Don’t shoot it ‘cause it might break, and then no parts available.

And if a tiny necessary spare part costs $100-$200 (if it can be found), such a gun has less appeal for many of us, other than as an item of historical interest..

Just look at some prices for a single, pre-WW2 Walther PP magazine.

The only reason I've used One box of ammo in my '94 Sig P228 is because the gun is in pristine condition.

I see it backwards from most. Most folks shy away from a gun that’s tough to get parts for or that has a reputation of being fragile. I on the other hand, make a point of shooting them so that I need to do a good cleaning. Once cleaned, they are oiled and stored. Hard to argue that use with proper maintence is worse than sitting on a shelf forgotten and drying out.

There are plenty of machinists capable of making replacement parts for guns when they can't be found. In the not so distant future, 3D printers will price them out of business.

MosinT53Hunter said:

Same with me, always looking for a Luger P08. I love them, I want one, but if I shoot an all matching one and break something....yah..

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Which is why I sold mine. I enjoyed shooting it, but didn’t want to be the guy that broke an all matching gun.

There is a point at which the value of a gun categorizes it as an asset. Nothing wrong with shooting them anyway if you can accept and afford the depreciation.

If I can't get parts for a gun and I don't want in invest in multiples, I sell it. I'll will happily let somebody else worry about getting custom parts made.

Hi...
Guns aren't much fun if you don't shoot them.
I have a German Luger with all matching parts but mismatched grips.
I shoot a couple of hundred rounds through it every year.
If it ever breaks, I will do what is needed to get it repaired.

I wouldn’t buy a gun where that’s the case, but if I somehow end up owning a gun like that I will shoot it if I like it. I will sell it if I don’t. The way I look at it, the gun’s already been paid for so it won’t cost me anything to shoot it until it breaks. Who knows, it may hold up for a long time.

I do have one gun I don’t plan on shooting. It’s a Krag rifle that I bought just so I could have a sample of every main US battle rifle of the 20th century. It is in a chopped up aftermarket stock and the metal finish is pretty bad. I’m not afraid to shoot it, I just don’t want to buy factory ammo just to say I’ve fired it.

So the argument is that if I have a gun that I don't shoot, I should get rid of it?
That means that I shouldn't have, at the most, more than a half-dozen guns. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) I have around 80 or so and there is no way I can continue shooting all of them. (Nor would I want to.) I have my regular "shooters" that go to the range with me because I know how well they will perform. Why should I waste my time and money shooting a gun that I know won't out-perform my regulars? (example: that old pre-war High Standard is not going to outshoot my MP95e, etc.)
Needless to say, I collect guns for reasons other than their "shooting" capabilities. They're not just tools but rather works of art or mechanical masterpieces.

Food for though in a related vein. I've bough spare parts for firearms I have purchased new. Not because I expect the parts to break soon, but because I've had past experience with long lead times on parts orders from some of the manufacturers. It's also nifty insurance if that model is later discontinued.

Probably the most profound example is my S&W 3000 shotgun. It was their take on a pump-action shotgun like the 870 made for them by Howa in Japan. Only in production for a few years, Mossberg picked the model up for 1-2 years and then discontinued it.
So good luck today easily getting any parts. I haven't needed any of them yet, but they were inexpensive to acquire when the product was still in production.

I have a number of guns that I haven't fired... yet. I'm not afraid of breaking them, I just haven't gotten around to them.
I will, God willing.

I have a junky Savage Axis Package Rifle in .270 that I bought 6 years ago that I still haven't shot.

I also have Grandpa's 1915-ish Marlin pre-39 .22 levergun.
I recall my father having to replace the cracked bolt on it when I was a kid.
It has not been fired since I got it about 20 years ago, at the very least.
I doubt I'll ever fire it before passing it on down.
Already isn't entirely 100% original, and I don't know if modern Marlin parts would fully integrate, even if I could find 'em.

The gun is thoroughly patina'd, has a hardware store screw in one of the buttplate holes instead of the correct screw, wears the dents & dings of a farm rifle from a hundred years ago, and while I don't intend to shoot it, I like to keep the mental fantasy alive that's it's all there & functional if I ever wanted to.

Even if not used, a functional nostalgic or historically significant gun holds more appeal than a busted one.
Denis

Smith & Wesson's 2nd and 3rd generation metal pistols are almost bullet proof but they break a part occasionally and need springs and mags. Yet Smith has decided to alienate everybody who ever bought one and has stopped supporting them. I've stopped supporting Smith and Wesson in retaliation. I won't buy a new Smith EVER. BuhBye.

OneFreeTexan said:

I was reading the thread “wearing out a firearm’.. Several commented they have a gun they don’t shoot because they can’t get parts for it,,, maybe the manufacturer is out of business, or the model has been discontinued so long.....who knows.
I have some guns which are real difficult to find parts for, some Spanish guns,, some Italian,,,,and some of the old Combloc guns....However, they are fun to shoot, so I shoot them, and if a part breaks and I can’t replaced it.....oh, well, I enjoyed the gun while it worked. So I am asking, if I had never shot that gun because a part ‘might’ break, wouldn’t I have missed out on a lot of nice shooting?

