First off, good to be back. I took a step away from the forum for a bit a few months back as things just seemed to be getting too heated in places like the water cooler and I found myself not wanting to log in just to see the same old infighting day in and day out. But I'm not here for a rant, I'm here for a price check!
So, I came across a little country gunsmith shop while on vacation down in VA. The store was awesome in the way that only a country gunsmith can be. Concrete floor, dim lighting, stuff crammed anywhere and everywhere, and a long line of eye candy snaking its way back to the two benches where work is ostensibly done (though I didn't see any being done that day!). The gentleman is also a dealer and had a couple of neat older SxS shotguns, one of which was very tempting to me, but seemed just a tad high in price, so I wanted to make sure before calling up and trying to whittle it down a bit.
It's a Stevens "Springfield" SxS 16ga shotgun with a Tenite (cellulose plastic) stock set. The buttstock seems to have had a crack filled with glue at some point, but I really couldn't tell. Otherwise, everything was in great condition and it had TONS of lockup left. They wanted $350 for it off-hand, but that seemed a bit high for an "economy grade" line like Springfield.
Case-color on the action was probably at about 75-80% (slightly faded, but still overall good and even coverage) Bluing on the barrels was about 60-70% with some definite fade in patches, not evenly worn. Interior of the barrels is good with no pitting. I believe these were mainly made in the 1940s. Again, I feel like the butt stock had a repair, but it was small. Stamping on the left side of the action said "Springfield manufactured by J. Stevens Arms Company Chicopee Falls, Mass USA".
I'm going to give them a call this week, is it worth trying to whittle down the price a bit? Any thoughts on actual value from our esteemed forum members?
Also, they had a Colt 10ga SxS in the shop as well. Externally it looked nice with a good patina, but the barrels looked rough on the inside.
So, I came across a little country gunsmith shop while on vacation down in VA. The store was awesome in the way that only a country gunsmith can be. Concrete floor, dim lighting, stuff crammed anywhere and everywhere, and a long line of eye candy snaking its way back to the two benches where work is ostensibly done (though I didn't see any being done that day!). The gentleman is also a dealer and had a couple of neat older SxS shotguns, one of which was very tempting to me, but seemed just a tad high in price, so I wanted to make sure before calling up and trying to whittle it down a bit.
It's a Stevens "Springfield" SxS 16ga shotgun with a Tenite (cellulose plastic) stock set. The buttstock seems to have had a crack filled with glue at some point, but I really couldn't tell. Otherwise, everything was in great condition and it had TONS of lockup left. They wanted $350 for it off-hand, but that seemed a bit high for an "economy grade" line like Springfield.
Case-color on the action was probably at about 75-80% (slightly faded, but still overall good and even coverage) Bluing on the barrels was about 60-70% with some definite fade in patches, not evenly worn. Interior of the barrels is good with no pitting. I believe these were mainly made in the 1940s. Again, I feel like the butt stock had a repair, but it was small. Stamping on the left side of the action said "Springfield manufactured by J. Stevens Arms Company Chicopee Falls, Mass USA".
I'm going to give them a call this week, is it worth trying to whittle down the price a bit? Any thoughts on actual value from our esteemed forum members?
Also, they had a Colt 10ga SxS in the shop as well. Externally it looked nice with a good patina, but the barrels looked rough on the inside.