...and I was very busy the last half of the week and then spent most of the day yesterday inside of an auction house. I spent almost 6 hours driving to upstate NY after work on Friday night and was exhausted when I got to the motel I was staying at in Seneca Falls, NY (thank Hilton Honors for Hilton Honors points and my essentially free hotel stay but damn them for increasing by 1/3 to 1/2 the amount of points needed for a stay). I figured I would be out like a light within a half hour of my arrival there but as luck would have it, I had no luck in that regard. I wound up staying awake until at least 1:30 AM then tossing and turning and waking up about every hour, I just couldn't sleep a plugged wooden nickel's worth. My mistake was not passing out as soon as I got into my room. Instead, I hopped in the shower, then sat down at the desk with my laptop and looked over the auction inventory. I don't know what it is about using my computer before trying to go to bed but being online for awhile often seems to have the effect of making it harder to sleep for me.
Anyway, on Saturday, I crawled out of the sack, ate a quick free breakfast at the hotel and drove over to Hessney Auctions in Geneva about 10 mils from the motel. I would have stayed in Geneva but the only available rooms were at dumps. When I got to the auction hose, I was probably the second or third customer to have arrived. The parking lot attendants were all in a huddle over coffee and donuts and I just pulled into one of the first spots inside the lot. Every last one of the 7 or 8 parking lot crew gave me a look when I parked there having noticed me after I had already turned into the spot. Then they all lost their smiles and apparently had a serious discussion about what to do about me having parked there and I am guessing they selected the one guy who then came over to me. As I got out of my car he walked over looking all serious and officious and said good morning. I said good morning back but I supposed it sounded a bit gruff (not because I was being so but because my throat was very dry) and he just turned around and walked away without saying another word. Every other car that entered the lot was directed to an area near the back end working forward until the lot was filled. As I was walking toward the front door, another of the lot attendants started to make her way toward me looking all puffed up and important and was about to say something to me and we exchanged 'good mornings' when another car came in and she directed its driver to the back of the lot. I just sort of gimped along, since my hip was acting up, toward the front door and I guess someone realized I was sort of an old geezer with a limp and they left me alone after that. Funny none of that ever happened before and I have been going there for years. Probably because I usually get there before most of the lot attendants show up. Of course, I could have read them all wrong, maybe they just came over to say good morning but they both sure looked determined when they had approached me.
I was first on line for the auction registration, also like several times before, and it made me realize how much I enjoy being there. It is not only the prospect of getting a new gun or some ammo that I really like but the whole auction atmosphere with the chance of getting a good bargain. As for bargains I got some yesterday, some decent to excellent ones at that. As usual though, I also screwed up on one of my bids and bid on the wrong item (a framed turkey print and turkey stamps). The one I wanted was very similar and was the next numbered item. They were moving along so fast by then I sort of lost track and the one I bid on looked so similar to the one I wanted I just started bidding and had he high bid for it. I did not win the one I had wanted anyway and am kind of happy I got the one I did get. The print and stamps are nice and it is a limited and signed edition. The frame is a bit scratched but it an easily be reframed in a frame at little additional cost. Anyway, it is probably going to wind up as a gift for my brother-in-law for his new house.
