Exiting a non-typical caliber

[cwillour]

I am sorry if this has been addressed before (my search-fu is weak tonight) but what do you guys do when you want to exit a less-than-common caliber?

I am thinking about getting out of .260 Rem and .450 Marlin (I am down to one firearm in each) and have a significant amount of ammo that I am not certain how to handle. I expect to take a loss on the firearms and ammo, but I am hoping to find a way to recoup 60-70% on the ammo, if possible, as I may have as much tied up in ammo as in the firearms themselves.

Do you bundle the ammo with the firearm (although it drives up the price) or just keep the firearm until the ammo sells separately? Or sell them independently? (Which really makes me cringe as I routinely find myself with various boxes of orphaned ammo and would hate to be sitting on hundreds of rounds with no way to enjoy them.)

I have thought about just keeping them but, since I do not get to shoot them often enough, I think I would rather allocate the space to other projects.

What say you ?

 

[Westside]

bundle the ammo with the gun.

 

[DRob]

Yep

bundle the ammo with the gun.

That's what I'd do. If it's actually a "non-typical" caliber the buyer may be happy to acquire ammo which is hard to find elsewhere.

 

[CountryBoy19]

bundle the ammo with the gun.

This ^^^

Bundle but keep an open mind if the right deal comes along on individual parts.

 

[42769vette]

Please don't sell your 260, its my favorite caliber and I'm broke. Hopefully I can fight the urge

 

[cwillour]

Please don't sell your 260, its my favorite caliber and I'm broke. Hopefully I can fight the urge

Since the rifle is somewhat of a garage special (old-style Savage 110 receiver/bolt/trigger, basic Bell & Carlson stock, x-thick recoil lug, Shilen match barrel) and not a "true" .260, I was thinking about trying to sell the barrel (w/ lug and barrel nut?) separately as I doubted the receiver/bolt/trigger would bring much.

If nothing else, I was tempted to convert the base setup to 300blk (which I already plan on keeping.)

BTW, is there much demand for the Corbon factory loads? (123gr & 139gr Scenars)

 

[223 Gunner]

I have in the past had a hard time selling something in a limited market.
If you really don't need the cash, and you are just looking to switch up your collection/interest, you may have better luck trading.

I've only done a handful of trades, because everyone wants to "win" on a trade, and only a few will actually be "fair", when trading I try to put myself in the other persons shoes as well as my own.

But you may be able to get closer to their value by trading, and if you trade for something a little more common, you may be able to sell that item quicker.

 

[42769vette]

Since the rifle is somewhat of a garage special (old-style Savage 110 receiver/bolt/trigger, basic Bell & Carlson stock, x-thick recoil lug, Shilen match barrel) and not a "true" .260, I was thinking about trying to sell the barrel (w/ lug and barrel nut?) separately as I doubted the receiver/bolt/trigger would bring much.

If nothing else, I was tempted to convert the base setup to 300blk (which I already plan on keeping.)

BTW, is there much demand for the Corbon factory loads? (123gr & 139gr Scenars)

I'm not sure how much demand there would be for the ammo, I've never even price checked factory 260 ammo

 

[solution_zero]

I have in the past had a hard time selling something in a limited market.
If you really don't need the cash, and you are just looking to switch up your collection/interest, you may have better luck trading.

I will agree. I've come out pretty good with trades.

I'd offer the ammo with the gun. Sometimes the buyer wants it, or will buy it from you a little down the road when they have the cash.

 

[Kedric]

I would bundle it with the gun as well, regardless if you are selling or trading it. It gives the person buying the gun some starting ammo if they are just getting into the caliber, and it keeps you from having it stuck on the shelf for years.

 

[steve666]

Sell a firearm!!! HERESY!!! Break out the boiling (gun)oil!!!

 

[BEBOATS]

How to sell

Sounds like you have a lot of ammo. If it were mine I would try and sell half of it or there abouts first. If it sold then bundle the gun and ammo. together and try to sell it. If I got no takers on the ammo. alone I would try and bundle everything together and sell that way. If that doesn't work you will probably be glad in later years that you still have it.

