prices then and now

[gsbell26]

I bought my TC Renegade in 1976 or there about, for
109.99

 

[RedFeather]

Those old magazines and Gun Digests aren't always the most accurate for pricing as they usually show suggested retail price. I see the same thing with the various Blue Books. A lot depends upon where and when, too. I bought a custom .54 Hawken that sat in a local gun shop for almost a year at $650. Made a successful offer for a fair bit less.

If it will make anyone who missed buying those $150 rifles back in the day feel any better, a gallon of gas cost an average of $0.34 in 1968. That is $2.45, adjusted for inflation. AAA's average for today is $2.253, so we are filling our tanks for less than we (or our forebears) did fifty years ago!

 

[Zonie]

This is an awesome thread. In 1963, I got some late 1933 Popular Science magazines from my late great grandfather’s home and on the front page was a Dodge ad touting 30,000 miles between valve jobs. Young people today - unless they are gearheads - have never heard of valve jobs.
Also in 1963, at age 15, I won for $60 what was described in the auction catalog, as a Kentucky squirrel rifle of about .36 cal. The caplock doesn’t perfectly fit the area for it so I imagine it began life as a flintlock. Very accurate at a ground to tree branches (gttb) distance. Had it rebored and re-rifled to .375. Haven’t shot it in over 30 years and want to UT the barrel and get it going again. I’m hoping the NDT firm where I work will get one of those guns which tells the makeup of the metal so I’ll know more about this probably 200 year old gun.

If you test it with Ultra Sonic or Mag Particle inspection and the barrel is made from wrought iron, expect to see a LOT of non-metallic inclusions. Wrought iron has a lot of it.
The rolled steel back in the day's also had quite a bit of NMI.

You will be looking for cracks in the material. If you don't see any, the barrel should be safe to shoot with black powder loads although, I would keep the powder charges towards the light side. Something like 40 grains max. (Lyman's BLACK POWDER HANDBOOK shows a breech pressure of 12,500 psi using 40 grains of GOEX 3Fg powder under a .350 patched roundball in a .36 caliber rifle.)

 

[Huntschool]

Bought a 503 HP 66 GTO off the floor for a discount. Watched one, frame off restored, go across Barretts stage a couple years ago for 300+ thousand.... First ML was an 1863 Springfield (for free) in 1963 and then an orig PA flint gun in .52 cal. Been at it ever since, sort of, but really since about 1970. Paid more for my last several Suburbans and now Ford F150 then my folks paid for a pretty drn fine home in 1962. I don't even want to talk about wages. I got lucky and had a band that made a good bit of money around NYC back then so I had it pretty good. My first year of college at The University of Louisville the first semester cost $3000.00 dollars for tuition and room and food.

Prices are prices. Good work by our current custom builders is still good work and should be rewarded financially. I will never quibble for a rifle or horn etc. if the quality is good. I have a pretty good grip on what it takes to produce these fine pieces.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

I have a still new in the box, unassembled kit, CVA Derringer. The sales slip is dated 7 May 79. The price is $19.97. Still cheap at twice the price.

 

[Hawgeye]

Nope, the kit was brand new at that price. My younger brother and I each bought one. His is still new in the box... He heard the calls of the Huey, Kiowa, Cobra and Blackhawk.

A few years later, I found two CVA Mountain Rifle .45 cal kits. at a local sporting goods store. I kept my eyes on those kits for a couple of months. When they didn’t sell, I spoke to the store owner and made him an offer for both kits. I walked out of the store with both for $89.95 each. I gave one to my childhood friend. I thought I paid too much when I compared them to the TC Hawken.

That's what my wife paid for my 1978 Christmas present Mountain Rifle kit. I still shoot it. Doesn't resemble a Mountain Rifle much anymore but it till shoots.

 

[rickystl]

A few more examples from about 1963-1965 :
1. Original Springfield 1873 Trapdoor Rifle. Complete, except missing cleaning rod and mainspring. Played with this like a toy in the woods. $25.00
2. Original Remington Argentine Rolling Block Saddle Ring Carbine, near mint condition. $45.00
3. Original Rogers & Spencer Revolver in probably unfired condition. $175.00
And these prices were from a high-end gun shop. LOL
4. Ordered an original Remington Egyptian Rolling Block from I think Viking Arms about 1963 for $35.00
The finish was gone, but all complete and working. Ordered 10 brass cases from Dixie Gun Works and loaded black powder blanks using greeie-stickum-caps for primers. LOL

Rick

 

[Gene L]

I bought a T/C Hawken in 1971 or so. I think I paid $120 for it. It's been a long time. It was in .45 and IIRC, I got the starter kit with it.

 

[Blackpowdersmoke]

Purchased my TC hawken kit at Woolco in Landsdale PA for $99.99 in January 1973. A pound of Goex at Ron Shirk's Shooter Supply was $2.40. It is hard to say what that would be in today's dollars. Minimum wage was around $2.40

My parents bought my first muzzleloading rifle for me as a Christmas gift in December 1973 when I was a junior in high school. I still have the rifle and the original receipt, a NIB TC Hawken .50 percussion with the factory accessory pack for which they gave an astronomical price of $179!!

BPS

 

[FlinterNick]

To avoid straying much off topic from another thread, I said:


I was not able to locate the price of a new TC 'hawken' rifle from 1970. But, for comparison, $1.00 in 1970 would compare in spending power to $6.19 today. Just grabbing at a number, if that TC was $250.00 then, it would cost $1547.50 today. A Kibler kit is currently $820.00. Folks, comparing the two, that is a freaking bargain. BTW, I don't know Jim and am not trying to promote him or his products, just putting this info out there for thought fodder and to encourage newcomers to this game to consider something high quality rather than a 'pretty good' factory made rifle.

Older factory made guns were much higher quality. I'll never part with my miruko Bess and Charleville. Pedersoli still makes some fine rifles and muskets but they're not really based on any exact model or pattern, most are hybrids of many patterns. Such as their Brown Bess; it has features of both a 1756 long land and a 1769 short land. Same with their Charleville, it has the 1763 stock and barrel but uses a smaller 1766 lock and barrel bands and loading rod.

I always prefer Rifle Shoppe kits, they keep me busy for about 6 months and they're much nicer pieces to carry. Resale is always high too. People will pay a hearty premium for a custom gun over a factory gun.

Nick

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

To avoid straying much off topic from another thread, I said:


I was not able to locate the price of a new TC 'hawken' rifle from 1970. But, for comparison, $1.00 in 1970 would compare in spending power to $6.19 today. Just grabbing at a number, if that TC was $250.00 then, it would cost $1547.50 today. A Kibler kit is currently $820.00. Folks, comparing the two, that is a freaking bargain. BTW, I don't know Jim and am not trying to promote him or his products, just putting this info out there for thought fodder and to encourage newcomers to this game to consider something high quality rather than a 'pretty good' factory made rifle.

Hey Rifleman, My New englander .50 in 1994 was $230.00 and that was with starter ,powder, balls ,caps ect.
One can spend that on dinner now...LOL

Sm