Then there were the other bids, the ones I did not screw up. I bid on at least 5 guns. I had the high bids on two, most definitely not the ones I wanted the most though but good deals nonetheless. My primary objectives were having the high bids on a new Remington Model 700 Varmint Stainless Fluted (VSF) in 308 WIN. I had already bid as an absentee bidder online (I registered online in the event I would not be able to make it there) and had the high bid there. Disappointingly, my $625 high bid was nowhere nearly enough and it sold for $750. I also made unsuccessful bids on: a used Browning Lightning BLR in 243 caliber, excellent condition, I bid $450m the high bid was $550; a new Winchester Model 70 Ultimate Shadow in 308 WIN, I bid $650 and it went for at least $750; a new Remington 750 Woodmaster with 6 magazines (it was a 750 not a 750 Woodmaster, it had a synthetic stock) excellent condition, I bid $500 and it went for $525 (and I flubbed there too because I had originally planned to bid $550 but got cold feet; a Savage Model 25 Lightweight Varminter in 22 Hornet with bipod, excellent condition, I bid $400 and it went for $500; a Browning Citori Superlight 16 gauge in excellent condition, I bid $750 hoping for a steal but it sold for $1350; a Ruger Redhawk with 5.5" barrel in 44 magnum in excellent condition, I bid $500 and it went for $550 - I would have bid more if not for the fact I would have had to have gotten paperwork at my local police department and then return to the auction house or have it shipped through an FFL, another $40 for the transfer fee and about $30 to ship) so it was not worth it; a new Marlin 1895G Guide Gun in 45-70 Government, I bid $450 and it went for $475; a new Ruger 10/22 with scope, my bid $175 and it sold for a whopping $275 (plus either a 10 or 13 percent buyer's premium depending on payment type) and tax (making it cheaper to buy at a local store); a Ruger 10/22 SS with Mossy Oak camo stock, I bid $200 and it sold for $300; a Ruger 10/22 black synthetic stock, I bid $175 and it sold for $225, a Ruger 10/22 with hardwood stock on which I bid $175 and it went for $200; a new Ruger Mini 14 Ranch rifle that I bid $600 on and it sold for the next higher increment at $625 (I was tempted to bid $650 but when I bid I try to figure if the total cost including the 13% buyer's premium
and sales tax rate of 7.5% against would save me money against what I would likely pay a my local gun shop, so I stopped at $600); a excellent Remington Model 870 Express magnum 12 gauge, my bid $225 and it sold for $250; a Marlin Model 782 in 22 WMR with scope and leather sling for which I bid $150 but that went for $250; a Remington Speedmaster Model 522 in very good condition, I bid $150 and it went for $225; an excellent Thompson Center Contender in 35 REM with 14" Super barrel, my bid $175 (all costs considered that is all I could bid on this pistol), it sold for $425; an excellent condition H&R Topper in 12 gauge, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation commemorative, on which I bid $125 that went for $150; a NEF Model 581 Pardner in VG condition that sold for $120 on which I had bid $100; and finally a H&R Topper in EXC condition, my bid $100 and it sold for $110. I also missed out on a bid for a Ithaca Model 100 20 gauge SXS shotgun, that looked new but did not come with the box, I must have fallen asleep or had a brain fart or something, it sold for $125 and I had been willing to bid $150.
As I said, way up above, I had two high bids. The first was a high bid of $200 on a Ruger 10/22 with Reaper Camo on virtually the entire rifle except things like the sights, trigger, barrel band screw, mag release and magazine. I bid $25 more on this than all the other 10/22's because I guessed it would cost a bit more that them with the camo pattern. The total worked out to just a few cents under $243; a regular 10/22 with wood or black synthetic goes for a total of a few cents over $265 at my local gun store, so I did okay if not great on it. The least expensive one, with this same Reaper camo pattern, is selling for $229 on GunBroker but you have to add $25 shipping to that plus a $25 FFL transfer fee for a total of $279. That is probably about the same as what I would have had to pay at my local dealer if he had one of these in stock. Yep, I did okay on that one, not for resale but for a new toy ;>).
The other one on which I had the high bid is a Remington 870 Express 12 gauge. It has some very slight wear in spots but is in excellent condition. It has a black synthetic stock and supposedly had a a rifled barrel. In fact it has a smoothbore slug barrel. They had it listed with a rifled barrel and maybe at one point it had one and someone changed it by mistake (or on purpose) when inspecting it or maybe they called it that because it came with rifle sights and they got confused or maybe they just screwed up the description because of an attack of brain farts - who knows; but they tell you to carefully inspect before bidding. Now, the thing is that I recently bought an as new Remington 870 Express combo, 12 gauge, with laminated stock, about a month ago. I also have a well used Remington 870 Express combo 12 gauge that I bought in the late 1980's that has served me well. So go figure as to why I would want another! The thing is that, during the auction preview, I saw this new one had a smoothbore and not the rifled barrel they said it had. Since the barrels are the same finish, and since the one I bought last month has a rifled barrel, I am going to switch the barrels as I much prefer the smoothbore; it just because it better suits my purposes. I'll probably then sell the one I picked up at the auction, most likely make a small profit off of it, and will have saved the $165 or so plus tax and shipping that Remington would have charged me to buy a smoothbore barrel. It is a plan and hopefully I will sell the one I just bought and the plan will come to fulfillment. Thinking about it though, I may ask my son if he wants it and then we can sell his Mossberg 500. In my opinion the Mossberg is a POS.
