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Author Topic: 1973 Gun Digest  (Read 1188 times)

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Offline dickttx

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1973 Gun Digest
« on: October 13, 2010, 06:37:30 AM »
I have been going through my library and came across some old Gun Digest's.  The latest one I have is 1973.  In the back they list firearms by catagory and have a blurb about the features and the price of each:

Browning 22 Auto challenger-$156.50
Colt Gold Cup Nat'l Match-189.95
Colt Gold Cup Nat'l Match Mk IV Series 70-199.95
Hi-Standard Supermatic Standard Citation-120.00
Colt Diamondback-139.95
Colt Python-199.95
Colt Govt Super 38-125.00
Colt Mk IV Series 70 Govt Model-134.95
Colt .22 Conversion Unit-69.95
Ruger Standard Model Auto-48.50
S&W 9mm Model 39-118.00
Colt Trooper Mk III-149.95
S&W Model 29-194.00
Dan Wesson Model 15-105.50
Ruger Super Bearcat-45.00
Ruger Single Six-65.50
Ruger Single Six Convertable-69.50
Ruger 357 or 41 Magnum Blackhawk-99.50
Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 Mag-125.00
Ruger Blackhawk 45-99.50
Ruger Blackhawk 45 Convertable-110.00

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Offline ButlerFord45

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Re: 1973 Gun Digest
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2010, 07:13:01 AM »
..and the retail price for a Colt Lawman Mk III was $124 with a 50 rnd box of ammo... a big chunk of my basic training paycheck.  Thanks.

BF
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Butler Ford
He who does not punish evil, commands it to be done.-Leonardo da Vinci
An armed society is a polite society-Robert A. Heinlein
Only the dead have seen the end of war- Plato
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tomorrow I may have to eat them- A lady's sweatshirt

Offline dickttx

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Re: 1973 Gun Digest
« Reply #2 on: October 13, 2010, 08:48:45 AM »
 I bought the Blackhawk 45.  I just couldn't squeeze out the additional $10.50 for the 45ACP
cylinder.
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Offline chim

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Re: 1973 Gun Digest
« Reply #3 on: October 17, 2010, 04:29:17 AM »
Looking at old prices is fun.  I remember old shooters talking about surplus 1911's going for 12 bucks.  I don't know if that's true or some legend.  It wasn't until the 1970's that my gun ownership went beyond an H&R 929 for attempts at plinking (and damaging my hearing), a .22 rifle for squirrel and a 16 gage for rabbits and pheasants.  If there were deals out there on milsurp, they probably disappeared before that.

The real value of something for me is how many hours I need to work for it.  In 1973 I had to work just about as many minutes to but a gallon of gas I do today.  For a Ruger Standard Auto, I had to work about 1-1/2 hours longer in 1973 than I do now.

The place I'd take a real hit is gold.  The largest piece of gold I own is my wedding ring.  It will probably remain that way because I'd now have to work over 4 times longer to buy an ounce than I did in 1973.  Thank Tricky Dick and the crew for that.
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Offline dickttx

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Re: 1973 Gun Digest
« Reply #4 on: October 17, 2010, 04:37:27 AM »
Chim, you are completely correct--it is much easier for me to pay today's price for a Blackhawk, than the $99.50 was then.
I too just missed the NRA 1911 surplus sales.  Seems everyone I know my age or a little older has a few still packed in cosmoline.
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Offline Lloyd Smale

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Re: 1973 Gun Digest
« Reply #5 on: October 18, 2010, 01:18:57 AM »
im an electrical lineman (retired) in 73 a lineman made about 5 bucks an hour and that was a good wage. Now the same job pays 34 bucks an hour. thats almost 7 times as much multiply those prices by 7 and youd probably find there actually cheaper today.
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Offline unclebart

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Re: 1973 Gun Digest
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2010, 04:05:20 PM »
I was at 29 stumps then. Bought my first ever handgun at the gun shop in town. It was a 6in Python. Paid around 300 bucks with tax and some ammo if I remember right. Learned how to handload with that pistol. The owner of the shop would store your weapons and clean them every once in a while for maybe 10 dollars a month storage fee. He and his wife lived in the back of the shop and always had some good stories of times gone by. Bought my first lever gun from him also. A deputy sherrif traded in his .44 levergun and I snatched it up. Thanks for bringing back the memories. Boy, how times have changed.
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Offline FourBee

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Re: 1973 Gun Digest
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2010, 04:26:12 PM »
1973 !  Yep; it was round about that time I bought the Colt Trooper Mk III in .357magnum.  That was a lot of money to blow and it made me nervous, but I got over it.   ;D
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Offline mrussel

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Re: 1973 Gun Digest
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2010, 02:41:15 PM »
Quote from: chim on October 17, 2010, 04:29:17 AM
Looking at old prices is fun.  I remember old shooters talking about surplus 1911's going for 12 bucks.  I don't know if that's true or some legend.  It wasn't until the 1970's that my gun ownership went beyond an H&R 929 for attempts at plinking (and damaging my hearing), a .22 rifle for squirrel and a 16 gage for rabbits and pheasants.  If there were deals out there on milsurp, they probably disappeared before that.

The real value of something for me is how many hours I need to work for it.  In 1973 I had to work just about as many minutes to but a gallon of gas I do today.  For a Ruger Standard Auto, I had to work about 1-1/2 hours longer in 1973 than I do now.

The place I'd take a real hit is gold.  The largest piece of gold I own is my wedding ring.  It will probably remain that way because I'd now have to work over 4 times longer to buy an ounce than I did in 1973.  Thank Tricky Dick and the crew for that.

 Gold is also more in demand now. Gold isn't just a pretty metal for jewelry now. Its used to make semiconductors and electronic components and is used to plate wires and contacts on printed circuit boards. Average people will pay as much as they can afford for a piece of jewelry,but companies like Micron and Intel will pay whatever they have to for the gold they need to make their products. Thats a bidding war they will always win. They get what they need and whatever is left over is whats available for ornamental purposes.
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