Has anyone been in a pawn shop lately? I was thinking about going to see what they had and if it was anything worth working on. Yesterday I went to a friends house who brought a 1911 llama minimax .45 for 350.00?????that is what I said but anyhow it would jam every time on him with hollowpoints.  So I broke it down and cleaned it really good and oiled it.  Then inseted my kimber mag into it and it worked fine. Then loaded the kimber mag with a federal hydrashok and proceded to load the gun and no problem. Then the exact same thing with his mag and problem. So I ask to buy the gun from him to just work on. I was in the $150.00 range when he saw my Pro Carry II that I have modified a little ( houge grips and mag pads) and decided to keep it and do some work himself. So I ask if you was to enter a pawn shop what specific pieces would you look for in rifle or handgun , shotgun even that you would look to take on as a project or buy for whatever reason? By the way that llama was really difficult to take down. I thought he'd need a tool but you buy as is.

I look for these.  Sometimes you can find them for under $100.

High Standard D-101 .22 magnum.

I buy most of my firearms from a pawnshop. We live in a highend comunity with a bad side of the tracks, and the guys who pave and build... well they  loose pawns that are nice , and I can clean up. I got an great polytech m14s from there for 550$$, and a 870 express syntetic for 165.00, I also have bought a Walther ppks $375, and a $150 SKSD from them. The really nice part it is 5% down with a year to pay, and there is no intrest, but mandatory monthly minimum payments.

I just got a S&W model 29 44mag  with only a light scratch on the barrel for $350 from my local Pawn shop. I put $25 dollars down on it and I will be paying a minimum of $25 a month. I will own it in thre months tho. So no complaints.

Tools, does the lincoln arc welder for $100 count ( it had 15 ft leads) one scrath on top with a 2 wheel dolly.

I love my pawnshop. (They sell no handguns though)

K98  S/36              no import marks $100
1903 Springfield    exc. cond $299
10/22SS                 $100
Marlin 995 SS         $100
870                          $125
Saginaw M1 carbine $250

And many more,  and multiples of the consumer guns .

I haven't bought a gun from a real brick-and-mortar store since January. That was a ruger MKII .22 for $175 OTD (5.5" blued w/ a cheap holster). Other than that, the last gun I bought at a brick-and-mortar store was February of 2000, IIRC.

Quoted: I have done VERY well buying tools and such in pawn shops, but I've never noticed a firearm I would consider owning at any price.  The only firearms to be pawned here seem to be the "Maverick" shotties and Lorcin-type junk.  Dunno why.   I bought a Milwaukee Thunderbolt hammer drill, exc. condition, in the case, along with virtually every size bit from 3/8" to 1"--and two of most--for $307 OTD a couple of years ago.  All in all, I love pawn shops for deals on tools.  Oh, the drill had a 2" drum bit too, along with the extension.  It even came with the adapter (virtually NIB with a $49.95 price tag still on it) to use SDB bits.

Alot of times the owners have friends that the good stuff goes to. Or there are a couple guys that show up every day and pick up the good stuff as soon as it is put on the shelf

I just bought an Iver Johnson .22LR Carbine(Looks similar to M1 carbine) in excellent shape for $100 with scope. It had a weak recoil spring but I cut down a spare FAL gas piston spring and it works great. Accuracy is about the same or better than my stock 10/22.

Ask for the "fix 'em ups". They usually have a few firearms that have been discovered not to work. You can get a real deal on some of them.
I bought an Ithaca 37 for $50. Needed a firing pin.
Belgian Browning .22 takedown for $80. No finish at all. Disassembled and reblued. Kept that one.
Colt Python that wouldn't fire when cocked, $100. Replaced trigger, sold at gun show for $400.

Lots of deals to be had.

You just have to be willing to look at a lot of over-priced junk and wait till you find a deal.

Here's my latest:



A Dewalt Recip Saw for $40 OTD and a Bosch Hammer Drill for $45 OTD.

Always bid very low.  You can always go up, but once they say "Okay", you can't go down.

I bought my current carry Kimber Classic stainless at a pawn shop, my SKS by J-Sport, & a few others. Problem is you really have to know you guns in my area or you'll get screwed.

One place has a brand new Vulcan arms AR-15 for $850.00 I'd hate to be the sucker that falls for that "deal."

I look for good quality guns at prices that have to beat what I can buy used for in a regular gun store, or that are a super good price for what it is.

I don't make up my mind that I'm only going to buy a certian item as you never know what you will spot.

I bought a Craftsmen Corded drill with box for $15  

Ryobi 18v Cordless Drill, Saw, Light, and Finishing sander for $50

Halo 2 $10

25 assorted Dvds for $60


Echo Leaf Blower $30

Bosch Weedeater $35

I have never seen a firearm worth owning at a pawn shop in this area.

Most thing around here are at dealer price if not MORE-assuming it is something interesting, but usually POS's.  I don't even bother asking for a lower price....

There are plenty of good weapons in pawn shops, you just have to know what you are looking at and what they are worth.

