Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Savage Collectors Savage Sporter 32-20 Value?

Buddy told me he has a Savage Sporter in 32-30 that he'd like to part with for $300. My understanding is that a Sporter in 32-20 is a 23C, correct? According to him, the rifle is in "good condition for it's age" (which tells me little-to-nothing), has most of its bluing, a receiver mounted peep sight--so the wood was notched--, and the magazine. Excluding the COIVD inflated prices, what do these go for in poor/average/good condition? I tried looking into it the current market value, but I'm not seeing much out there to reference and his Blue Book doesn't have the Sporter listed.


Also, how difficult is it to get brass? I searched many of the online retailers, but they are all out. However, I don't know if that is because it's an unpopular cartridge that only gets limited batch runs every so often, or if everyone is out of stock due to COVID?


Thanks for any help and insight,
Nick

Wish I could get my hands on it....

me three!
OP if you do get it, and can't find brass pm me. i have a small amount left over from my 1873 win. maybe a box of them +/_

I have about 20 pieces of brass if you want it also.

Joe

Ammunition and reloading shortages has nothing to do with covid.
Come on man !

Fair enough. For some reason that’s just what him and I have been calling these inflated and price-gouging figures we’ve been seeing—probably because around the same time the surge of demand was hitting our LGS, COVID was also hitting us, and walla, the misrepresentative name stuck.

Hope you get the rifle, would like to have one myself. Had one in 22 Hornet (23 ??).was drilled and tapped with a Weaver mount.Shoulda kept it .

I have a hornet, I think it's a 23D.

I always wanted one, but have sold all my 32-20 stuff!

So it sounds like $300 is a decent price for a Sporter in poor-to-fair condition.

I'd likely buy it.

I have an early 23C I picked up because the price was right. It's in nice shape and I got it at a good price. These rifles certainly have value however they also have very limited appeal, which has a heavy influence on value. My question to you is if $300.00 is worth spending on any gun described as in "poor-to-fair condition"? If it were me I'd save my dollars and wait for a nicer example to come along.

I have yet to lay my eyes on it so it’s condition may be better. Having never been interested in the Sporter until this offer came about I have no reference points for the market value of this gun at different conditions. I was using the poor-to-fair condition as a reference point to make sure that $300 wasn’t a bad deal for such a gun in such a condition, knowing that there may be an upside if the gun is in a better condition since the $300 price would still be place.

As I said, these guns have value but it is mitigated by limited appeal. A lot of guys on this forum may like them, including me, but we represent a very small slice of the bigger gun buying pie. Having said that, I'd bet the seller has had the gun for a long time and considers it a slow moover and, from his perspective, you might be doing him a favor by finally taking it off his hands. I'd try to bargain down if in decent shape, say a "shooter", and I certainly would not go any higher. Best of luck!

As a note:

There are two versions on of the 23C. The early, 1923 thought 1932, had the round front magazine which is hard to find and pricey. The later version, with serial in the 200,000's, has the box magazine which is reasonably priced and has the speed bolt. I would pay more for the later version. The last of the 2nd version were D&T's (2 holes) for a Weaver scope side mount.

I have the early 23C with the cigarette pack mag and "slow lock." However, it's in nice shape. Or as the crowd would say, it has condition.

I sold my 23C sportier 2 years ago, but found recently that I have several boxes of ammo for it. PM me if interested.
John

i have bought many rifles that i had to doublebag to take home. but when i laid them out on the table, touched them off and that smile began to grow on my face i knew she was a keeper.
32-20 in anything creates that smile. 300 is cheap to pay for a smile.

I just finished out all the 23 cartridges with a 32-20, its the 1st model with factory peep and I gladly payed $450 for it. My first, the 25-20 I gave $250 for 15 years ago. With the 75 gain Speer jacketed flat point its a great shooter and head shoots cottontails all day long. 23A in long rifle I got for a steal at $200. My Hornet I gave $400 for it in great condition....so long story short yes $300 is a good price, the 32-20 seems hardest to come by.