[Rapier]

Skeet, if you join Gunbroker, you can log in and go to the completed auctions and see what has actually been bid or what an item sold for. Most of the recent sales have been for modern cartridges like the 22-250, 25x06, etc. But on 1-25-14 one sold in 40-65 new in the box for $1,857. Then on 12-28-13 a 45-70 got a bid of $1,600 but did not meet the reserve and on 2-3-14 a 38-55 got a bid of $1,300 but did not meet the reserve. It appears that there are or have been a lot of them on Gunbroker but relatively few actual sales. Means to me that there are a few who like the 85s but not a lot of actual buyers at the money.

Someone sold two barreled actions for around $600 each with both being chambered in modern cartridges.

Were it me, I would want to get into the two at less than 2K so I could move them. I think many if not most get into them so deep they can not get out. I try not to buy any Browning, of any kind, new. I like the second or third position better. I hate the wood finish so it is coming off in any case.

On that 338 RUM, I was going to build one, So I bought the brass, dies, etc. Then before I got to the build went to Africa with a guy that was carrying one. I watched him shoot a couple of plains game critters with it. It was pretty awesome, at 250-300 yards it actually looked like the critter was struck by lightning. They hit the ground so fast you had to look hard to see it. Our PH told him he had missed on the first shot he took. I was standing a ways behind them on a little knoll, so I could see the black wildebeest laying in the short yellow grass. That critter hit the ground and did not even kick and they are known for being very hard to kill. I watched it take the hat off his head every time he fired it. Never have built that gun and still have the cartridge makings. Oh, he had one of those Vais muzzle breaks on it, like I have on my 338 WM. It still very convincingly stomped him on a regular and frequent basis.
Ed