Colt Govt. Model, Series 70, .45,  $300.00
Colt New Service, .455 Eley,         $175.00
Finn M91 with rare markings            $40.00
Many Remington Nylon 66's        <$100.00

Quoted: You just have to be willing to look at a lot of over-priced junk and wait till you find a deal. Here's my latest: A Dewalt Recip Saw for $40 OTD and a Bosch Hammer Drill for $45 OTD. Always bid very low.  You can always go up, but once they say "Okay", you can't go down.

Just what you need for building more BoTs.......

Quoted: I look for these.  Sometimes you can find them for under $100. High Standard D-101 .22 magnum. usera.imagecave.com/Pangea/derringer.jpg

 Are you serious or kidding?  A buddy bought one at a garage sell for $20.  I dont know anything about these.  Are they worth anything?

Bought my CZ P-01 for $275, a spotless Winchester 94 30-30 for $150 (1894-1994 Commemorative), Milwaukee 4.5" grinder for $32, and even got a broken Craftsman 3/8" ratchet for free. Took it to the local Sears and they replaced it.

To get the really good deals, you need to be there on a daily basis...or at least a couple times a week.

I buy tons of dvds at pawn shops.  new releases only out for a month or so before and guys are pawning them off already.  2-5 bucks a dvd.  I got heat with its special fetures disk for 4 bucks about a month ago.  just make sure you check the dvds to insure they aren't scuffed all to hell.  One place I used to go to in georgia alot would let you return them at price with a reciept.

never bought any guns off a pawn shop but always take time to look.

Only thing I ever find in the pawn shops around here are Mosin M44's for $150. hinking.gif

I am always on the lookout for .22 lr revolvers. They are fun to shoot (you can shoot them in the house with colibri ammo - not that I would ever do such a thing, mind you) and they make great gifts, especially if you happen on a youngster with agreeable but poor or uninterested parents who wants to learn to shoot.

I don't see the guns often. I assume it's because people don't get rid of them. When I see one, I buy it if I have the money and the price isn't outrageous. I rarely pay more than about $110 for one. I think the best deal I got on one was ~$65 for a 60s-era German Peacemaker copy with interchangeable .22lr/.22mag cylinders.

Quoted: Has anyone been in a pawn shop lately? I was thinking about going to see what they had and if it was anything worth working on. Yesterday I went to a friends house who brought a 1911 llama minimax .45 for 350.00?????that is what I said but anyhow it would jam every time on him with hollowpoints.  So I broke it down and cleaned it really good and oiled it.  Then inseted my kimber mag into it and it worked fine. Then loaded the kimber mag with a federal hydrashok and proceded to load the gun and no problem. Then the exact same thing with his mag and problem. So I ask to buy the gun from him to just work on. I was in the $150.00 range when he saw my Pro Carry II that I have modified a little ( houge grips and mag pads) and decided to keep it and do some work himself. So I ask if you was to enter a pawn shop what specific(This is where you completely lost me) pieces would you look for in rifle or handgun , shotgun even that you would look to take on as a project or buy for whatever reason? By the way that llama was really difficult to take down. I thought he'd need a tool but you buy as is.

I've bought guns from pawn shops. Nothing wrong with it at all!

Quoted: Quoted: I look for these.  Sometimes you can find them for under $100. High Standard D-101 .22 magnum. usera.imagecave.com/Pangea/derringer.jpg  Are you serious or kidding?  A buddy bought one at a garage sell for $20.  I dont know anything about these.  Are they worth anything?

www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976656545.htm
www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976228104.htm
www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976565754.htm

No, I'm not kidding.

Para ordinance p-14 for $350 with 2 mags.
Glock 17 $275
Mossberg 500a 8 shot for $175

I don't ever recall buying anything at a pawn shop.

everything I've seen was junk and/or way over priced.  regular retail prices on new stuff looks more attractive.  I feel left out!  

Not exactly a Pawn shop, but I got a number of nice guns in the past for a song, mostly becouse I was always buying something from this particular shop (they do LE surplus/confiscation buyouts for a lot of their inventory)

Here are a few purchases:

1) S&W model 60 2" .38spl $150 (with Butler Creek boots and a scotchbrite pad, this thing looked awesome)

2) Beretta 92fs in excellent condition and 2x factory 15rd mags (just needed some new Wolff springs) $350

3) Mossberg 500 18" bbl bead sight $95

The only pawn shop purchase I ever made was a NIB Norinco M1911A1 for $210.00 including tax. That was in 94.

I've purchased many many guns from Pawn shops over the last 20 years but I've slowed it way down cause more and more shops are becoming "gun wise" and have priced accordingly...

The firearms in most pawn shops I see are beat up with lots of rust. Don't even know why they would agree to take them.

Quoted: I love my pawnshop. (They sell no handguns though) K98  S/36              no import marks $100 1903 Springfield    exc. cond $299 10/22SS                 $100 Marlin 995 SS         $100 870                          $125 Saginaw M1 carbine $250 And many more,  and multiples of the consumer guns .

