USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- I just received my Forty-First Edition of the Blue Book of Gun Values. Some reviews that I write, I feel inadequate. You want to write an honest thorough review and do right by the reader and for the person whose product you are reviewing but on this review? Wow! How do I even begin doing a fair Book Review on a book that is 2,512 pages long in a short book review? So at best, this review will be written from 30,000 ft. high!
Forty-First Edition Blue Book Of Gun Values
Periodically we all need to sell a gun, buy one, or trade one. So how do you know how much to pay? How much to charge? Or maybe a friend’s dad died and he inherited his guns and wants to sell them. Your friend knows that you hunt so they ask you what they are worth? Or maybe someone has some guns for sell that you don’t really care about but…. If they’re super cheap why not?
This is the 41st Edition and unfortunately, the legendary publisher S.P. Fjestad died in 2019 so the book is dedicated to him. The book starts off with a short dedication to him. As with all famous people that you do a background check up on, they put out an extraordinary amount of effort to achieve their goals. We always see people in the height of their glory and enviously think that they have always had it easy and been on top. Usually, it all boils down to a lot of hard work in the years before behind the scenes.
I noticed that he was born in Fergus Falls, MN which is where I shot a huge buck this past season so I felt a unique tie to him due to that link.
The values in the Forty-First Edition Blue Book of Gun Values are based on national retail averages. They are not wholesale prices. So, prices in your exact locale may vary due to local availability, supply in that exact shop, etc. And if you’re trying to sell, they may offer you 20-50% less according to how much profit they expect to make.
Manufacturers are listed in alphabetical order. And for each manufacturer, their firearms are listed with their pistols first, then rifles and then their shotguns. A big part of determining the value of a gun is its condition. So, they have the price associated with the firearm if it is in 100, 98, 95, 90, 80, 70 or 60% condition listed along the NRA standards.
The grading is where the arguments begin between buyers and sellers. To help minimize these battles the book has 80 pages dedicated to teaching you how to properly grade the condition of your gun by providing detailed high res color images and captions. This is the best set-up that I have seen.
At the front, there are also a few pages dedicated to teaching you the anatomy of a gun and a Glossary to teach you common gun lingo. There is a Trademark Index at the back that provides contact info for the manufacturers.
At the beginning of each listing, it gives a brief history on the manufacturer. I find this interesting. They then list out their offerings and the values as described above.
The Blue Book of Gun Values includes nearly 1,700 manufacturers and nearly 30,000 gun model descriptions.
With more than 1.8 million books in circulation, it provides the most comprehensive firearms information/pricing on the market. It is the go-to book for determining gun values for gun buyers, sellers, and collectors.
If you are a gun lover then you’re going to love this book. I discover something different in it every time that I open it. I think every hunting cabin and hunting club ought to have one laying on the coffee table.
So grab a latte’ kick back and get ready for some fun kicked back evenings reading your new book. The MSRP is $59.95.
About Tom Claycomb
Tom Claycomb has been an avid hunter/fisherman throughout his life as well as an outdoor writer with outdoor columns in the magazine Hunt Alaska, Bass Pro Shops, Bowhunter.net, and freelances for numerous magazines and newspapers. “To properly skin your animal, you will need a sharp knife. I have an e-article on Amazon Kindle titled Knife Sharpening #ad for $.99 if you’re having trouble.”