Help me value this old Browning Sweet 16

[Newtosavage]

Recently inherited this shotgun and I'm thinking about selling or trading it as it's just not something I'll use. I know there are folks who drool over these old Browning Sweet Sixteens. I'll admit it carries and points like a dream. I'm just not really a shotgun guy I guess, and I already have two shotguns that fill my bird hunting needs.

It's a Belgian Browning Sweet 16 with the X-prefix in the 90000 series which by my research makes it a 1953 gun. Good condition but not minty by any means. It was well used but clearly not abused. I've run some shells through it and it functions perfectly.

What would a reasonable starting price be if I listed this? Thanks in advance.

 

[Newtosavage]

Nobody?

 

[cmankingsley]

Around $1000


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[eamyrick]

650-800 with the rust. Plain barrel also brings less than. Vent rib. If it was mint north of 2k

 

[Doc Holliday]

Yeah the rust is a big deal. You might try letting some Kano Kroil sit on the rust for a little bit and then lightly rubbing with 0000 steel wool.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

I'll take it off your hands for a cool $200 dollars. You definitely need to dispose of that rust before it contaminates your whole gunsafe.



Aren't I generous?

 

[Newtosavage]

Yeah the rust is a big deal. You might try letting some Kano Kroil sit on the rust for a little bit and then lightly rubbing with 0000 steel wool.

Already did that. It looks a ton better. That was very light surface rust. Darn shame but there is no telling how long it sat in that soft case before I took it out. A decade or more no doubt.

 

[Newtosavage]

I'll take it off your hands for a cool $200 dollars. You definitely need to dispose of that rust before it contaminates your whole gunsafe.



Aren't I generous?

LOL indeed!

You can barely notice where that rust was on the receiver now. I had a guy offer me $1k for it sight unseen not long after I got it. I was like wait a sec... I had no idea what I had. And I thought I might figure out a use for it.

 

[Newtosavage]

650-800 with the rust. Plain barrel also brings less than. Vent rib. If it was mint north of 2k

I'm not sure vent rib was available in '53 but maybe it was. And yes, I've seen the prices on some of those vent rib models! This is the only shotgun I've ever pointed that didn't have a vent rib but still had a fantastic sight picture. You literally cannot tell it's not a vent rib when you shoulder it and aim. Not really sure what the vent rib would add to be honest, but I do know they bring more $.

Well, I have a buddy who is bringing a current values book to work tomorrow and we'll look at it too. But you all have been helpful.

Honestly, I don't even know what I'd trade it for if I had the chance. I'm pretty happy with the firearms I have right now. This was a bonus gun I wasn't expecting and didn't plan for.

 

[Yukon Cornelius]

Average price is $1k. Seen them go for more and for less. Just remember any online retailer/auction has fees. Take that into consideration when selling.

My dad has one that I’ll eventually get unless he sells before then. He wants to get $1k if he sells it, and it’s in mint shape.

I hope I get it.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I bought a sweet 16 new when I was 16 for $180. I bought one similar to that advertised that some one had cut the stock and the barrel for $300. A barrel will cost between $269 and $400. A replacement stock is $169 - $200.

 

[Newtosavage]

Average price is $1k. Seen them go for more and for less. Just remember any online retailer/auction has fees. Take that into consideration when selling.

My dad has one that I’ll eventually get unless he sells before then. He wants to get $1k if he sells it, and it’s in mint shape.

I hope I get it.

Hope you do too. This is a gun my father had and none of us boys knew about it. We have no idea where he got it. Probably from an uncle that passed not long before he did, since he had a toolbox full of old 16 ga. unopened boxes of shells with it.

 

[Newtosavage]

I bought a sweet 16 new when I was 16 for $180. I bought one similar to that advertised that some one had cut the stock and the barrel for $300. A barrel will cost between $269 and $400. A replacement stock is $169 - $200.

Been looking for replacement barrels, for something I might use dove hunting, but they are tough to find for the 16. Plenty of 20's and 12's out there.

 

[ChemE]

What you have there is one of the finest hunting shotguns ever made. I would keep it and use it if it were me but then I collect auto 5's and have several 16s including one my father bought new as a 2 barrel set when he came home from WW2. He gave it to me as a Christmas present the year before he passed so you can see my affection for them. I think you would get more joy from it than what it's worth but that's just me. Actual value, my opinion, is 750 to 1000.

 

[mullet dredge]

I purchased one just last week....perfect blueing and no pitting/rust. Stock had very minor dings and scratches. I paid $900 and feel like I got an excellent deal.

 

[Newtosavage]

What you have there is one of the finest hunting shotguns ever made. I would keep it and use it if it were me but then I collect auto 5's and have several 16s including one my father bought new as a 2 barrel set when he came home from WW2. He gave it to me as a Christmas present the year before he passed so you can see my affection for them. I think you would get more joy from it than what it's worth but that's just me. Actual value, my opinion, is 750 to 1000.View attachment 388976

Man, that's a gorgeous gun with no doubt a priceless amount of sentimental value.

I have other guns that have a lot of sentimental value to me. Like the pre-64 Win 94 my father gave me for Christmas in 1984. My brother got one too. He fell on hard times and had to sell his but I still have mine. When my wife's dad passed last year, I took possession of a number of his guns that have been handed down through that family. He didn't have any sons, so me and another brother in law divided them up according to who had more interest in which gun. I ended up with a very old Springfield side by side 20 ga. that kinda fills the "old family shotgun" niche for me. If I keep the Sweet 16, it will be because I found a use for it, only. I have no sentimental attachment to it as I never saw my father use it. I believe he got it from a relative who passed a few years ago but I can't confirm that and nobody that could is still around to ask.

If the Browning had been a gun I saw my father use, and knew the story of how he came to own it, I'm sure I'd keep it. But it doesn't fill any niches in my hunting arsenal and I'm not a collector. I'd also be a lot more likely to keep it if it was a 20 ga. which is what all my other shotguns are. I'd rather sell it or trade it for something I'll actually use, and let the person who gets it enjoy it's value.

 

[Newtosavage]

I purchased one just last week....perfect blueing and no pitting/rust. Stock had very minor dings and scratches. I paid $900 and feel like I got an excellent deal.

You did get a good deal according to the blue book I looked at.

The 36th edition of gun blue book values shows my gun, at 80%, for $1k even. That may be where cmankingsley got his estimate.

 

[Newtosavage]

Couple more pics of the receiver and barrel after I dealt with the surface rust. I thought it came out okay.

 

[willtim]

She is pretty rough looking. Art at Artsgunshop.com is probably the most knowledgeable person when it comes to Auto-5's.

 

[Newtosavage]

She is pretty rough looking. Art at Artsgunshop.com is probably the most knowledgeable person when it comes to Auto-5's.

LOL. She isn't rough looking at all. But I guess the pics show all the flaws if you're really looking for a minty 68 year old shotgun.

People these days