[Chainmail]

Yeah, that's just the modern stuff - the manufacturers having been laying on the extra shifts during the Obama craziness and now there's less of a demand.

Classics and collectibles are harder to find and much pricier. Go ahead and find a good 1911A1 from Ithaca or Remington Rand for less than $1,400 or a 1918 P08 Luger for similar money. Heaven forfend that you want a pre-64 Winchester for less than a King's ransom! Good luck even finding them..

Most of the really good quality (i.e. wood and steel, hand-fitted) are rapidly getting out of reach for most of us.

[Wyrd bið ful aræd]

Picked up a pre-64 Winchester '94 last year for much less than 5 Benjamins, after taxes. At a big box store, in the small used gun section, gleaming like it had never been touched, let alone used. It really is a joy -- the fit and finish is superb, the wood and metal mated perfectly and that beautiful old bluing to boot.

94s are probably the most common pre-64s around and I doubt it is worth significantly more than I paid for it, but the condition is amazing for a 70+ year old gun and it's worth every penny to me.