What eventually happens

[JimP]

to all those "never been shot" collectable guns. Does anyone know? Hw many become so valuable that the owner sells for a big profit? How many become so valuable the owner will not sell? How many are sold by the surviving spouce or children? Any ideas at all about what eventually happens to these guns?

best,

JimP

 

[wideglide]

someone else gets to shoot them

 

[Don Lovel]

Last year I went to a Missouri Arms Collectors gunshow here in KC. You could tell the economy was having an effect. There were hundreds of safe queen vintage single actions and Smith & Wesson & Colt 1911 on the tables. I saw three vintage Colt Bisleys in 45 that looked like the day they left the factory.
Some people are just hoarders disguised as collectors too

 

[Rclark]

Someone else gets to shoot them.

I suspect that is true for the majority. There are a few though that probably won't get shot though as they move from collector to collector as they are 'truly' collectable (one or two of a kind in the world). I am a shooter, so IF (big if) I ran across, say, a mint OM .44Mag SBH for the right price (here is the sticking point )... I'd buy ...and shoot. That's my way of treating a good firearm . But if someone else just buys it to look at it, or as an investment... then I am all right with that too. Each to their own! We each have our own life to live.... And the gun won't care either way being just a piece of iron....

 

[Tommy Kelly]

I guess thats the reason I'm not a collector. When I buy a gun I shoot it and enjoy it. I'm not into safe queens heck I don't even have a safe but I have a room full of shooters that I enjoy.

 

[WIL TERRY]

I AM PRETTY SURE that the collector's wifes second husband is gonna shoot the 'ell out of all of 'em, dump 'em at a gunshow, and drink up the money.

 

[Greg Mercurio]

Probably just me, but unless the factory or individual smith makes a one of a kind or limited (really limited) quantity of a firearm, I'm pretty sure their intent is for them to be used.

I have a Jimmy Lile knife that was purchased about 30 years ago, never intending it to sit in a drawer, took it to Alaska, butchered 2 moose with it and hunted with it on my side for years. Collectors go nuts when they hear about it telling me that the value is just gone. Really? Gone? It has just as much value as the day I bought it. It holds an edge beyond all reasonable expectations, looks great and most improtantly it works just like it's supposed to.

For firearms, I believe it's the same. Collectors go nuts if they're shot but I guess for them not being used is more important than the intended use.

Kind of hard to rationalize, but engineers don't usually rationalize unless they consume a lot of alcohol.

:mrgreen:

 

[Hugh]

I have a 1985 vintage Single Six Bisley which I bought from a pawn shop two years ago. Never been fired except by Ruger, includes box and papers. Out the door for $329.99. Sold to the pawn shop by the previous owner's widow. I don't even care for Bisleys, but bought it because it is what it is. It is a pretty safe queen though, and I'm sure my daughter will figure out what to do with it someday.

 

[NormH3]

What good is a gun that hasn't been shot. I don't get it. Might as well collect baseball cards.

 

[wvjoetc]

I'm not a collector so I'm going to shoot mine also.

Joe

 

[Olsherm]

I get one and shoot it a little then I trade it off for something different.Just my thing.I have tried a lot of them mostly single actions.I guess I have ruined the value of a few colectabvle guns in my life.Got a new USFA 44/40 Frontier Six Shooter,nickle finish I haven't shot yet.Mostly because I haven't had time and because I can't see the sights on the bright finish guns.I may ruin the value of it soon if I am not careful.GGEEEEEEEsh. I traded a Montado/grooved strap model ,only been shot a few rounds,this week.GEEEESH What is a person to do? I have a problem!

 

[David LaPell]

One of the things that always gets me is to hear that a gun has never been fired. I have news for you alot of them were from the factory before they left even if it was only a couple of rounds. I have given up myself on ever owning mint or near mint older guns because they are no fun. I would rather save the money buy a shooter and pocket the difference for a nice holster or some brass to shoot out of the gun.

 

[mr surveyor]

One of the things that always gets me is to hear that a gun has never been fired. I have news for you alot of them were from the factory before they left even if it was only a couple of rounds. I have given up myself on ever owning mint or near mint older guns because they are no fun. I would rather save the money buy a shooter and pocket the difference for a nice holster or some brass to shoot out of the gun.

ditto.... I like proven shooters

 

[22/45 Fan]

OK, you buy and keep a "safe queen" in unfired condition and 20 years later you sell that $300 gun as a collectable for say $1500. Big deal. Are you going to retire on the appreciation? The value you get from keeping it as a collectable isn't nearly as much as you would have gotten from shooting it.

We've all heard of the huge value increase of a cased set of Patterson Colts but what would the same money be worth if it was just put in a bank account for 150 years?

 

[yankee7809]

Realistically I am all for one or two guns of all types being saved for historical value. But that is for someone else to do. I would love to have a real original .44 Mag flattop and/or pre model 29 Smith & Wesson. However if I were to obtain one of those rare guns I would shoot it. Period. That doesn't mean I would raw-dog the thing at all. I would take the utmost care of it. But I would shoot it anytime I wanted to. My hat is off to the collectors for what they are trying to accomplish. I just want to make their guns more valuable by limiting the number of pristine examples that exist of those guns.

 

[GasGuzzler]

I AM PRETTY SURE that the collector's wifes second husband is gonna shoot the 'ell out of all of 'em, dump 'em at a gunshow, and drink up the money.

