What's the deal???

M

MatthewKeller

Member
What's going on with the resale value of benchrest guns these days??? Used to, you never seen a BAT actioned rifle go for any less than $1900 no matter what stock it was in, and Panda's were always around $1600!!!! Now, if you are patient, it's not unusual at all to get a Stiller actioned gun or a Panda for $1400 or less!!!! And even the BATs are steadly going down in resale value. As someone who's sold and bought a few used BR guns in his day, it's been very interesting watching benchrest guns go as inexpensively as they have as of recent. It seems that if you wanna get what used to be a normal price for a used benchrest rifle, you are gonna be waiting awhile for someone to come along who is willing to pay what used to be a very reasonable price. Is it perhaps that demand is down??? Any thoughts????

Matthew S Keller
 
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A BR gun is disposable because it's so specialized, and with it's performance tied to barrels & scope.
That makes it worth little more than it's action.

You can see this with remington based BR guns.
They're worth(to anyone else) about half a BAT gun.

Now if you're selling one in winning form(with a bunch of new -finished barrels, dies, and a serious scope), it'll generate some interest.
Otherwise, anyone would have to assume it wasn't performing well, and was replaced with a better combination, including the parts you pulled.
Right?
Thats why it's for sale..
 
Besides that theres only a couple thousand BR shooters and maybe 10-20 thousand guns out there and most of this bunch is OLD and there getting cheaper by the day
 
Tough Times

The present state of the economy has got to have an effect also: there just is not as much "disposable income" available. The Harley motorcycle market is taking a big hit, as I'm sure are other big-ticket recreational items.:(
 
The market is saturated...And a lot of shooters are staying with one rifle stock combo that works for them...just buy 6 quality barrel blanks and go win..
I have an older R/R action that shoots lights-out with a fresh barrel and good bullets...
I think the idea is to win...and guys like Tony Boyer, Allie Euber and others have their favorite old technology rifle (Hart 1A or Stolle Teddy) that still will shoot .1xxx aggs...
With money getting tighter and US dollar value down...We won't be seeing used rifle values coming back for a long time..Like used pick-ups and SUVs it's a buyers market...
 
I argree

EWW makes a good point.
Ever tried selling a used race car?? Or a boat built for racing??
When I decided to get out of boat racing back in 1979, I sold every thing in my garage, the boat, (ready to go), a couple of extra motors, and galores of spare parts, (props, gears, rudders, etc), for $6000. Heck, I had just spent over $3000 just on the cylinder heads at Air Flow Research just a few months earlier.
The fact is, a Benchrest Rifle is a highly specialized piece of equipment, very singular in it's purpose. There are not many takers.
Every time a manufacturer brings out a new Action, or a new Stock, or a new anything, it will suddenly, in the minds of many, make what it is replacing antiquated. We all know that this is not true, but the preception is still there.
And,there is still the old thing, "if it's any good, why did He get rid of it". I believe that if you ever have a Rifle that is just a cut above, never get rid of it.
Ask some of the forementioned shooters why they still have that old Hart, or crusty old Panda.
The reason is, it still shoots. And he will beat you with it.......jackie
 
Maybe, its supply and demand.
There are alot more BR rifles around than there are BR shooters. Seems like more and more shooters are quiting BR, and very few new shooters are joining. High price of gas can only hurt match attendence. Its a sad state when you have to drive hundreds of miles, one way, just to attend a match, and gas is over $4 a gal, with diesel nearing the $5 mark. The price of fuel will only go up and up and match attendence go down and down.
Bob
 
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