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I agree, shoot it. Most firearms are sturdy, and may never break. Should you never drive your car, because some day the frame may crack,
or the engine may seize up?

There’s no right or wrong answer here. It’s your property so do what you like with it. Shoot it, don’t shoot it, hang it on your living room wall; whatever makes you happy.

God bless America!

My car isn't a hundred years old & didn't fight in WWI.
My car isn't a hundred years old & didn't work a farm with a Grandpa I remember fondly.
Not even close to being the same thing.
Denis

MosinT53Hunter said:

Same with me, always looking for a Luger P08. I love them, I want one, but if I shoot an all matching one and break something....yah..

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DPris said:

My car isn't a hundred years old & didn't fight in WWI.
My car isn't a hundred years old & didn't work a farm with a Grandpa I remember fondly.
Not even close to being the same thing.
Denis

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My luger (non matching) is over a hundred and fought in two wars. If your worried about a matching one find a mismatched shooter they were repaired with the same care the original parts were built. It shoots better than my matching one. Heck offer enough i might let you have this one. I did crack and break the russian capture bakelite grips so i bough imitation ivory... Life goes on.

i have guns that are both old and did work on the farm. An old sears sxs for instance that rode every day with my grandfather and then my father. His nickel s&w m29 too. I still use it. Why? Because they'd want them to be used.

OldFashioned said:

My luger (non matching) is over a hundred and fought in two wars. If your worried about a matching one find a mismatched shooter they were repaired with the same care the original parts were built. It shoots better than my matching one. Heck offer enough i might let you have this one. I did crack and break the russian capture bakelite grips so i bough imitation ivory... Life goes on.

i have guns that are both old and did work on the farm. An old sears sxs for instance that rode every day with my grandfather and then my father. His nickel s&w m29 too. I still use it. Why? Because they'd want them to be used.

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It will just take time for me. The last one I saw was closer to a grand in price. Yes, I know about current pricing and this is acceptable in today current market, but I like getting a good deal too...its a constant battle in my mind on it. I will keep hoping.

If you just want a shooter, they are out there. Just be patient and have some ready cash. I picked this one up within the last year for $600.00
It's an S/42, all matching, pitted, buffed and reblued. But, what the hey........

I'm not looking for anything.
I have other 1911s if I want to shoot one, and I have other .22 leverguns if I want to shoot one.

Breaking the Russian capture bakelite grips is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.
Each time you break something that created a part of the gun's history & personality, and replace it with a modern part, you diminish originality and a percentage of the gun's character.

The 1918 here was acquired through family, I have no need to shoot it.
A cracked slide would diminish its "intact" status, and I won't do that.

The Marlin I can take out of the vault now & then and remember Grandpa, and enjoy looking at it as it sits.
I don't need to shoot it, I don't want to shoot it, and I will not risk breaking anything else on that rifle.
It's history, it's nostalgia, it's family, and my job now is to preserve it, not destroy it.

I have a 1916 Smith Triple Lock that went to France with a Canadian artilleryman in WWI, acquired by chance from an old former colleague & friend I've known for 39 years.
It came down through his family, I'm the third owner in 102 years.
Excellent condition.
I chased down some suitable .455 brass & one of these days I may load some very light lead stuff to shoot it once, but the gun was built prior to more modern heat-treating (like the 1918 Colt), it's in exceptionally fine shape now, it's a piece of world history, it's the only Triple Lock I've ever even seen, it's the third one (and the best) my gunsmith's seen in his 40-year career, and I'm not about to risk a busted or worn-out part on that beauty by shooting it regularly.
It's truly a museum piece.
I have other Smith N-Frames I can shoot regularly.

You make your choices, I make mine.
These three pieces are not a replaceable car.
They are not just old clunkers to be shot & destroyed.
They are not just collector guns.
They are revered and respected world & family history.
Denis

Ignition Override said:

And if a tiny necessary spare part costs $100-$200 (if it can be found), such a gun has less appeal for many of us, other than as an item of historical interest..

Just look at some prices for a single, pre-WW2 Walther PP magazine.

The only reason I've used One box of ammo in my '94 Sig P228 is because the gun is in pristine condition.

Click to expand...

Why? Doesn't matter if it is pristine; if you have shot it its value has dropped - might as well enjoy it

If it's not a serious collector's piece, I'm going to shoot it.
If I can get access to a mill and a lathe, there's not much on most guns I can't make, and in the case of some (I've seen some pretty rough stuff), make better. It might need more troubleshooting, fitting and filing than a proper gunsmith piece would if I can't find a schematic, but I enjoy the work and it would only cost a couple minor digits instead of an arm and a leg.