Aren't guns a better hobby investment than most others?

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I've been a lucky boat owner. Mine's a 1985 Mercruiser powered I/O. I've spent less than $1000 in repairs on it in the 15 years that I have owned it. The original owner didn't spend a nickel on repairs. Nothing broke on it. Other than routine maintenance, the only thing he ever did was replace the bellows one time, the year before I bought it. I haven't replaced them myself.
 
Other than SXS shotguns, which are a bit tricky to me, used guns under $1000 bought at auction price seem to be sellable for at least 90% of the auction price, not including shipping, insurance and transfer fees.

Buy a $500 gun and sell it for $450 and you have only lost $50.

Heck, it can cost $25 to rent a gun at a range for an afternoon.

I tend to turnover my guns rather frequently, so looking at the price differential as "rent" makes sense for me.
 
Remo223:

I like it :evil:

I've heard the first two before, but not the renting one.

ColtPython: Glad to see your boat hasn't been much trouble. I grew up around boats, and I remember something ALWAYS had to be done. I want GLOCK to make a boat: it would run forever, and I'd only have to hose it down once every couple months :D

I don't think of guns in terms of value because I'll probalby never sell any of mine. I've tried before, but never had any decent offers (I'll admit, that could have been my fault, I'm not sure though) Plus, whatever cash I'd be able to get for them pales in comparison to the look on my coworkers face's whenever one of them asks "How many guns DO you own?"

It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :evil:

Chris "the Kayak-Man" Johnson
 
Investments? - Go with Tangible and Functional!

Real estate is cheap right now and home rentals are bringing top prices because of all of the vacant homes frozen in foreclosure. As more people lose their homes and have their credit destroyed, they will have to rent. The banks are doing a job on American working families with foreclosed mortgages.

When the available homes are eventually sold and new home prices increase because of higher building costs, the prices of homes today will look like bargains. Homes in southern Colorado are now selling at mid-90s prices, but prices are heading up again.

Quality firearms don't eat and cost nothing to own beyond their original purchase price. Some bargains can still be had if you look hard enough. . . the cost of living is increasing and take home pay isn't. More used guns will be available at reasonable prices. Prices of new firearms are increasing as material costs increase and, if sales decrease, some manufacturers will go out of business. Some of their firearms will become collectibles in the future.

Both of these TANGIBLE investments will increase in value as the Obama dollar erodes.

I have enough monthly income to live on plus a little reserve in the bank, but in the past few years I have converted most of my assets into real estate and firearms. I live in one home and rent out the other and I am now looking for a third property to purchase.

Firearms are functional and can be used for many purposes while increasing in value.

Can't say that for gold or stocks. If gold was such a great investment, why are there so many ads offering to sell it?

And the stock market?. . . .nothing tangible or functional there!!

If you do nothing else - cash in everything you don't absolutely need and PAY OFF YOUR HOME!! You would be amazed how much money you can save when you don't have mortgage payments!

Then you can think seriously about those other investments!
 

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Dont ever take a Taurus 1911 and strip it down to the frame/slide/barrel and replace everything with all high end part and then hand fit them. Dont stop there and put a carry bevel/melt job and a good refinishing job and then expect to get anywhere close to the $1700 i invested in the gun.
Thats just an example of a BAD investment, I had good reasons for doing it actually.
But my other guns i try and leave stock or upgrade them a little as i know full and well upgrades are just money tossed in the trash can.
But almost all gun will go up in value, Especially if you buy at a lower price being used.

I also collect knives and it doesn't take too many years until they start being worth 50% more than what i paid for them originally. Stay away from custom items and fads as the market can drop out on both if you cant find the right buyer.
Just buy from a well known maker and a good too high demand type item and it wont take long before you can see its value increasing.
 
Depends

Back in 1969 my dad had the opportunity to purchase a Ferrari 250 GTO with a race history that included Le Mans, Spa, and the Targa Florio for $10k. he had three young kids at the time and my mom said no. He kept the chassis number and I still have it. Car is now worth somewhere between $15 to 20 million.

My round tail light BMW 2002 w/ 5spd, 4 wheel discs and 260hp F2 head 16v engine would bring me about $25K I have about $21K. My two E30M3s have appreciated in value in last couple years but arent worth any where close to their MSRP. L88 Vettes, Boss429s, Hemi cudas, Ferrari 275 long nose alloy w/ race histories are decent investments but garage queens.

Cant think of any cars produced in last 20 years or so that would be a good investments except for maybe a 95 McLaren F1. I can't think of handgun, rifle or shotgun produced in last 10 years that maybe collectible.

Probably my best collector item is my vintage Porsche tractor. My neighbor has a vintage Lamborghini tractor. I still use the tractor.

