Our resident expert Jonny Carter delves into the complex world of refurbishing second-hand guns, weighing the economics and opportunities of this traditional practice. With a backdrop of changing industry standards and costs, Jonny presents a compelling analysis of the current state of gun restoration and its feasibility for dealers and enthusiasts alike.
Second-hand guns are great. You can pay what makes you happy and sell it for what you deem it’s worth. We are obviously always on the lookout for great, original condition guns, but I have many memories of ‘unretailable condition’ guns coming in to be appraised. The way I look at it, you have three options for one of these guns.
The first option is to buy it for parts value, taking the slightly ‘past it’ gun and using it as a workshop donor, or selling it on in the trade to someone who will do the same. Some guns hold great spares value and this can be a profitable option, others are probably more suited to the scrappage shelves
The second option is to sell it on through a third-party auction house and remove any liability to yourself by selling a potentially less perfect gun. Holts Auctioneers has the sealed bid sale that appears to be filled with this sort of stuff – good guns with small issues. For those who don’t mind worn bluing, cracked stocks and sloppy actions, it’s a great place to pick up your old stock, and if you buy right a profit is quite attainable here. Obviously, the amble of buying a gun to then send to auction isn’t ideal, but when it comes to part-exchanges it does open up a great pathway to recouping your cash.
The third option is the less common, higher hassle route: The Refurb. This involves buying a gun with enough margin to fix its issues and then sell it in the knowledge that it is as good as new. Back in the day when the UK still had a lot of ex-Birmingham gunsmiths working for very reasonable rates, either as outworkers or in-house gunsmiths, I have been led to believe that this was an option taken very frequently, but lately I have seen fewer and fewer shops doing it.
The reasons for this are not that complex. Gun shops increasingly do not have an in-house gunsmith, opting to use outworkers, and good quality gunsmithing is now more expensive than ever before. I don’t begrudge these talented craftsmen being paid well for their skill and experience, but it does make bringing the lower-end guns back to life a bit less economically viable.
To add to all that, cheap Turkish guns that have the guaranteed ‘new gun’ look and feel are all too easy an option to stock and sell, instead of dealing with the hassle and ultimately the long wait of sending a gun off to be beautified.
Where is the cut-off for viable refurbishing? That is a question only you can answer and depends on the price paid for a project gun. Let’s take two examples that might potentially come in, a Browning GTI and a 325 Grade 6. Retail on these guns in great condition would be around £1,000 and £2,400 respectively, and working to an average fixed margin would make the buying price in good condition sit around £750 for the GTI and £1,800 for the 325.
Now imagine these guns are less than perfect. Being 30 years old, they both need a rejoint, and both need a reblack. They also need a full service with new pins and springs, and the ejectors are a bit to worn for you to image low brass shells won’t slip past them. Let’s cost it out with prices (inc VAT) sourced by a reputable trade gunsmith:
Rejointing £312
Reblacking £180
Full Service £110
Pins & Springs £105
Ejectors £380
Ejector Fitting £190
Total £1,277
Even without the ejectors, you are looking at £707, making the purchase price for the GTI a whopping £43. With the wait on return, plus the hassle and costs of postage, it’s sad to say that GTIs in worn condition will continue to be scrapped until there are so few left they become collectable. Hopefully at this point, their value will spike and people will start to take care of them, not unlike what happens in the used car market.
The 325 Grade 6 is a slightly better prospect. If you were to pay £523 for the gun, one could still make good margin whilst offering a great end product to your customers. The problem here, unfortunately, is that not many people walking in, having seen 325 Grade 6s online for over £2,000 will want to take your offer of near £500, hoping they find someone who is happier to sell it in ‘worn original condition’ for a bargain price.
Doing some more basic calculations, I think it’s fair to say that these restoration jobs are only worth it on guns upwards of £3,500 (providing you can buy them right), or if you have your own in-house gunsmith. It’s a shame that this has become the case, but unfortunately we have to make decisions with our heads and not our hearts, and potentially let those rusty old guns stay as they are.
What are your thoughts on refurbishing? Does your business offer this service? We’d love to hear from you. Please email your views and opinions to
editorial@fieldsportspress.com.