OMG where is this shop!?!?!!!!1!

Shotty, Win 1300 = 125.00

I got a few nice pellet rifles for $20 or less. I like bb pistols and pellet rifle for teaching newbies

Have bought several things in pawn shops, guns, cds, dvds, etc.

I never pay what they are asking and I am teaching my kids to shop there...they love it.

Last purchase..

Hakim 8mm....$100

If I had been more gun savvy on some older stuff, I coulda got another sweet deal too but I screwed up. Oh well, Hakims are supposed to shoot sweet and be a helluva gun.

They go for about $300 on gunbroker now...so I figure it was worth it. They were asking 175.

I can never find anything good at the local pawnshops.  Other then $7 a box Wolf ammo and $2000 screw build AK's.  


Abe

It's been a long time since I've been in a pawn shop, even longer since I bought a gun there. As a matter of fact the I used to buy just about all my guns from a pawn shop. I knew the guy that owned it and he always had a great selection of new and used guns, and would always drop the price without me asking, not that I would ask anyway. He made a huge mistake when he decided to get out of the pawn business and just become a gun shop. He was out of business in less than a year. A guns-only store just wouldn't work in the small town I live in unfortunately.

I got a nearly NIB Ohio Ordnance 1918A3 BAR for $1650.00 bucks.



Oh yeah, it has the walnut stock too.

Quoted: I look for these.  Sometimes you can find them for under $100. High Standard D-101 .22 magnum. usera.imagecave.com/Pangea/derringer.jpg

I managed to find one with the box and leather wallet for $100.00. Neat little guns.

I've bought a few guns at pawn shops. Only long guns here in MI though.

Best deal was Remington Nylon 66 Seneca Green for $50. A Nylon 11 for $75. A like new 10/22 with scope for $115, and a AMT Lightening Hunter (22"bbl stainless steel copy of a 10/22) with a Choate hunting stock, 3-9x scope and sling for $120.

I like pawnshops.  I just look around mostly but now and then there is something I have been wanting for a while but decided I did not want to buy it new.

Here are my theories on pawn shops.

If you find a town with one or two pawnshops you may find that they think they have a monopoly on stuff and want a lot of money for it.  With these places I ask what stuff has been sitting for a while and how much he wants to sell it today.  This mostly works with tools, either the bigger stuff that costs more or stuff that might need some work or it could simply be worthless and not fixable.

I prefer a town with several pawn shops since they all have their little specialty that the owner prefers to have since he knows the most about that stuff.  They all still have a bit of everything, but one store will have more tools than the others while another one might have more guitars or whatever than the others.  On these you can go look around and generally find good working stuff at a reasonable price.  If all the stores have something similar you can mention that and play price wars to some extent.

When serious winter weather starts setting in I like to go looking for construction tools and stuff.  This is stuff construction people might have to sell to keep the bills paid, if they can't work during the winter they don't need all their tools.

You can look for certain things during the change of seasons, it is similar to buying your deer slugs right after deer season because everyone has them on sale and you are just stocking up for next year.

Overall I have had some deals pop up and bought some stuff at pawn shops.  I avoid most guns I don't know much about but I also tend to play in pawn shops while visiting relatives out of state so buying a gun while out of state adds more expense since it needs to get shipped to an ffl in my state and transferred to me.  That kills most good prices.

I really prefer someone who is more a liquidater or something, a guy who goes in and buys a complete pile of stuff and then has to sell it all.  This can come from storage garages where people have not paid the rent to people wanting to sell a house and needing all the stuff moved out.  The fun thing with these people is most will concentrate on a couple high dollar items since that will pay their expenses and make them some money.  The rest of the junk is gravy so I often find I can wander off with a lot of stuff for next to nothing.

And most places with in store stock will deal.  I bought an upright air compressor at napa because it had been sitting on their floor for over a year.  They wanted it gone and needed the floor space so I got a good deal on it.  Furniture stores sometimes have things sitting for a while as well.

Heck, I ask about any place if they have any good deals.  Hardware stores and gun stores mostly, but if I am looking I ask around and shop around.

Quoted: I've purchased many many guns from Pawn shops over the last 20 years but I've slowed it way down cause more and more shops are becoming "gun wise" and have priced accordingly...

I agree with you, but I wouldn't say "gun wise", it's more like "gun greedy".

About 10-15yrs ago pawn shop operators in my area discovered the blue book and eventually the internet. Everything seems to be priced at 100% blue book condition and few if any are willing to make a deal. There are still a few good ones left out there, and its usually the older guys who are willing to deal.

If you find a decent shop, get to know the guys behind the counter and drop in to say "Hi" every once in a while. Many of the good shops will be more inclined to deal if they remember you and know you are a regular customer (even if you don't buy much). There are also many fine firearms that come out of pawn, but never hit the shelves. Get to know them well enough and they might let you know when some good stuff is coming up for sale.

Most important, check the internet a-hole attitude at the door.