I think the market for classic shotguns has been down for sometime. Fifteen years ago I bought a beautiful Wingmaster for $225 at Cabelas, of all places.

I wish Ruger No.1 rifles were easy to find and cheap.

quote:

Originally posted by calugo:
...right now the market is soft but depending on who wins in November the market could heat back up.

The segment of the market that's affected by politics and potential gun legislation are self-defense & tactical firearms. 28" barrel hunting shotguns don't fall into that category.

the BPS is a fantastic shotgun, built by Miroku, and built well,

great fit and finsh,

and most folks have no idea they exist, and unless it is the 10ga, don't want one,


someone mentioned Mod 12's,, that market is drying up because the market is flooded with them, since the collectors are dead, and the families don't care for them, unless it is a like new speciality model (like a 28 ga, or diamond trap etc) they don't bring diddly,



and someone mentioned Rem,

when they went under, everyone that hated 870's and 1100's suddenly loved them again, prices went stupid for the older guns, but that has leveled off a bit, again, unless a specialty versions, (1100 410's as an example)

I was in a high volume LGS where a friend works. He told me business is definitely off quite a bit. He believes it is simply a matter of the economy-people just don't have the expendable income compared to a couple years ago. Personally, I am not buying much, living in Florida the cost of insurance is killing us.

I’ve been in the process of reducing my gun collection and getting rid of the guns I neither shoot or that my adult son has no interest in for himself. I am basically moving out the dust collectors. The rare and very desirable guns were mostly moved out at fair prices but took considerably more time. Some less desirable guns are not even worth selling at current market price or demand. As someone stated earlier, if you think the gun market is bad do not try selling guitars as I have several of those I’m interested in moving out too. In some cases, the current market prices are just not worth me disposing of the asset. I have used this board, GunBroker, my local club, as well as a local gun show to sell in the last couple of years. I am patient and try to price things fairly.

As to the Miroku Browning BPS, I definitely would list the gun on this board. I have one of the BPS 20ga models that dates back to the 80s and it is a work of art and machining. That said, they are a little on the heavy side and a little unorthodox in the way they are loaded by not being able to drop a shell in the chamber. My adult son loves pump guns and if you weren’t looking at him in the field you would think he was shooting a semi-auto by how fast he operates the action. The BPS is the only pump gun he never reaches for even though the gun sets up for him perfectly. I would say the BPS is likely as soft as the Glock or any small 380 gun. The cost of new ones is still quite high due to the machining necessary and the exceptional build quality. That high price is what limits demand which is what is driving the market on used BPS guns. Good luck on your sale.