I also picked up a number of other things at the auction and missed out on some other items on which I had hoped to bid. The thing is they start the auction in a side room off of the main room. What they do is start around 9 or 30 by selling off things like archery stuff, reloading equipment and supplies, fishing gear and tackle and other miscellaneous items. Then they go outside for a bit and auction off whatever vehicles and boats they may have yup for bids. Then then come inside an Joe Hessney starts the gun auction while his wife Carrie goes back to the side room and continues the action of the other stuff. I went back to the side room when there was going to be a decent break between guns on which I wanted to bid and was quite disappointed to find that the reloading equipment (not the reloading supplies like powder or primes but the presses, case trimmers (I had hopes for one of these) were all gone. Luckily I got there just before the dies went up for bids and I got a new Lyman 2 die set in 35 REM for $17.50. Not a bad price at all.
Then I went back into the main room for the remainder of the gun auction. After all of the firearms were auctioned off it switched to some miscellaneous items like deer mounts, a bison hide, duck decoys, prints (mostly hunting related scenes), some collectible fishing lures and knives. I had the high bid on a set of three Schrade Old Timer knives in a 2014 collectible tin, my bid was $10. Amazingly folks bid amounts up to $35 (plus either the 10% or 13% buyer's premiums and tax) on similar Schrade knife sets.The thing making it amazing is that they retail for about $24 and all someone had to do was a quick check on the Internet with their smart phone to find that out before bidding. I also bought a framed and signed Turkey print with four 2002 Turkey stamps and a limited edition signed framed print of Canada Geese in flight. When that stuff was gone, some reloading supplies like powder and primers went up for bids and so did the ammo. I bid on several lots of ammo and on one lot of gunpowder. I had looked up loads for the 35 REM round as powder up for bids was one of the ones recommended for 35 REM. This particular powder, Hodgdon H322 (damned if I can pronounce it), is good for various other calibers, like 223 REM. I picked up two 1 pound jars of it for $20 each. Not bad at all considering the average price I found for it online is about $32.00 per pound.
I got some decent deals on ammo too but wish I had bid on and had the high bids on more of it. By the time the ammo goes up for auction, most of the bidder have departed the auction. The folks who remain are either looking for specific calibers or are dealers (professional or Internet amateurs who sell on sites like GunBroker) looking to score some ammo for resale. I am a combination of both. I had the high bids on a small variety of ammo I needed. I picked up 4 boxes of Remington Core-Lokt 200 grain 35 REM with a bid of $20 per box. That is very good, even with the buyer's premium and tax added since the price I can find on that specific ammo, when available online which is rarely nowadays, is anywhere from abut $32 to $40 per box. I may sell it for a decent profit but only bcause I have about 1K rounds of 35 REM already. While it is not recent manufacture (the price tag on it was $13.95, so I know it has to be at least 8 to 10 years old) it is in good condition and should sell quickly at a profit (a profit that would be used to buy more guns and ammo).
I also got a box of Remington 240 grain Lead (gas check) 44 magnum rounds for $17.50. They don't make it anymore but it is probably not all that old. The bullet is a semi-wadcutter or long flat-nose type. I bought it to shoot through my Redhawk. It was a good price compared to what 44 magnum rounds of a similar nature have been going for lately. I also picked up five boxes of Remington Premiere Copper Solid Sabot Slugs at $7.00 each. Even with the buyer's premium and tax added, that was an excellent price considering they go for about $16 to $20 per box retail. I may have to put those rounds through one of the Remington 870s using the rifled barrel that came with my Rem 870 express combo that I bought last month. Then I can put that barrel on the Rem 870 I picked up yesterday and sell it. Fun before profit is the way to go. Who knows, I may like the way the rifled barrel shoots sabots so much that I will keep the new one from the auction too.
