yep...

I sold a ruger redhawk to finance a 329PD. Much easier to carry, very accurate. And I got rid of a Ruger to piss Bill off. LOL.

OTher than that I"ve never sold a gun.

There have been many.......

I am still kicking myself....I sold a very nice Colt Commander.

I had 4 crates of NEVER FIRED French MAS-36 rifles, only dropped once.

Every one of them.

Rem. 788 in 6mm and a T/C Contender Carbine in .223

My biggest regret....

A Smith and Wesson Model 17 that my parents bought me for a birthday years ago.

I have too many smaller ones to list....

Weatherby Fiberguard that I had rebarrled to 358 win. Sold it before I got to shoot it because I lost my job.

I also regret selling 2 other Weatherby Fiberguards. One in 270 and one in 308.

Weatherby Mark V Super Big Game Master 300Win Mag

Remington 700 Cabelas Mountain Guide 308Win

Winchester 1300 NWTF 12ga

I only regret one, an Ithaca Model 49 .22 rimfire I had as a kid. Sold it and took off hitchhiking across the western US with the proceeds - all $8 worth. (They were $21 new in 1961.)

Was gone for a month.

Ruger M77RS carbine 358 WIN.

A Kimber M82S 22 Hornet. Crazy wood with two inletted ears on the rear, inletted and checkered grip cap, quarter rib... Swapped it for a 28 gauge Citori.

My Dad's Weatherby Vanguard deluxe 7RM that was his only big game rifle during my childhood. Really nice piece of wood and that deep deep Weatherby blued steel. He killed a LOT of animals with it, but it developed a "bulge" in the barrel toward the muzzle when I was in high school. He had it lopped off, but a ~20" 7RM wasn't his cup of tea. After it sat in his gun case for a couple of years, as I was just getting into guns, he told me to take it to the gun show and get what I could for it. If I had the knowledge I have now, I would have had it rebarreled for him.

Ruger #1BBS in 270. I read where there were only a handful made

A tang safety Ruger in 6 mm Remington. Sold to a distant relative who still has it, wonder if he would swap it for a Ruger American in 243...

Dale

The list is long, but a couple I particularly liked:

Sako Vixen heavy barrel 222 that was most accurate factory rifle I have ever seen

Ruger 77 tang safety 243 that shot itty bitty groups. I just liked it a lot and killed many deer with it. But my bud's son shot his first deer with it this year, so it's all good.

I let a couple M70 Featherweights and Supergrades go that I kinda miss....

I was moving from Michigan to CA in the early 80's and heard that Ca was strict on gun control so I sold some that I had accumulated.

Browning Olympian Grade 243 unfired It was beautiful
Browning Safari Grade 300 H&H
Colt Single action blue 4 3/4 38 Special
Colt Single action nickel 5 1/2 45 long colt
Colt Woodsman 4 1/2 97% w/ original box, instructions, and shoulder holster
Winchester 43 bolt action 32-20
Winchester 92 restocked with beautiful wood and rebarreled to .357
Fox Sterlingworth Deluxe 16 GA
Winchester 88 308
And 20 years ago I bought and stupidly sold a Parker Repo 3 Barreled set 2-28+410 that I never fired

Guns,rifles in particular,pass through here on a regular basis. It's just who I am. The one that tops the list I guess was a M70 XTR 270. First year production that I bought with my part time job money back in 80. Or was it 79? One or the other,it was a while back. By todays standards it was a strange looking thing. High gloss,big Monte Carlo comb,square forearm. I'd take that old rig back in a heart beat. But,my 327 needed rebuilt,and there was this girl. The Nova is gone as well,but the girl sits here with me now. I guess it all worked out.

The other was another M70. A first run stainless classic featherweight set in a nice walnut stock,chambered in 30/06. A lapse of judgement.A fella with a bunch of cash. Oh well,live and learn I guess.

Factory LH Heavy Barrel Savage .223 built on a 110 long action. Would regularly shoot .3's and .4's with handloads. Didn't like the Tupperware stock.

And a .375H&H built on a LH Sako MRI action. Didn't feel that I needed a .375. Still don't "need" one. But, miss the rifle...

Most of my "regrets" were handguns
Colt Realtree Anaconda all camo with camo scope 44msg
S&W mod 48 22mag
S&W "kit gun" 22LR
Colt Delta Gold Cup 10mm

and many more..

