How much should i pay

[Alibiiv]

A "donor" rifle is NOT the same as a rifle you could take to the field and use, as is. To be priced as a "donor" the rifle would have to be a 'beater'. Almost any firearm bought "a couple years back" can not be bought for that same amount of money today. You'd have to find someone who is desperate for the cash, that can't take it to a pawn shop/dealer, to buy a Rem 700BDL in good shape for $450.

I totally agree with what you have written here, however the buyers on Gun Broker are nuts!! I just saw an early Remington 760 (pump) go for $1260, and "that" rifle "was" a true beater!!! I like Ruger 77 tang safety rifles. The last donor/beater rifle that I bought two years ago cost me $400 and it had an older Leupold 3X9 scope on it. The two before that we're about the same price. Today those rifles are selling between $600-700 for the same condition rifles. I've found the same to be true with Guns International, and in some cases have seen the same rifles with the same photos on both sights. I'd like to find a nice short action Ruger 77 donor rifle, they're starting out between $700-900 for a beater rifle!!! Now that I've got $700-900 invested in the donor, I'm looking at another $700-900 for a rebar release, bluing and action truing. I have a friend who just bought a Christianson Arms Ridgerunner for $1700, new out of the box. This rifle weighs just around 7 pounds with the carbon fiber barrel and shoots just about anything you put in it MOA. It's a crazy market out there

 

[Jon Bischof]

Let me get this straight. You have a friend who has an old model 700 just like the one you already have.. just like many model 700's that you could pick up used in most gun stores or pawn shops. How does it shoot in its present condition?
Why would your buddy want to sell it after all these years? Did he quit shooting?
If your friend is really just aching to get rid of it and you really want to use it to build a new rifle then you've come to the right place, asking the right people to do the thing that you already want to do.
But if you want to save money...which we can all see that you don't...then you've come to the wrong place, asking the wrong folks

 

[SteelBanger]

About 8 years ago I bought an old beat up R700 with a junk 30-06 barrel on it, no stock, for $250. Got it from a guy off FaceBook back when you could sell that stuff. Not sure on the year but it had the magazine box, spring & follower, and screws. The guy clearly didn't know what he had and I ended up selling it for $500 a couple years ago. By the time I would have done want I wanted to do to it I was in custom action pricing so I just went with a custom (Terminus Zeus) and am very happy I did.

 

[Mike Matteson]

I have purchase rifles band new, turn then back over to the smith to change out barrels. Or have gone to pawn shop and gotten rifles to do the job I want. Mostly Rem 700 action in serial no. ending in A.,B,C. Now I haven't purchased a newer action from Rem. Now they are building them. I haven't heard anything about the new actions being built. If they are any good or not. I watch for sales on the rifles I am looking for. I get the action clean up and blue print. Change out the firing pin spring, and trigger.

 

[skipglo]

Based on what you said, I would make sure both you and the acquaintance are comfortable.

Buying/selling with friends and family needs to be a price each side can live with. If one side has different expectations, walk away and save the relationship. I personally steer away from friends/family sales because someone always asks, what did you do with that? And maybe or maybe not want to buy it back.

^^^^^^^^THIS

 

[59FLH]

$900 average price tag. I wouldn't sell mine for that but believe 1/2 of that is a closer real world figure.

If you wouldn't sell him yours for $900.00, why would you expect him to sell you his for half?

 

[shortgrass]

Ya', those who'll pay the Gun Broker price must be kind'a nuts. Once the new Rem Arms gets their production going, where there are complete rifles and actions "in stock" and "on the shelves" prices for used will come down. I keep hearing about the "old" 700 being better. I've been gunsmithing for 30yrs, and even the RR serial numbered are straighter. Yes, extraction is probably 'off', but so it is with many of the 'older' pre RR actions. I have not bought any of the newly manufactured actions, but the report is extraction is better. I'll have to use/sell the 8-10 RR actions I have in the safe before I buy any. I bought those 8-10 RR actions just before the virus hit, and knowing that 2020 was an election year and anything could happen. Oklahoma might be "open" from all the restrictions and mandates others are going through, but the economy here sux. Not many are willing to spend on a custom build. Semi custom is happening. The person wanting is supplying their own actions and most time the barrels, too. "Brandon" killed the oil industry, and much of the economy here is oilfield related. There has been plenty of repair work and modifications to keep me overly busy. But those RRs I bought still sit in the safe. I sold exactly 2, 1 a LA Mag to a friend and the other the only .223 action I had bought. When those newly made 700s appear, I'd not expect pre Covid or pre Brandon prices. The price of steel has increased a bunch, the cost of transportation has increased a bunch as has most everything else. Inflation! I checked one of my suppliers yesterday on-line, and they have L and S actions in stock. They're priced at more than I could sell a NIB actions for 2yrs ago. That's the "wholesale" to FFL pricing I'm talking about. Just as a side note, I know of at least 3 "wholesalers' that have gone under since this craziness began, and another that also has a storefront that has done away with 'dealer pricing' on many in demand things. The industry, on the whole, is struggling to stay afloat.

 

[GUNNNN]

I've got a line on a 30 year old m700 bdl that I plan on using as a build donor. It belongs to a childhood acquaintance of mine and I assume t is in good shape. I already own a 1988 version of the same and it is my very favorite rifle. I don't want to insult the guy with a lowball offer. Gun broker gives that older model about a $900 average price tag.
I wouldn't sell mine for that but believe 1/2 of that is a closer real world figure.
My question is how much should i pay?

I bought one last year about the same year off of GB for 600 dollars with Burris scope and runs it has a new st steel barrel that shoots great I'm going to shoot this sucker till I burn the barrel out then ill rebarrel it

 

[338weatherby]

If your friends, figure out a price. It's a win if your close in value. Be upfront with each other and if he feels the value is higher then what you want to spend on it, then just let him know he's probably better of selling to someone else to make a little more. I've told a few friends many times what I think there guns are worth to ME and what they could probably get from someone else. Sometimes they are surprised. Good luck.