Mar 8, 2014 4 min read

As most readers know, I am a firearms aficionado. I have never collected knives or shrunken heads, but I always seem to need a gun.

Make that one more gun.

Giving this addiction its due, there are others who are worse off than me. While I seldom miss the shows at Arden, I don’t travel to faraway shows, such as the ones in Morgantown or Fairmont, W.Va.

I know a few collectors who go to every show within 50 miles of home hoping to find a rare and valuable piece at a bargain price.

When I think of gun shows, I start asking myself that, other than old Winchesters, which guns are collectable? Which ones still in production will become a rare treasure to collectors of the future?

While my intention is to ignore Winchesters – almost any older firearm in good condition with Winchester stamped on it is collectable – you must remember for a gun to be valuable, it must be in decent condition.

Pre-Model 64s and 70s are collectable, as are the Model 86s and more modern 88s. It helps a lot if the rifle flopped, which means fewer were sold and thus harder to find.

But what about Remington? Is there a collectable Remington?

There are those who look for the 788 model and put together all chamberings. This was Remington’s low-priced bolt-action rifle, but it also was a very accurate offering. The Model 788 brings a nice value today when compared to other offerings.

While few people would think of Rugers as being a rare collector’s item, that is not true of the Hawkeye single-shot handgun.

When was the last time you laid eyes on one let alone had a chance to buy it?

The Hawkeye was produced in the early 1960s for about a year and is a rarity in any gun shop. It had a western look, but actually functioned as a single shot.

The part that looked like a cylinder was actually a breech block. I believe it was only offered in a .256.

The bolt-action Ruger 77 was hardly a rare gun but it is also sought after in certain configurations. In later years, it had an ordinary bolt handle, but early guns had an odd bolt handle called the flat bolt. The 77s with the flat bolt are collector’s items.

Another rifle that collectors look for is the single-cartridge offering, the Remington classics. Remington released this offering every year between 1982 and 2005 in a different chambering. The first was the 7mm, while the last was the .308.

While Savage has made very few collectables, there are a few chamberings, such as the 99 in a 22 high-power, that gun people look for. A clean rifle in this chambering will bring a premium price.

Come to think of it, a 99 in the 250 Savage also will bring a good price despite its high volume.

My first bolt-action deer rifle was a Remington 725 in the .270. Offered in 1958 until the 700 hit the market, the 725 is rare, and many collectors don’t know or haven’t even seen one.

I parted with mine at some point and was looking for another for at least 20 years until I found one last summer at a shop in Bridgeville owned by the makers of Shaw barrels.

The 725 was nothing but a dressed up 721 with a hinged floor plate, 3-position safety and nice checkering. There were about 15,000 made. I consider the 725 to be the finest offering as a standard rifle that Remington ever cataloged.

Which of today’s guns will become collectable?

If I could answer that question, I would become very wealthy.

Perhaps it will be Ruger No. 1, or a gaudy rifle turned out by Weatherby.

Whatever it is, there are a couple of factors that enter the picture. In most instances, the rifle that jumps in value is one that didn’t sell very well. This is why they are scarce.

The second, and most important factor, is that they must be in good condition. It’s all about the condition.

George H. Block writes a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.