Bagged Another Deere

One of my co-workers has been diligently bow hunting for deer.  He has gone out almost every morning and evening the past couple weeks.  Despite his persistence, and a few misses, he has yet to get one.  Personally, I have never had much interest in hunting animals.  I am, however, all about hunting inanimate objects, be it toys, tractors or whatever is my current area of interest. 

My "hunting" typically follows the same pattern.  I start off trying to satisfy some personal want or need.  Once that need is met, not wanting to waste the research that inevitably went into it, I will typically transition into hunting for "opportunities" to upgrade or turn a profit.  I have definitely gone through that phase on toy tractors and power wheels.  Although I am not as fanatical about those now, I still like to take advantage of a good opportunity when it presents itself.  Obviously, my most recent fad is garden tractors.  Starting off with "Johnny" in early 2011, I have progressively added tractors to my fleet, each with a unique purpose in mind.  I now find myself out of ways to rationalize adding tractors to my collection, but still seeking the thrill of the hunt. 

It is that continued hunting, with no real need for finding anything, that has presented me with my latest situation.  In my defense, I did resist for almost a week calling on a Deere 317 fix-er-upper with an asking price less than half the going rate for a running tractor.  It was the classic opportunity ripe for the picking; vague title, bad picture, limited description, and (relatively) low asking price.  Combine those factors with close proximity, and it was just begging me to at least go take a look at it.  Finding out the seller had multiple other interested parties that couldn't come look at it until the weekend only further fueled my curiosity. 

Long story short, I am the new owner of a 1982 John Deere 317.  The seller practically described it like a family pet, but a high dealer estimate for repairing a broken drive shaft (a weak point on 317's), and a recently acquired four wheeler that can perform similar duties, prompted him to part with it.  For me I saw about $250 more in just the major parts than what he was asking for the tractor, and perhaps double that if I can find a decent deal on a used drive shaft to get it running again.  I'm not sure yet which path I will choose, but either way, potential uses for this tractor duplicate those of others I already have, so long term one or the another is going to have to find a new home.  Of course, I have said that before...