Time to say good bye

[GreyFox]

Hi Guys
Talking to my misses last night about the old days, I'm 64, and mentioned about my air guns I had in the sixties and seventies. She was interested in them and I rooted about and found them.
A Webley premier 22 pistol, a BSA Meteor rifle and a Healthways BB gun.
She was impressed, weighty old beasts. She also asked what I was going to do with them.
I had not thought about that, they have been sitting on my wardrobe for over 40 years.
So last night I searched the web and found you guys. Never knew this but my Webley has an F stamp and my BSA is a Mk1.
Is there a market for these items? I still have a slightly dented Milbro Caledonian .22 waisted slugs tin with pretty much a full set of slugs.
I live in a flat and will never fire these again.

[deejayuu]

If you put photos up you will get dependable estimated values from members.
Better still find a club/range and keep them

[AC99]

Don't do anything too hasty as you may,in due course, regret selling them. Find a local club or somewhere safe and legal to shoot them and nostalgia may kick in and this may well be the basis for starting the "collecting bug". It is never too late!

[Airsporterman]

My advice is don't sell them - the money will go and you will have nothing to show for it, you have owned these for so long - how can you part with them? They owe you nothing, my advice is to keep them - you will only regret it if you let them go!

just my opinion.

Airsporterman

[Powderfinger]

As the wise men have said above: Keep them. Your guns are an important part of your life-story. Any money you get for them will soon be spent on the dreary everyday things of life but good quality guns are delightful heirlooms that will last forever. Join a local club and start shooting again. Age is no barrier. There's people in clubs in their nineties who are still shooting.

[Fronteria]

Air gun shooting in fact all rifle and pistol shooting sports are one of the few sports you can participate on level terms in many of the disciplines, so why sell them how about joining a club and using them!

[webman]

I can only add to what has already been said. Even if you don't use the guns, they are part of your life story. I'm 66 and still buying guns! I don't think it's a good idea to start parting with your past. Before you know it, you will start thinking you are old. I always work on the principle that old people are at least 15 years older than I am.

[KeithW]

Come along and shoot at one of the clubs in the area - give it a try at least before you pack it in

[KeithW]

Come along and shoot at one of the clubs in the area - give it a try at least before you pack it in. You are only half an hour or so's drive from Cambridge HFT at Shepreth

[davymole]

as everyone has said dont sell them I had to finish working due to ill health problems I think without returning to what most of us did in the sixties what with no play stations played in the woods and as boys we wanted an air gun or rifle so try again go one of your local clubs or indoor ranges both of you if the wife shows an interest,there is a market for the meteors earllier the better but photos needed as the webley <f> if this like on the German rifles was a lower power setting I dont know ,but give it a go its great in retirement but dont let it run away I started with one and in four years I can count ten dont tell the wife

[ThisCharming]

Sorry but Mr Greyfox did not answer what to do with his guns, he asked for price/valuation.

Cheers!

[Hsing-ee]

Take some well-lit nice photos of them and Garvin and I.J. and Gareth can price them up for you.

If you want to see an inflated price then do a search on gunstar.com - but be wary of selling on there, probably best face to face only and count the cash before handing over the goods!

The photos will be a nice momento for you as well if you are done shooting, no point in cluttering up the flat with ironmongery, even nice bits like a Premier!

The Premier is the one that should make the most money, I think they go from £60 to well over £100. The Meteor Mk 1 is a great little rifle but there are alot of them around, so from £40 to about £100 if it is in top trim. I have no idea what the Heathways BB gun should make, but judging by the prices in the USA (assuming it is the Plainsman, looks like a little .22 automatic) it might be worth £40 to £80. If it is the SAA Healthways that looks like a Colt Peacemaker it is worth £200 or more.. but its not likely to be one of them.

These are just guestimates rather than accurate figures. Thing is, the Premier and the Meteor are great shooters and the Plainsman is an interesting item for a collector or a nostalgia buff, so they are definitely worth selling on rather than scrapping or giving them to the police for destruction. You should get at least £150 for the three of them, and that will buy a couple of nice dinners you for and the Mrs!

[gingernut]

I avoid talking to my wife about my airguns

[GreyFox]

Thanks for the information guys. Need to downsize. Time is not on our side. I know most of you would keep them, but if I made enough to take my misses out for a meal, that would add to the satisfaction I had from them when I was young.
I attach some photos. Let me know what you think
Oh Oh, how do you attach photos?

[Aimstraight]

Firstly welcome to BBS, you certainly made a impact with your very first post!

The Premier would be nice to keep as it takes up hardly any space, is highly portable (you might have a plink and want to use it again), and is a fine example of British craftsmanship. An F on the trigger guard/lower frame suggests it is a Mark 1 Premier - a highly desireable model. On the other hand moving it on after being unused for so long, might give satisfaction knowing that it goes to someone that will use/enjoy it the second time around.

Whatever you decide you will find lots of helpful discussion on the BBS forum (or via private messages), from DIY safe targets for indoor practice to sales valuations and how to advertise.