Auction

[nvbirdman]

My small town radio was advertising an auction with thousands of rounds of ammunition and reloading equipment.
Does this raise any red flags for the members of this forum?
To me, that says all that ammunition has been loaded by a complete stranger and I won't even shoot reloads from someone I know and trust.

[Jake McCracken]

Doesn't necessarily mean it was handloaded. Its worth checking out especially if you handload yourself. Most auctions let you inspect the items before the auction starts.

I wouldnt buy anyone elses handloads, but factory rounds and reloading equipment and components for sure!

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[Three44s]

Primed brass and bullets and lawn fertilizer!

You have to buy the handloaded ammo cheap! But there could be factory ammo there as well.

Good luck!

Three44s

[GhostHawk]

Depends on how its loaded and exactly what componants.

Brass, primers would be fine. Bullets could either be reused as is, or melted down.
Powder tends to be the toughest one to pin down exactly what it is. IE if it is safe to reuse, or what data to use for it.

I have a baby food jar of odds and ends, much of it was powder taken from blank rounds. .223/5.56 military blanks. The brass got cut down into 7.62x25 or .300BO ammo. I'll figure out something fun to do with the contents of that jar some day.

So it comes down to price and how much time you have.

[375supermag]

Hi...
I go to a lot of auctions and generally try to buy reloading equipment and components.
I will occasionally buy factory ammunition if it goes cheap but am very leery of anybody's handloads. I just don't trust them.
Now and then I might buy some brass but I generally restrict that to new brass in factory packaging. Very careful about buying partial containers of gun powder as well.

I do buy bullets fairly regularly... generally can get good deals on cast bullets. For some reason it seems that bidders drive the price on jacketed bullets up to or beyond retail. I don't pay retail prices at auction...I am there to get bargains.

[Beerd]

I have no idea what is available but 10,000 rounds of 22 rimfire is probably pretty safe.
..

[Kraschenbirn]

Auctions can get weird at times. Down south of here, Bauer Auction Services runs firearms consignment auctions two or three times a year. Now, I'm talking BIG auctions - like 600-800 to 1000 guns and a dozen or so tables of parts, reloading equipment/supplies, ammunition, etc. - attended by buyers from all over the country. (A few years back, I watched a pair of dealers from California spend something like $120K in less than 30 minutes cherry-picking pieces out of a collection of high-end European shotguns.) I've bought a couple of guns and some casting stuff for reasonable prices but have never snagged anything I'd call a genuine 'bargain basement' deal.

Anyhow, down there the auctioneers really know their trade and I've watched reloads - 'specially unusual or hard to find calibers - sell for as much more than MSRP of factory ammo. Reloading components are almost as bad: old, shopworn cartons of primers (some with apparent water damage) for $35-$40 per K, partial cans of powder for over-the-counter price of unopened, boxes of loose cast bullets (unknown alloy, unknown lube, many with casting flaws) for as much as good-quality commercial cast.

Bill

[cat-mechanic]

Auctions can definitely be weird, I have seen people pay way more than retail for some items.

So be sure you know your max price and don't hesitate to walk away. Guns and reloading stuff, Inspect it ahead of time, and have your prices set. On ammo, some can be great and like any other auction, some can go for more than retail. So make sure you set your price and don't go over. That way you don't get home and go, Wow, I paid too much.

The only time I have shot reloads that I bought, was when I bought some 300 WM. The guy that loaded it was more meticulous than I am with record keeping. He had each slot in each box numbered and recorded case weight, primer type, powder type and weight and bullet type and weight. I pulled several from his records and they were all spot on. So yes I shot some and was surprised how accurate his loads were. I kept the ones that shot best and reworked that load for my rifle at the time.

Otherwise on reloads, it is usually pull the bullet and turn the powder into fertilizer. Then reuse the components for whatever.

[lightman]

I agree, auctions are funny. I've never really found a bargain at one. Some items go for stupid prices. As far as shooting others reloads, there are a chosen few of my Friends whose reloads I will shoot. Or my Son's. No others, period.....

[country gent]

Lightman and cat-mechanic are right auctions now are different than they used to be. Not so much in how they are ran but in the peoples mind set there. They have become more contests to "win" the item on the block. I go to auctions and know what the going price for what Im interested is both new and used. Im not above stopping bidding at my price, others cant let it drop.

[john.k]

Different allright...........idiots go crazy and pay way over the odds for busted junk.......all the auctioneer has to mention is "antique/collectable .or my fav ..old skool.....hate that.".....Some of the dimwits dont even know what an auction is.....auctioneer calls for a start at X dollars,some idiot immediately bids it..........then there is all the fees and charges they load on....near double the price on some items.

[cat-mechanic]

I've never really found a bargain at one.

Keep trying, Eventually you will.

I ended up at an estate auction once, had a whole table full of reloading and gun stuff. First 2 rounds, auctioneer did high bid per item on the table. Guys grabbed a couple of items here and there, but they overpaid for what they grabbed. Then he went remainder of table for 1 money. I was high bidder at $440. Plus fees and tax put the total just a hair over $550.

I started sorting and that was before I found this place, I started selling the excess items not even knowing everything I got. I kept a half dozed bullet molds, different handles and some dies. Flipped the rest on eBay. Everything from dies, molds, handles, to stockmaking and checkering tools, to Dillon scales and strong mounts. By the time I was done, I had made over $1000 profit and still kept about $500 worth of items for myself.

After I did all that, then I opened up one last white box that was there. Had no idea what was inside. Ended up being 30 carbine parts. Sorted through it all and sold them all off after I decided it would still cost more for me to build a 30 carbine, then it would to just buy one. Pocketed another $500 off of that.

Then another auction I went to, had an old large Folgers coffee can, overfilled with old rifle sights. I bought the whole can for $30.

So the bargains are out there. I used my sale money and then that's how I end up with new Dillon loaders and extra spending money for bullets, lead, powder and primers.

[poppy42]

Auctions or a hoot! I used to go to a lot of livestock auctions when I lived in Florida. My wife and I had a pony party business along with a mobile petting farm so we did a lot of both, buying and selling of live stock. It real easy for an inexperienced buyer to get caught up in the process and spend away to much on an item. I remember this one auction were I overheard this guy bragging about how he sold someone a sick animal to someone by shooting it up with antibiotics and tranquilizers before a sale. Never much cared for con artists, braggarts, or thieves! A lot of the other regulars at this auction felt the same way. A bunch of us got together and ran up the bids on ever item this sob tried to buy! I managed to get him to pay $45.00 for a chicken! And as for The items he was trying to sell, not one person bid on any of his items! This jerk wound up being blackballed from quite a few auction houses. Ya know what they say about karma. It doesn’t matter if your selling cows or castboolits. An auction is an auction!

[Thin Man]

I took SWMBO, our daughter and her husband to an estate auction this week-end. Lots of furniture the daughter could use as they recently bought a bigger house. SWMBO saw a mink jacket she mentioned looked really nice. The fur was light gray and the jacket was her size, or at least close enough. Her plans to bid on the jacket slowed when I mentioned the fur color looked more like 'possum than mink. She left it alone.

A local collector died a few months ago and his properties are going on auction next month. Lugers, Garands, S&W revolvers and pistols, total of about 125 firearms. Ammo? Around 57K rounds of factory and surplus, no reloads. Most of the firearms appear to be very good to excellent condition. The auction house is Furrow Auctions of Knoxville, TN. Worth looking at even if not bidding, get an idea of how the market is going around here.