What Is This Worth?

[Andrew62]

My buddy has offered to sell me his Melvin Forbes, .375 H&H rifle. Any ideas what this gun is worth? I know it’s pre-84 and the muzzle break would have been added later, no way Melvin would have put that on there! Lol

 

[Andrew62]

My buddy has offered to sell me his Melvin Forbes, .375 H&H rifle. Any ideas what this gun is worth? I know it’s pre-84 and the muzzle break would have been added later, no way Melvin would have put that on there! Lol

 

[Red Leg]

Probably not what you want to hear, but this is not exactly an Ultra Light Arms.

This is a .375 built on a M17 action. The stock is not checkered and the rifle is not equipped with open sights. The pad looks like it was put on and ground by an amature. I also would not trust those bases. Except for the Forbes name, a rifle like this might have an optimistic price tag of $450 at a gun show. You will have to decide how much to value the name, but it won't change the rifle.

 

[Tgood1]

Melvin is really a great guy. Maybe call him and get his opinion

 

[mdwest]

Probably not what you want to hear, but this is not exactly an Ultra Light Arms.

This is a .375 built on a M17 action. The stock is not checkered and the rifle is not equipped with open sights. The pad looks like it was put on and ground by an amature. I also would not trust those bases. Except for the Forbes name, a rifle like this might have an optimistic price tag of $450 at a gun show. You will have to decide how much to value the name, but it won't change the rifle.

Completely agree...

My best guess is thats probably an early Forbes built barreled action.. that someone decided to "bubba" somewhere along the way..

The upside is it could be a great project rifle for someone.. I picked up an M17 300HH at a gunshow that was in a similar state a few years ago.. It cost me about $500 to get the rifle "right" (refinish the stock, re-blue, cut the stock and add a good recoil pad, etc)... throw away the cheap rings, bases, and optic, and replace with decent rings and bases.. but now its one of the nicest and best shooting rifles in the safe..

The downside (for the seller) is I paid $300 for the rifle including tax and the tics fee... (I basically put 3x $100 bills on the table and made a "take it or leave it" offer.. the seller had been sitting on it for a very long time (not a lot of 300HH fans in TX I suppose) and was happy to take the offer....)

 

[mdwest]

I should have added in my previous post...

I'd buy that rifle in a NY minute if the price is right (I enjoy project rifles).. I think the M17 action is a great starting point for a .375 H&H, or a .404 Jeff, etc.. and it looks like the bones are good on that particular piece...

But.. the "right price" for me.. is probably pretty close to what @Red Leg quoted.. or maybe even a little lower.. I'd probably start the negotiation at about $300 knowing that I've got another $300-$500 to invest as well as a few months of my time between doing some of the work myself and handing off some of it to my local gunsmith.. and I probably wouldnt go over $400-$450 at the very top end...

At the end of the day if youre paying $450 and then investing another $500 in the rifle to get it "right" youre now in the same price range for a very slightly used Winchester 70 classic in .375 H&H or a Ruger M77 in .375 Ruger, etc.. with 1/10th the hassle and time associated with having a field ready rifle to take to the range or a buffalo hunt..

 

[Ike85123]

A cheap rifle is great if your on a farm setting. Ive had several old junk rifles that was good to bang around in my rifle rack in my old pick up. I never had to worry about damage.
I think everyone needs a rifle that can be scarificed without worry. When I go mudding I have a beat up 308 that I take. Probably isnt worth 200 bucks. But it shoots and isnt a stress to take. I know its gonna get more scratches ( arizona pinstripe ) from the bushes. No worries though!

 

[Andrew62]

A cheap rifle is great if your on a farm setting. Ive had several old junk rifles that was good to bang around in my rifle rack in my old pick up. I never had to worry about damage.
I think everyone needs a rifle that can be scarificed without worry. When I go mudding I have a beat up 308 that I take. Probably isnt worth 200 bucks. But it shoots and isnt a stress to take. I know its gonna get more scratches ( arizona pinstripe ) from the bushes. No worries though!

It's funny you say that, because just last week I was telling my son that when I head out turkey hunting, I always seem to grab my 12 gauge, Ithaca, single shot, lever action shotgun. I paid 60.00 for it 35 years ago, it's probably still worth only 60.00, maybe less, but I just love that gun. I don't have to worry with scratching it or dropping it!!