Duplicate Purchase - Of the regret kind.....

[mcdonl]

Well... yesterday I purchased another gun that I have already owned in the past and sold. The last 3 or so purchases have all been of this nature and I kick myself in the butt :banghead: for needing to do this.

I have owned and shot guns since I was a little kid (For hunting and trap though..... nothing else) but over the last 6 or so years I have been buying guns as somewhat of a hobby.

Has anyone else gone through this? Is it a natural progression of any hobby? I know... I know... "Never sell a gun" I see this all the time, but if I do not have a "connection" to a firearm I do not keep it, but why did I buy it in the first place?

Just curious if anyone else has gone through this...?

 

[The Sarge]

Sure. I am a compulsive type person myself. I have been successful in self control in my later years though.

 

[WardenWolf]

Sometimes you buy something that seems like a good idea at the time, but turns out to just not suit you. I bought a WASR underfolder as a fun range gun / truck gun, but it turns out I just don't dump a lot of ammo. One, I can't afford it, two, I always worry about the effect of heat on the barrel, and three, I'm more of a careful target shooter. Its lack of an optics hardpoint and the difficulty in taking the safety off with the stock folded sealed the deal, and I ultimately sold it and got an SGL-21. I decided after that that I will never again buy an AK without an optics hardpoint. It's useless to me without one. There's no practical way to solidly mount even a red dot that doesn't make disassembly difficult without the hardpoint.

 

[TenDriver]

I went through, in rapid succession, and PA-63, UltraStar and S&W 6906. I decided I'd keep the 6906 no matter what, but later decided to bag the 6906 for a 5906. Still haven't proceeded with that.

The rub, however.... With the money from the initial purchase, then the trades, I could have bought a 1911. Spend wisely, get it right the first time. OK, at least the second time.

 

[J-Bar]

I've heard some guys remarry a woman they have previously divorced...a triumph of hope over experience, I guess....

 

[Gtimothy]

Has more to do with memories than anything else. Like when you buy an old album that you listened to as a teenager but find that it isn't really as good as you remember it! But music is cheap compared to guns! I still have all of the guns that I had as a kid or had sentimental conections to. I've only let one get away from me but it was my dad's gun and I didn't have the money to buy it before he sold it. 6" stainless Colt Python...

 

[mcdonl]

Gtimothy, I also have my trusty .22 and 30/30 lever from when I was a kid it is all of the other guns that have no "specific" purpose other than sending lead down range that I go through... Live and learn I guess.

TenDriver, you got that right... get it right the second time is where I am at... Still no real need for a 1911 and AR but now that I have my second of each I will NEVER get rid of them. I will never get rid of any of the guns I have now, but several of them I have had, sold and had to replace.

Well... good to see I am not alone!

 

[COgunner]

I went through a "never sell" period for many years, but now I am actively selling and buying. I have a self-imposed edict that I will spend no "new" money on guns, so if I want something new, something old has to go (usually something I haven't shot in years).

The first couple of sales were hard, but getting easier. The prospect of getting something new is outweighing the separation anxiety. Plus, just like you, I know that if I have too much regret over selling something, I can always buy another one. (There are 3 or 4 I will never part with for sentimental reasons.)

 

[Sniper66]

We really are a nutty bunch, aren't we. Rebuying a gun you have sold is not uncommon. I sold a Marlin 30-30, which I regret selling, but I bought it to turn it over to accumulate money for another gun, which I bought. One of my goals is to find a really nice, older Winchester '94 in 30-30 with an octagonal barrell. A much bigger regret was not buying the one I found at the Tulsa gun show a couple of years ago. Rats!! We are familiar with buyers remorse. We learn about sellers remorse. I guess we have to add the biggest of all..."I-wish-I-would-have-bought-the-d***-gun-when-I-saw-it-remorse".

 

[mcdonl]

Ah yes.... Toy equity.... I have turned many guns/motorcycles/tools/boats into many other guns/motorcycles/tools/boats... now I just work three jobs so I can buy better quality and hold onto what I get.

 

[bannockburn]

mcdonl

Sometimes you buy another version of a former gun for sentimental reasons. In my youth I loved revolvers and had quite a few, both of the DA and SA variety. These were the type of guns I played with as a kid (toy guns, of course), so naturally I was attracted to them as a young adult. But over time I became more and more fascinated with semi-autos with their high capacity mags, advanced designs, and high-tech construction. Revolvers started to look like veritable antiques compared to something like an H&K P7 or a Glock 17. So eventually over time I sold off almost all of my revolvers to fund more semi-auto purchases. Gone were a lot of very nice S&W, Colt, and Ruger revolvers that would be truly missed over time.

Somewhere along the line though, as I grew older (and maybe a little wiser), I began to look back at the guns I used to have in my youth. Maybe it was a bit of nostalgia for those days, or maybe I was just trying reconnect with my wheelgun past. At any rate whenever I visit THR I always start with the Handguns: Revolvers because that's what interests me the most these days. And gradually I have started to rebuild the revolver side of my collection. Some near duplicates of former guns I had, while others are a newer version of something I owned way back when. It's a lot of fun and while selling so many of them years ago may be cause for some regret, I prefer to focus on the future and what I might find out there to add to my revolver collection.

 

[mcdonl]

You know Bannock, I think you have something there... everything I currently own I either have or used growing up, or were weapons that my father and brother used in the service.

 

[22-rimfire]

When I first started going to gun shows, I was like a kid in a candy store. As a kid I always wanted a Mossberg Chuckster (22 mag rifle), but it never happened. Bought an as-new one at a show, shot about a box of shells through it, then promptly decided I really didn't "need" this rifle. No regrets really although I have since looked longingly at a couple nice ones.

Another one that I always wanted was a Remington 541-S (22LR). I picked up one at a show that was pretty nice. It was a keeper!

I lusted for a Kimber Super America for years. I could never bring myself to buy one.

So yes, our history with firearms influences the choices we make and sometimes those choices make absolutely no practical sense at all. That assumes you are somewhat practical in your buying habits.

I started with revolvers mostly and shifted to semi-autos and back to revolvers. But most of the revolvers stayed with me since they don't take up much room and don't pose a big problem moving.

 

[sedona]

I bought revolvers in my 20s and most of them were blue.Now i buy alot of the same models in stainless.Like them both.

 

[quartermaster]

I too, am guilty. It seems whenever, I get a little cash, I have to spend it. The one thing I have been doing for the last year is buying better optics also.

Life is short

 

[leadcounsel]

Better than wasting the money on junk. At least you have something that will retain value.

 

[FROGO207]

I rarely part with a firearm once I buy it. There were a couple however that I was all too happy to part ways with and I assure you there was NO sellers remorse. I have purchased a few duplicates however----mostly one for each hand kind of purchases. Now for the Mini 14's that logic was a bit harder to justify.

 

[Hocka Louis]

It is only money, and you'll get half of it back! Realize something else that I have and it is not comforting...

...at the end, and I mean the very end, none of your guns will be yours and there is nothing you can do about this inevitability.

 

[sgtstryker]

I guess I'm with alot of you. I'm to the point where I sell to buy, something I've imposed on myself, since getting remaried. However, I've been able to pick up some good deals on older guns I've either had or wanted over the years, and it's working for now. And I have a friend that buys on impulse and then sells at a loss. Which also works for me and his other friends, so, to each his own in this matter. Of course, ammo is exempt from all this...