Rifle and Scope

Question
Hello Doug
Hoping you can help me out a little.  My husband recently passed away.  He was in the Air Force, and when we were stationed in Germany in the early 60's, he purchased a Weatherby 300 Mag, serial no. 39387.  It is a beautiful looking gun.  He also had a gunsmith mount Leupold scope on it, no info on that.  I know you say you can't value guns, but perhaps you have a little info on this or could redirect my question to someone else.  Any answer would be appreciated.  I just need to know how valuable this is, and what I should do with it.  Thank you so very much.   Marcia

Answer
Marcia,

You are fortunate to have a very nice rifle.  Based on the timeframe it was purchased, I suspect you have a Mark V Deluxe model.  You should be able to verify that by looking on the barrel just above the receiver (forward of the bolt area).  It should show the model somewhere around there.  

In .300 Magnum, without the scope, your gun's value could range from $1650 in like new condition down to about $775 in 90% condition.  The grading of the gun is based on things like the condition of the furniture (the stock and fore-end), the condition of the finish (any fading, corrosion, pitting, etc.) and the condition of the bore (clean with no wear or corrosion).  

Unfortunately without detailed photos or being able to personally examine the gun it is very hard to provide a precise value.  If the finish and furniture are in excellent condition and the gun was cleaned after firing, the bore is probably fine.  You could probably expect more like $1100 to $1300 for the gun without the scope.

Depending on what sort of Leupold scope you have (again, there is probably a model number on it somewhere), you can add probably $250 to $350 for the scope assuming it is a pretty high quality one.  I suspect that it is as the Weatherby is NOT an inexpensive rifle.  I don't see your husband spending the money on a high quality rifle and then putting a cheap scope on it.

In terms of what you should do with it, that is a pretty tough question.  I don't know if you have a son or grandson that is into hunting or not.  If you do, I know they would be thrilled to have a rifle of this quality.  If not, you might want to consider a private party sale.  If you simply take it to a gun store or auction, you will likely get about half of what it is actually worth.  If you have a friend that is a knowledgeable hunter or knows a little about guns, they may be able to help you list the gun on a site like www.gunbroker.com

Gunbroker is kind of an eBay for firearms.  You can list the gun with a description, set a minimum price, place photos, etc.  If you sell it, you can use a local gun store to do an "FFL Transfer" to the new owner.  Essentially they will charge a small fee to send the rifle to a gun store located near any buyer so that the firearm can be legally transferred.  You can't just pack it up and UPS it to the new buyer as that would violate several federal laws.  If you find a local buyer, you can legally do a 'face to face' transfer with only a simple bill of sale.

Sorry to hear of your husband's passing...my best wishes to you.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop me a follow up note.

Best regards,

Doug