prices then and now

[azmntman]

Technology sets prices. I recall a school assignment wayyy back when. We were to contact "an elderly" person and ask what was the greatest invention in their life time. I asked grampa, being pretty sure it would be flight, landing on the moon etc. Nope. "making ice in the summer time" was what he said. I asked about the flight, space travel etc and he said he knew man would soon fly but making ice in the summer time never even crossed is mind.

Makes sense :hmm: imagine plowing 100 acres with a hand plow and a mule (and a 2x4 to encourage the mule) and having your wife arrive with a nice glass of luke warm to hot water :idunno: :barf:

I remember when micro waves came out (and computers), they were huge and a micro wave in the kitchen meant you lived the life of the Trump/"Rockerfella" sort. Now they can be had new for $39.99 and every dorm in America has one. :idunno:

 

[Mickc01]

Y'all might find this interesting. 1975.

 

[Danny Ross]

Supply and demand influences prices more than anything else. Before the Unmentionables became the hot item and legal to hunt with, Traditional rifles ruled, as a whole "I feel" were less expensive overal, compared to todays prices. There was more competition, more buyers, allowing the prices to stay lower. If you look at the prices of the Unmentionalbes now, especially as they became legal to hunt with, as a whole, really haven't increased in price at the same rate. There is now more competition for them, higher demand for these rifles, allowing their cost to stay lower now. The cost of Traditional rifles have increased in price at a higher rate over the same time period, less competition, less demand. About 15 years ago I purchased my Left Hand Lyman GPR Flintlock for around $360 OTD, that was almost twice the price of a high end Unmentionable at that time. I had paid about $150 less, for my Left Hand Renegade 5 years before that, and that was about when the Unmentionables started. Now the same Lyman Left Handed Flintlock rifle is anywhere from $620-$680. I don't know of any Unmentionable that comes close to that price. Yeah I know cost of everything thing has gone up but not at that rate. There is less demand for Sidelocks now, creating the situation where their overal cost is higher.

Now this is all based for factory rifles. Custom guns, I imagine are comparitive in price, adjusting for the cost of inflation for pieces parts and labor, over the years. DANNY

 

[William O.]

Yep, got me agin. It wernt no group a seeking sumpin in a cemetery, like it reads thar. I keep closin at dar funktion off, but she's like an old girl friend. She just gotta keep making things tough on a guy. lol (readin better when I git 'er shut down.)

LOL! :rotf:

 

[F.G. Ford]

If only I could buy a new car now for a few dollars over the price of a refrigerator.[/quote]
You can! It's called a Lada ( Russian )
They both drive the same.
Fred

 

[ohio ramrod]

Technology sets prices. I recall a school assignment wayyy back when. We were to contact "an elderly" person and ask what was the greatest invention in their life time. I asked grampa, being pretty sure it would be flight, landing on the moon etc. Nope. "making ice in the summer time" was what he said. I asked about the flight, space travel etc and he said he knew man would soon fly but making ice in the summer time never even crossed is mind.

Makes sense :hmm: imagine plowing 100 acres with a hand plow and a mule (and a 2x4 to encourage the mule) and having your wife arrive with a nice glass of luke warm to hot water :idunno: :barf:

I remember when micro waves came out (and computers), they were huge and a micro wave in the kitchen meant you lived the life of the Trump/"Rockerfella" sort. Now they can be had new for $39.99 and every dorm in America has one. :idunno:

You must be referring to the women's dorms. My youngest boy said that the men's dorms all had george forman grills, the women's dorms the micro waves. :idunno: :idunno:

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I had an old 1939 Popular Science that had a picture of a guy holding a sandwich on a plate between two giant horn shaped radio tubes and the caption said Scientists discover a way to heat their lunch with radio waves. Of course the guy was also cooking his hand. I remember a demonstration of a microwave at a fair in the 1950's. The lady made a cup cake in a minute and no one in the crowd would try it for fear it was radioactive. As a 4 yr old, I wanted that cup cake so bad.

 

[30coupe]

Purchased my TC hawken kit at Woolco in Landsdale PA for $99.99 in January 1973. A pound of Goex at Ron Shirk's Shooter Supply was $2.40. It is hard to say what that would be in today's dollars. Minimum wage was around $2.40

I don't know about PA, but in Iowa minimum wage was $1.40 in 1973. I started my first full time job at a crane and excavator factory in 1972, and made the princely sum of $3.19 an hour. It seemed like I had a lot more "discretionary" (aka gun buying) funds back then.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

I spent a whole $79.95 for my TC Hawken .50 cal, in a kit, back in the 70’s.

 

[Zonie]

I spent a whole $79.95 for my TC Hawken .50 cal, in a kit, back in the 70’s.

