Do you keep one or more safe queen(s)?

[AirPower]

Visited a friend who has the majority of his guns as safe queen and only a handful that he shoots and handles regularly. He says unless there's an emergency, they're there appreciating about as fast as bank interest rates so he might as well let them sit there. Do you have any safe queens or do you shoot them all and sell the ones you don't?

It's also hard to define what's a safequeen, what's your take on it? The safe queens he has are all brand new and never shot and get a wipe of oil from time to time. Oh, they also have original boxes. But I do know others who shoot their safe queens but are really careful about handling it.

 

[xdoctor]

To me, the idea of owning a firearm you've never fired and plan to use only in the case of an emergency is stupid. Why would you go into an emergency with an unproven firearm?

 

[Old Dog]

shoot 'em all!

I could be wrong here, but I think the concept of firearms appreciating significantly in value (as fast as bank interest rates? Hunh?) is probably for the most part pretty optimistic ... unless one owns some genuine classics, old or rare firearms (especially with provenance), most commercial guns that I'm aware of (with adjustments for inflation) probably maintain their value pretty well, but certainly aren't gonna give you any more of a return than more common investments ...

 

[Rembrandt]

My definition of a "Safe Queen".....

...."a firearm with accessories and appearance enhancements beyond that of a base model gun. Owned by people with discretionary income who appreciate the finer things in life".

To own a gun and not use it, is not a sin or morally wrong. Some people just know how to respect and treat works of art.

 

[TarpleyG]

Not really a safe queen but I haven't shot it much--Marlin 336SS in .30-30. I don't hunt but I just think everyone needs a .30-30.

Greg

 

[reagansquad]

When my grandpa died he left me a 30-06. Ammo for it is $15+ per box. I can't afford to shoot it much. When I can afford it, I'll prolly just buy a Remington 700p. Does that count?

 

[Majic]

Some may feel they have to shoot every single firearm they own, but I feel there is no need to shoot each one. Some are simply for the pride of ownership. Sure you can get a return off your investment, but that's not the purpose for a lot of people buying them.
A firearm can be viewed as a tool or a work of art. Tools are put to use. Works of art are basically admired.
I have some that have never been fired since they left the factory. Some that may have or may not have been previously fired before I got them, but probably never will be fired by me. Some that I use all the time. I admire and try to carefully maintain each and every one of them.

 

[WhoKnowsWho]

Some may feel they have to shoot every single firearm they own, but I feel there is no need to shoot each one. Some are simply for the pride of ownership.

I agree with that statement. There are some that get shot more, some less, but all are something I am happy to have. Just because it doesn't get first pick doesn't make it a safe queen to me. Some are too odd to shoot all the time, when I have better options to shoot more often, like my Arisakas. I will take them out to plink with now, but the SKS or Mosin Nagant will get first pick. But that doesn't make the Arisakas safe queens or something to be sold off.

 

[stv]

I have a single gun that could be described as a safe queen - an early 70s production Smith & Wesson M37 Airweight Chief's Special, blued, 3" barrel, mint in box with all the warranty cards, owner's manual, etc. It has just about a single box of ammo through it and that's all - the bluing is near perfect, there's absolutely no sign of a drag line on the cylinder, and it's just a beautiful little gun.

The others are all shooters.

 

[Langenator]

I've got one that I've never fired, and if I ever do, it will probably be just once. It's a 1944 Ithaca-made USGI M1911A1. I bought it from a retired Colonel who inherited it from his father, who carried it across UTAH Beach on 7 Jun 1944 and on across France and Germany.

I've got one other that I don't fire much, my Sig 220, but that's just because I only have one magazine for it. Which reminds me, I need to buy some more.

 

[Logan5]

The grandparents and great grandparents left me with some stuff that I don't care to shoot, but I'm not about to sell any of it either. I don't think it's "morally wrong", but if anyone who thinks I'm a sinner and wants to convert me wants to buy me a case of .40-82 WCF, I'm absolutely open to redemption. Old Western Scrounger has it for $89.95 per box of 20.

 

[perry1963]

have a colt SAA made in 1903 that is not shot any more but everything else is shot every chance i get.

 

[fastball]

Way many.

To be brief:---What Majic said. "A firearm can be viewed as a tool or a work of art. Tools are put to use. Works of art are basically admired."

I have a couple of 19s and 10s that are IMHO "works of art". A 4" and a 6" blued example of each. Never handle them with out a gentle wipe down. Oh, and 25 other 100% S&Ws in safe deposit. That, IS a waste.

Tom

 

[Joe Demko]

they're there appreciating about as fast as bank interest rates

I very strongly doubt that. Without onerous laws like the now-defunct AWB or the machinegun-freeze to artificially drive prices up, firearms do not typically appreciate enough in value over the course of an owner's lifetime to be considered a good investment. Antique firearms with proven historical provenance can be a wothrwhile investment, as can certain more modern firearms. An otherwise undistinguished handgun belonging to Jack Ruby recently sold for a goodly sum, for example.
Guns are something to purchase because you like guns.
Edited to add that values on guns can go down as well as up. Remember when Makarovs were rare and valuable?

