Price of t/c contender stuff...

[buckweet]

It's been years since I've had my
Old contenders out and about.
I'm a huge fan of the 7mmTCU.
I have four 7tcu barrels's.
10" factory bull.
11" custom full bull
Super 14
Super 14 with extension sleeve, for a carbine.
16.25
Just for the fun of it.. looking around on GunBroker and eBay..
Oh! My gosh !
The prices have doubled!
I think ?
I bought the ten inch 7tcu factory barrel for 95 bucks.
If I'm remembering correctly.
Just bought a new 23" 7-30 waters rifle barrel..
275.00..
Went to the local gun shop.
Reloading powder was 28 dollars a pound !!
Sure am glad I hung on to all my old contender stuff.

[modified5]

Prices are through the roof. I was kind of kicking around getting the goodies to turn my pistol into a 45-70 carbine, but I can get a Henry single shot cheaper. Doesn’t make sense dollar wise to make the conversion.
The last decent deal I picked up was a .44 Mag barrel from Walmart on line for $175. Haven’t shot it yet.

[Shawlerbrook]

Yes, the prices have skyrocketed. Didn’t know Walmart sells Contender stuff.

[buckweet]

Ya?
I didn't know Walmart did either ?
Now that's interesting.

[modified5]

Someone had mentioned the barrels for sale on the web site only. I think they were getting rid of them. I grabbed one before they were gone. I haven’t looked to see if they replenished or not.

[megasupermagnum]

I was talking with my Uncle the other day about this, he has got a number of barrels for his encore, but hadn't bought one for about 10 years. When I told him what they cost now he just about fell out of his chair. When I told him what H&R's are going for, he called **. When we looked, they were even higher yet than I thought. Due to only being about 15 miles from E Arthur Brown in Garfield, MN, we had been buying from there for a long time, my grandpa even before they had moved into that shop. He said they got them even cheaper if you bought two or more. Just 10 years ago, you could go into EABCO and walk out with two barrels for $150. Now you can't get a single basic barrel under $300. H&R, you could buy a rifle plus extra shotgun barrel for $89. That's not bad memory, we were just looking at the add in a catalog from 2007. Now you can't find H&R handi rifles under $300. It's just crazy how the single shot market blew up. It almost makes lead prices doubling seem reasonable.

[Mgderf]

I was talking with my Uncle the other day about this, he has got a number of barrels for his encore, but hadn't bought one for about 10 years. When I told him what they cost now he just about fell out of his chair. When I told him what H&R's are going for, he called **. When we looked, they were even higher yet than I thought. Due to only being about 15 miles from E Arthur Brown in Garfield, MN, we had been buying from there for a long time, my grandpa even before they had moved into that shop. He said they got them even cheaper if you bought two or more. Just 10 years ago, you could go into EABCO and walk out with two barrels for $150. Now you can't get a single basic barrel under $300. H&R, you could buy a rifle plus extra shotgun barrel for $89. That's not bad memory, we were just looking at the add in a catalog from 2007. Now you can't find H&R handi rifles under $300. It's just crazy how the single shot market blew up. It almost makes lead prices doubling seem reasonable.

Unfortunately this trend will do nothing but continue to rise.
Since H&R got out of the single-shot business, the values have gone nuts.

I have a Handi-Rifle in .500S&W magnum. I was looking at prices today and they are almost 3 times what I paid for mine.

If the prices of Contenders continue to rise I might consider selling my collection.
I could probably fund 5 or 6 guns now for what the Contender parts would bring.

[charlie b]

Inflation sucks :) Relative cost is about the same as far as I can tell.

From my experience with Contenders (70's and 80's) they have always been kind of expensive for what you get. I bought mine used for 175 and a new barrel was about 100 (IIRC). The difference is that in those days all rifles were a lot more expensive so a Contender made sense. You could get a different barrel for less than half the cost of a new bolt rifle. Heck, even my Rem 788 cost much more than a Contender barrel.

What has changed is that now you can get a nice bolt rifle for much less than we could back then. So, a new barrel is close to the cost of a new rifle.

[megasupermagnum]

Inflation sucks :) Relative cost is about the same as far as I can tell.

From my experience with Contenders (70's and 80's) they have always been kind of expensive for what you get. I bought mine used for 175 and a new barrel was about 100 (IIRC). The difference is that in those days all rifles were a lot more expensive so a Contender made sense. You could get a different barrel for less than half the cost of a new bolt rifle. Heck, even my Rem 788 cost much more than a Contender barrel.

What has changed is that now you can get a nice bolt rifle for much less than we could back then. So, a new barrel is close to the cost of a new rifle.

That last sentence only applies if you like bolt action's. I strongly dislike them. I only own one right now, and that's because I paid $100 for it.

[Hamish]

That last sentence only applies if you like bolt action's. I strongly dislike them. I only own one right now, and that's because I paid $100 for it.

Here now! We'll have none of that kind of bigotry!

ALL rifles matter,,,,,,,. :kidding:

[shutinlead]

Here now! We'll have none of that kind of bigotry!

ALL rifles matter,,,,,,,. :kidding:

Ditto,
It's OK to like some a little less than others- at times... kind of like children, but it's a requirement that down deep you have to love them all. Let's not start the counting game, I believe the single shots passed up all others in the stable a few years back but Occasionally I still pull out a Vector I built or a Mannlicher Schoenauer and fondle them - helps me find center, similar to the effect of meditation. :lol: Even as much of a single shot snob as I am, I enjoy the adult Leggo version of firearms - I just don't care the the plastic they put on most so mine all get wood...

[Iowa Fox]

You just don't see the older good TC (pre- S&W) stuff pop up for sale much anymore.

[Hamish]

shutinlead,

Well said, I couldn't agree more,,,,,.