Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What rifles have you sold and bought back?

Looking and the number of times this subject is stated within threads, I don't recall we have covered it separately?

I bought a Winchester Featherweight in .30/06, bedded it and did the load development, hunted with it a few times and traded it for a Ruger SS Mark 2 in .338. It was the most accurate '06 I have ever shot and missed it, so when it was offered to me a little while later I grabbed it and it is now the stayer in my safe and will never be sold again.

Also had a one of a kind Model 70 in .458 which was electroless nickel plated in a synthetic stock so was impervious to weather conditions. Had a few .458's over the years but this was the outstanding one for accuracy and was very well tuned in the action and trigger making it the best and smoothest example I have yet handled. When Winchester closed in 2006, I was offered a couple of grand for it as the accuracy was noted and drooled over by others. As it was just another rifle, I let it go. I was approached a few months later and offered it back in a trade for another rifle I picked up after I'd done the review so I think I had about $500 in it. That .458 will also never leave again, so for me, it is a pair of Model 70's, one in .30/06 and the other in .458.

What have you let go and reacquired as soon as it became available?

Not one. I have sold and tried to buy back 3. The new owners are smarter then I was. They still own them.

Oh god, there isn't enough space here! Suffice it to say:

Orignal John Rigby Mauser (1907) in 303 British
RF Sedgley Springfield (I just remedied that, see my post in Custom Rifles)
Original pre-safety Marlin 444S
Winchester M1 Carbine
Commercial ("C" prefix) 1911
Several pre-64s model 70s

How's that for starters?

davidsapp is a vacuum.....a freakin' black hole for my rifles. It's not his fault, I'm the fool and he's smarter than I am.

WillAK got one that I thought I was good to let go. Wrong...... Luckily things fell in place to get another one with the same specs.

I've started asking folks, if they don't mind, to give me dibs on buying things back in the future. There's been a bunch of them. It's really like a sickness. Oh well, catharsis is good for the soul.....

Jay- not getting the FC back!

Stainless Remington Custom KS Mountain Rifle in 338 WM.

Bought it new, sold it to a buddy, bought it back, and sold it again to buy a 338 Ultra Mag, & sold that.

Wished I had kept the KS the first time.......

I'm beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men! ....grin..... I hope it's shooting lights out for you!

Never did it with a rifle, but I did once trade off an Antonio Zoli 20 gauge sxs, which I later bought back from the dealer to whom I had traded it. Got it for a very good price, too.

A Marlin 41 mag rifle.

I traded it for an Ar and 1000 rounds of ammo and bought it back 6 years later.

My brother-in-law and I sold rifles and pistols back and forth. The one that we traded many times was a 350 RM in a 600. I wish I would have kept the 41 mag S&W that he ended up with.

Sold an Iver Henriksen rifle to a member here, I missed it, he kindly sold it back to me. Sold son in law a maple stocked 700, bought it back too.

“A rifle lost, but found.”

My late father owned a 1950s vintage Remington Model 722 rifle (.300 Savage). I was 12-years old in 1970 when my Dad was stricken with a brain aneurysm the day after Christmas. Sadly, I was never able to hunt with him. My amazing late Mother and some family friends filled his shoes, but that’s another story for another time.

I hunted using Dad’s rifle for one or two years, but I am left-handed and was convinced I needed a left-handed rifle. Mom listed Dad’s rifle for sale. Fortunately, one of Dad’s buddies frequently cruised through the newspaper looking for gun deals. He immediately called, urging us to not sell the rifle. Money was sort of tight and I was a persistent young boy, so he bought the rifle and I purchased a left-handed Remington.

It didn’t take too long for me to realize the error of my ways. After graduating high school, I approached my Dad’s friend asking if he’d ever part with the 722. What I didn’t know was, in the years that had passed his home was virtually destroyed by fire. By another twist of fate, prior to the fire he had sold the rifle to another of Dad’s friends as his son’s first deer rifle.

I was pleased to hear the Remington had made it through the fire. For years I would occasionally think about Dad’s rifle. Twenty years later, I contacted the new owner and inquired if he’d ever consider selling the .300 Savage. He said “no”, and my heart sank just a little bit, then he paused and said, “but I’d be willing to trade.” He had moved to Texas and was interested in a long action rifle.

I was happy to acquire a gently used Remington 700 ADL rifle which his parents shuttled to Texas during one of their visits. They returned with my Dad’s rifle which was no worse for the wear. I was almost like a 12-year old boy at Christmas again. With a tear in my eye, I was once again handling the Remington 722. It’s nothing special – the plain walnut stock shows handling marks and the bluing is slightly worn - but the rifle holds tremendous sentimental value to me. The rifle still shoots well, too. I have since harvested a couple deer with the rifle.

Thanks to a couple generous friends and some luck, the rifle returned to our family after a nearly 30 year absence. Our sons have promised to not let “Dad’s deer rifle” ever leave the family.

AussieGunWriter: I am sure I have sold and bought back at least 20 Rifles over the last 55+ years of serious gun buying/trading!
I have let MANY more get completely away that I never should have sold.
What sticks in my craw though was two transactions where-in I sold Rifles to "friends" under the condition that if they ever sold them they were to give me first buy back privilege!
Both those former friends apparently thought the $50.00 or $100.00 they may have made off of the "friends deal" I made them, was worth more than their word!
Neither of those two cretins have ever been allowed my company since then - even after apologies.
I take gun trading and promises (a persons word!) very seriously!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

A Remington Mohawk in 222 and a custom Mauser in 275.

Only one, a 1978 Ruger M77 in 7mm mag.

My list of ones I sold and wish I could buy back would take up a couple of pages.

40 years ago I sold my 1971 Marlin 39D 22 cal. lever action to my brother. He's older now and doesn't hunt or shoot much any more and asked if I wanted to buy it back. I had not seen the rifle since I sold it. He gave me a great deal and it is now back in my safe. He said he didn't remember ever shooting the rifle and, it looks as nearly good today as it did the day I purchased it 49 years ago. I'm really happy to have it back and someday soon I hope to also buy back my old 1974 Remington BDL 25-06 that I also sold to him at the same time. I have fond memories of both rifles.

You and me both

Most I've sold had a reason to go, generally fit.
The only real exception is a Ruger #3, custom Douglas barrel in 22 K Hornet.
My buddy and I have traded that thing back - and - forth several times.
It resides permanently with me, now.

When I was younger I slowly setup a Ruger Super Blackhawk in 44 mag with a 10-1/2" barrel. I ordered scope mounts and a scope and put some new hogue grips on it. This thing was a flat out shooter. My gf at the time was seeing how much money I was putting into it and talked about me wasting money. I ended up selling it a few years later to buy that gf an engagement ring. We have been married for 8 years now with 2 kids. I bought the pistol back this year from the guy I sold it to. I ended up with the girl and the gun.

My dad had one of the ugly sav 99E rifles for a couple of years. Sold it to buy his long sought left handed rem 700. about 14 years later I see a pair of 99’s in the local gun/pawn shop offered $500 for both. At home while getting a better look figure out one of them was my dads old gun.