What firearm do you own or have owned that you've "lost" or "invested" the most money on/in?

[AK103K]

I've always looked at losses when I sell a gun for less than I paid as "rent"'.
I had use of the gun and finally got tired of it and moved on to something else.
I was just the temporary custodian and took pleasure in having it, so rent seems reasonable.

Ahh, the "beer theory" of gun ownership! A perfect fit!

It amazes me that no one ever seems to take into account inflation in discussions like these. I paid $750 for a rifle back in 94. I would have to sell that gun for $1300 today-just to keep up with inflation. Unless you have an historically significant gun, with proof of provenance (e.g., the pistol with which John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln), or you have a gun that is in incredibly high demand (AR15 after a Democrat takes the White House), the probability of losing money on a firearm is pretty high.

Most things Ive bought over the years were sold for less than I paid for them. Never really too much of a beating, and as deadin said, their status money wise, was more like rent than ownership. And unless I happened to get a dog/POS, or something called Springfield Armory , and quickly ditched it just to be done with it, I usually got more out of them than I paid for them.

Not all of the guns Ive owned were like that though. Anything "HK" was basically a very good, short term investment (thanks mostly to the republicans), and usually brought more than double, even triple what I paid for them. And that went for their accessories too.

NFA items were also a very good investment, and again, thanks to the republicans.

Guns like the AR's have been pretty lucrative too, but only because I understand that you buy when things are cheap and sell when they are high. The thanks there when I made money, was mostly due to the Democrats. The republicans get the nod this time, for them being cheaper when I bought them recently anyway.

 

[BlueHeelerFl]

Due to loosing a good job back in 2004 I was forced to sell many guns to make ends meet, mostly to gun stores.

I'm pretty sure I lost money on most of them but can't remember the amounts on most of them.

The one I due remember was my Marlin 1894 357 mag that I paid maybe $430 back in the mid 90's. I sold it in 2007 for $275 in 2007. Right after I sold it Marlin stopped making 1894's and their prices skyrocketed.

I have such wonderful timing

 

[bannockburn]

AK103K

Anything "HK" was basically a very good, short term investment (thanks mostly to the republicans), and usually brought more than double, even triple what I paid for them. And that went for their accessories too.

You are so right, especially about HK guns and accessories! Now I did get a pretty good deal on the rifle, an SL7, that was brand new in the box but what took it to the next higher level of ownership was the price of everything that went with it! Magazines were in incredibly short supply and when you did find one it typically went for twice what their suggested retail price was listed at. Other things, like a scope mount, sling, or just a basic sight adjustment tool, were available but very pricey.

Eventually I got tired of the whole supply and demand side of everything HK and traded it straight up for a new in box FEG SA 85M. I'm sure I could have made more money on the deal in the long run but I think I did alright and just wanted to be done with it and move on.

 

[bassjam]

The biggest loss was a muzzle loaded I bought for $200 almost 20 years ago. I sold it to my brother, but he never paid me. He disputes this and says he did. Doesn't really matter now. Who knows, maybe he's right and I forgot?

I also had a 10/22 that I converted to .17 hm2, had $570 in it. I discovered that the ammo would split at the bottleneck after a couple years, and as someone who likes to keep plenty of ammo on hand I decided to get rid of it, traded it for a Ruger MKI bicentennial. I figure I lost at least $150-200 on that, but I do love shooting that MKI and so does my oldest daughter.

Also had a Glock 23 that I never really cared for, with a .22 conversion kit. Had $640 in it all, sold the gun and kit for $550.

That's it. They all eat at me, but it's not nearly as big of a loss as some others on here. It also taught me to not buy guns I wasn't sure I wanted to keep unless I got a deal I knew I could make money on if I let them go.

 

[stevebla]

I have over a thousand in a 10/22 that might be worth six-hundred, but I have learned more and had more fun with it than any gun I own. Money well spent. Ammunition, gun powder, primers, and bullets is where the money goes.

“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms,”

Thomas Jefferson

"Personal weapons are what raised mankind out of the mud, and the rifle is the queen of personal weapons. The possession of a good rifle, as well as the skill to use it well, truly makes a man the monarch of all he surveys. It realizes the ancient dream of the Jovian thunderbolt, and as such it is the embodiment of personal power. For this reason it exercises a curious influence over the minds of most men, and in its best examples it constitutes an object of affection unmatched by any other inanimate object."

Jeff Cooper

 

[lightman]

Probably my benchrest rifle when all of my buddies quit the game.

Stolle custom action---$1200
McMillan stock----------$600
Kelbly trigger--$250
Kelbly rings--$125
Kreiger Barrel---$350

I think I sold it for $1700. Plus I still have an expensive set of dies and some expensive brass! The March scope was about $2400 and I think I also got $1700 for it.

I've broke even or made money on most of my gun swaps but not this one.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I have never lost money or value on any firearm that I have purchased except for the cases where the gun was stolen from me.
Ammunition, on the other hand... .

 

[.308 Norma]

I don't remember the exact figure, but my custom Montana Rifle Company 308 Norma Mag cost me somewhere around $3,500 by the time I got it scoped, slung, and bought enough brass to last me the rest of my life. However, as I've said many times before, my custom 308 Norma Mag was my retirement gift to myself, and I paid for it with my first two Social Security checks.

 

[MCMXI]

It amazes me that no one ever seems to take into account inflation in discussions like these. I paid $750 for a rifle back in 94. I would have to sell that gun for $1300 today-just to keep up with inflation.

You make an excellent point. The 4" stainless Colt Python that I bought in '93 for $750 would need to sell for $1,350 today if I wanted to break even.

 

[AK103K]

You make an excellent point. The 4" stainless Colt Python that I bought in '93 for $750 would need to sell for $1,350 today if I wanted to break even.

Shouldnt have much trouble doubling the "today" price these days. At least around here anyway.

 

[CapnMac]

In '94 I bought a rifle labeled as an "M-14" off a Dealer's table at Dallas Market Hall.
It was really a BM-59 receiver with a mish-mash of Garand and M-14 parts tacked on it.
The "magazine catch" wasn't; it was a Garand clip retainer. So, it did not hols magazines very well, certainly not to where they would load.
So, waited until the next Market Hall Show and found the dealer again, and pointed out the issue. He, eventually, sent me a BM-59 mag catch. Which installed well enough. M-14 mags no longer fit, though. So, waited until the next DMH show, found the dealer and gave him back the thing, and a couple hundred, and left with an SAI M1A, which worked out of the box.

So, to get a working rifle "cost" me five tanks of gas and a couple hundred.

Buying gizmos, widgets, and accessories for various firearms, in my book, does not count as "investing" in the arm. But, I've also never picked up a Caspian and sent it off to Cylinder & Slide or the like.

 

[PapaG]

Probably my 870TB trap gun. Two replacement receivers due to cracking, replacement action bar and foreend, replacement trigger (2), recoil pad, firing pins, front sight. The original 1975 gun was $172 dealer cost and I've spent nearly $800 since. Still breaking birds at a 96% clip.