Diversifying Investments - Surplus Ammo?

[Hacker15E]

Dunno - a $100 SKS from 2005 is worth 3 times that.

Anyone can pick out an example of an outlier -- I can probably find a specific stock, or commodity, etc, that performed phenomenally over a specific period.

Hell, I can probably find examples of guns/ammo in the run-up during 2008 that had even greater inflation in value than that.

Unfortunately, all of those examples are just not indicative of the vast majority of firearms, ammunition, and accessory values over time.

I like how much money I've made on AAPL stock in the last two years, too...but that's also not typical of nearly any other stock for sale for any other company.

It's a fun idea -- I get it. I wish it were true. If folks feel like they're going to make a buck or two or buying guns and ammo, then go for it. It may work out for you, who knows.

Unfortunately, the economic reality just doesn't bear itself out as being a serious competitor or improvement to the various other conventional economic investment possibilities.

 

[moonman16]

Gold, Silver, Ammo, Good Liquor.

 

[Hotshot10]

My wife reads this forum sometimes......decades of careful training could potentially be lost in a matter of seconds.

Hahaha. Nice.

 

[TennJed]

I have firearms that are worth 1,000`s that I paid $20.00 for 35 years ago, ain`t no bank going to do that..........

No bank will do that but the only reason to invest with banks is a guarantee......ain't no gun going to give you FDIC coverage..so camparing guns to BANKS is a poor comparision. Banks never give a good return....but there are plenty mutual funds that would have done much better than your $1000 guns......the AVERAGE fund was what I was referencing. The AVERAGE gun would not do as well as yours, BUT your guns have done well by gun standards but not nearly as good as a lot of investments would have.

I am sorry, and I love guns, but no way you slice it are guns smart financial investment, when talking about rate of returns

 

[wasr10634unme]

oops

 

[wasr10634unme]

Ammunition is not an investment.

yeah its a retirement plan!

 

[303tom]

No bank will do that but the only reason to invest with banks is a guarantee......ain't no gun going to give you FDIC coverage..so camparing guns to BANKS is a poor comparision. Banks never give a good return....but there are plenty mutual funds that would have done much better than your $1000 guns......the AVERAGE fund was what I was referencing. The AVERAGE gun would not do as well as yours, BUT your guns have done well by gun standards but not nearly as good as a lot of investments would have.

I am sorry, and I love guns, but no way you slice it are guns smart financial investment, when talking about rate of returns

I look at it like this, when push comes to shove & the you know what hits the fan & money is not worth a you know what, what is a better investment. Your BANK or my GUNS ??????

 

[Gordon_Freeman]

I think it is smart to stock up on ammo now because it has such a long shelf life. You can look at the price tags and be thankful years down the road. I put price labels and dates on all mine. I don't think it is a good idea to buy it just to sell it later for profit. You might make some money, but Roth IRA's and mutual funds are a much better option.

 

[Hacker15E]

I think it is smart to stock up on ammo now because it has such a long shelf life. You can look at the price tags and be thankful years down the road.

This is very smart.

So far as most of us are concerned, ammo has a "lifetime" shelf life, but prices will continue to go up no matter what.

 

[P5 Guy]

Match Investing

How much was this way back then?
What would one pay for this today?

 

[Sheepdog1968]

Nothing wrong with stocking up some on ammo for firearms you own. Personally, I think maxing out the 401k over the long haul is still the best way to go.

 

[mr.trooper]

A Mosin is a decent investment in terms of percentages, but in terms of actual DOLLARS you be be returned (years down the road) they probably wont do much for you. You would have to be holding on to a few cases if you wanted to make it worth your while years down the road.

Forget about Class III stuff. At this point the prices are already high, and they are also relatively stable. It will take you a long a time to realize an acceptable percentage of growth.

In short, in my humble opinion, guns are not good investments from a money standpoint. Fun to shoot them though.

 

[SquareBeer]

Ammunition is not an investment.

I'm not sure where they were going with ammo being an investment. It is wise to have a nice reserve of ammo for the guns you hold or if you want to work ahead of sked and get ready. PFM doesn't work to brink you ammo at your need!

 

[B!ngo]

Ammunition is not an investment.

Ditto. If you are investing for financial returns I'd pass. Or at best go direct and invest in the manufacturers and others in the food chain in the ammo business. Not my cup of tea, but you may think otherwise.
If you purchasing to use later, taking advantage of a perceived local minima in pricing then that's your call. But that's not investing. Just smart buying.

 

[valnar]

Ammo may not be a good investment for a "cash in at retirement" scenario, but in general arms have always been a cornerstone of barter or trade when times get tough. In some scenarios, it could be worth more than gold.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Ammo isn't an investment. It's great for SHTF and bartering that will emerge afterwards. Heck, in times of collapse cigarettes, soap, food and booze become prized items for barter.

 

[Fishslayer]

Depends on the ammo. I wish I'd bought a pallet of the brass Yugo x39 when it was $100/crate. It's pretty much gone now. Same with the steel free Yugo 8mm Mauser milsurp. It was dirt cheap last year.

Right now x54R milsurp is around $90/spam can shipped. Mosins are red hot sellers right now & that ammo will eventually dry up.

 

[valnar]

Hindsight is 20/20. I went to a gun show in March and bought a Swiss K31, in great condition, for $350. The guy who sold it to me bought several when they first came out years ago for $90 a piece. I'm guessing this is a 5 year span.

My Dan Wesson PM7-S (1911) was $550 when I bought it in 2003. They go for over $1000 now, although I am never going to sell it.

Depending on your crystal ball you can do quite well.

 

[Plan2Live]

Looking at this strictly from a financial perspective, interest rates are at the lowest point seen in my lifetime. As a result money in the bank is not even keeping up with inflation. Speaking of inflation, our esteemed Treasury continues to print money, that alone will encourage inflation. Inflation means today's dollars will buy fewer things in the future. Metal prices are on the rise, fuel prices are very high and likely to go higher. Throw in the very high likelihood that we will not have a leadership change in November which means we are highly likely to see a "bullet tax", Executive Order or EPA regulations that will negatively impact gun/ammunition tolerance. Add all that together and the logical answer is if you like to shoot and have the cash now then start stocking up.

Even in a worse case scenario of prices remaining stable or even backing up a tad you are less likely to loose money on firearms and ammunition than I am likely to loose money in my well diversified 401(k).