Finds or Buys where you "lucked out"

General General Discussion
1

I just bought a Vickers VCAS off eBay. I wanted this one because it was one of the older ones that still came with the quick detach buckle. IMHO they never should have spun that feature off as a separate purchase.

Well, I got my sling. It was new in package just as advertised.

Lo, and behold: the seller had included a brand-new looking Surefire GP flashlight in the bag! I don’t know if that was an oversight on his part, like maybe he was storing that sling in his bugout bag or something. Or maybe the guy was just overly generous (unlikely).

Anyway, the flashlight worked perfectly. I replaced the incandescent head with an LED head from my spares box.

I got a near-new looking tactical flashlight for Free-ninety-nine.

Can’t beat that.

2

I found a Leupold Mk4 CQB for about $250 in LNIB condition. Flipped it in about two hours for a $150 profit IIRC.

3

I think I would have contacted the guy, but that’s just me.

My only unexpected find was three rounds of green tip 5.56 in a pocket of a ECWCS jacket I got off Ebay.

4

Brand new Nightforce NXS 3-15x50 for $399. Seriously.

5

I actually emailed the guy, but he hasn’t responded yet. I’d try to make it fair to him if he wants it back, but I’m not going to offer him full price or anything.

6

No way. Was it from an online retailer?

7

I got 14 nuggets in my 12 count at Chick-fil-A last night. Woohoo!:dance3:

8

Quite a few of us here have jumped on the ACU-pattern bag deals at LBT. I picked up a huge rolling gear bag (big enough to put all three of my kids inside) for $73 shipped.

You can still get the next size smaller bag for about the same coin.

http://lbtinc.com/index.php/bags-backpacks-packs/bags/load-out-bags.html

9

Nah, was doing some trades with a guy and he just wanted to get rid of it. I think he had gotten it for a build as part of some in-store credit or something at a LGS and then decided to go a different direction. I don’t think even he realized what they usually sell for.

10

Got a MEC shotgun relaoding press for 30 bucks at a pawn shop.

Same shop, different day, got a Nikon rangefinder for 30 bucks.

Traded a 100 dollar 1-4 scope in a LaRue mount for a NIB Aimpoint T1 in a DD mount. Came out about 200 ahead on that one.

11

This happened many years ago…but I still laugh about it.

Back in the early 90s hey day when military surplus bolt action rifles were coming in to our country and were cheap and everywhere, a ratty local pawn shop had quite a collection of them that got turned in for money when people hit hard times or got sick of them.

In the end of the rack…sitting all covered in dust…were three odd and old Mauser variants that had been in the shop for a very long time.

One had a hang tag that was faded and read, “old Mexican rifle $250.00”

I asked to see it and the guy behind the counter laughed. He said the thing had been in his shop for years and nobody bought it because it probably shot ammo that was not made anymore. He also hinted that because it had the Republic of Mexico stamped on the receiver…it was probably unsafe crap.

I told him I’d give him 200 bucks cash for the old thing and tried to keep calm. He sort of snickered and took my money and I filled out the BATF form and took it home.

Well, what I bought was a 1913 Mexican Arisaka Long Rifle in 7x57mm Mauser. Yes…MEXICAN Arisaka…not Japanese.

Back in 1913, the Mexican govt. contracted the Japanese to build Arisaka long rifles (much like the WWII Japanese Type 38) for the Mexican govt. When the Mexicans defaulted on paying the Japanese for most of the rifles…the Japanese stopped making them. These 7mm Arisakas were only made in the year 1913. They are almost identical to the Type 38 Japanese Arisaka of WWII fame except they have the crest of the eagle and snake and “Republic of Mexico” on the receiver ring and they chamber the 7x57mm round.

This is a HIGHLY desirable Arisaka variant and many collectors have never seen one in the flesh. My estimates at the time had the approximate value of the rifle at about 2,500 dollars!

I have never shot the rifle, but although it shows lots of honest wear, the bore is serviceable and it will cycle 7x57 ammo as it should.

So I basically was laughed at by an unknowing pawn shop owner and paid him 200 bucks for a rare rifle worth about 2500 bucks!

How is that for a “find?”

I swear…I never get this lucky and never have since then.

The rifle still sits in my safe and I plan on keeping it forever. I have only taken it out a few times and showed very few people.

-brickboy240

12

1 yr ago:

100 rounds fired, Glock 17C 3rd Gen, (3) 17 round magzines, Night Sights and Glock case: $275…:smiley:

Almost ripped my pocket trying to get the cash out fast enough.

MW

13

Brand new Atilla-200 IR laser for 500 bucks. This is a $3-4K item. Then it got confiscated by the Department of Homeland Security. Serious.

14

Got my Eotech XPS2 for $350 cash new in box, got a Nagant for $80 cash at a barn sale with all the original field equipment (including the go-nogo firing pin gauge).

The second one isn’t that big of a deal for last summer, but in this market is a fucking miracle.

15

I’ve only gotten race car parts for a great price, never lucked out on anything firearms related…

Think it was a setup?

16

This is a totally kick ass find! Way to go buddy. I love when I hear stories like this.

17

Found a good deal on a Leupold Mark 4 MR/T 1.5-5x20mm at Primary Arms, it’s been about two years ago. I’d have to look up my invoice, but I remember at the time they were running $200 to as much as $300 less than I was seeing on most of the popular optics sites. No gimmicks either: it was brand new, unopened, worked great.

18

You gotta do a thread on this just to warn other people.

19

I decided several years ago that I wanted a lever action .22 but I wanted a carbine. I tried to find a Marlin mountie but couldn’t, I happened into a Winchester 9422 with a 16" bbl at a Kentucky gun store.

I bought it for around $300. I shot it a couple of times and took it squirrel hunting one time. Way too loud and if felt too tiny to me. So it sat in the back of my safe for a few years. I dug it out one day and decided to put it on Gunbroker and hoped I could get close to my money back out of it since it was nearly new.

It went for $780. :eek:

20

Not sure if I would classify it at “lucked out” so much as “unexpected.”

When I was about 12 years old I was fascinated by anything WWII and collected uniforms, decorations, field gear and firearms. My grandparents knew quite a few people who served and were willing to provide me with items they didn’t value highly or had nobody to leave them too.

In one case a woman had a uniform of a person that was killed in action. She had kept it for 40 odd years because she couldn’t bring herself to throw it away but she also didn’t know what to do with it. She seemed content to give it to somebody who seemed like they would value it.

Personally I was thrilled, it was a complete Ike jacket uniform with shirt, tie, garrison cap and everything. Even had a few interesting decorations on the ribbon bar. Even at 12 I knew not to ask too many questions about a KIA individual and I noted the purple heart ribbon and kept things respectful and grateful.

It was about 20 years later when organizing my collection and putting things in various footlockers that I happened to open a jacket pocket and out dropped a simple engagement ring. Didn’t take much to figure out that she had lost her fiance during the war and placed the ring in his uniform pocket. I don’t think I can quite describe the sinking feeling of the realization but some of the “fun, cool and neat” escaped from a few of my items.

When I was 12 I didn’t seem to grasp that many of these items represented lives forever changed and sometimes destroyed by the war.