You must have found a really good deal on a used TC Hawken.
In 1972, a TC Hawken was selling new for $175 percussion or $195 for a flintlock. (BLACK POWDER GUN DIGEST. © 1972

I was raising my two sons and supporting my wife back then and was earning about $85 a week.
There was no way I could afford a TC Hawken and even the CVA Frontier was stretching my budget back then.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Nope, the kit was brand new at that price. My younger brother and I each bought one. His is still new in the box... He heard the calls of the Huey, Kiowa, Cobra and Blackhawk.

A few years later, I found two CVA Mountain Rifle .45 cal kits. at a local sporting goods store. I kept my eyes on those kits for a couple of months. When they didn’t sell, I spoke to the store owner and made him an offer for both kits. I walked out of the store with both for $89.95 each. I gave one to my childhood friend. I thought I paid too much when I compared them to the TC Hawken.

 

[seaguy]

Supply and demand used to dictate prices. Nowadays the greed factor plays a significate roll as well.

 

[rickystl]

I don't know where to find this now, but a guy sent me an email with the price of a base Ford F150 Pickup in 2000 and 2018. Talk about SHOCK !!!
From 1962 to 1964 (12-14 years old) I delivered the Chicago Tribune Newspaper (not a small papaer) on weekends for $35.00 a month LOL But that was enough to keep me in powder, lead, flints, etc. The lowest price I can recall for the old Dupont black powder was $1.50 a pound. Think that was mid-late 1960's. Bob Mandell, the ex-antique arms editor for Guns Magazine back ten had a store full of antique guns, swords, etc. I met Bob a few years ago while at the Antique Arms Show in Baltimore. He told me that him and his Partner started the whole store, inventory and all in the early 1960's for $800.00

Rick

 

[kmadkins]

My nephew and I bought two CVA kits from Service Merchandise in the late 1980’s for $159.99. Both had two barrels, one 50 and one 54. Neither of us has had a problem with our rifles. Mine went thru a house fire last year. I dug it out and scraped the rust off the barrel, polished the brass and lock. Barrel had to be rebrowned. I got most the black off of stock and tru-oiled it. A month ago several youngsters learned to shoot with it at a family rondevous.

 

[pajeepman]

Purchased my TC hawken kit at Woolco in Landsdale PA for $99.99 in January 1973. A pound of Goex at Ron Shirk's Shooter Supply was $2.40. It is hard to say what that would be in today's dollars. Minimum wage was around $2.40

That store is not there anymore. I was born in Lansdale in 1973. Are you still in the area. I bought my used Investarm(Cabella's) .54 Hawken flintlock 5 years ago with a few pounds of powder, and everything to shoot and clean it for $275.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I actually ran the sporting goods dept of Woolworth at the mall at 202 and the turnpike. But couldn't get as good of a deal at my own store as at the Woolco. Moved to Virginia and all around since then. Now on the banks of the Susquehanna.

 

[SDSmlf]

Bought a TC Hawken 54 caliber cap lock kit for $99 in late 1970s from a local shop. Not sure if that was the current price or because the owners were friends of the old man who had recently passed. Many deer fell to that gun. It still sits in the safe and is fired every year or so. I remember finishing it in our first apartment after getting married. I know I watch the US Omlimpic Hockey Team beat the Russians, or should I say USSR team, as I applied coats of TruOil to the stock.

 

[rickystl]

In 1965 (15 years old) I bought an original 3rd Model Brown Bess dated 1805 for $125.00 Had it in lay-away for 6 months to pay it off. The only issue was the mainspring and hammer screw were incorrect. Sent the lock to Dixie Gun works and they installed the correct, original parts for less than $20.00. And one of their scissors type moulds for about $8.50. Shot that musket for many years. Wish I had it back.

Rick

 

[Jock Ellis]

This is an awesome thread. In 1963, I got some late 1933 Popular Science magazines from my late great grandfather’s home and on the front page was a Dodge ad touting 30,000 miles between valve jobs. Young people today - unless they are gearheads - have never heard of valve jobs.
Also in 1963, at age 15, I won for $60 what was described in the auction catalog, as a Kentucky squirrel rifle of about .36 cal. The caplock doesn’t perfectly fit the area for it so I imagine it began life as a flintlock. Very accurate at a ground to tree branches (gttb) distance. Had it rebored and re-rifled to .375. Haven’t shot it in over 30 years and want to UT the barrel and get it going again. I’m hoping the NDT firm where I work will get one of those guns which tells the makeup of the metal so I’ll know more about this probably 200 year old gun.

 

[Col. Batguano]

That's the factory stuff. With the advent of the internet and forums like this one, I'm sure there are a lot more custom builders out there now too. I'd be curious to know how custom pieces have been affected relative to the factory stuff. It seems that consumer tastes toward the finer things with a finite supply (like single malt scotch for instance) has outstripped the inflationary numbers for that which is more easily available.