Max. gun show price for nice LE #4 in Memphis? - The Firearms Forum

Laufer · 09-15-2009, 11:39 PM

If the bore/rifling are bright and exterior good, what price would you find acceptable at a gun show in many similar southern cities?

A seller walked into the Batesville MS show in July and only wanted $200 for a nice #4 Savage (no bluing), but the other seller wanted $300 for a good example with matching bolt/butt-socket (origin unknown) and very good bluing. Both bores/rifling were in the same very good condition.

Already have a nice #4 and #5, but you know how it is when a rifle needs a friend of the same species.

jondar · 09-21-2009, 10:30 AM

I can't speak for Memphis but I was in my gunsmith's shop a month ago, he had a rack of six or seven really clean Savages with a price of $279.00 each on them If I needed one I'd been tempted to spend that much for one. They were that nice.

Laufer · 09-22-2009, 02:28 AM

Being new to milsurps, you are fortunate to have seen so many nice #4s in one place for sale. Very few stores near Memphis, if ever, have any LE.
Only one store that I know of: a near-mint Longbranch (post WW2) 4T, and an Ishipore .308 plus an SMLE. He wants $600-699 or so for his 4T (!).

The club (MSSA) which I belong to has no activities for surplus rifles, but the members are highly experienced and skilled with hunting rifles, ARs, shotguns etc.

jondar · 09-22-2009, 10:18 AM

These were in Topeka, KS. If you want the name of the shop, PM me. My only Brit (other than a Webley MK VI) is a Lee Enfield No. 1 MK III*. Nice clean gun, Enfield arsenal, four matching numbers, one mismatched on the nose cap. Dang it!

Laufer · 10-03-2009, 01:43 AM

Thanks jondar.
You are very fortunate to see such an attractive selection.
It must be the lack of cheap surplus ammo, or the need to clean out the corrosive pot. chloride, that causes so many nice LEs to be for sale? Don't want to pay shipping+FFL on any gun, ever again. Have spent far too much on these costs, due to my impatience or ignorance, or both.

At the Memphis gun show two weeks ago, the only #4 in original condition (not chopped down) had either cosmo or residue in the bore, even after the seller pushed a patch through it. I could not trust the condition and gave up on it.

What really surprised me was that a different private seller had an almost excellent original #5 for $350, all-matching, barely legible. The bluing is almost perfect with very good bore/rifling, but inscriptions for builder and bolt head number are rubbed away.

Back to #4s: an older guy here with a very small gun shop ("Phil's Guns") wants about $600-699 for a near-mint Longbranch which was built after WW2. The bore looks like a mirror.
The cheek rest is screwed into the stock, but is maybe a 4T? The price appears way too high for this.

jondar · 10-03-2009, 10:33 AM

Quote: "The bore looks like a mirror."

Those Brits knew how to make 'em, didn't they?

Quote: "The cheek piece is screwed into the stock."

Sniper maybe?

09-15-2009, 11:39 PM	#1
Laufer V.I.P. Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: West TN. Posts: 188	Max. gun show price for nice LE #4 in Memphis? If the bore/rifling are bright and exterior good, what price would you find acceptable at a gun show in many similar southern cities? A seller walked into the Batesville MS show in July and only wanted $200 for a nice #4 Savage (no bluing), but the other seller wanted $300 for a good example with matching bolt/butt-socket (origin unknown) and very good bluing. Both bores/rifling were in the same very good condition. Already have a nice #4 and #5, but you know how it is when a rifle needs a friend of the same species. --> Last edited by Laufer; 09-15-2009 at 11:50 PM..

09-21-2009, 10:30 AM	#2
jondar V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 458	Re: Max. gun show price for nice LE #4 in Memphis? I can't speak for Memphis but I was in my gunsmith's shop a month ago, he had a rack of six or seven really clean Savages with a price of $279.00 each on them If I needed one I'd been tempted to spend that much for one. They were that nice.

09-22-2009, 02:28 AM	#3
Laufer V.I.P. Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: West TN. Posts: 188	Re: Max. gun show price for nice LE #4 in Memphis? Being new to milsurps, you are fortunate to have seen so many nice #4s in one place for sale. Very few stores near Memphis, if ever, have any LE. Only one store that I know of: a near-mint Longbranch (post WW2) 4T, and an Ishipore .308 plus an SMLE. He wants $600-699 or so for his 4T (!). The club (MSSA) which I belong to has no activities for surplus rifles, but the members are highly experienced and skilled with hunting rifles, ARs, shotguns etc.

10-03-2009, 10:33 AM	#6
jondar V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 458	Re: Max. gun show price for nice LE #4 in Memphis? Quote: "The bore looks like a mirror." Those Brits knew how to make 'em, didn't they? Quote: "The cheek piece is screwed into the stock." Sniper maybe?

09-22-2009, 10:18 AM	#4
jondar V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 458	Re: Max. gun show price for nice LE #4 in Memphis? These were in Topeka, KS. If you want the name of the shop, PM me. My only Brit (other than a Webley MK VI) is a Lee Enfield No. 1 MK III*. Nice clean gun, Enfield arsenal, four matching numbers, one mismatched on the nose cap. Dang it!

10-03-2009, 01:43 AM	#5
Laufer V.I.P. Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: West TN. Posts: 188	Re: Max. gun show price for nice LE #4 in Memphis? Thanks jondar. You are very fortunate to see such an attractive selection. It must be the lack of cheap surplus ammo, or the need to clean out the corrosive pot. chloride, that causes so many nice LEs to be for sale? Don't want to pay shipping+FFL on any gun, ever again. Have spent far too much on these costs, due to my impatience or ignorance, or both. At the Memphis gun show two weeks ago, the only #4 in original condition (not chopped down) had either cosmo or residue in the bore, even after the seller pushed a patch through it. I could not trust the condition and gave up on it. What really surprised me was that a different private seller had an almost excellent original #5 for $350, all-matching, barely legible. The bluing is almost perfect with very good bore/rifling, but inscriptions for builder and bolt head number are rubbed away. Back to #4s: an older guy here with a very small gun shop ("Phil's Guns") wants about $600-699 for a near-mint Longbranch which was built after WW2. The bore looks like a mirror. The cheek rest is screwed into the stock, but is maybe a 4T? The price appears way too high for this. Last edited by Laufer; 10-03-2009 at 01:54 AM..