Shooting a Collectable

[Mark_Mark]

Would you drive a classic car that just cost $200,000 at auction?

How does shooting a gun devalue it? All it does is you can no longer say"unfired" except a test at the factory

I am going to put my SW M 27-2 8 3/8 barrel in wood presentation box for sale I have never fired it as I had no reason to, I have other 357s I do not think it was every fired outside of the factory, but it may have been, It's still perfect.
I have a couple Rugers in a similar condition, never fired by me, but if I did it would not change the value any.

Good point!

 

[DustyGmt]

I gave my buddy reams of grief for picking up a mint Colt M1903 for a good price and over the course of a couple months I would periodically ask him if he had shot it yet and he hadn't for quite a few months, he told me he picked up ammo for it a number of times, in jest I told him I had nothing further to say to him until he went and shot it. He finally did. I have one that's a few years older than his, same type, and he wants to get together soon and have a .32acp day at the range.

I wouldn't buy a gun I couldn't shoot. If I bought a collectible I would shoot it, if I could afford to buy two, maybe I would shoot one and not the other but basically guns are primarily only of interest to me to use them for their primary function.....

 

[DustyGmt]

I once owned a museum quality 1836 US dragoon flintlock pistol, and I did shoot it. Once.View attachment 1153226

Growing up, my great aunt and uncle liked to play cards and to keep the kids busy they had a toy box for all the lil cousins to play with toys and random stuff. In that box was a flintlock pistol that looked exactly like this gun but not as bright and shiny, for all I know it was a priceless heirloom. Don't know why it was in the toy box, but I sure had fun playing with it pretending to be a robber or a pirate.......

Eta: now that I think of it, it wasn't a flintlock, it was a cap and ball but was still very similar

 

[.38 Special]

It would have to be a pretty special gun for me not to use it. Something unfired and in the five-digit price range, or something so extremely old that it might not even be safe to fire. And frankly, I'd be pretty unlikely to keep either of them; I'd much rather have a gun I can happily use. The relatively rare "collectible" guns which I do have - generally in the $2500 to $5000 price range - all get used (albeit gently in some cases) and will continue to be as long as I can manage it.

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

Life for me is way too short. Shoot the gun: love the experience and history. If someone gave or sold me a NIB untouched Smith 52-1/ Smith 39 / Hammmerli 22's / Artillery Lugers etc. That sucker is getting unboxed and POww'D a lot!

 

[AlexanderA]

There are two kinds of "collectible" guns -- those that are marketed as such (for example, commemoratives) and those that become collectible by dint of historical associations. The presumption is that the first category is unfired, and that the second category (almost by definition) is fired. So it shouldn't hurt to fire such a historical artifact a little more. (You might want to think twice if it involves some early muzzleloading metallurgy.)

Something like a mint condition Colt Python would fall into the first category. You wouldn't want to fire it.

 

[21H40]

I think your new Altor will be OK if you shoot it once in a while. Or were you referring to the HiPoints?

 

[Mark_Mark]

I think your new Altor will be OK if you shoot it once in a while. Or were you referring to the HiPoints?

LOL!!! getting it threaded for a suppressor!

 

[PzGren]

How could I appreciate a gun without shooting it, fondling it, taking it apart and marvel at the engineering and craftsmanship? There are many beautiful things that I have the privilege to own but my guns are truly appreciated for their performance.

These are sleepers with great accuracy - in the right hands, that is.

 

[earlthegoat2]

I have had $2-$4k guns that were not collectibles that I was not afraid to shoot.

Why would I care about any “supposed” collector value of less than that?

Also, if I am buying it, I plan to shoot it. Period.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I once owned a museum quality 1836 US dragoon flintlock pistol, and I did shoot it. Once.View attachment 1153226

Id have shot that one too, gorgeous!

This one was unfired, in the display box from 1967 when I bought it:

I went ahead and shot it, but folks are asking more than what I paid for well-used examples now, so I feel pretty good about it.

 

[Targa]

For me it depends on the collectible. If I were fortunate enough to own a gun along these lines not a single round would enter the cylinder. Now if it were the same revolver without the State Patrol limited number association, yeh, I would shoot it sparingly….

 

[Tall]

Would you drive a classic car that just cost $200,000 at auction?

Sure. I have.