H&R model 300 in 243. It was just a nifty, super light, accurate little FN sporter.

Bought it for $300, sold it for $400, so for a hundred dollars I lost a really cool gun. STUPID!

A standard Winchester Model 70 chambered in 30-06 SPRG, made in 1968 (first push-feed with the guide lug bolt I owned). It had a very light colored walnut stock and perfect pressed checkering (for a nice wood-burned look). Bought it new from a HS buddy who owned a local hardware store - last new rifle they sold before getting out of the gun business. I sure wish I had kept that one - I traded it away for a trap shotgun 33 or so years ago, but I still look for it when I go to local gunshows. Odessa

I can think of three off the top of my head.

1. Remington 700 Mountain Rifle (floorplate model) in 7mm/08
2. Remington 700 KS in 35 Whelen
3. Remington 700 varmint laminated in 6mm Remington

ALL of them!

Only ever parted ways with one, Ruger New Model Blackhawk .357...traded it off for a bunch of car audio stuff when I was 24...still can't fathom ever being that stupid.

I don't have but a couple that I wish I could get back.

One was a Winchester 42 in pretty good shape, but nothing special. A guy that was a friend of my grandmother practically gave it to me because I kept several trucks in our motor pool assigned to his service station. He was in his 80's and appreciated it. Some guy had given him the Winchester as partial payment on a bill. I told him the price he made me was too low and that I would pay a fair price for it. Dang if he didn't knock another $25.00 off the price. I kept it for a long time and shot a bunch of birds and squirrels with it. I shouldn't have sold that one…

I gave one of my sons my M1 Garand yesterday. I told him no strings attached. If he wanted to sell it or save it, it was ok with me. I might need to keep my eyes out for a good, clean M1.

A nice pre-64 M70 in .300 H&H, a M600 Mohawk in 6mm that 2 of my boys took their first deer with. The Mohawk did go to a good home.

Sako 75 Varmint .223rem. Super accurate and well made rifle. What a mistake selling it

I have traded away a lot of guns I wish I had back but the one that sticks out is a really nice M1 Garand. They are getting expensive and hard to find. Wish I had that one back.

1911 combat commander 38 super.

BSA Majestic in 30/06 had a built in muzzlebrake
Voere shikar (not the M98)

only regret,was an LSI Puma M92 454.It was a hoot to shoot.
Darn Sakos,after my first I had no use for any other iron I had.

I have one of those. Not a common gun and very nice. Carries like a BRNO 21.

M1952 Mannlicher-Schoenauer, .257 Roberts.
M54 Winchester, .30-30. (Got that one back years later.)
Winchester HiWall, .219 Donaldson Wasp.
Colt Officer's Model Match- a consecutive numbered pair, .22 and .38.
M70 XTR Fwt, 6.5x55.

Oh god, what was I thinking? Hand me that whiskey bottle.

S&W M29 4" ; Colt Woodsman ; Win M88 308
seems crazy now, Rem 870 12 ga. - but later on got another one. Every man needs an 870 12 ga.

First one was to a Government "buy back" in 1990 when the firearms act restrictions came into effect in Australia.

It was my first firearm; a CZ BRNO model 511, .22lr semi automatic.

Somewhat like this;



Watched it get crushed in a press !!!

& a Tikka M595 in .222rem, that I sold before moving from Australia, to Canada, because of the importation red tape !

Somewhat like this one;



It shot bug holes using W748 & 50gr Sierra Blitz !

Every time I think about this subject I start to tear-up......e.g., Model 70 250-3000, Parker DHE 20ga, LCS Specialty 410.......and on and on.

Better to have "owned, enjoyed and sold" than never to have owned at all.

Only one REAL regret:

Remington 1100 LT 20.

Cool diamondback 4" 38 special
BLR 308
BL-22
Husqvarna 1640 HVA lightWeight 30-06

Mr. Books, I also regret everyone to some degree or other.

THREE at the TOP of the List:
1. Win 70 XTR FTWT 270 Win (1st one in Hammond La.)
2. BLR 22 LR - MINT
3. S-W M19 4". (357 Mag) oooooooh!!




JRS (Jon R Sundra) wrote an article entitled "Little Misses I Have Known" on this theme.