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Advice on Colt SAA (Bob Munden)


Wrong Hand Ray,SASS # 50514

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I have a Colt SAA, 5 1/2" barrel in .45LC that I'm considering selling. I purchased this gun in Feb. of 2005 (new) and had Bob Munden do a Custom Gun Work #1 (action trigger, forcing cone & sight-in)  to it. I also had buffalo horn grips installed. This pistol has been fired very little because I always thought it was to nice to bang up at matches and it's been stored in my gun safe. I'm considering selling this pistol but I need advice on it's value. How much do you think I can sell this gun for? How much could I get if I traded it in? Thanks for all of your help!

Colt SAA.jpg

COlt SAA 1.jpg

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It’s hard to say for sure. For many colt collectors, a Bob Munden action job is a negative and will cost money to bring it back to original specs. Other than that, I would say the nickel finish should bring in at least $2000. Add a few bucks for the grips as well. Those are pretty nice. 

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Just now, Zach Taylor,SASS#14359 said:

Need to know what generation it is to fix an accurate value.

2005 is 3rd gen. Not very difficult there. Will also have removable bushing

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With Colt finally going back into production and SAAs coming back into stores, (albeit slowly while they concentrate on Pythons and 1911s), the prices are starting to settle down.   El Hombre has the right of it, at around the 2000 - 2200 mark.  A little less if it does not have the removable bushing.   New production, blued, at my LGS is on display at 1,650.

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Put it on Gunbroker and start auction at $2K with a buy it now of $2750

new SAA’s  nationally are going for a bit more than retail of 

$1800. Generally single guns say $2100. Pairs $4600-$4800

 A plain jane nickel SAA around here nets you $2200 or so then figure in the grips and the action job. I personally would NOT take less than $2500 and I’ve owned and sold a couple SAA’s

 Saying a Munden action devalues it is not quite correct. Sure it’s not a purist SAA but that’s like saying a bill Wilson 1911 is not worth what a GI 1911 is worth!? Who here shoots stock SAA’s?

i believe as said above you can find them lower, ie the $1650 mentioned but they are a rarity!!

  Or start it at $2000 with a $2500 reserve

  SASS members are always looking to buy low so they under value !

what you need is a COLt collector who wants a Munden gun!!!

  

 

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8 minutes ago, Dutch Nichols, SASS #6461 said:

SASS members are always looking to buy low so they under value !

 

Dutch is apparently implying that SASS members are deceitful and duplicitous.  To be clear, I do not want to buy your revolver.  I have quite enough of my own.  You asked a question, I gave you my best answer.  

Gunbroker and Guns America auctions will give you the widest audience whenever you decide to sell it.  
I did do a search and could not find a current SOLD price for an auction on a stock nickel-plated 3rd Gen SAA.   Older prices are not relevant, nor the occasional very good deal that comes in "under the wire".   "Asking" prices on auctions are not "sold" prices.  You will see asking prices of over $3,000 for a stock production 3rd gen.  I would suggest you ignore them.

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47 minutes ago, Dutch Nichols, SASS #6461 said:

Put it on Gunbroker and start auction at $2K with a buy it now of $2750

new SAA’s  nationally are going for a bit more than retail of 

$1800. Generally single guns say $2100. Pairs $4600-$4800

 A plain jane nickel SAA around here nets you $2200 or so then figure in the grips and the action job. I personally would NOT take less than $2500 and I’ve owned and sold a couple SAA’s

 Saying a Munden action devalues it is not quite correct. Sure it’s not a purist SAA but that’s like saying a bill Wilson 1911 is not worth what a GI 1911 is worth!? Who here shoots stock SAA’s?

i believe as said above you can find them lower, ie the $1650 mentioned but they are a rarity!!

  Or start it at $2000 with a $2500 reserve

  SASS members are always looking to buy low so they under value !

what you need is a COLt collector who wants a Munden gun!!!