 

[redneck2]

When I worked at the LGS we would typically give less for a commemorative gun than an equivalent regular model. When you get something like “Idaho State Trooper” commemoratives the appeal is very limited

 

[Targa]

When I worked at the LGS we would typically give less for a commemorative gun than an equivalent regular model. When you get something like “Idaho State Trooper” commemoratives the appeal is very limited

That makes sense, but if you were an Idaho State Trooper the monetary value might be irrelevant to that person.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I have over 10 pre-1900 rifles from America and Europe and have shot them all. I have a Dutch flintlock naval pistol dated 1825 that I have not fired but only because I don't think it could be safely fired. I do have 2 NIB Remington 2 mag bolt rifles that I bought 10 to 20 years ago that I intend to keep unfired until I give them to my grandchildren at some point in the future. They are not worth $2K though, but if the current rate of inflation or gun regulation continues they may exceed that at some point in the future....

 

[gunmechanic]

I have a confession to make. Some times i buy a mint collectible/Model i want and then buy a shooter example to shoot.

 

[tark]

I have three guns that were never fired after leaving the factory, a C-96 broomhandle Mauser made in 1913, a type 14 Nambu made in 1935 ( with pre-war quality that makes the C-96 look ugly ) and a T-series Hi-power made in 1968. All of them are 99% guns. The first two have cosmoline all over their insides.

There is a rule among the collecting world that says that when a piece reaches the 97% plateau, each extra percentage point of condition can, in some instances, double the value of the gun. This usually holds true for very high end guns that are rare and scarce. My three are not in that category. Some examples would be transferrable FG-42s, ( there are only 26 in the country, they go for a third of a million at auction. ) Walker Colt's and Singer 1911A1's, to name three. But this 97% rule can also be applied to guns that were inexpensive and cranked out by the millions, but very few survive today...in pristine condition. One example would be the Remington model 6 Boy's rifle. It was a cheap single shot .22 that sold for three bucks or so a hundred years ago. There are lot's of them still around, but finding one in near new condition car result in a four figure price tag.

Some guns are so rare ( Walker Colt's ) that one in almost any condition can cost many thousands of dollars. And of course there are guns that were owned by historical figures or celebrities. They bring big bucks pretty much regardless of condition.

I don't shoot a gun that is 99% and full of cosmoline. That's just me.

Truly collectable guns are almost never mint and unfired and don't really lose any value from being shot assuming you're not breaking parts, being careless and dropping them on concrete, using chemical cleaners that damage their finishes, etc. All my collectable guns are historic ones and they were used and abused long before they came into my possession, and me shooting them on occasion doesn't diminish their value.

I can agree with this. However , when you do find one near new, I say it shouldn't be fired.

How does shooting a gun devalue it? All it does is you can no longer say"unfired" except a test at the factory

Read my second paragraph.

I have a confession to make. Some times i buy a mint collectible/Model i want and then buy a shooter example to shoot.

I have a "shooter " grade C-96 that I shoot.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I have a confession to make. Some times i buy a mint collectible/Model i want and then buy a shooter example to shoot.

I’m thinking the same! lol!!!! but secretly

 

[earlthegoat2]

The most valuable things in my life, I didn’t pay money for.

Dollar values tied to items are very relative.

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

Just saying, you'll spend over 200K on your wife, and we all work with them. An expensive car, gun, boat, house all the same.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Then there's the guy who has a Luger with all matching numbers in a case on the mantel and an arsenal rebuilt Luger with mismatched numbers in his range bag for matches because it is a better shooter than the one with all its original parts.

 

[Monac]

I have been a gun collector for 40 years. I generally have bought all my guns with the intention of shooting them, because that is one more way to learn about them. The only ones I do not shoot are ones for which no ammunition is available (455 Webley Automatic) or which I feel, upon reflection, are not safet to shoot (44 Special Trocaola Triple Lock, 32 ACP Jaeger, 25 ACP OWA, 22/380 Cobray Pocket Pal, etc.)

Also, more and more lately there have been guns I have not shot because I simply cannot see the sights (32 ACP Rheinmetall, 32 Long H&A Safety Police), so my collecting has slacked off greatly. In fact, the only pistol I have bought lately is one that I thought was so good looking I wanted one anyway, an old Beretta 32 ACP Model 90. Maybe I will get a gun with a red dot sight for target shooting, but I mostly don't want to buy a gun I can't or won't shoot. But my point about the Beretta 90 is that I can understand why someone would do that, and have done it myself.

 

[Bill Raby]

I have a collectible gun worth about $30,000. I am making an effort to wear it out.

 

[jag22]

I have three that are NIB that I will not shoot but I also shootable versions of each. Two of the three were just good deals that I couldn’t pass up. The third one I’d just as soon not talk about. Also have a beautiful engraved Colt SAA that I certainly wouldn’t shoot.