As I was typing the last paragraph above, Brendan just came down and looked at the new Ruger 10/22 and the new Remington 870 and liked them both a lot. I asked him if he wanted to sell his Mossberg 500 and keep the Remington and he answered with a an eager and resounding yes, so I guess as it stands right now - we will be a three Remington 870 house and minus one Mossberg POS (if you don't know what POS means, you can look it up on an Internet slang site). We may also wind up being a three Ruger 10/22 family. The first rifle I ever bought was a Ruger 10/22 with hardwood stock (probably birch). I bought it when I was in the Border Patrol way back when in the early 1980's. I still have I and all that is wrong with it is that I broke off the brass (or is it gold) bead on the front sight many years ago. I have never replaced it as it in no way affects sighting or accuracy in my estimation. We also have a Ruger 10/22 All Weather (black synthetic stock and stainless steel metal). That one is Brendan's, it's the second rifle and first semi-auto that I bought for him. He likes the new one so much, I may see if he wants to keep it and sell the other one. He already said yes to doing it with the shotgun and I expect he will be amenable to doing it with the Ruger 10/22 All Weather. There we go back to being a two 870 and two 10/22 family again. Anyway, with both the new 870 and the 10/22, if I give them to him and he sells his Mossberg and 10/22 All Weather, I get whatever they sell for and he will have to make up any difference; if he does not sell those two guns then he will have to pay me for the new ones. These are not presents, this is more like gun trading 101; he is 26 years old and it is long overdue for him to start learning about seller's remorse!
After spending all that money, $829.07, on my credit card, and paying the 13% buyer's premium instead of the 10%premium when paying with cash, I remembered I had brought along some gold and silver to sell or to use to pay for the guns. Joe Hessney bought 25 silver Canadian Maple Leaf coins and two 1/10 ounce Canadian Maple Leaf gold coins from me and that made up for $675 of the total I spent. I decided not to get a refund on my credit card in that amount and apply the cash to the purchases, even though it would have saved me about $20, since the guns and ammo are protected by the credit card's buyer protection plan and because it would have been a pain in the butt. Besides that, the gold/silver transaction made me the last person there who needed to do the transfer paperwork, go through the NICS check and pick up guns and I knew they wanted to close shop so I decided to eat the loss and get going. Next time I have gold and silver to offload though, I will have to remember to do that before I pay thus reducing the buyer's premium on the amount I pay with cash.
Once all done at the auction house, I said my goodbyes and headed home. It took me about 6 hours for the ride home including a brief stop for food and gas and another stop in PA for about half an hour.
All the best,
Glenn B
Anyway, on Saturday, I crawled out of the sack, ate a quick free breakfast at the hotel and drove over to Hessney Auctions in Geneva about 10 mils from the motel. I would have stayed in Geneva but the only available rooms were at dumps. When I got to the auction hose, I was probably the second or third customer to have arrived. The parking lot attendants were all in a huddle over coffee and donuts and I just pulled into one of the first spots inside the lot. Every last one of the 7 or 8 parking lot crew gave me a look when I parked there having noticed me after I had already turned into the spot. Then they all lost their smiles and apparently had a serious discussion about what to do about me having parked there and I am guessing they selected the one guy who then came over to me. As I got out of my car he walked over looking all serious and officious and said good morning. I said good morning back but I supposed it sounded a bit gruff (not because I was being so but because my throat was very dry) and he just turned around and walked away without saying another word. Every other car that entered the lot was directed to an area near the back end working forward until the lot was filled. As I was walking toward the front door, another of the lot attendants started to make her way toward me looking all puffed up and important and was about to say something to me and we exchanged 'good mornings' when another car came in and she directed its driver to the back of the lot. I just sort of gimped along, since my hip was acting up, toward the front door and I guess someone realized I was sort of an old geezer with a limp and they left me alone after that. Funny none of that ever happened before and I have been going there for years. Probably because I usually get there before most of the lot attendants show up. Of course, I could have read them all wrong, maybe they just came over to say good morning but they both sure looked determined when they had approached me.