  

 

It’s not about purity. Most colt folks are not fans. Right or wrong, Munden basically turns a colt into a ruger with the coil mainspring and a bunch of other undesirable features. Yes it’s smooth, but it kind of defeats the purpose of paying top dollar for a Colt. You’ll be hard pressed to find a colt collector that wants a Munden gun. I’m sure they are out there, but pretty rare. I know more Colt Smiths that are fans than collectors simply because they make good money fixing Munden colts back to Colt configurations. As McCandles said, I’m also not attempting to devalue the gun for my own purpose of buying it. 

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2 hours ago, El Hombre Sin Nombre said:

It’s not about purity. Most colt folks are not fans. Right or wrong, Munden basically turns a colt into a ruger with the coil mainspring and a bunch of other undesirable features. Yes it’s smooth, but it kind of defeats the purpose of paying top dollar for a Colt. You’ll be hard pressed to find a colt collector that wants a Munden gun. I’m sure they are out there, but pretty rare. I know more Colt Smiths that are fans than collectors simply because they make good money fixing Munden colts back to Colt configurations. As McCandles said, I’m also not attempting to devalue the gun for my own purpose of buying it. 

I have a Munden 3rd gen Nickel 7 1/2" .45 Colt(early 1977 vintage) that he did in 1996 and it does not have any coil springs in it, and it's as smooth as glass. It also

 has about 1 1/2 lb. trigger that breaks crisp with no creep. It's has an untold number of rounds through it, 10,000+ most likely and nothing has ever broken. He did for me at a shooting match while I shot another gun. He did it like I wanted it.

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3 hours ago, El Hombre Sin Nombre said:

It’s not about purity. Most colt folks are not fans. Right or wrong, Munden basically turns a colt into a ruger with the coil mainspring and a bunch of other undesirable features. Yes it’s smooth, but it kind of defeats the purpose of paying top dollar for a Colt. You’ll be hard pressed to find a colt collector that wants a Munden gun. I’m sure they are out there, but pretty rare. I know more Colt Smiths that are fans than collectors simply because they make good money fixing Munden colts back to Colt configurations. As McCandles said, I’m also not attempting to devalue the gun for my own purpose of buying it. 

The alterations you're talking about were top end for Colts used for fast draw.  The standard, low end, action job Bob Munden did for CAS type shooting was modification of existing parts and the addition of a different trigger bolt spring.  He also did action jobs on SAAs such as Ubertis.  As far as CAS goes, I still use mine after 20 years.  Collecting is a different issue altogether.  

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$2,000 - $2,100 max....maybe $2,200.

I would offer you $1,800.

Don’t expect to recover money you spent on action work.

 

Cat Brules

 

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52 minutes ago, Tex Jones, SASS 2263 said:

The alterations you're talking about were top end for Colts used for fast draw.  The standard, low end, action job Bob Munden did for CAS type shooting was modification of existing parts and the addition of a different trigger bolt spring.  He also did action jobs on SAAs such as Ubertis.  As far as CAS goes, I still use mine after 20 years.  Collecting is a different issue altogether.  

Thanks for that information. Including yours, I’ve only ever heard of two being done that way. Good to know there are more out there. 

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4 hours ago, El Hombre Sin Nombre said:

It’s not about purity. Most colt folks are not fans. Right or wrong, Munden basically turns a colt into a ruger with the coil mainspring and a bunch of other undesirable features. Yes it’s smooth, but it kind of defeats the purpose of paying top dollar for a Colt. You’ll be hard pressed to find a colt collector that wants a Munden gun. I’m sure they are out there, but pretty rare. I know more Colt Smiths that are fans than collectors simply because they make good money fixing Munden colts back to Colt configurations. As McCandles said, I’m also not attempting to devalue the gun for my own purpose of buying it. 

Bob slicked up a pair of Colt SAA’s for me back in 2007 and didn’t do any of the stuff you’re talking about and they are much nicer for our game. When I sold them the Munden action jobs were one of the things that helped me sell them. They were not set up for fast draw.

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4 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

Bob slicked up a pair of Colt SAA’s for me back in 2007 and didn’t do any of the stuff you’re talking about and they are much nicer for our game. When I sold them the Munden action jobs were one of the things that helped me sell them. They were not set up for fast draw.

