Unfired Safe Queens

From my own viewpoint, I've never had a gun I wouldn't shoot. Guns appreciate so little during a man's lifetime as to make them a rather poor investment.

I've never seen a cut of meat, nor a BBQ, that looked "too good to eat."

Bob Wright

BobWright said:

From my own viewpoint, I've never had a gun I wouldn't shoot. Guns appreciate so little during a man's lifetime as to make them a rather poor investment.

I've never seen a cut of meat, nor a BBQ, that looked "too good to eat."

Bob Wright

Click to expand...

Not Col. Colt's Revolving Snake Pistols of Magnum Caliber! (Colt Python)

But I agree with Mr. Wright, I've not a use for a piece that just sits idly.

I used to have a couple guns that were considered safe queens. But even though I wasn't all that interested in shooting them because they were so pristine I finally put them to good use. I sold them and used the money for guns I didn't have but always wanted to shoot. Now I've got some shooters that I really enjoy. And I'm not getting any younger, either.

22250Rem said:

And I'm not getting any younger, either.

Click to expand...

Who here is?

Bob Wright

I don't have any issues with Safe Queens, I have maybe two dozen of them. Some fairly rare, the others, simply NIB examples of fairly common Smiths; M-19's, 66's, 29's , etc. Have an unfired, 1960's 6" Python and a 4" Diamondback too. I have no problems keeping them in the safe. For some reason I enjoy, like new in box, unfired examples of the revolvers I really like. Sort of like going back in a time machine 30 or 40 years ago when they were new.

Then again, I have shooter grade guns, that are exact or very similar to the Safe Queens. One M-19 or M-29 shoots pretty much the same as any other.

In the end they are YOUR guns.....your loss monetary wise, when You shoot them and they are now a "used" firearm too.

Steve S. Wait a few more years...You may be surprised at how little many items mean to You. I'm approaching 70 and in the last few years, gave away several pistols and rifles, to deserving young hunters and kids, that I felt could make good use of them and appreciate them. What was SO important 10 or 20 years back...not so much now...as we age.

I'm cool with collecting and collectors, but that ain't my bag. I'm shooting it if I own it. When I was a child, I had a cousin with at least 20 NIB S&W and Colt revolvers in a gun safe. Even at that young age I couldn't wrap my brain around collecting just for the sake of having a NIB example of anything. Baseball cards? Rip open the pack, chew that horrible bubble gum. Comic books? Read them, then share them, then trade them. My collection bug has been safety razors for the last five years or so, bit I couldn't imagine not shaving with them.

I understand collectors a little as I've counted a few as good friends. Always a kick to get to see their stash of firearms. Not my bent however. If I find I haven't fired a gun in a year or 2 it become capital that's tied up and not being put to good use. I sell those guns and spend the money on something I will put to use. That's usually other guns but I did sell a couple guns I wasn't shooting to help pay for the guitar I now play. It was a good investment too! (smile)

Dave

I collect older revolvers focusing on pinned barrel S&W's with a couple of Ruger's and Colt's in the mix. Some that are in pristine condition I've fired once and put away. I'm not in it for the monetary value or expected return I just enjoy the hunt for something I like. My grandson has been attending gun shows and gun stores and has been my shooting partner for several years. He's fifteen now, knows what I like, and has a sharp eye. Although I've been taking a back seat to football, basketball and girls as of late he manages to squeeze in some trigger time with me and his father a couple times a month. Those safe queens will be passed on one day. I know they will be appreciated.

My problem with safe queens is that by the time you have stored them for decades, the people that you would sell them to, or gift them to, are too young to remember the gun's heyday. There are few serious collectors. All the guys that would value them as much as you do, are dead...

True 'unfired' queens are silly, I think, unless there's a museum or warehousing business involved. Heck, even I fired a couple cylinders through my Mateba Unica 6 (once rapidly, too!) even though the previous seller had only run 6 cartidges. But I'm also not reckless enough to put any kind of significant wear or abuse onto that gun; because it's value drops a little, then a little more, a teensy bit more...and then goes to less than half when some tiny spring breaks & there's no way to get it running again

The guys with unfired transferrable MGs are the ones I really don't understand...

TCB

No unfired guns in my collection either. Be like keeping a Ferrari in the garage and never driving it.

Got a Ruger Vaquero .45 LC color case that I haven't fired, mainly because the ammo is so expensive and I don't reload that round. Otherwise I shoot everything that is in my safe at one point and time.

I shoot them all. Some not so often, I have my favorites but they all get used.

my collection is sparse nothing just sits, some don't get shot as often but none are virgin.

Have a few that I won't shoot just because of what they are. I have plenty of other handguns to shoot in the same calibres and styles almost alike so I feel I can get by with not shooting the Queens!

I have several unfired guns. I don't lose any sleep over owning them.

I don't have any guns that are not shot either.

One of my regrets is not buying one or two of those USFA revolvers when they were available. I put it off too long and I should not have done that! I did shoot several and they are wonderful revolvers which closely replicate the Colt SAA IMO. I'm glad to hear you are now enjoying your revolvers. Take them to a Cowboy Action match and have some real fun!

I don't keep any unfired guns either. I once caught some heat from my family when they found out I often shoot an Anaconda I inherited from my Grandpa. I didn't learn this until recently, but Grandpa bought it as a collectible and had never shot it. But when I ended up with it I could tell all 6 cylinders had been used, so I kept using it. After some digging I found out that when Grandpa was still alive one of my cousins snuck the Anaconda out of the house for a few days, and I'm guessing he put a through rounds through it during that time!

