That gun in the back of your safe, the one you never shoot

Whenever I have a gun that I haven't shot for several years, I put it on consignment and sell it. (assuming there's no sentimental attachment)

The gun that sits in my safe unused, may well become another person's favorite.

That one in the back of the safe that I never shoot? I sold it about 9 years ago to buy a gun that I do shoot. In the early 1990's I picked up an absolutely pristine Mod. 95 Chilean Mauser. It was so beautiful I paid a premium price (for that era) and only took it to the range once and put 20 rounds of non-corrosive commercial 7x57 ammo through it to verify that it worked well and shot good, which it did. Then it lived in one of my safes until 2007, only coming out annually for a check and light wipe down and to just fondle and admire, or occasionally show it to someone. I felt it was too nice to even shoot, I even videotaped it with lots of close-ups to show the superb condition and all matching numbers, (right down to the cleaning rod). Then in 2007 I decided I really didn't need a "safe queen" about the same time I was drooling over a stainless 7.5" Ruger Redhawk in 44 Mag. at the LGS that had come in from an estate. Easily sold the Mod. 95 at a gun show for a good profit ( after about 25 years in the safe) and used the proceeds toward the Redhawk. I love the Redhawk but that old Mauser was so nice I miss taking it out and fondling it once in a while or watching the reaction of guys who had never seen it before.

A Ruger Model 77 .25-06 with a 6X Scope. No call for it these days

A Browning BDM (not BDA) in 9mm. First semi-auto handgun I ever bought. Neat design. Thinnest double-stack gun I think I've ever seen.

Stupid ergos (high bore axis, frame-mounted safety-decocker that is upside-down) make it not-that-fun to fire. But it was my first. It did bedside stand/bump-in-the-night duty when I lived in a bordeline neighborhood. Can't bring myself to get rid of it.

One that I bought during the mid 60s, Swedish M40 in 6.5x55mm.

Desert Eagle in 44mag, what was I thinking?

huntsman said:

You must mean the .22lr Colt handguns,,,,,

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That would be correct in my case as I have many Colt 22 revolvers. I shoot a S&W Model 63, Ruger LCR (22), and a S&W M18. I could shoot the M17's, just don't. Don't really have a reason other than there are plenty others to shoot instead.

Mine is a Sears .22 single shot .22 rifle my Dad gave me in 1968 when I was 13. I shot it quite a bit when I was younger but now haven't shot it in many years. Usually I get rid of guns I don't shoot but not this one - it isn't worth much to anyone but me.

High Standard Crusader revolver in .45 Colt. It's the only unfired NIB gun I still own after liquidating the bulk of my collection.

The one I will likely never shoot again (it has become to fragile) lives in the FRONT of the safe because it WILL NOT FIT into the back due to length. It is a blackpowder Pennsylvania rifle in either .32 or .36 cal (I can't remember what size balls I had for it at one time). It has a gorgeous full stock, set triggers, a lockwork that was converted from flintlock to percussion cap when percussion caps were "new fangled", and a patchbox in the stock with century plus year old tallow in it. The rifle was inherited by me from my Granddad and it was either his Grandfather's or his Great-Grandfathers. I shot it several times when I was younger and always got comments like "That rifle is bigger than you kid!". It shot great and was super accurate for a 200 year old rifle!

I do have some others that rarely if ever get shot but most of them will work their way to the range eventually, but that one will likely never speak again.

Two of them, a Remington 1100 16 gauge that was my first semi-auto shotgun. Heaven knows how many dove, quail, rattlers, ducks, jackrabbits and other such critters it took. The other is my Grandfather's 94 rifle in 30 Winchester (that's 30-30 knowadays). Made in 1906. Comes with a pop-up peep sight that the last time I shot it, was dead on at 125 yards with 170 gr factory fodder.

Green_Giant, that's some rifle to own! Wow!

I've got my grandpa's Iver Johnson 38 S&W top break revolver. I found some ammo for it, still have never shot it, and I will never sell it.

Stevens 416 X-ring barrel 22 lr, given to me by a dear friend years ago for repairing his daughters car. 1/2 " with any ammo ever put through it at 25 yds and never over .8" at 50 using the peep sight. Haven't fired it in 6 years. Never sell it!

My Stoeger Uplander sees the least shooting time. I bought it in the early 2000s with the intention to get back into dove hunting.

I shot two rounds of skeet with it when I bought it, and I haven't shot it since. I can't get rid of it as it is my only shotgun. Everyone needs at least one shotgun.

Wait, people own guns and don't shoot them? Why?

I shoot everything I own. I have a Colt Python and a Benelli SBE that both have sentimental meaning to me, but even they both get fired fairly often. The Python was inherited and could be considered collectible but it's probably an 80-85% condition gun. And the SBE was given to me to be a do-all shotgun, and it gets used as such. But I'd never sell either of them. Everything else I have is expendable.

Edit: I can understand owning truly collectible firearms and not firing them, but my definition of collectible probably differs heavily from many other people's definition.

ATLDave said:

A Browning BDM (not BDA) in 9mm. First semi-auto handgun I ever bought. Neat design. Thinnest double-stack gun I think I've ever seen.

Stupid ergos (high bore axis, frame-mounted safety-decocker that is upside-down) make it not-that-fun to fire. But it was my first. It did bedside stand/bump-in-the-night duty when I lived in a bordeline neighborhood. Can't bring myself to get rid of it.

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Thanks for the reminder! That's one of my back-of-the-safe guns but because I forgot about it!

For me it is a 12 gauge Browning Auto-5 that my Father-in-law gave me when my wife and I gave him money to pay off a boatload of debts he had covered for my sister-in-law. I find the gun itself unpleasant to shoot (I learned on a 20 gauge), so it was cleaned, oiled and put in the back of the gun safe for the last thirty years. In the intervening decades I've even forgotten how to field strip it. Thank goodness for YouTube videos.

Three Enfield #4/Mk. 1 and two #5 "Jungle Carbines". Also, the Spanish FR8 Mauser, in very nice condition.

Single-stage reloading (.303) became too tedious after about a year.
So much easier to buy ammo at .22-.25/rd. for the SKS, AKs or Saigas.

I had hoped that maybe my son would become interested in guns as a sport. But it did not "take".
Especially now with a baby, there's much less of a chance.
Maybe most of the Enfields will be sold.

1KPerDay said:

Colt New Army and Navy DA in .41 Colt. I'd shoot it if I could find or make ammo easily.

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You can! Brass is available through Starline Brass or Midway and bullets are available through various sources. I think I got mine from Western Bullet Co. Or, you can cast your own.

I was looking in my safe the other day and found a unfired Arsenal 107cr
Wonder what else is in there

A WWII bring back Walther PP in .32ACP. I never enjoyed shooting it, so it just sits there, and I can't get rid of it because my Dad brought it back from Germany.

Ljutic Space gun

Ks5shooter said:

Ljutic Space gun

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I had to look that one up. Wow.

My wife inherited her grandmothers Jennings 22, its kind of a junky weapon, the zinc slide wears. It jams regularly. But my wife would never let me sell it. It will give it to my eldest one day. He remembers his great grandmother fondly.

I had my grandfathers nylon 66, hardly ever shot it, I sold it to my father in law, I needed cash at the time and it was nostalgic for him, it will come back to me or my kids one day.

I have a no sights heavy barrel 10/22 that I stole the Leopold scope from many years ago to put on a deer rifle. I was planning on getting a dedicated rimfire scope, but the gun budget has always had higher priorities.