That makes four. I’m learning something new every day. I will say if you listed on any of the auction sites a pair with Munden jobs and a pair without, everything else being equal, without will fetch more. I base my opinion on the results of every colt SAA inn45 sold on GB over the last 5 years. I’ve been watching every single one of them. Yeah I’ve got issues I know. 

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To clarify a Colt was found for $1650 so now those that choose to believe all new Colts are worth $1650 will do so. Across the country new Colts are going for closer to $2100. I’ve bought and sold Colt and USFA’s and have somewhat of a detailed knowledge of them and follow their pricings.

 my saying this does not imply deceit it implies ignorance! 
just as saying a Munden action job devalues a Colt when most of you don’t have a clue that there were multiple levels as to his work.!? You

don’t know what his work entails but you know all about it’s worth!? I knew Bob and his wife for more than a couple years and at the early EOT’s in the early 90’s he would do basic cowboy action jobs between stages. He was a special guy and his wife Becky was his match as well as his mate.

sorry if I ruffled any feathers but I didn’t impune anyones integrity as some of you did mine. 

I too was just answering his question and tried to impart some of my experiences

 

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1 minute ago, El Hombre Sin Nombre said:

That makes four. I’m learning something new every day. I will say if you listed on any of the auction sites a pair with Munden jobs and a pair without, everything else being equal, without will fetch more. I base my opinion on the results of every colt SAA inn45 sold on GB over the last 5 years. I’ve been watching every single one of them. Yeah I’ve got issues I know. 

We can disagree, but I hold Bob Mundens work in pretty high regard. I visited with him and his wife quite often back when they’d attend EOT. He took the time to show me what he did to slick up the guns and make them more reliable and even invited me to stop by his shop up in Montana if I was ever in the area. If you ever wanted to talk action jobs and get an education EOT was the place when Bob Munden, Jim Bowie and Wes Fargo were there. Two out of the three aren’t with us anymore but if you ever get the chance to drop by Jim Bowie’s shop or trailer at a big match that he’s attending don’t pass it up. He’s a wealth of information also.

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10 minutes ago, Dutch Nichols, SASS #6461 said:

To clarify a Colt was found for $1650 so now those that choose to believe all new Colts are worth $1650 will do so. Across the country new Colts are going for closer to $2100. I’ve bought and sold Colt and USFA’s and have somewhat of a detailed knowledge of them and follow their pricings.

 my saying this does not imply deceit it implies ignorance! 
just as saying a Munden action job devalues a Colt when most of you don’t have a clue that there were multiple levels as to his work.!? You

don’t know what his work entails but you know all about it’s worth!? I knew Bob and his wife for more than a couple years and at the early EOT’s in the early 90’s he would do basic cowboy action jobs between stages. He was a special guy and his wife Becky was his match as well as his mate.

sorry if I ruffled any feathers but I didn’t impune anyones integrity as some of you did mine. 

I too was just answering his question and tried to impart some of my experiences

 

Hopefully I wasn’t one of those folks questioning your integrity. I wouldn’t do that, especially to someone who’s knowledge I’ve come to trust over the years. I’m also learning a lot about Munden action work that hopefully will spread to other Colt buyers. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the man personally. I do wish I had been able to meet him. I can listen to do  Lo a talk about colts all day long. 
 

Taking the action work completely out of the equation, I gotta disagree with you about the current state of affairs regarding new colts. 3 years ago you could list a new colt on GB for a penny and it would sell for over $3000. These days are different. I get notifications at least once a week regarding new colts all across the country with a msrp prices ($1800, not $1650 certainly) The market has changed a bit. Colt is pumping out more in the last year than I’ve seen in the previous five. That being said, I haven’t seen a new nickel in any of those listings so there’s certainly a premium right there. Could change, but it hasn’t yet. This is all just one cowpokes opinion and worry about half the price you paid. 

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EH  no problem between us pard.  The problem for me is the newest Colts look less than desirable as to fit and finish  I’m trying to be nice.

There’s a pair of 5.5’s on GA right now for $4800 and the dealer states and shows one of them has a jacked up front sight “that you could easily touch up”

 that and the almost immediate recalls for mis heat treated fames that were cracking makes me shy on the newest  offerings, that’s just me

I think later  Colts  say S40x,xxA to say S65xxxA are some of the nicest produced in last 40 years.