 

[Colt556]

I've never had much luck selling ammo with the gun. A box or two might be ok but if you add more and raise the price ppl think you're overcharging for the gun. I'd try to sell or trade it for ammo I could use. I have some ammo I'm going to try to trade as soon as I get it all sorted.

 

[avboiler11]

Saw you posted the barrel & ammo for sale in another thread...

If that's a 110 long action, converting it to 300BLK is possible but is a PITA that will require a few hoops to be jumped through.

You might post the ammo for sale on 24hourcampfire and LongRangeHunting; it might sell separately. Not bad places to list the barrel (if not entire rifle) & scope you have for sale too..

 

[cwillour]

Saw you posted the barrel & ammo for sale in another thread...

If that's a 110 long action, converting it to 300BLK is possible but is a PITA that will require a few hoops to be jumped through.

You might post the ammo for sale on 24hourcampfire and LongRangeHunting; it might sell separately. Not bad places to list the barrel (if not entire rifle) & scope you have for sale too..

Do you know the hoops? I was not thinking it would be that bad since it is already running a short-action cartridge (it was originally a .308.) I was under the impression that only a could of mag parts and a new bolt face would be needed.

If it is too much work, I may just put it back together as a .308 or let it sit blank until something catches my attention. (Maybe a 22-250?)

Thanks for the advise on the other forums. I may have to give them a shot.

 

[avboiler11]

Many moons ago before Savage introduced the Model 10 short action, they made 110 long actions with a shorter mag well inlet for short-action calibers. Such rifles that were made as 223s had long-action .378 bolt heads.

Since those haven't been made in over a decade, long-action .378 bolt heads are hard to come by. I have one that I used to build my 223AI on a 110 action, but got lucky and traded into it.

So you're left with using a short-action .378 bolt head in your long action. You can do this safely, but you should talk to SharpShooterSupply and get their Extended Firing Pin Nut Stop for using short action bolt heads in long actions. Without it, you are very likely to pierce primers using a short action bolt head in a long action. I think it costs $12.

There's also an issue of magazine feeding; you'll have to rig up a way for your blind magazine to work with the 223-sized case, run it as a single-shot, or convert to a short-action mag box DBM. That was my solution with my 223AI; I run CDI bottom metal and 10rd AICS 223 magazines.

I'd also HIGHLY recommend an extended front bolt baffle which will reduce the length of the bolt throw; with the extended front bolt baffle the bolt throw is only 1/4" longer than a standard short action Savage.

Here's a pic:

 

[cwillour]

Many moons ago before Savage introduced the Model 10 short action, they made 110 long actions with a shorter mag well inlet for short-action calibers. Such rifles that were made as 223s had long-action .378 bolt heads.

Since those haven't been made in over a decade, long-action .378 bolt heads are hard to come by. I have one that I used to build my 223AI on a 110 action, but got lucky and traded into it.

So you're left with using a short-action .378 bolt head in your long action. You can do this safely, but you should talk to SharpShooterSupply and get their Extended Firing Pin Nut Stop for using short action bolt heads in long actions. Without it, you are very likely to pierce primers using a short action bolt head in a long action. I think it costs $12.

There's also an issue of magazine feeding; you'll have to rig up a way for your blind magazine to work with the 223-sized case, run it as a single-shot, or convert to a short-action mag box DBM. That was my solution with my 223AI; I run CDI bottom metal and 10rd AICS 223 magazines.

I'd also HIGHLY recommend an extended front bolt baffle which will reduce the length of the bolt throw; with the extended front bolt baffle the bolt throw is only 1/4" longer than a standard short action Savage.

Here's a pic:

Thanks, I believe you have saved me a great deal of headache. Sounds like I have some more research to do before I pick up the new barrel. I still think I want to go ahead with the project, but at least now I have a few avenues to look into so the build goes smoothly.

In retrospect, I may sell the receiver and parts with the barrel. The good news is that I am not planning on completing the 300 blk until 2013/14, so I have time to get things worked out.

 

[jbell_64]

I'd say it depends how much ammo is in question. If it is a few boxes then just bundle it with the gun. If we are talking about hundreds or thousands of rounds I'd try to sell it by itself.