Anyone else keep their guns?

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InkEd

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I've noticed alot of people on various forums seem to buy/sell/trade their guns frequently and often even end up with the same guns over and over. Personally, I only buy guns that I really want to own and enjoy for a long time. I was wondering if anyone else actually keeps most/all of the guns they buy instead of trading them like baseball cards?
 
Good question. Personally I only buy what I like and plan to keep so I almost never sell a gun.

Some people buy on impulse and change their mind every time they turn around. Some folks get bored with a new toy easily, then want something different. Some people like to find a bargain and flip it to make a buck. Some live paycheck to paycheck, buying nice things when they have a few extra dollars, then selling them for cheap when they need to pay the rent.

I know people who do the same with cars. Every time you see them they are driving something different. Myself, I drive a '97 pickup with nearly 180k miles. I bought it nearly new and plan on driving it into the ground before getting another one. It's just getting good and broke in.:)
 
I have never sold a gun, keep every one I buy. I dont have a large income so I only buy what I really want/need. I have this pain in my stomach every time I think about selling one, I just cant do it. I dont think my mind would change about selling them though, even if I had money to blow on anything I wanted. No reason to get rid of a gun. The more the better.
 
My impulse buys seem to be the ones that stick around. If I do careful research and get just the gun I want it's usually disappointing.
 
In years past I bought and sold when I wanted something else or got tired of a particular gun. However in the past 15 years or so prices have gotten so high, I looked back and decided I would like to have some of those guns back again. In the case of old guns, they just aren't to be had at all for all practical purposes, so I decided I would stop selling guns. I have not sold or traded a gun in the past 15 years and have no plans to sell any as long as I'm not pushing up daisies.
 
I have never participated in the casual purchase and resale of guns unless I feel confident I can make a little money. I have purchased used guns from acquaintances as a favor. I generally intend to sell them later and they know it unless it is a collector piece that I might actually want.

For my normal gun buying, I seldom buy a gun any more if I don't intend to keep it. We never know what tomorrow brings. Things can change rapidly. For the most part, selling a few guns has little impact on getting me past a rough financial spot, so I don't do it. At that point, I need thousands, not hundreds of dollars....
 
Most of the guns I buy I intend on keeping for the long term. However, there are times when I buy guns and then sell them. This is generally because I wanted to try something out and it turned out I didn't like it. Many of the things I am interested in are older, and I can't just go to a range and rent one and my friends and family don't have one I can try. So I buy one to check it out. If it works out and I like it, it stays. If not, its gone and a lesson is learned that I didn't like it.

The few exceptions to this rule is when I've been forced to sell something due to a drastic change in financial stability.
 
I never buy a gun I don't intend to keep, and rarely sell one. I traded an old Winchester 670, which had developed some issues, along with paying a little cash, at a gun store for a Savage 110 last December, and that's the only gun I've parted with since the mid 1990s.
 
One time I bought a gun because it was a good price and I thought I could make a few dollars selling it again. Many years ago a good friend mentioned that a friend of his was looking for a pump shotgun, said to let him know if I saw one.

I ran into someone selling a nice old Ithaca 37 for a good price and I bought it. I called my friend's friend to offer it to him for $20 more (still a good price) only to find that he was a cheapskate who liked to buy and sell a lot and make money at it. He tried the used-car-salesman thing to try to tell me what a piece of junk it was and how he would be doing me a favor to take it off my hands for $100.

Obviously I kept it, and decided I liked it a lot. Ten years later, it's my favorite shotgun, one I'll never sell. My brother-in-law likes it so much that we found one for him just like it. I looked it up and it was made in '49.

