Private Buyers at Dallas Gun Buyback Find Great Deals on Firearms

Pictured below are a dozen of the firearms purchased by private buyers at the Dallas event on October 21, 2023.

Private buyers at the Dallas gun turn-in event, also known by the Orwellian term “buyback,” were able to purchase numerous firearms at bargain prices. The gift cards ran out in the first hour, and the first ten vehicles in line. Before then, prices tended to be a bit higher than the value of gift cards offered. After the cards ran out, prices tended to drop. There were about a dozen private buyers at the event. Some purchased items other than guns. One person purchased an 870 shotgun barrel. Another hauled off several hundred rounds of ammunition for very little or nothing.  It appeared to this correspondent the private purchasers all purchased more than one firearm. One purchased at least a dozen firearms.

One of the best deals of the event was the purchase of a minty pre-ban Colt SP-1 (AR-15). In the picture, it does not have a magazine. This correspondent has learned a magazine came with it. The magazine was a classic 20-round mag loaded with 5.56 period ammunition stamped 1982.

Another great deal was this S&W classic and minty-looking model 36. Handguns predominated, as only $100 worth of gift cards were offered for handguns.

Below is a WWII-era Enfield revolver in .38/200 (same case as .38 S&W) not .38 Special. The three other pistols were ignored. The Enfield was purchased for $60, because the owner said it was jammed and could not be unloaded. As this correspondent is familiar with the type, he was able to unload it for the purchaser. It was very stiff with over-applications of oil without cleaning.

This private buyer was happy with his Browning-designed pump shotgun. The Model 520 Stevens was also made as the Ranger Model 30 for Sears, the Western Field Model 30 for Wards, the Riverside Arms Model 520 and the  J.C. Higgins 102.25. They are all the same design. The shotgun has an interesting takedown mechanism. The level of machining would cost thousands today. Some parts are getting difficult to find.  The Stevens 620 has a slightly different profile, but is the same internally.

The Marlin Model 60 below is the desirable variant with the longer barrel and magazine to match. The magazine holds 18 rounds. This version of the model 60 was defined as an “assault weapon” in New Jersey for several years.

Enfield no. 4 MK I rifles with complete original wood are getting hard to come by. The improvised sling is not original.

This Taurus PT 92 AFS-D variant did not have a magazine. The price was $100.  Serial numbers are blotted out for privacy.

High Standard derringers are no longer produced. They have always had a following and command good prices today.

The classic Colt revolver is in the less common .32-20 caliber. It is missing the end cap for the ejector rod and has had the barrel cut down and a non-standard sight installed.

After all the cards were handed out and the event closed down, this near-new Hi-Point 9mm came in. It was purchased for $20. In this correspondent’s experience, they may be clunky, but they work.

The last gun brought in and purchased, as far as this correspondent knows, was this Browning .380 model 10/71. The large sights and thumb rest were added to the originally sleek design to allow for importation after the 1968 Gun Control Act.

This sample is far from complete. It gives an idea of what was available at the Dallas gun turn-in event on October 21, 2023.

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.