Have you ever noticed how any time there’s a gathering of outdoorsmen, an argument always breaks out? The B.S. level rises with each successive opinion, and pretty soon, things get heated. It happens all the time at Sporting Classics.
The problem is, we’ve got so many “experts” hanging around our Columbia, South Carolina office that the decibel level quickly goes out the roof and the question never finds a resolution. If you never thought about it, I’ll remove any doubt: nobody can argue with more conviction than an “expert.”
We got into one of those “discussions” last week and somehow, I got elected to resolve the question: What is the most expensive sporting firearm ever sold? I guess I got tabbed because my obsession with best-quality firearms has lasted well over 70 years, and they figured that I’d be as good as anyone to find an answer to the question.
The problem with this particular question is that the answer isn’t fixed. It’s a moving target. For a lot of reasons. Foremost is that there are many makers of fine guns that normally thrive in a price range that can only be called “stratospheric.” Since these guns are all “built to order,” the price can go as high as you want to make it.
I once asked a friend who ran one of these companies about any limits to what their company could create. Her answer? “If you can imagine it, we can build it.”
All the makers of “best quality” shotguns and rifles sell their creations in a range from $100,000 to $250,000. And all of them can build to whatever price your whimsey dictates. If you add enough gold, platinum and diamonds, God only knows what you might create. I’ve personally seen sporting guns whose asking price was twice that lofty figure.
Peter Hofer, the Austrian maker of high-art guns, and who is notoriously loath to discuss the prices of his creations, is reported to have received more than $1 million for some of them. None of that answers the question, but it illustrates that the answer is subject to change at any time.
The other reason is that the price of any gun depends largely on how badly somebody with deep pockets wants it. A gun that sells for a half-million dollars today might bring a whole million tomorrow.
If you’ll grant me one more caveat, there are a lot of contenders out there that never see the open market; therefore, nobody ever knows what they sold for. Because of that, today’s most expensive sporting gun might be “old news” by tomorrow.
Against that backdrop, I’ll tell you what I found. A little time on the internet revealed that many of the most expensive guns are on the list because of provenance. Teddy Roosevelt’s Fox “F grade” double that he carried to Africa in 1909, got the hammer for $862,500 in 2010.
A Winchester Model 1886 (cal. 45/70, serial #1) broke the million-dollar mark at $1.26 million. It was originally presented to Henry Ware Lawton, the medal of honor winner who captured Geronimo.
My best guess for the overall champ would be any one of the three Parker “Invincibles” that are in the museum of the National Rifle Association. They’re believed to be the only ones of that grade that Parker ever made. Fancier than even the magnificent A1 Special, the Invincible was the most expensive gun ever created by Parker Bros. I can remember when the very existence of the Invincible grade Parker was regarded as a myth. Until one surfaced. And then another and another.
After years of trying, the three were brought together by Robert Peterson of Peterson Publishing fame. After Peterson passed away, the trio became a part of the NRA museum collection. Since the sales were private, it’s impossible to say with any authority how much they cost, but since the trio is reportedly insured for 5.1 million, I’d guess that’s in the ballpark. That comes to about $1.7 million for any of the three.
And now you know. At least for today. If you hear of any sporting guns that sold for a higher price, I’d love to hear about it, too. The guys around the office will all be impressed!