Need help with Redhawk Value??

[lead4me]

A while back I posted an .375 Winchester BB that my elderly neighbor sold me. It was her late husbands rifle & it was NIB. You guys helped me to give her a fair price for it.
Today she called me back over to her house & asked if I would like to buy this pistol she found while cleaning out her closet. She said she wanted to get 400.00 for it to help pay her summer taxes. I told her that YES I'm interested BUT... I needed to find out more about it. It has some staining on the SS from the plastic it was wrapped in, but it has to be worth more than 400.00 & I cant find out anything on the Ruger site about this pistol. It is marked #3 of 200 and has a tag on it that says "by Ron Power" It's a .44 Mag & I think the staining will clean off with a little work.http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh360/rodunham/IMG_1165Medium.jpghttp://http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh360/rodunham/IMG_1161Large.jpghttp://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh360/rodunham/IMG_1164Medium.jpghttp://http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh360/rodunham/IMG_1166Medium.jpg

[waksupi]

I would say off hand, she has it priced at half, or less.

[Blammer]

Wow! That's a nice piece, sorry I have no idea what to value it at.

[lead4me]

I sure would like to be the guy to cut that cylinder tag and take it out and let it eat. I mean I like collectibles an all but to me someone spent some time on this piece to make it a shooter & to make it sit in a box for the past 27 years waiting to do what she was made to do is a crime.
I'm sitting here holding it and it sure is heavy, that would take any bite out of full house loads. I want to see what the trigger feels like but the cylinder is locked with the tag.
If I cant get a good idea of a fair price & if a fair price is north of 1000.00 I think that I will take it out to Cabelas to the gun library & see what they say. Then go from there, I mean I want it, but not bad enough to steal it!!

[Bass Ackward]

Redhawks are probably the hardest to resell item and get your money back of any factory piece.

You can always list that on Gun Broker. If you want it, list the item at .01 with a reserve price of $10,000 which you don't reveal. When it expires in 7 days, you will have a fairly good idea what it will sell for even if it isn't actual trade value.

[RayinNH]

In 1998 I paid $275 for a used .44 mag. Redhawk as issued from Ruger. There is nothing stock about that handgun. With the tag around the hammer I'm assuming it's never been fired. It also has a fitted wooden case. I would think it would definitely be above $1000. How much above I have no clue...Ray

[2ndAmendmentNut]

It is so hard pricing those one of a kind items, or in this case 1 of 200. I believe twice to three times the asking price is fair. But then again what is it worth to you? And what is it worth to her? I would love to bid on it should you list it on an auction site.

[anachronism]

Dear God, it's an unfired Ron Power Grandmaster! Have it appraised by someone familiar with Custom guns. Do not take it to the local gun store! Maybe Hamilton Bowen can recommend someone for the appraisal. Rons retired now, but his son is still doing business as Power Custom, but mostly just sells parts.

[thenaaks]

you would be stealing it at 400. if i were you, i would try to help that old lady sell that gun for top dollar. from the sounds of things, she could use the money more than you could use the gun.

not trying to take you on a guilt trip...just typing from the heart.

[lead4me]

Dear God, it's an unfired Ron Power Grandmaster! Have it appraised by someone familiar with Custom guns. Do not take it to the local gun store! Maybe Hamilton Bowen can recommend someone for the appraisal. Rons retired now, but his son is still doing business as Power Custom, but mostly just sells parts.

So you know something about this pistol?? Who is Ron Power and was he a renowned pistol smith? The more I hear the less likely it seems I will be able to afford this:sad: But I'm not going to short my neighbor she has (as well as me) no idea what she has here...oh well better to be able to sleep at night than to mess with Karma. Here is another pic "eye candy" for you Ruger lovers might not see another one!!http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh360/rodunham/IMG_1159Large.jpg

[Frank]

$1695.00 New.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=161039440

[lead4me]

$1695.00 New.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=161039440

Oh Lord an that was 27 years ago!! Doubt there's any chance that this has tanked in value, on the bright side she will be able to pay her taxes for the next couple of years. Bad...I won't be cutting that cylinder wire.

[Mk42gunner]

Ron Power did some great work. At one time I had a S&W Model 25-2 that he had reworked while he was still in Independence, MO. I bought it for $325.00 and shot it for a few years until a retiring Commander waved a lot of cash money under my nose.

I don't have any idea what it would be worth, maybe contact his son for an idea. If you or your neighbor list it on an auction site; I would definately put a reserve on the selling price.

This isn't like the typical rebarreled Mauser or Springfield that you can only get half the money out of when you get tired of it.

Robert

[Crash_Corrigan]

You really need to get an honest and accurate appraisal on the weapon. This is a semi custom pistol. If the price 27 years ago was $1695 then think about what prices were back then in '83.

Things were a lot cheaper then. A fair price today for that gun may be double of purchase price or even more. The only way is to have the gun appraised by a certified appraiser. The NRA should be able to recommend one near you.

This gun could be worth much more than the original price. I would not be able to pay $400 for this gun and ever get a good night's sleep again. An offer of a grand would also not be fair.

