With the current craze, I have decided to unload firearms that 1) I am not using, and 2) have appreciated in value more than common sense suggests should be the case. The idea is to use the proceeds to buy higher end firearms. I usually do this by sending everything to a FFL friend of mine in Texas who lists and sells them. He takes a percentage for his work, but it saves me the hassle and insures everything sold has a paper trail. That works really well with handguns, but shipping costs for long guns are prohibitive. I ship everything using a local FFL (who has right of first refusal on everything) as he allows me to ship FedEx at his cost. In any event, long guns tend to not make it to Texas due to the expense of shipping combined with the fact that long guns look like, well, long guns. Having a weapon disappear during the shipping process is a recurring nightmare.
In any event, I decided to unload a NIB Colt LE 6920. It was NIB as my wife and I had other ARs to shoot. My wife has a S&W M&P Sport with an Eotech she loves, and I have a Centurion upper built by Monte on a BCM lower with an Aimpoint COMP M4 that is my carbine of choice. I also have a few more ARs, including one set up for coyotes and one for deer. So the 6920 was excess to my needs. I decided to explore options a bit and see if I could trade the 6920 for something more desirable. And did I find something.
A fellow Alabamian who is a retired LEO was looking for a 6920 and offered a M1 Garand in trade. Not just any U.S. Rifle, Cal. .30 M1 either; this one was CMP rifle in a CMP hard case. The rifle was a 1944 Springfield with a Springfield barrel. The wood appears to be a later addition to the rifle. The trade offer also included a "spam can" of M2 ball in bandoliers with en bloc clips, a repro 1907 sling, and a CMP-sourced bayonet still in cosmoline. The rifle shipped from the CMP on 25-APR-2018. So it sold for about what I paid for the 6920 in 2015. The gentleman with whom I traded got a desirable AR without spending a fortune (Colt AR prices locally have increased beyond comprehension), and I got a piece of history. I did not need a M1 Garand, but I do enjoy the rifles both for the role in history and for the machining and woodworking. No more will be made unlike the 6920. With this one not being 100% original, it could be shot from time to time without fear of damaging a collector's item. So we came to a deal and consummated the trade this morning.
Some pics follow.