Dear Guys,
Over the past year or so, I have read many posts where people swear that they just can't find a nice used Rem. 700 in wooden stock for less than $650. Swampman and I alwaystell them that there are plenty of them around, but you just have to look for them.
Sure, used Remington 700s in blued steel and walnut are around. And yes, you find them for under $650,too. What is a might tougher is finding a "nice" one at a price worth paying, at least in my area. Out here, it is pretty obvious that some folks just don't treat their stuff with the same respect that I treat mine to. But at the last gun show I attended (the big one in Tulsa last November) there were scores of good, nice, well-presented Remington 700s for sale. I have a feeling that in the next few years, the market is going to get flooded with them, and the prices will be very reasonable and even better than they are now.
Last weekend, I attended the Gunshow in Harrisonburg, VA. There were two, Remington 700 ADLs, in original high gloss WALNUT stocks, 1980s era (the type with the foretip that slants back inward.) Both were in near excellent condition. One in .270, and one in .243. Owned by different people at different tables. Asking prices were $475 for the .270 and $450 for the .243.
And, I would point out that this week, in the weekly classified newpaper called The Valley Trader (covering the 300 mile Shenandoah Valley), there is a for-sale ad, listing a Remington 700, in laminated stock, like new condition, .270, for $400 or best offer.
So, for all of you folks that say you can't find one, I'd say to just go to large gunshows, snoop around, and find them.
Well, I did my part so there is one less out there on the market. I bought an N.I.B. 721 in .270 for $400.00 out the door. Imagine buying a brand spankin' new 63 year old rifle!!! The secondary coolness of that was more than I could resist.
Another factor may be this. West of the Mississippi, people talk about the Remington 700 as if it is a holy grail, super desirable, best rifle ever ever made. But, in the mountain regions of the East Coast, people regard them as just another bolt action rifle sold by Wal-Mart, and formerly K-Mart. Nice, yes, but certainly nothing to go crazy about. So, if you have a used one for sale, you are going to have to drop the price down to what a used Savage 110 is priced at. Otherwise, folks will take the Savage every time.
Just some thoughts.
Mannyrock
Interesting thoughts, Mannyrock. I grew up in California and hunted throughout the west and not just in my home state. My personal experience is that the Remington Model 700 was indeed the most popular hunting rifle in the world because I saw so many of them in the field. I tended to view them as "Department Store" guns, though, simply because department stores like Gemco, Best Products, and K-Mart always seemed to have ADLs and BDLs in stock in any caliber you wanted as long as you wanted a .270 or .30-'06. Nice enough, but nothing special. If you wanted a Ruger, Weatherby, Browning, or whatever, you had to go to a gun store for that. Then Wal-Mart came to California and sold not just Savage and Remington, but Ruger, Weatherby, and Browning, too. I bought my A Bolt .22 from Wal-Mart, of all places... It is the only firearm I recall buying from a Wal Mart.
Still, Remington 700s seemed to hold their value very well out west compared to Savage 110s.
I would think that we may see a paradigm shift. In most western states, "deer hunting" means mulies, and they don't do as well in the wildnerness / suburban interface as whitetails do. Populations are down. Success rates continue to plummet. Hunter participation continues to decline. And we've never had the liberal bag limits of modern day Alabama and simillar states. The age demographic of those who stick with it out west continues to advance.
I used to share the 20 acre hunting camp that I inherited with up to 35 to 40 people. This camp bordered a National Forest on two sides, so there was plenty of room for that many people to spread out for the actual hunting. By 2004, it had been a decade since my dad did any hunting and everybody else was either to old and infirm to hunt or too dead but had hung up their hunting boots a decade or two prior. Instead of selling their guns when they got out, they kept them for their widows and disinterested offspring to deal with.
Even out west, there is probably less of a demand for a blued steel and walnut hunting rifle than their used to be. It all adds up to a lot of 60s, 70s, and 80s 700 ADLs and BDLs in need of a home with progressively fewer homes to go to. I think the prices should start reflecting that -at least for ADLs and BDLs in common, popular calibers.
T-C