I was first on line for the auction registration, also like several times before, and it made me realize how much I enjoy being there. It is not only the prospect of getting a new gun or some ammo that I really like but the whole auction atmosphere with the chance of getting a good bargain. As for bargains I got some yesterday, some decent to excellent ones at that. As usual though, I also screwed up on one of my bids and bid on the wrong item (a framed turkey print and turkey stamps). The one I wanted was very similar and was the next numbered item. They were moving along so fast by then I sort of lost track and the one I bid on looked so similar to the one I wanted I just started bidding and had he high bid for it. I did not win the one I had wanted anyway and am kind of happy I got the one I did get. The print and stamps are nice and it is a limited and signed edition. The frame is a bit scratched but it an easily be reframed in a frame at little additional cost. Anyway, it is probably going to wind up as a gift for my brother-in-law for his new house.
Then there were the other bids, the ones I did not screw up. I bid on at least 5 guns. I had the high bids on two, most definitely not the ones I wanted the most though but good deals nonetheless. My primary objectives were having the high bids on a new Remington Model 700 Varmint Stainless Fluted (VSF) in 308 WIN. I had already bid as an absentee bidder online (I registered online in the event I would not be able to make it there) and had the high bid there. Disappointingly, my $625 high bid was nowhere nearly enough and it sold for $750. I also made unsuccessful bids on: a used Browning Lightning BLR in 243 caliber, excellent condition, I bid $450m the high bid was $550; a new Winchester Model 70 Ultimate Shadow in 308 WIN, I bid $650 and it went for at least $750; a new Remington 750 Woodmaster with 6 magazines (it was a 750 not a 750 Woodmaster, it had a synthetic stock) excellent condition, I bid $500 and it went for $525 (and I flubbed there too because I had originally planned to bid $550 but got cold feet; a Savage Model 25 Lightweight Varminter in 22 Hornet with bipod, excellent condition, I bid $400 and it went for $500; a Browning Citori Superlight 16 gauge in excellent condition, I bid $750 hoping for a steal but it sold for $1350; a Ruger Redhawk with 5.5" barrel in 44 magnum in excellent condition, I bid $500 and it went for $550 - I would have bid more if not for the fact I would have had to have gotten paperwork at my local police department and then return to the auction house or have it shipped through an FFL, another $40 for the transfer fee and about $30 to ship) so it was not worth it; a new Marlin 1895G Guide Gun in 45-70 Government, I bid $450 and it went for $475; a new Ruger 10/22 with scope, my bid $175 and it sold for a whopping $275 (plus either a 10 or 13 percent buyer's premium depending on payment type) and tax (making it cheaper to buy at a local store); a Ruger 10/22 SS with Mossy Oak camo stock, I bid $200 and it sold for $300; a Ruger 10/22 black synthetic stock, I bid $175 and it sold for $225, a Ruger 10/22 with hardwood stock on which I bid $175 and it went for $200; a new Ruger Mini 14 Ranch rifle that I bid $600 on and it sold for the next higher increment at $625 (I was tempted to bid $650 but when I bid I try to figure if the total cost including the 13% buyer's premium
and sales tax rate of 7.5% against would save me money against what I would likely pay a my local gun shop, so I stopped at $600); a excellent Remington Model 870 Express magnum 12 gauge, my bid $225 and it sold for $250; a Marlin Model 782 in 22 WMR with scope and leather sling for which I bid $150 but that went for $250; a Remington Speedmaster Model 522 in very good condition, I bid $150 and it went for $225; an excellent Thompson Center Contender in 35 REM with 14" Super barrel, my bid $175 (all costs considered that is all I could bid on this pistol), it sold for $425; an excellent condition H&R Topper in 12 gauge, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation commemorative, on which I bid $125 that went for $150; a NEF Model 581 Pardner in VG condition that sold for $120 on which I had bid $100; and finally a H&R Topper in EXC condition, my bid $100 and it sold for $110. I also missed out on a bid for a Ithaca Model 100 20 gauge SXS shotgun, that looked new but did not come with the box, I must have fallen asleep or had a brain fart or something, it sold for $125 and I had been willing to bid $150.