 Other folks probably love the newest Colts

 

take care pard

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1 hour ago, Yul Lose said:

We can disagree, but I hold Bob Mundens work in pretty high regard. I visited with him and his wife quite often back when they’d attend EOT. He took the time to show me what he did to slick up the guns and make them more reliable and even invited me to stop by his shop up in Montana if I was ever in the area. If you ever wanted to talk action jobs and get an education EOT was the place when Bob Munden, Jim Bowie and Wes Fargo were there. Two out of the three aren’t with us anymore but if you ever get the chance to drop by Jim Bowie’s shop or trailer at a big match that he’s attending don’t pass it up. He’s a wealth of information also.

I neglected to include Longhunter in the EOT gunsmith attendees, man is he a nice guy and would visit with you for hours. These pards would all stop by the main gate every morning to visit and ask if I needed anything, Bob Munden would come in in his big old Overland motorhome every morning and then go back to the RV Park every night, Jim Bowie did that one year I believe but brought a towable car in later years. Wes and Jim Bowie would share a vending tent or trailer, IIRC. Bob Mundens wife Becky was always along with Bob and the last few years that they attended they had a younger man with them that was learning Bobs SAA gunsmithing techniques.

 

Man now I can’t wait for EOT to get here. You’ll have to get there some day, HSN.

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8 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

I neglected to include Longhunter in the EOT gunsmith attendees, man is he a nice guy and would visit with you for hours. These pards would all stop by the main gate every morning to visit and ask if I needed anything, Bob Munden would come in in his big old Overland motorhome every morning and then go back to the RV Park every night, Jim Bowie did that one year I believe but brought a towable car in later years. Wes and Jim Bowie would share a vending tent or trailer, IIRC. Bob Mundens wife Becky was always along with Bob and the last few years that they attended they had a younger man with them that was learning Bobs SAA gunsmithing techniques.

 

Man now I can’t wait for EOT to get here. You’ll have to get there some day, HSN.

Wow. That’s incredible stuff. I’m one of those guys that can get suckered into a good story, especially from older pards, and end up in trouble many hours later for being late. I’ll get out that way soon enough. Son is going to start up shooting this year so it’ll be easier to take road trips. 
 

Longhunter too? I’ve ordered at least a dozen guns from them over the years. In fact I just ordered one of their custom 51’s I’ll get this week. Oops. Sorry to be hijacking this thread. See what I mean about talking yo you old farts? Haha 

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39 minutes ago, Yul Lose said:

Bob Mundens wife Becky was always along with Bob and the last few years that they attended they had a younger man with them that was learning Bobs SAA gunsmithing techniques.

That guy is Jeff Ault who is turning out Munden style guns under Bob's old web site.  Becky is still involved.  EH, I had 6 SAAs Bob worked on, now down to 4.  A buddy has eight or ten that are as good today as they were when Bob worked on them as far back as 25+ years ago. Met with him and Becky a few times in the early 2000s and spoke with him a number of times over the phone.  He never advertised his premium work for CAS.  He said that a simple action job with some smoothing out of springs (my way of remembering it) was all that was needed for CAS.  He ran a training program for a while for those interested in learning fast draw and advanced gun handling, but it required the use of his top end SAAs.  If anyone has a collection of early Cowboy Chronicles going back to the early 90s, there was a full article written by him that detailed all the work he did on the SAAs.  I wish I had kept it.

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2 hours ago, Yul Lose said:

Bob slicked up a pair of Colt SAA’s for me back in 2007 and didn’t do any of the stuff you’re talking about and they are much nicer for our game. When I sold them the Munden action jobs were one of the things that helped me sell them. They were not set up for fast draw.

That's the action job he did on my Colt. He also did 2 EMF Hartford models for me at the same match 3 day match. Wish I hadn't sold  those 2.

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Wrong Hand Ray, I hope you’ll forgive us for rustling your thread but you have to admit there’s a lot of information about Bobs work coming out. 

