Which guns sold today have the best investment potential?

Investing in guns is too risky to be worth it. It's really crapshoot speculation.

Far better off in more traditional investments - ETF's, mutual funds. Stocks / bonds / metals etc. if you have lots of time and skill.

I own a lot of guns, many very nice ones, purchased for any number of reasons. Lots here have done the same. Many of these have gone up in value but only a couple have kept up with the returns of financial investments and those I consider flukes.

Maybe a wealthy gun investor could do well with in famous rarities. Risky and very costly.

Otherwise buy guns to enjoy owning and to shoot.

Guns and real estate are the two items that, with the exception of the odd blip, generally keep their value and very often rise steadily. What other items fit this category? Certainly not cars, gold or silver, beanie babies or baseball cards.

While not always great investments from a growth perspective they generally keep up with inflation at a minimum so are a good place to stash money for safekeeping.

The problem is that the price to feed them more than makes up for any rise in value, but it sure is fun!

To answer the question more directly, mil surps seem to be the guns I have that have risen in value most dramatically.

Pre-86 autos are a very speculative investment indeed. An outright ban or an opening up of the registry are both very possible and either would have a very bad impact on value. A severe economic downturn or civil unrest would cause the market to crash as well.

1) High end 1911.
2) Colt SAA.
3) Browning Hi-Power.

I think short term investment is better than trying to look long term. I personally am banking on ammo as a better investment right now. That played out for me after SH because a buddy and I had just purchased 100k rounds of 223 at $.17. We didn't do it as an investment but it sure paid off when ammo got to $1 a round. People with an extra DPMS or Bushmaster made a few bucks in 2013. These are just "lucky" examples but they support my point that lower priced goods are a better investment in tougher times and we all know we will see those times again. Anybody notice that thing called the Supreme Court?

There are what? 300 million guns in the US alone? That number tells you that they are not, generally speaking, going to be good investments. Sure there will always be people with more money than sense (guilty on occasion myself) but making an investment based on finding that person with cash when you are willing to sell isn't very wise.

A $2k investment in cheap 9mm ammo will put 10,000 rounds in your portfolio. If ammo doesn't appreciate greatly in the next 10 years then you will still be able to shoot. I don't see ammo going DOWN anytime soon(then again I didn't see a three year shortage of Golden Bullets). A $2k investment in a custom 1911 MAY be worth $3k in 20 years...or maybe not.

I can tell you what won't be a good investment. All political issues aside. A pieced together AR won't have much value. Much like a built hot rod. The AR will be worth more in parts than as a whole just like the vehicle. Now a factory AR will retain some sort of value. I won't speculate on which brands/configurations because that's impossible to predict.

I'm still collecting Savage 99s. Anyone that collects them has seen their value rise a lot. Finding one in good shape for less than $600 is a chore. Used to be able to pick them up for $250 all day long. They aren't being made anymore so their price will continue to rise. Especially because so many are still used in the field and the supply will continue to diminish.

I don't collect them as in investment. I collect them because I like them and use them.

First generation Glocks will command a premium in due time. The actual value will be determined by how much someone is willing to pay. But this is always the case.

All metal handguns without MIM.

Sooner or latter everything old is new again.

A stranger (former Marine sniper) working for a similar company told me that he owns "200 AR-15s".

Maybe a few of those during the next highly-publicized Witch Hunt For AR-15s might turn a nice profit?

The one you and/or your progeny will get the most use and enjoyment out of

Curio and relic firearms. Most are no longer being produced and supplies are dwindling. The crates of Mosins and other milsurps rolling into the country have pretty much stopped.

DeepSouth said:

Transferable pre-86 full autos.

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Assuming there's not a complete ban coming down the road, that's definitely true.

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That raises an interesting question. If there is a complete ban, will there be confiscation, and if so, will there be compensation? How do you determine the market value of something that no longer has a market?

If I were to bet I would say there will be no compensation because they are NFA. It would simply be "turn them in". It's not like they don't know how many there are and who has them.

The price for confiscation isn't measured in dollars

Colt.

Of all variety, namely their 1911s and especially their SAA.

That prancing dancing rampant pony might not be prancing for much longer. Colt can't run a company to save their lives.

dragon813gt said:

If I were to bet I would say there will be no compensation because they are NFA. It would simply be "turn them in". It's not like they don't know how many there are and who has them.

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I don't see that as an end game. The NFA is the model of what the anti gun crowd wants. You might not get complete confiscation of anything but the NFA has been in place for 80 years and has been proven constitutional ( laughably so ) . If anything it takes one law passed and signed to put all ( probably semi auto ) firearms into the registry. Months of waiting, $$$ fees, etc. The casual gun owners drop off the map.

License 'em or Lose 'em. (and the licenses won't be cheap.) After all, they will have to charge enough to pay for the bloated bureaucracy needed to enforce the new law. Social control through "sin" tax

deadin said:

License 'em or Lose 'em. (and the licenses won't be cheap.) After all, they will have to charge enough to pay for the bloated bureaucracy needed to enforce the new law. Social control through "sin" tax

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I am of the opinion they need only charge enough to limit people's participation.

For example, I don't believe for a second that the $200 for NFA items...or $5 for AOW's...pays for the NFA branch of the ATF.

Warp said:

For example, I don't believe for a second that the $200 for NFA items...or $5 for AOW's...pays for the NFA branch of the ATF.

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Those are 1934 prices. I'm very glad they haven't gone up and hate to even mention this aspect of it.

dragon813gt said:

Those are 1934 prices. I'm very glad they haven't gone up and hate to even mention this aspect of it.

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Yeah...it was a huge burden in 1934 that significantly reduced the number of people that could afford these items.

Given the scale of the federal government and its budget/expense order of magnitude, I really really don't think, even in 1934, that a couple hundred bucks from the relatively small number of people doing NFA...minus the expenses of running the NFA branch...was done as a money making proposition.

I'm sure the anti's will find a way to make those of us who stubbornly want to hang onto our guns to bear the major cost of enforcement. Heaven Forbid that it cost them anything out of their pockets.......

The valuable guns will be the ones that everyone thought were cool... but didn't buy.

The odd imports and small manufacturers. Things that people don't buy because they "aren't sure the company will still be there in xx years". Well, once the company is gone and those items aren't made then everyone who wishes they had bought one will pay more money for them.

I notice that the two guns I have that have become the most valuable, are the ones that aren't produced anymore -- a Colt Diamondback and a Colt SAA. I just can't see Glocks and run-of-the-mill ARs becoming investment items, financially-speaking. I have been slowly acquiring some older S&W revolvers, that's what I see holding/gaining value at gun shows.

Yugo SKS went for $99 in 2002, now they are $300 and up.
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Investment firearms

I wouldn't buy a firearm strictly as an investment. However, everybody hates to buy a firearm and not be able to recoup their cost if they sell it for any reason. Before you buy, do your pricing due diligence (locally and internet) and buy at the lowest price. Then if you decide to sell it later on, chances are good that you'll recoup most or all of your initial cost. Profits? Probably not for 5-10 years down the road.

Guns are pretty good blue chip ( low risk, but low return) investments if you stay away from trendy newer stuff, and buying overpriced "produced to be collector guns".

New production guns drop in value when you take them home from the dealer. In most cases, any gun you buy used will retain its value, and increase in value over time provided it's condition is preserved. The amount of increase in value is based strictly on supply and demand. A rare piece that everybody wants is the best you can hope for.