As I said, way up above, I had two high bids. The first was a high bid of $200 on a Ruger 10/22 with Reaper Camo on virtually the entire rifle except things like the sights, trigger, barrel band screw, mag release and magazine. I bid $25 more on this than all the other 10/22's because I guessed it would cost a bit more that them with the camo pattern. The total worked out to just a few cents under $243; a regular 10/22 with wood or black synthetic goes for a total of a few cents over $265 at my local gun store, so I did okay if not great on it. The least expensive one, with this same Reaper camo pattern, is selling for $229 on GunBroker but you have to add $25 shipping to that plus a $25 FFL transfer fee for a total of $279. That is probably about the same as what I would have had to pay at my local dealer if he had one of these in stock. Yep, I did okay on that one, not for resale but for a new toy ;>).
The other one on which I had the high bid is a Remington 870 Express 12 gauge. It has some very slight wear in spots but is in excellent condition. It has a black synthetic stock and supposedly had a a rifled barrel. In fact it has a smoothbore slug barrel. They had it listed with a rifled barrel and maybe at one point it had one and someone changed it by mistake (or on purpose) when inspecting it or maybe they called it that because it came with rifle sights and they got confused or maybe they just screwed up the description because of an attack of brain farts - who knows; but they tell you to carefully inspect before bidding. Now, the thing is that I recently bought an as new Remington 870 Express combo, 12 gauge, with laminated stock, about a month ago. I also have a well used Remington 870 Express combo 12 gauge that I bought in the late 1980's that has served me well. So go figure as to why I would want another! The thing is that, during the auction preview, I saw this new one had a smoothbore and not the rifled barrel they said it had. Since the barrels are the same finish, and since the one I bought last month has a rifled barrel, I am going to switch the barrels as I much prefer the smoothbore; it just because it better suits my purposes. I'll probably then sell the one I picked up at the auction, most likely make a small profit off of it, and will have saved the $165 or so plus tax and shipping that Remington would have charged me to buy a smoothbore barrel. It is a plan and hopefully I will sell the one I just bought and the plan will come to fulfillment. Thinking about it though, I may ask my son if he wants it and then we can sell his Mossberg 500. In my opinion the Mossberg is a POS.
I also picked up a number of other things at the auction and missed out on some other items on which I had hoped to bid. The thing is they start the auction in a side room off of the main room. What they do is start around 9 or 30 by selling off things like archery stuff, reloading equipment and supplies, fishing gear and tackle and other miscellaneous items. Then they go outside for a bit and auction off whatever vehicles and boats they may have yup for bids. Then then come inside an Joe Hessney starts the gun auction while his wife Carrie goes back to the side room and continues the action of the other stuff. I went back to the side room when there was going to be a decent break between guns on which I wanted to bid and was quite disappointed to find that the reloading equipment (not the reloading supplies like powder or primes but the presses, case trimmers (I had hopes for one of these) were all gone. Luckily I got there just before the dies went up for bids and I got a new Lyman 2 die set in 35 REM for $17.50. Not a bad price at all.
Then I went back into the main room for the remainder of the gun auction. After all of the firearms were auctioned off it switched to some miscellaneous items like deer mounts, a bison hide, duck decoys, prints (mostly hunting related scenes), some collectible fishing lures and knives. I had the high bid on a set of three Schrade Old Timer knives in a 2014 collectible tin, my bid was $10. Amazingly folks bid amounts up to $35 (plus either the 10% or 13% buyer's premiums and tax) on similar Schrade knife sets.The thing making it amazing is that they retail for about $24 and all someone had to do was a quick check on the Internet with their smart phone to find that out before bidding. I also bought a framed and signed Turkey print with four 2002 Turkey stamps and a limited edition signed framed print of Canada Geese in flight. When that stuff was gone, some reloading supplies like powder and primers went up for bids and so did the ammo. I bid on several lots of ammo and on one lot of gunpowder. I had looked up loads for the 35 REM round as powder up for bids was one of the ones recommended for 35 REM. This particular powder, Hodgdon H322 (damned if I can pronounce it), is good for various other calibers, like 223 REM. I picked up two 1 pound jars of it for $20 each. Not bad at all considering the average price I found for it online is about $32.00 per pound.
