I have just put a new-in-box Remington military issue .22 target rifle on lay-away at a local shop that specializes in collectible military rifles.
The gun has been sitting on the rack for months on consignment at a price that I thought seemed to be very high for any .22 caliber rifle. However, every time I visited the place, I'd pick it up and admire it. I wasn't aware that it is supposedly new-unfired until after I had gotten so obsessed with the thing that I decided I'd just better buy it before someone else did.
Consistent with new-in-box, there isn't a scratch on the stock, no wear at all on the bluing, including the parts of the bolt that slide within the reciever, so I don't doubt the gun is probably new. After I told the shop owner I wanted to buy it, he pulled the original box out, and showed me the DCM certificate that accompanied the rifle, so I also have no reason to doubt that this is indeed a military issue rif.e. It is equipped with Williams reciever peep sight, and globe front sight, and has a box of inserts for the front sight included.
The consigner is the original purchaser of the gun.
This is supposedly one of 6000 that were produced. I don't know if it was for training purposes or for competition.
My original intent was to take the thing out to my shooting range and enjoy it; I really love accurate .22 rifles, and have never owned a true target rifle before. However, after a small amount of contemplation, I've decided it's best not to shoot the thing until I know more about these US issue model 52 rifles. If I can get another that's already been fired for less money than I'm paying for this one, I'd happily pass it on to a collector who desires one in unfired condition.
So, having said all that, I probably don't need to put my question down here, but will anyway.
Can anyone tell me how collectible these things are? What are the chances of my finding one that's been used that won't drive everyon nuts if I take it out and shoot it? I don't like having rifles that I can't shoot, but I am also aware that many people desire the cachet of "new-unfired", and do not wish to degrade the value of this one if these are highly sought after.
Can anyone out there help me with this dilemma? I will probably put the rifle on ebay with an absurdly high reserve and see what happens before I decide to put a round in the chamber, but if I fail to sell it that way, and get no feedback on its collectible value here, I will assume that it's not that important a piece, and am going to take it out in the woods and puncture some tin cans with it.
Military issue Model 52(?) target rifle?
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carlo
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carlo
Folks, I assume no one knowledgable has seen my question yet. I have hopes that a Remington collector will yet materialize who can advise me.
I was mistaken about the model designation, this is a Model 541X target rifle. I checked the DCM website, and determined that they did at one time have these available, but are sold out. They have apparently been unavailable for some time, but left the notice that they are out of stock on the website, possibly because of frequent requests for these rifles.
I'm looking forward to picking mine up, but like I said, I won't shoot it until I have offered it on ebay at a reserve that's substantially higher than what I'm paying for the rifle, or if I hear from someone here that the rifle is too valuable in unfired condition to be using it. I do believe that these things should be used for what they were built for rather than hidden away, but I am willilng to defer to an expert on this.
The lack of activity on this forum concerns me a little, is there a better place to be asking these sort of questions, or is this just the way it is with specialty niche collector's forums?
Somebody say something, I know people are visiting here occasionally.
I was mistaken about the model designation, this is a Model 541X target rifle. I checked the DCM website, and determined that they did at one time have these available, but are sold out. They have apparently been unavailable for some time, but left the notice that they are out of stock on the website, possibly because of frequent requests for these rifles.
I'm looking forward to picking mine up, but like I said, I won't shoot it until I have offered it on ebay at a reserve that's substantially higher than what I'm paying for the rifle, or if I hear from someone here that the rifle is too valuable in unfired condition to be using it. I do believe that these things should be used for what they were built for rather than hidden away, but I am willilng to defer to an expert on this.
The lack of activity on this forum concerns me a little, is there a better place to be asking these sort of questions, or is this just the way it is with specialty niche collector's forums?
Somebody say something, I know people are visiting here occasionally.
M/541-X
Check the other post 98 Q & As. There's a lot of activity. I don't know how I missed your inquiry of Jan 18. Maybe it was the Model 52 heading.
Anyway, the 541-X is collectable NIB. You said the owner came in and oiled it. All of the the 541-Xs I have seen were shrink wrapped in aluminum foil from the factory, so my guess is that it has been unwtrapped and probably fired. I doubt that the unwrapping will hurt the value much if any.
In my opinion the 541-X is a good target rifle. I am not fond of the Williams rear sight. I bought one with the sight broken before the box was opened. The stock is not a big plus either. The finish is a bit rough. But.. That being said, I do like the rifle.
The Blue Book shows a 100% 541-X at $550.00. The prices have varied a lot over the last few years. The model was virtually unheard of outside of shooting clubs until around 7 years ago or so. They intially brought up to $1,000. The resale prices dropped significantly to around $450 when they were available through the DCM. Now that those are no longer available, the prices have started to go back up a little. The value estimates I have listed are all for NIB rifles.
Hope this helps.
John Gyde
Anyway, the 541-X is collectable NIB. You said the owner came in and oiled it. All of the the 541-Xs I have seen were shrink wrapped in aluminum foil from the factory, so my guess is that it has been unwtrapped and probably fired. I doubt that the unwrapping will hurt the value much if any.
In my opinion the 541-X is a good target rifle. I am not fond of the Williams rear sight. I bought one with the sight broken before the box was opened. The stock is not a big plus either. The finish is a bit rough. But.. That being said, I do like the rifle.
The Blue Book shows a 100% 541-X at $550.00. The prices have varied a lot over the last few years. The model was virtually unheard of outside of shooting clubs until around 7 years ago or so. They intially brought up to $1,000. The resale prices dropped significantly to around $450 when they were available through the DCM. Now that those are no longer available, the prices have started to go back up a little. The value estimates I have listed are all for NIB rifles.
Hope this helps.
John Gyde