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1 minute ago, Yul Lose said:

Wrong Hand Ray, I hope you’ll forgive us for rustling your thread but you have to admit there’s a lot of information about Bobs work coming out. 

I am thankful for the wealth of knowledge that I'm gaining by this post and the old stories are a bonus. Hearing stories about Bob Munden from the people that knew him is awesome.

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1 minute ago, Wrong Hand Ray,SASS # 50514 said:

I am thankful for the wealth of knowledge that I'm gaining by this post and the old stories are a bonus. Hearing stories about Bob Munden from the people that knew him is awesome.

You should have seen him shoot.   He really was good; a showman yes, but good.  BTW, that pistol is really nice.  A local store has a 3rd gen just like yours with Rosewood grips, new in box for $2,800. 

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Just now, Wrong Hand Ray,SASS # 50514 said:

I am thankful for the wealth of knowledge that I'm gaining by this post and the old stories are a bonus. Hearing stories about Bob Munden from the people that knew him is awesome.

Bob was quite a character and showman. Some say he was pretty full of himself but once you spent some time with him and got to know him he was just a regular guy. He was proud of his fast draw accomplishments and his gunsmithing work and promoted them. His wife Becky was a real nice lady also. Bob was just finishing up another set of Colts for me when he got sick and struggled a bit to get them done and him or Becky stayed in regular contact about the status of the work. Not long after I got them back I read that Bob had passed.

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16 minutes ago, Tex Jones, SASS 2263 said:

You should have seen him shoot.   He really was good; a showman yes, but good.  BTW, that pistol is really nice.  A local store has a 3rd gen just like yours with Rosewood grips, new in box for $2,800. 

I watch his videos and it just blows my mind every time. I think I'm going to sell my Colt and purchase the set of two Ruger SASS Vaqueros in .45lc. . I noticed Evil Roy has this set with his action job done to them. Does anyone have any pistols with his action job done to them? How do you like them? The Colt is just to nice of a gun to be banging around and I only have one of them. Thanks for your help!

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18 minutes ago, Long Hunter SASS #20389L said:

I sold a lightly fired (as new) nickle 3rd Gen. about a month ago for $2,200.

Speak of the devil. I have fond memories of our short conversations up at the gate at EOT. Another SASS legendary gunsmith.

 

.

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1 hour ago, Yul Lose said:

Speak of the devil. I have fond memories of our short conversations up at the gate at EOT. Another SASS legendary gunsmith.

 

.

Good to see LH sneak in on the wire every now and again.

YL, remember when Bob would miss the orange or grapefruit, intentionally I assume, then throw the little piece of hard candy up and blow it to smithereens?  Memories of those days at EOT in CA.  Bet Jim remembers also.

WHR, you are really getting some good stories for sure.  Bet Tame Bill could chime in a bunch on Bob and Becky also.

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28 minutes ago, Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator said:

Good to see LH sneak in on the wire every now and again.

YL, remember when Bob would miss the orange or grapefruit, intentionally I assume, then throw the little piece of hard candy up and blow it to smithereens?  Memories of those days at EOT in CA.  Bet Jim remembers also.

WHR, you are really getting some good stories for sure.  Bet Tame Bill could chime in a bunch on Bob and Becky also.

Yes, it’s nice seeing him post again. One of the nicest people I’ve ever met in the game.

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Becky is my moms cousin.  My first exposure to SASS was long ago when Becky was visiting with the family before EOT and invited me to come out and have a look.  When I wasn't wandering around amazed at what I saw, I was sitting in their booth chatting with Becky because Bob was always busy working on somebody's gun and talking with friends and customers.  I signed up for SASS that day.

 

Of course, my OM Vaqueros were worked on by Bob.  They are nice!  You are welcome to check them out if you ever run into me at a shoot. :D

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17 hours ago, Long Hunter SASS #20389L said:

I sold a lightly fired (as new) nickle 3rd Gen. about a month ago for $2,200.

 

That sounds quite reasonable.  It's up to the buyer whether they wish to pay more for one with an action job or not.

 

I have them both ways, so I could have them with and without  :lol:  

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