A conscience is a terrible thing. It never rests and it can drive you insane.

[Ed K]

Agree with everyone that the proper appraisal and/or letting the market decide via careful use of Gunbroker are the only reasonable approaches...

However having said that (and I know it is no $400 gun) I would not necessarily assume that the value of this has appreciated significantly over the years - keeping up with inflation and all. If that were really the case it would be worth $3-5K and I just cannot see that in a Redhawk. Yeah there is custom work involved but the gun itself is mass-produced and thus very common.

[anachronism]

Ron Powers was/is major big time. I almost cried when he retired because I wanted a Grandmaster Redhawk soooo bad.

[thenaaks]

Ron Powers was/is major big time. I almost cried when he retired because I wanted a Grandmaster Redhawk soooo bad.

i think you might be able to buy one soon! :smile:

[anachronism]

i think you might be able to buy one soon! :smile:

I'll need to sell one of my kids... Anybody need a lazy, surly 20 yr old, who eats like a horse?

[lead4me]

Sent a e-mail out to Ron Power's son over at Power Custom to see if he could tell me what the value of this piece would be. Also have done more research on this and found out that these were the King of the bowling pin shoot's.
On a side note I went over and let Mrs. Martin in on what I had found out so far, an she told me that she remembered when Mr. Martin had bought it. She didn't know what he had paid for it but he had convinced her that it was "gonna be worth something some day" same line I use on my wife when I just "gotta have" something!
I just know that I could never have left this unfired in a box, my brother in law got a matched set of Colt SAA .45's for a wedding gift 20 years ago, and has never fired them. He went as far as to put zip strips through the cylinders so you cant rotate them. I don't know where you get this kind of patience, God knows I could use some.

[foxtrotter]

There is a Ruger forum; why not put those same pics there and see what happens?

[anachronism]

Agree with everyone that the proper appraisal and/or letting the market decide via careful use of Gunbroker are the only reasonable approaches...

However having said that (and I know it is no $400 gun) I would not necessarily assume that the value of this has appreciated significantly over the years - keeping up with inflation and all. If that were really the case it would be worth $3-5K and I just cannot see that in a Redhawk. Yeah there is custom work involved but the gun itself is mass-produced and thus very common.

How many Mauser rifles have been manufactured? Millions? If we follow this line of thought, a Turkish Mauser is only a little less expensive than one that was built by one of the masters, like John Rigby. So too, Hamilton Bowens work on revolvers is only worth pennies on the dollar. Just because you haven't heard of him does not make Ron Powers work insignificant.

[deerslayer]

:bigsmyl2:According to our government you should help her out! I mean she has to pay her taxes and you should never let a crisis go to waste.:bigsmyl2:

Just kidding but that is a beautiful piece of work there!!!

[dougader]

Ron Power is/was THE name in Ruger double action revolvers. No one could tune them as well. No one. Andy Cannon came close.... and he's retired too.

It retailed for $1695 in 1983. Its #3 of only 200 made.

Semi-custom? This is a full-blown custom, complete with a presentation case and the cylinder has never been turned on it... and made by one of the country's best revolver smiths.

There's no way I'd cheat that woman out of the money she really needs. Conservatively, I'd put that gun at $2500 - $3000.

The problem is finding someone with the finances to afford it... and who wants those custom features on a revolver.

[crabo]

What caliber is this gun?

[Ed K]

only worth pennies on the dollar

Whoa! - like putting words in other's mouths?

What I did say:

It needs to be appraised properly (first).
Reiterated this is no $400 gun.
I would not assume its' value has kept pace with inflation ($3710 conservative US Gov't calculator (http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl)).

How did you conclude that I think this gun is worth only pennies on the dollar - in other words less than $1695? Do you think it is worth significantly more than $3710 - a conservative measure of inflation? Your reply suggests so. If you are not familiar with the effects of inflation then I can understand your response.

I will be interesting to see what this revolver ultimately sells for.

[anachronism]

If that were really the case it would be worth $3-5K and I just cannot see that in a Redhawk. Yeah there is custom work involved but the gun itself is mass-produced and thus very common.

This is the statement I was focused on. This revolver may very well be worth $3-5K. We should start a pool to see where the final value ends up.

[lead4me]

This is the statement I was focused on. This revolver may very well be worth $3-5K. We should start a pool to see where the final value ends up.

Hello Rod,
Yes, they were $1695 on the gun when they were brand new. In today's market and you find the Right guy you should be able to sell it for $2500.00. I would insure it for a minimum of $2500.00. Hopefully that helps. Thanks, Randall Power www.powercustom.com Ph# 1-573-372-5684

Well according to Randall Power 2500.00, I like the Gunbroker Idea with a High reserve to get a better Idea of where she stands. Still have to make that trip out to Cabelas to see what they say, sometimes they buy pieces like this to have in their case at the store "For Sale" but priced to high to really sell.

[deerslayer]

I am guessing it will bring $3000 but that is purely a guess based on what was said here.

Keep us posted as to what kind of offers/price you get out of it!

[GP100man]

Id offer to pay her taxes for 5-6 yrs !!!!!!!!!

DROOOOLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!