I got some decent deals on ammo too but wish I had bid on and had the high bids on more of it. By the time the ammo goes up for auction, most of the bidder have departed the auction. The folks who remain are either looking for specific calibers or are dealers (professional or Internet amateurs who sell on sites like GunBroker) looking to score some ammo for resale. I am a combination of both. I had the high bids on a small variety of ammo I needed. I picked up 4 boxes of Remington Core-Lokt 200 grain 35 REM with a bid of $20 per box. That is very good, even with the buyer's premium and tax added since the price I can find on that specific ammo, when available online which is rarely nowadays, is anywhere from abut $32 to $40 per box. I may sell it for a decent profit but only bcause I have about 1K rounds of 35 REM already. While it is not recent manufacture (the price tag on it was $13.95, so I know it has to be at least 8 to 10 years old) it is in good condition and should sell quickly at a profit (a profit that would be used to buy more guns and ammo).
I also got a box of Remington 240 grain Lead (gas check) 44 magnum rounds for $17.50. They don't make it anymore but it is probably not all that old. The bullet is a semi-wadcutter or long flat-nose type. I bought it to shoot through my Redhawk. It was a good price compared to what 44 magnum rounds of a similar nature have been going for lately. I also picked up five boxes of Remington Premiere Copper Solid Sabot Slugs at $7.00 each. Even with the buyer's premium and tax added, that was an excellent price considering they go for about $16 to $20 per box retail. I may have to put those rounds through one of the Remington 870s using the rifled barrel that came with my Rem 870 express combo that I bought last month. Then I can put that barrel on the Rem 870 I picked up yesterday and sell it. Fun before profit is the way to go. Who knows, I may like the way the rifled barrel shoots sabots so much that I will keep the new one from the auction too.
As I was typing the last paragraph above, Brendan just came down and looked at the new Ruger 10/22 and the new Remington 870 and liked them both a lot. I asked him if he wanted to sell his Mossberg 500 and keep the Remington and he answered with a an eager and resounding yes, so I guess as it stands right now - we will be a three Remington 870 house and minus one Mossberg POS (if you don't know what POS means, you can look it up on an Internet slang site). We may also wind up being a three Ruger 10/22 family. The first rifle I ever bought was a Ruger 10/22 with hardwood stock (probably birch). I bought it when I was in the Border Patrol way back when in the early 1980's. I still have I and all that is wrong with it is that I broke off the brass (or is it gold) bead on the front sight many years ago. I have never replaced it as it in no way affects sighting or accuracy in my estimation. We also have a Ruger 10/22 All Weather (black synthetic stock and stainless steel metal). That one is Brendan's, it's the second rifle and first semi-auto that I bought for him. He likes the new one so much, I may see if he wants to keep it and sell the other one. He already said yes to doing it with the shotgun and I expect he will be amenable to doing it with the Ruger 10/22 All Weather. There we go back to being a two 870 and two 10/22 family again. Anyway, with both the new 870 and the 10/22, if I give them to him and he sells his Mossberg and 10/22 All Weather, I get whatever they sell for and he will have to make up any difference; if he does not sell those two guns then he will have to pay me for the new ones. These are not presents, this is more like gun trading 101; he is 26 years old and it is long overdue for him to start learning about seller's remorse!
After spending all that money, $829.07, on my credit card, and paying the 13% buyer's premium instead of the 10%premium when paying with cash, I remembered I had brought along some gold and silver to sell or to use to pay for the guns. Joe Hessney bought 25 silver Canadian Maple Leaf coins and two 1/10 ounce Canadian Maple Leaf gold coins from me and that made up for $675 of the total I spent. I decided not to get a refund on my credit card in that amount and apply the cash to the purchases, even though it would have saved me about $20, since the guns and ammo are protected by the credit card's buyer protection plan and because it would have been a pain in the butt. Besides that, the gold/silver transaction made me the last person there who needed to do the transfer paperwork, go through the NICS check and pick up guns and I knew they wanted to close shop so I decided to eat the loss and get going. Next time I have gold and silver to offload though, I will have to remember to do that before I pay thus reducing the buyer's premium on the amount I pay with cash.
Once all done at the auction house, I said my goodbyes and headed home. It took me about 6 hours for the ride home including a brief stop for food and gas and another stop in PA for about half an hour.
All the best,
Glenn B
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