Firearms are probably similar. A vintage Winchester or Colt has how much upside left? Anyone remember what happened to Ferrari prices 15 years ago when they tanked or current collector car prices that have dropped.

I like to drive my cars and shoot my firearms. I am considering having a resto modded 57 Nomad or mid 60's Nova station wagon built for me. I am still thinking about what to power it with. A vintage big block aluminum Can Am Chevy with injector stacks popping out of the hood is my current fav.

Most important know who you are buying from and the auction company you are dealing with. Some have better reps then others. I would never buy from Barrett Jackson based on problems frinds have had selling and buying w/them.

I am considering bidding for Steve McQueen's 911 in August. Yeah the one you see in the opening scenes of Le Mans. Always wanted a 70 911S since its the ebst 911 ever produced.

Buy it drive or shoot it and enjoy it. you can't take it with you.

Va herder
 
I have never lost money on a firearm..One of the few "hobby" investments that actually appreciate in value.
You have to educate yourself on gun values and the bluebook is one way to do it; another is the gun auction sites..
Buying the latest firearm because it "looks cool" or is written up in the latest gun magazine is a big mistake IMO.

P.R.
 
you can recoup most of your investment when you want.
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DeepSouth hit it right on the head. If you could recoup the cost of the ammo you could break even. But unless you buy them and lock them up, which many do, you never recoup the investment. The cost of one handgun in my collection is far outweighed by the cost of ammo to shoot it. Even though I reload 95 percent of my ammo, I still spend more on ammo than the actual gun itself.

If you're buying it for an investment, most likely you'd lose. In 1975, I bought a new Colt 1911, Series 70 for $125. If I took that money and put it into a CD at the average rate of 7%, I'd have about $1350.00.
 
I view hobbies as something that I throw money at. It just so happens that this hobby's main items typically don't lose their value too much. I tend not to look at it that way, because I'll spend more money on ammo and accessories than the firearm fairly quickly.


  • Let's say I buy a glock for about $450 used, or an xdm for $500-$550 used. Easily done, easily resold.
  • Holster (owb and IWB...that junk that comes with the xdm doesn't count) adds $100 to $250.
  • Heinie straight 8 night sights (because I like them) adds another $100 or so.
  • Ammo...I typically run at least 2000 rounds down the pipe before I decide if I like the handgun or not. Figure another $360-$450+ depending on caliber.
  • Accessories like trigger kits (or a g17 smooth trigger that I like to install on any glock I buy). Add another $30-$150.
Firearms as an investment stink. They aren't making me money sitting in my safe. Stocks and savings bonds do that. They do have the ability to retain their value if I buy used or the ability to barter for items of equal value (like trading a kimber for an ar10, one of my better trade-ups :neener: ).
 
I can't think of handgun, rifle or shotgun produced in last 10 years that maybe collectible.
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In the shotgun realm, you have to go REAL big in $$$$$ to make it worthwhile as far as collecting. Bertuzzi's Gull Wing Fabbri's titanium, guns from Hofer and Ollendorf, or similar one of a kind pieces ALWAYS go up - but they already start very high
 
Guns as an Investment Hobby

I have had to sell pre 64 winchesters and an LC Smith. I do not believe that they were a good financial investment given the many years they were in the family and the price I received in return. I thing guns are like anything else, buy low and sell high. Also, guns that you will actually use will never return the money you put in them. I knew a man who would buy high end US made guns and never fire them. Several years later after inflation he made some money.
 
I agree that it is a better hobby and more practical too. The guns I seem to have been of the milsurp variety, specifically the kind that go 'PING';). I really do think they are the best deal going. I am well on my way to owning two that are completely correct.

I also picked up a Kimber Model 82 Government. A great gun and worth more than I paid for it.

As far as an investment? Not really. I will say I have more fun with them and if I don't like one, I can recoup close to my costs and purchase another. I didn't think this was an investment thread, however. I am just saying.
 
This is something I've been trying to tell my fiancée. I've had to sell a few guns before and generally I make a small profit on them. And in a SHTF scenario I think guns would be worth more their weight in gold.
 
Back in 1969 my dad had the opportunity to purchase a Ferrari 250 GTO with a race history that included Le Mans, Spa, and the Targa Florio for $10k. he had three young kids at the time and my mom said no. He kept the chassis number and I still have it. Car is now worth somewhere between $15 to 20 million.
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Yeah, as you say, "it depends". A friend had a Ferrari Testarossa that he used to Autocross, and sold it for $3000 to pay for grad school. He looked it up decades later and it was worth over $3 million. Big deal.