 

[halvey]

they're there appreciating about as fast as bank interest rates

Yeah, but that's only 1% a year. So to get a 1% yearly return on a gun is pretty easy to do.

I can see if you have extra money to keep some a safe queens. I plan on doing that. I guess what I don't get are the guys who "buy a gun to pass on" then never shoot it. I mean, where's the history? Where's the story?

My all time favorite gun is an $80 shotgun my dad bought when he was 14. He never cleaned it, never took good care of it. So I kind of took it away from him with his permission and got the barrel reblued. I plan on shooting that thing a lot and then handing it to one of my kids someday.

 

[MikeJ]

I own a polished blue Colt Officer's that I consider to be a safe queen. I prefer to shoot my stainless Commander and due to sentimental reasons would not sell the Officer's. I have a couple of others that rarely get shot so they might consider themselves as safe queens.

 

[Majic]

I guess what I don't get are the guys who "buy a gun to pass on" then never shoot it. I mean, where's the history? Where's the story?

The history and story will still be of somewhere in the future someone would say that's grandpa's gun that he loved so much. Firing it may add to the story, but certainly won't take anything away from it. Think about inheriting a new in the box with all original accessories and papers 75 year old handgun. That's a family heirloom destine to go many, many generations.

 

[YammyMonkey]

I'm not a queen, and neither are any of my guns.

 

[fastball]

Right!

Majic. I am a few days (really) past mid 60s. I have my Swiss grandfathers' sword cane he brought over with him in the 1860s. I don't go walking around the "hood with it.--Tom just my 2 cents

 

[BerettaNut92]

How can you guys not shoot your guns?

That's like, not driving a car or not shooting a camera or not pickin' a git-tar!

 

[halvey]

Majic
Don't get me wrong, I see what your saying.

But I guess, in my case, the gun was used to shoot skunks that were eating my dads honeybees, used to get rid of over 50 striped gophers one summer, used on my first hunt - not to mention all the hunting my dad did with it as a youth.

I guess I'd hope one day I could pass on my daily carry gun or my greatly used early Kimber one day.

Just different ways to see things I guess.

 

[mainmech48]

Just two, but they fall under the 'objets d'art' catagory, IMO.

First is the S&W #3 Schofield made in their Performance Shop. Won it in a raffle and, while it has been handled and 'turned', I've never fired it. I'll satisfy my curiousity about Schofields with one of the Uberti replicas. This one is gorgeous, rare and apreciating in value rapidly. Who knows? I might run into somebody with something I really want but can't afford and we'll be able to work something out.

The other is a Navy Arms Le Mat cap and ball replica. It may well be the most finely made and finished production replica revolver that I've ever seen. Yes, I bought it, but at a hefty discount from suggested retail. Even so, it's just too beautiful for me to bring myself to shoot it and sully that perfection. Go ahead and laugh; 'eye of the beholder', and all that.

 

[Majic]

How can you guys not shoot your guns?

Very easy Skunk. If you have multiple examples that fire the same cartridge then why must you fire all of them?
It's just a different midset. Not all the toys in the box gets played with. Some you look at, show off, then put them back away. I know how it should shoot and that's good enough for me. Some I bought with no intentions of ever firing. I just wanted to be able to say I have one because I really like it. If you never collect anything then you may never know what I'm saying.

BTW....I do have a Harley Davidson that I haven't started in about 10 years now (nothing was wrong with it the last time I shut the engine down), so I guess you don't understand that either.

 

[Monkeyleg]

Years back I had an absolutely NIB Colt SAA, circa 1956, with all papers, just as it came from the factory. After a couple of months, I couldn't stand the idea of not being able to shoot the gun, so I sold it.

Then I got a hankerin' for a Python, and got one, and shot it some. Then I decided I wanted one that was unfired, NIB. One now sits in my safe, and I fondle it from time to time.

All my other guns get fired, some more often than others. But that gleaming Python is there just for the sake of beauty.

Or, as Chief Dan George said about his piece of hard rock candy in The Outlaw Josey Wales: "It ain't for eatin, though. It's just fer lookin' through."

 

[PaulBk]

I only have three handguns and one of those is a 'safe queen'. It is actually in it's own safe rather than the main house safe.

The reason it remains on the bench when the other kids get to play is because it is an old 2" wheelgun that belonged to my dad and was my carry piece until replaced by my G26. It is about 30 years old and has seen a lot of action and I don't want to cause any further wear and tear, so you could call it a collector's item. Though it's re-sale value is very limited, it's sentimental value is high.

-Paul