What are you buying July 25, 1934?

A Tommy gun.

Browning BAR .

Soumi M31

Browning M2

A Vickers or Maxim in 8mauser.
If neither of those are available, a Browning 1919.
Now, either of those will be complete with tripod, ammo cart, and a linking machine.

If there's any dosh left, a Colt potato-digger and/or a Bennet-Mercier (former in 6mm Navy Lee; the latter in 30-40govt).

Those "add-on" selections were relatively cheap, "back in the day" as being seen as "obsolete." But, are hugely rare today, and thus command high prices.

Mind, inflation means that while the purchase prices will seem to pittances, yields today will be small in constant dollars. That's the cruel reality of inflation-sure that thing bought in 1934 for $150 might sell, today, for $40K. But, had you put that $150 in a compounding 7% annuity, you'd be far better off in terms of how big the pile of cash is.

^ D all the above

Strange, obscure, pretty. I’m going with probably not a FA, but more in line with artillery pieces. The deer may be in poor condition, but field dressing may already be done.

And a ppsh41. Artillery crews have to have defensive arms.

Thompson, Lewis, full-auto C96 Mauser, and a bunch of silencers.

I fared well during the depression, I'll take a tank please

DeepSouth said:

A Tommy gun.

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red rick said:

Browning BAR .

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This is a really tough decision here. Not sure how I would pick either one over the other, but I think my nod would go to the BAR.

hso said:

Considering you're in the middle of the Great Depression you probably don't have the money to buy anything...

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That was my first thought, too. I don't think young people today truly understand just how bad the Great Depression really was for most folks. There is a reason that the NFA tax stamp is "only" $200. That was a tremendous amount of money in 1934. $4600 in 2023 inflation adjusted dollars. I would wager that was more than a year's income for many Americans at the time.

Indeed, I would make the case that most people couldn't even afford non tax stamp firearms at the time. I've seen many Sears Roebuck ads for Winchester 94s at around $30-40, and that was probably cost prohibitive at the time. Still, the original question is fun thought exercise.

captain awesome said:

Browning M2

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Two.

I was going to post that other than investment purchases for flipping post-1934, I don't have any desire for pre-NFA items. But this changed my mind. I want a pair of M2's for my boat. I don't have a boat, but I would get one just for my M2's.

Can I say BOFORS???....lol

Numismatic U.S. denominated gold coins. Maybe Cocoa-Cola, Phillip-Marlboro, I.B.M. or General Motors stock. Or a pound or two of 5 carat flawless colorless diamonds. Beachfront property in Miami Beach or Malibu.

Fully automatic firearms don't float my boat.

A Browning machine gun collection, and a Vickers. Bar too. Heck a tommy gun would have to be in there as well.

Rubone said:

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I was waiting for it. It was just a matter of time.

SterlingBullet said:

Numismatic U.S. denominated gold coins. Maybe Cocoa-Cola, Phillip-Marlboro, I.B.M. or General Motors stock. Or a pound or two of 5 carat flawless colorless diamonds. Beachfront property in Miami Beach or Malibu.

Fully automatic firearms don't float my boat.

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Speaking from a purely economic perspective, I agree with you. This brings up the next phase of this discussion: are these purchases wise use of your economic resources during the worst economic downturn in US history? I generally say guns are a poor investment (collectibles in general), but I think full-auto NFA items are the exception.

I'd like to compare the purchase price of a Thompson in 1934, in inflation adjusted dollars, to some recent sale prices, and then compare that number to gold, the DOW, and the S&P500. An interesting variation on the stock market game.

It’s fantasy Gents.

I would go with the first gun I thought of when I saw this thread.

Colt M1921AC Thompson with a 100-round drum magazine.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Campbell_Thompson.jpg

D.B. Cooper said:

$4600 in 2023 inflation adjusted dollars. I would wager that was more than a year's income for many Americans at the time.

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I graduated from Purdue with a mechanical engineering degree in 1973 and was making a very good income of $11,800. In 1973.

hso said:

Recent sale $25,000 vs $200 then.

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I bought a Thompson in 1975 for $750 (plus the $200 tax, of course). So the price between 1934 and 1975 merely tripled, without even considering the effects of inflation. All the huge runup in prices came after the 1986 Hughes Amendment. That was an artificial effect of the legislation. And the price did not jump suddenly after Hughes. It was more like an accelerating curve.