People who own Ferraris, expecting to get lots of money back out of them (especially ex-race cars), don't ever do anything with them but trailer them to the big shows, if even that.

I still agree with the OP that as far as *affordable* hobbies go, you can get quite a bit of your original investment back when you want.

And those who are including ammunition as part of the investment, I don't agree with that at all. First, the OP wasn't treating it as an investment! People need to get over this already. He was saying it was a hobby that you could recoup most of the money out of later if you needed/wanted to. Aw heck, I give up.
 
One thing that comes close is high quality camera gear, mainly lenses. I've purchased new lenses for $2000 or more & sold them years later for nearly as much. As long as the glass is clean, you can get get good value back.

Both let you shoot things too. :)
 
My other hobby is guitar playing. Guns are way cheaper than guitars, but ammo is way more expensive than strings.
 
When I first got into guns, if I sold one, it was usually at a bit of a loss. I haven't sold at a loss in years. I buy carefully, I buy what I want, and I try to not spend too much money. I enjoy what I have while I have it, and if I decide to sell later, I usually sell for much more than I paid for the weapon.

But I can pretty much guarantee that I already spent a lot more than what I get back on ammunition. :D
 
I have guns, cars, and guitars and believe me guns and ammo are the real investment. My father and I were both discussing that before. I have a Ford Mustang, and he has a Roush Mustang, both are modified with low mileadge and at the end of the day if we tried to sell them we would lose our "your know what's"! (They might pay off in the future, mabye??) An exhaust system for ex. headers to tail pipe can cost as much as $2,500-$4,000 use it for one year and then try to sell it and get $800-$1,200 for it, not easy! Buy a quality gun for $700 in 1990's, and sell it for as much if not more than you paid for it in 2010. I purchased a 1975 Colt "Python" for $1,000 a few years back, try getting that kind of investment on a '75 Camaro or Mustang!
 
Great thread idea:)

It is really the depreciation issue that sets my gun hobby apart from my other hobbies. If I buy a new set of skis, whether I use them or not, in a couple of years thay are outdated and essentially worthless. If I buy a car with the intent of modifying it, every go fast goody that goes on it comes right off the resale value, whether I get to use it much or not.

But if I buy a gun, and don't have time to shoot it as much as I would like, it is worth the same amount, give or take, when I get it back out of the safe. I would never buy a gun with the idea of making a profit. I have paid more than I should have for guns that I wanted, and have gotten some good deals.

All hobbies are expensive if you do them a lot. Lift passes are expensive, and I try to reduce that cost by grabbing pre-season deals. Ammo is expensive, and I try to reduce that cost by reloading, and shooting more .22lr. Rafting and kayaking are exensive, but I try to reduce that cost by making plenty of sandwiches to take along, and drinking Pabst. Soprts cars and rockcrawlers are just plain expensive, I reduce that cost by not having those as a hobby any more...

But of all of those, my gun hobby is the only one where the major equipment investment does not depreciate. So, in that sense, where most sports equipment is a sunk cost, the cost of firearms can generally be recovered.

At least that is what I tell my significant other:D
 
Geno,
25th Anniversary Mustang?.....Ford never officially really built a 25th Anniversary car. They just put a 25th Pony badge on the dash of all of them made from April 1989 thru June 1990....I've got one sitting in my garage I bought brand new.
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Correct. The REAL 25th anniversary edition, which was to be a twin-turbocharged 351 with over 400 horsepower, was never built. I personally asked Robert Rewey (the father of SVO) why it wasn't, and after hemming and hawing for a couple seconds, he said, "You know, there wasn't really any good reason they didn't build that car." Always liked Bob, and Ford's performance vehicles always had a lot him in them.

I've always said that I wish my true investments had done as well as my firearms over the years. I'd be far better off than now.
 
Losov said:
My other hobby is guitar playing. Guns are way cheaper than guitars, but ammo is way more expensive than strings.
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Guns and guitars are the same in one way. A GOOD guitar will be worth something later down the line as a collectable. Check out the prices on the pre-61 Gibson Les Pauls. A poorly made guitar doesn't hold its value.

A good gun TENDS to be expensive, but tends to hold its value if not appreciate with age. The only exception are milsurps which seem cheap and readily available until they aren't. Then prices seem to rise 10 fold.
 
I hope that is a figure of speach about gold. I can't imagine a 40 oz gun being worth the value of 40 ounces of gold pretty much EVER.
 
An investment is supossed to pay you money. So, in some ways, even a house does not do that but you have to live somewhere.
Guns can be 'played with', shot, or become a 'safequeen.' i have some in each category collecting and shooting since 1970. I have enjoyed this 'hobby' and i know each of my guns will be kept when i die--i hope!
 
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