I can't imagine NOT shooting it. An inherited collectible sounds like the worse thing ever! You can't sell it, because it's now an heirloom. But you can't enjoy it, because it's a collectible! No thanks!

OK, I will weigh in on this one.

I am a collector and a shooter.

Years ago I used to tell my friends that if they did not shoot a new gun within one month they had to give it to me.

That ain't me anymore. I have plenty of guns that I have never shot, and probably never will. Some are antiques and there simply is not ammo manufactured for them anymore. Some are too old to shoot without worrying about them blowing up.

I am not a 'high end' collector, the kind of guy who phones in his bids when a $50,000 Henry is up for bids. Much too rare for my blood.

I got into collecting when I realized that good, used Smith and Wesson revolvers could be had for prices that were affordable. That's what roped me into collecting.

I am not into collecting in order to realize a profit. When I finally sell my collection (or my heirs do) I do not expect to make a profit. My profit is the pleasure I have in owning interesting, and sometimes unique firearms. If the final tally realized when my guns are finally sold is less than I originality paid for them, so be it. I am enjoying them right now.

JeffG said:

There are few serious collectors. All the guys that would value them as much as you do, are dead...

Click to expand...

You have obviously not been in the room during a serious auction. The action on 'collectable' as well as non-collectable firearms is always fast and furious. None of the guys who are bidding are dead.

bannockburn said:

No unfired guns in my collection either. Be like keeping a Ferrari in the garage and never driving it.

Click to expand...

If you examine it more carefully, that argument really does not hold any water. The analogy to owning a Ferrari and not driving it falls apart if you consider the numbers. If one has a garage full of collectable automobiles, and chose not to drive one of them, that would be understandable. If one only owned the Ferrari, and chose not to own it, that might be odd. By the same token, if I only owned one firearm, and chose not to shoot it, that would be weird. I don't own just one firearm, I own quite a few. Of those, there are a few that I choose not to shoot. Perhaps because ammunition is not made anymore, perhaps because I am afraid of damaging them.

I have a good friend who collects antique clocks. We often talk about collecting. One thing we both agree on is that when a collector passes on, it is pointless to try to keep the collection together. The individual pieces should be auctioned off, sent back out into the universe to become parts of new collections.

One other thing. I have several old, antique firearms that I do shoot. Just last weekend I was shooting my S&W New Model Number Three and Merwin Hulbert Pocket Army in a Cowboy Match. There are collectors who would be horrified that I actually shoot them. Part of the pleasure of owning them, is to be able to actually shoot them occasionally. I don't shoot them a lot, and every time I pull the trigger, in the back of my mind there is a fear that they may sustain irreparable damage. But when the match was over and I was cleaning them, I looked back at how much fun I had shooting them.







Did I mention that my Trap gun that I shoot every week is a Winchester Model 12 made in 1948?






Does this qualify as a Safe Queen? A Triple Lock made in 1908 that I put a box of ammo through a few weeks ago? I may never shoot it again, or I may, I don't really know right now.






How about this one? A DWM Luger from 1915. When I first got it, I put a few boxes of 9mm through it. Haven't since. Will probably shoot it again sometime, right now, it's just nice to have a Luger.






I'm racking my brains now, trying to figure out if I actually own any Safe Queens. Maybe this Model 27. I must have fired it sometime, can't really remember right now. I don't shoot it because I don't want to scratch it up. Most of the collectable guns I own are not pristine, they already have some wear on them, so I am not reticent to shoot them. This one is so pretty I just don't want to scratch the finish. But I'm sure not going to let the opinions of others dictate whether I shoot it or not.






OK, definitely a Safe Queen. S&W 32 RF #2 Old Army Tip Up. No ammo made any more. Yeah, I have a couple of boxes of old ammo, but I am not going to shoot it.






This one is a little bit different though. Is it a Safe Queen? It has been converted to fire 22 RF ammo. Yes, I have shot it with some 22 CB caps. Probably won't shoot it again, afraid of damaging the firing pin. The hammer is custom modified and I doubt I could find a replacement. But it sure was fun to fire it.










This reminds me of the time some guys fired a Luger made for US Army trials chambered for 45 ACP. Definitively an irreplaceable treasure, only about three were made. Before they fired it, they said they hoped they didn't blow it up. And they didn't. I'm sure it was safely put away in a collection somewhere, but the owner had the cojones to allow them to shoot it and film it.

Driftwood

The analogy to owning a Ferrari and not driving it falls apart if you consider the numbers. If one has a garage full of collectable automobiles, and chose not to drive one of them, that would be understandable. If one only owned the Ferrari, and chose not to own it, that might be odd.

Click to expand...

Quite the contrary my friend. Doesn't matter how many cars (or guns for that matter), you have in your collection. My point being that if I owned a Ferrari I sure wouldn't let it sit in my garage with only a couple of miles on it's odometer. A car like that was meant to driven, just as any gun in my collection was meant to be fired. That's what they were designed and manufactured to do and hopefully they're reliable, accurate, and last a long time. The only way to find that out is to put them to good use.

I'm not sure I can add anything to this, except my personal experience.

I don't own any firearms that could be considered rare, or even unusual. I do have a few that I haven't fired, and even one NIB.

That being said, the only reason they are unfired, is because I haven't gotten to them yet. I fully intend to shoot them all, and shoot them a lot.

Other folks are entitled to do as they please with their property, including piling it up and setting it afire. None of my business how they treat their possessions.

My sentiments are similar to Mr. Driftwood's, but am more of an accumulator than a collector. Don't shoot much, however most every modern gun I own will eventually be fired except this one - and that's because I don't want to wear off the thin message on the backstrap. That, and the fact that .45 Colt is not one of my calibers - my other SAA is a .357.