Shood I shoot this S&W? It's a moral question.

I avoid older boxed stuff when possible. This does two things save money at purchase time and I don't have to feel guilt associated with using given piece. Model 15 is very common S&W model with many thousands made . It will become very valuable when S&W goes out of business completely or stops making "wheel guns". If this happens all complaints (lock, barrel jacket, lack of barrel locking pin,......) associated with S&W revolvers will go away instantly. You have to decide what to do with your gun.

I'd shoot it. Then again, I'm not a collector. Every gun I purchase, I purchase with the intention of shooting it, and shooting if often.

I'd shoot it, but only with light loads, and not thousands of them.

There are too many Model 10's out there for that.

Either use is honorable. Your decision.

Shoot it. Carry it! It is not a museum piece.

Shoot it. A classic S&W revolver but not a collector. There were plenty made. The pre-15 combat masterpiece are harder to find but still not worth anymore than $300. I bought one for $299.
Howard

Can you sell at a profit?

Sell it at a profit and replace it with a shooter grade without a box and paper work.
Use the profits for a action job, holster and more ammo.

It is a very nice gun but not really a collector piece yet! If it were mine I would not shoot it. buy a shooter and you won't have to worry about it.

You did just fine at $400. I use gunbroker.com as a fairly decent price guide. If you sign-up with them you can search past auctions and see what they've actually sold for.
Roaddog found a great deal if it's a pre-15. It makes me want to ask what year he made that purchase and what kind of condition?

Let's see some pics!

Ok, you did better than I did. I looked for a long time and never found a piece in this condition for close to $300. How do you guys do it? Everytime I find a good price on a good gun, someone tells me they blew that price out of the water.

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Those guns are always in the far away land of "Somewhere Else." I never seem to find them either. So I stopped worrying about it. So what I pay a few bucks more for something I want. I'm not trying to make a profit on it.

Shoot it or not? Well, I sort of understand you dilemna. I recently bought a Model 10, that while not perfect is pretty close, in the box with all the papers. I MAY not shoot it, BUT only because I have other guns to shoot. If I didn't, I'd shoot the snot out of it.

i would shoot the snott out of it! i never buy guns to put in the safe to stay, ok now get busy!

t_dickinson said:

Ok, you did better than I did. I looked for a long time and never found a piece in this condition for close to $300. How do you guys do it? Everytime I find a good price on a good gun, someone tells me they blew that price out of the water.

I'll show my cards here - $400 did I make a bad investment?

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I see about $500 worth there.

While model 15's are very common, ones like new in the box are not. As a consequence so-called "collectable grade" examples are bringing as much as $600 at some auctions, and I would expect it to go up. This may jolt some, but as a rule of thumb collectors are often willing to pay more then shooters to obtain a piece - if it is exactly what they want, usually meaning unfired.

I am aware of many members who advise others to shoot like-new guns that have a collector's value (real or potential) but these advisers have nothing to lose. The gun owner does.

This is not a moral question - it's one of monetary value - or loss.

I recently went through the same dilemma. I bought an unfired handgun that I knew I could turn for a immediate profit of a couple hundred dollars, but I had always wanted one for myself.

I shot it, loved it and now have found a keeper for me. If I hadn't shot it, I'd have had a few hundred bucks but I'd not have the joy of a great shooter.

In 5 years you will make a profit if you decide to sell it. Regardless shoot it enjoy!

It's beautiful and has not a blemish save a VERY faint turn ring.

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There's your answer right there, the bloom is off the rose already, shoot it and enjoy.

You could buy a beater K frame from J&G for $200, shoot that one, and keep the one you have in a safe.

In 5 years, the safe queen may have appreciated in value enough to justify purchasing a beater gun, and the beater gun will probably still be worth close to what you paid for it.

Why would you bring a pretty girl to the ball and not dance with her?

I recently bought a nib 19-3 made in 1972. I shot 100 rounds through it today. Since purchase I've put a few thousand through it. I've put a Wolff spring kit in it and Ahrends retro-combat finger grove stocks on it. I'm not shooting a bunch of hot .357 through it, mostly tame .38 Specials.



I figure I'll get my money out of it in fun. In twenty years I might sell it, or transfer it to the kids or grandkids.

Someone out there in 50-75 years might make an extra buck on an unfired gun he's kept stored somewhere because I shot the heck out of mine. I can't imagine that will be as much fun as the last 2,500 rounds I've shot, the tinkering with the gun, the cleaning and the reloading. And it won't happen for years.

I paid less for the brand new 1972 gun than I paid for the brand new 2009 25 Classic. I'm shooting the Classic a lot as well.

I bought the gun to avoid any possibility that I was buying something that had been abused.

Like said above, the M15 is a Classic but not a collectors revolver.

Either shoot it or sell it because IMO no gun should be a safe-queen.
They were made to be shot and should be shot as often as possible...

For example, a few years back I came across a M36 that was either not shot or only a few rounds were fired through it. Well, that didn't last 24 hours because the next day I fired 200 rounds from that wonderful M36 and had a very good time doing it!!!

Someone is going to enjoy it...might as well be you!

Why did you buy it?

I voted shoot it.
Why did you buy it?
Shoot it or look at it?
It is your gun.

PS. I have a 81 yugo very few miles, is it a collector?