Best post so far even though I am still happily married to #1.

 

[jimbo1096]

I'm ashamed to say a couple of mine haven't been shot, at least not by me. But it's just because I haven't gotten around to it yet or like something else better. Of course they all get fondled a couple times a year at least.
My son knows he will have them all when I'm gone, so he can do what he wants with them.

 

[Hugh]

What good is a gun that hasn't been shot. I don't get it. Might as well collect baseball cards.

You guys are just too much fun. I don't collect guns, do have a small gathering of assorted though. That business about collecting baseball cards though; what good are baseball cards that you don't put in your bicycle spokes to make noise? Might just as well buy a gun that you don't care for and just stick in your safe. :wink:

Unless of course you want to offer me a chunk of change and then maybe you can shoot the bejabbers out of it.

 

[GasGuzzler]

Hugh made Jimbo's point.

I operate under the TEHO theory.

 

[contender]

I'm a shooter and a collector.
To many a gun should be shot. To others, the beauty of one as it came from the factory is the reason they enjoy them. If you take the time to look at the collection section, you will see many fine examples of well cared for guns that are in demand, and valuable. Why? because it's hard to find pristene examples of some guns. And the ones in the best condition command the better prices.
Shoot them? Yes,, you can,, but as a collector,, who sees a used gun my first question is; "Did a previous owner abuse this gun with hot loads? Did he tinker with the action? Was it cared for or used as a hammer?" All sorts of questions because the gun can NOT tell us if the previous owner loved to reload and only had Bullseye powder & felt a case had to be full enough to where you compress the powder when seating a bullet.

How many of us have bought guns that were used & found that the action wasn't right? Or,, just look at the folk around here (& other forums) who will not leave a gun "as is stock" and feel they have to "improve" it to their liking? We call a lot of them "Kitchen table gunsmiths!"
I have seen my share of them, and was sad to see a fine firearm ruined by their ilk.

But not everyone is a collector, and their purpose is solely shooting. That is fine. To each hos own.

I collect, AND I shoot. Here's how MANY of us who collect look at things.

We collect, and display to help educate others about our beloved Rugers. We enjoy sharing our hobby. To find a complete package in factory original condition of a rare gun helps educate folks who appreciate the history of how things were done. It helps preserve the history of Ruger, and since Ruger is a young company when compared to Colt, Winchester, S&W, or Remington,, we are in a great time to be preserving history for future generations.

It's MUCH easier to find "shooter grade" guns to enjoy, than it is to find pristene examples for a collection.

I have examples of both, and I enjoy both sides of the issue.

So, if you are strictly a shooter,, by all means,enjoy it. But if you happen upon a rare example of a gun, a collector will gladly pay you a premium to get it, to where a shooter grade can be had with extra $$ in your pocket.

 

[timnc]

Contender-well said. That is the best summary of the topic I have seen.

 

[john guedry]

I shoot 'em. Some a lot more than others. A safe queen is just an expensive paper weight.

 

[DGW1949]

Contender-well said. That is the best summary of the topic I have seen.

I agree.

DGW

 

[flatgate]

Collecting interesting, old and rare Ruger single actions has provided me with years and years of enjoyment.

You guys got it all wrong. You're supposed to buy one of the "super duper rare, one of only 200 made examples and stuff it in your safe.

Then you have to buy one more example to shoot. One acquires a lot more neat guns that way.

That's my answer and I'm stickin' to it!

Boxed 10" barreled .44 Flattop. Safe Queen Extraordinaire!

Flatgate's Improved Shooter 10" .44 Flattop. Better/larger grip frame, hammer, slicked up
action, etc., etc.

flatgate

 

[hutchman]

And, there is nothing wrong with collecting shooters!

 

[WIL TERRY]

And, there is nothing wrong with collecting shooters!

OH MY.....there for a second I must have had momentary dyslexia...

 

[GasGuzzler]

Some cannot afford to do both so shooters make a bunch more sense.

 

[contender]

I fully understand those folks who can't afford to own collectors AND shooters. But for many of us who collect, we also buy shooters. In fact, it's easy to find shooter grade guns that are desired by others,, wheras top quality rarer guns in minty condition seem, to get more & more scarce all the time.
To compare collecting guns to baseball cards is comparing apples to oranges.
A baseball card can not be used for much except to look at. (Most kids nowadays don't know how to attach them to bicycle spokes.)
But, even a collectable gun can be put into use by the owner if they so choose to do so.

But in my previous post, I strayed from the OP,, so here goes.
A collector will often make arrangements for his/her collection once they are gone. Oftentimes,,, the collector will divest his/her collection prior to them passing. Others will leave instructions as to what should be done. Still other folks will not make any plans & the stuff gets sold,, usually too cheaply, and the heirs have no idea. Occasionally some collections are donated to a museum.

So,,, when those of us who collect are gone,, and decades from now,, the ones we preserve now will be appreciate by future collectors as well. As a (now gone) old gun dealer friend of mine used to say; We really don't own them,, we just get to keep them a while before someone else gets to look after them. I often heard him tell somebody who was buying a gun; "I've enjoyed owning it for a while,, it's time for someone else to own it." RIP Ralph!

 

[GasGuzzler]

Contender, you have great points. I was not arguing at all. Just adding perspective. I like your attitude.

 

[JimP]

Great stuff guys! I have enjoyed reading your thoughts and I agree with them all! I can tell there's room for everyone here and I like that.

JimP