FN Patrol Rifles

[mannyrock]

   Well, I see that FN (I guess in S.C.) has discontinued the manufacture of its bolt action "Patrol Rifles"  and "Special Patrol Rifles."   

   Man, that didn't last long.

   I wonder how long they will manufacture the "New" Winchester Model 70s?  Personally, I give it 36 months.

Regards,

Mannyrock

[nomosendero]

I cannot say because I don't know how many are selling & therein lies the answer.

[Skunk]

Where can a person read about this? Are there any links?

[mannyrock]

Skunk,

     The only way I heard about this, is that if you look at all of the Patrol Rifles currently for sale on gunbroker, the sellers are all saying that "this model has recently been discontinued by FN."

     In looking at these again, I now see that they are saying that they were made by FN Herstal.  Herstal is in Belguim I think.   FN U.S.A. is the subsidiary located in S.C.  So, maybe these Patrol Rifles were made in Belgium?

     As for the new Winchester Model 70s, the reason I believe that these won't be produced for long is that there are tens of thousands of original Pre-64 Winchester Model 70s out there for sale, in VG condition.  There are also a fairly large number of the used  "Controlled Feed" Model 70s that were manufactured during the past few years.   

    This recession is going to last another 3 years before things get back to normal, and it was announced by the U.S. government a few days ago that "savings" rates in the U.S. have hit record highs, with the average upper middle class family now saving about 6% of their income.

     As with the Great Depression, I think that the Great Recession has permanently affected the mentality of Americans, young and old, and taught them to start thinking about saving, refurbishing, recycling, repairing, borrowing, and conserving, instead of running out and buying brand new things at the drop of a hat that they don't really need.

     Accordingly, items like a brand new FN Winchester Model 70 are now being viewed as "luxury items"  in middle class America, which I do not think will be in high demand, whereas perhaps two years ago a rifle of this type would have been regarded as a very reasonable (though somewhat high end) toy.

     If the FN is regarded as a luxury item, the sales will not continue to be high enough to justify their manufacture and distribution.

    And, let's not forget the hundreds of thousands of fine used push-feed Winchester 70s, and Remington 700s, out there for sale, as well as the excellent new economy rifles, such as the Stevens 200.

    Hmm, let's see, I can either buy a near-excellent used Remington 700 for $350.00, or a brand new FN Winchester 70 for $1,000?   Which would be easier to explain to the wife?  :-)

Just my thoughts.

Mannyrock

[Skunk]

Thanks for clearing that up Manny.

One thing about the prices though. As I traverse the auction sites like GunBroker, I've noticed that all prices for used rifles seem high, especially Remingtons and Winchesters. Finding a "near-excellent used Remington 700 for $350.00" seems to be next to impossible for me at least. It's funny too because my oldest son purchased a brand new Remington ADL last February for $300 at the local Wal-Mart, but I fear those days are over for those kind of prices. Perhaps a person can still find a decent price from a local sale, but the auction sites are just nuts for high prices.

The high end Winchesters are indeed selling for around $950 - $1000 a pop (Super Grades & Extreme Condition Stainless Models), but the regular models (with CRF) are right in the same price range with the Remington CDL and BDL.

Like you mentioned, Americans seem to be in a "saving" mode and I agree that "items like a brand new FN Winchester Model 70" might be seen as "luxury items," however, I think the same thing can equally be said about Remingtons, Savages, or any guns for that matter.

[mannyrock]

Skunk,

   Good points you made.  You cannot find a $350 near excellent Model 700 on any auction site. (The margins would be too slim to make it worth a seller's time.)   But, go to any meduim size gunshow in any medium size city on the East Coast, and you will find them, complete with scope mounts.  They may have an asking price on them of $400 to $425, but can be readily had for $350, especially in these times.

   The $1,000 Winchester 70s I was referring to are the new FN Winchester 70s, which are not just the "controlled feed" model of the past decade, but are a near identical match of the Pre-64 model 70s.  They are not a custom shop production.

    And I tend to agree, that in these times, buying any brand new rifle seems like a wasteful luxury (with the sole exception of the Stevens 200, which is very reasonably priced), when there are thousands and thousands of barely-used  high quality bolt actions out there.

Regards,

Mannyrock

[Happy]

Well here in Ontario Canada , your not going to get a used Remington for 300- 400 Hundred  period , while the "1000" might get you a new one . You might get a Marlin or Stevens bolt bare action for around four , but a Thousand is  normal new gun price before tax's and a scope these days . A scoped used for five to nine Hundred would not be high now for that now "thousand new " gun in good shape .

Yes !!for the money , my wife would throw me out the door buying a new to me used , but there is lay-away , and I could do that once the cash is flowing to and from every -one's pocket again.

[wganz]

In the Dallas area, they are going for ~400. And the Savage bolt actions are a big seller here.

[anweis]

They are introducing a FN TSR rifle chambered in 7.62x39 and patterned on a super short action Win 70. They deascribed it as light and fast but the darn thing weighs almost 9 pounds (without scope).

[Skunk]

But, go to any medium size gunshow in any medium size city on the East Coast, and you will find them, complete with scope mounts.  They may have an asking price on them of $400 to $425, but can be readily had for $350, especially in these times.

Manny, that's what I'll have to do - get out to the gun shows a little more often.

[mannyrock]

Skunk,

   I also predict that over the next few years, the price of a used Remington 700 will only get cheaper.  Why?  Because from about 1965 to 1975, the Remington 700 was THE bolt-action rifle to buy.  The post-64 Winchesters were regarded as very bad (even by the writers of the gun rags), and the Ruger M-77s were just growing into their own, while suffering from early problems with bad barrels.

   So just think how many hundreds of thousands of Model 700s were sold in that decade.  Virtually every large chain store sold them, including K-Mart.  The folks who bought them in that decade are now entering their late 60s and early 70s, and consequently, these rifles are coming out into the used market in large numbers, due to ill health, retirement, death etc.    All the while, the number of big game hunters in America seems to be falling, and the acceptability of semi-auto  big game rifles seems to be rising.

    So, if you want a nice used Remington 700 at a low price, especially an ADL, just stroll around a gun show, and take your pick., particularly in the common calibers such as .30-06 and .270.

Regards,

Mannyrock

[Swampman]

The new FN Model 70s are very accurate, well made, and very attractive.  The older Model 70s were never known for being accurate.  While I love nostalgia, I prefer accurate.

$650.00 for a new rifle seems reasonable.

I've been buying nice scoped Model 700s for $400 to $425.  I'll probably keep doing that.

[lucky guy]

   Good points you made.  You cannot find a $350 near excellent Model 700 on any auction site. (The margins would be too slim to make it worth a seller's time.)   But, go to any meduim size gunshow in any medium size city on the East Coast, and you will find them, complete with scope mounts.  They may have an asking price on them of $400 to $425, but can be readily had for $350, especially in these times.

Around here too, sometimes even a little less lately.