I know a lot of guys like wheeling-and-dealing, buying and selling whenever they can make a buck. I guess there's nothing really wrong with that, but personally I hate it. It seems that people who do that a lot tend to be or become very shrewd and dishonest (not always). I've seen too many gun show hagglers beat someone up on price really bad, then gloat all the way to the bank.:(
 
The only gun I ever bought and then sold was a Ruger 1022. I sorta regret it because it was a pretty nice rifle .... OTOH I have three .22 rifles and I really am getting short on storage space. So I sorta ...."don't" regret it, really .... if that makes any sense.
I pretty much in general agree with some earlier posters; I buy a gun I am interested in and then I don't sell it, I keep them.
 
If it doesn't shoot to what I expect after a couple different tries at the reloading bench its gone for something else. Sometimes I will buy a gun just for the scope or the otherway around.
There is no reason to keep a gun that you don't like or one that can fund a better purchase.
Thats not to say I don't have those that I will never get rid of because I do.
 
If I find a great deal on a gun I'll buy it even if I don't want it. I can always use it for trade bait later on something I want.

Bought a used Rem 700 off a guy who had to have money "right now" for something. Paid him $200 for it at 4pm on a Friday. Took the scope off and kept the carry case and strap and sold it on Saturday morning at a gunshow for $300.

Several years ago I bought Colt 1911 off a guy who needed rent money "Today" for $250. Found a used Winchester EW for sale a couple of months back for $700. They gave me $600 in trade for the Colt. I now have a lightly used rifle that sells for $900 new. I have $350 invested in it.

Both of my Zeiss scopes were acquired used by trading in guns I bought earlier at great prices.

I trade around a lot, occasionally lose money if I make an error in judgement. But overall I've been able to get some pretty nice guns this way with minimal cost to me.
 
I like to keep my guns. That is why I've only sold/traded 3 in my life.

I sold my G21- just too big. I mean, I wear size small gloves.

I traded a G17 for a Colt 4in Nickeled Trooper MkIII and $250. I think I did good on that deal.

I traded straight across a M&P9 for a Springfield Loaded in stainless with about a dozen magazines. I made out good on that one, too.

I have kind of sold a few others, but not really. I bought some guns off some people with the understanding that they could buy them back for the same price when they aren't broke. It's not really selling, it's more like their gun is colatteral for a loan. Pay up the loan, and you get your gun back.
 
Everything is for sale given a good price and changing tastes. By trading, selling, borrowing and having buddies that do the same, I have fired every quality weapon ever produced. It's less costly than trying the same with automobiles or women.
 
My tastes have changed a bit, and continue to evolve. As a result I buy and sell from time to time. I try to stay on the "one for one" plan, so if I find something I want, I try to balance the ledger by selling one. These days nearly all my handguns are 1911s or S&W revolvers.

One thing is pretty hard and fast: if I don't carry it (or shoot it somewhat regularly) it's probably going away.
 
I dont have a large income so I only buy what I really want/need.
Click to expand...

That's my thoughts exactly. I'm in the same boat. I've only sold one gun and really didn't regret it, but I have no intentions of selling any more.

However, I'm enrolled in numerous "win a gun" drawings which I would have no problem selling (there's a few I'd actually want) so that I could get what I want.
 
I tend to keep my guns for a long time. Rarely sell or trade anything unless it's something I really don't want or use anymore. I guess I'm pretty much in it for the long haul.
 
I never sell a gun.
I do have a mini 14 that I will let go of but not to a friend as its a typical mini and will not hit a thing.

I will buy if it is a super deal and those are rare.
Right now I'm looking for a glock in 9mm for $200 but have not come across one....but I will.

My problem is I buy ammo when it is really a super deal or someone gives me some they no longer have a gun for. So I have ended up with ammo I don't even own a firearm for. Yet
 
Originally, I bought all of mine with no intentions of selling any of them. Now, I've changed my mind and would like to sell about half of what I have. I would probably buy a little more ammo and shoot more often, buy a little silver bullion and make an extra payment or three on the house. My tastes have narrowed considerably to S&W wheelguns and Colt 1911s. I only have one Colt at the moment, but it's a beauty. Everything else I seem to have lost interest in.
 
I donated one of my guns to the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. Go to the Revolutionary War section to see it.
 
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