Gun collectors vs. skill collectors.

[hso]

Both, but there is only 1 gun in my collection that has never been run.

I shoot some of them, but I also collect milsurps or "odd" firearms.

I've also spent probably more money on training and practice.

 

[Yeager]

I used to hoard guns, but

Gun culture + me = no.

So I quit, I quit trading, I quit buying, I quit appeasing the middle aged men that buy the tools of the young just to stare at them. I took a huge loss, and burned my little address book of traders, stores, and what have you.

I sold them all except for the 5 that are either staying because they're heirlooms, or because they're capable fighting rifles. I have no interest in gun hoarding, shooting, or gun-culture in general anymore.

It's all a waste of time, money, and makes me a target for the powers at be that I'd rather not be.

 

[huntsman]

^ so why are you still here?

 

[Mike1234567]

^^^ Probably because he likes THR social network.

 

[Kliegl]

I bought a NIB 76 era 29-2 S&W at a gun show in March. I've shot it probably 50 times since with friends and my father, and it now has the track around the cylinder and a tiny ding in the barrel that may have been there already.

I don't imagine ever putting 500 rounds through it over the next 50 years. But, I will shoot it with friends and family, and it will commute to the range in a nice case, and probably never be holstered. I try to keep my guns at 95% or so, and keep them as great, working examples of that model. No, they're not 100%, but they are close.

I also collect old cars. I will restore my 442 to as close to perfect as I can do, and, if I can find an assembly mark on it, I might replicate it, but I doubt I will. Factory frame paint jobs were horrible anyway, and I will do much better on mine. Regardless, I will DRIVE it to car shows when done, and garage it the rest of the time.

Careful use in both cases, but the Olds will see the occasional cleaning out of the secondaries via a quick romp from 50 to 100, and the M1A will see the occasional mag dump.

 

[RunningHorse]

Which one Are you? I guess mainly a collector

Which are you?

I like to shoot and probably send about 10k downrange a year these days. My serious competitive days are safely behind me.

So although I like to shoot, I am more a collector nowadays.

And although I have been known to use a dab of paint or correcting fluid (white) on a gun or two...don't believe I've ever spray-canned a gun yet.

 

[lucky-gunner]

I won't judge judge what someone does with their own money. I would say I'm a collector and not a skill collector per the criteria. I know I don't spend enough time shooting but a couple times a money doesn't seem too bad. I do have quite a few firearms that do nothing more than take up safe space. I don't fret over a scratch or ding though.

I don't think the guitars are a good analog for guns though. Cars fit that role a bit better. Very few owners of true sports cars ever go to a track. Most will just drive at speed limited and occasionally take a corner fast or "clean the carbs" with a open road speed run. While most will rarely use them to the max. It's nice to know that you have more car or gun than your skills can use. Gives you something to work towards.

Plus collecting firearms is fun. It's blue collar art.

 

[Kliegl]

I disagree with that last statement. There's nothing blue collar about gun collecting, unless you're collecting Hi-Points or Jennings.

 

[AOK]

When I first got my CPL over 6 years ago I was collecting. Then about 3 years ago when we had our son I had a huge sense of needing to be better prepared to protect my family. I sold all but a handful of my guns. The past few years about 80% of my gun money goes towards range time, classes, private instruction, and ammo. The other 20% has gone towards things like gun parts, accessories, minor modifications etc. I only shoot around 10,000 rounds per year (mostly through my EDC Glock 23) but I also do a lot of dry practice on a daily basis to work on things I have learned over the past few years.

 

[woad_yurt]

Right now, I'm only able to afford some of what I'd like to have and since I love, love, love lots of range time, what I have is also what I shoot. However, if I were to become more financially comfortable, I'd have tons of guns just for the sake of having them.

I recently got a very, very nice nickel-plated 5" Model 10 for a steal. It's so nice that it bothers me to shoot it. I'm going to hold on to it but probably won't be using it much, if at all. I was fortunate to run across it but I almost want it to be a bit more scuffed up so I can enjoy the stupid thing without a worry.

 

[12131]

I'm a hoarder. I have a lot of guns that I haven't shot. So what? Look at me with disdain all you want. Like your thought or opinion matters an iota. You do whatever with your guns, bought with your hard earned money. I'm happy for you, and not gonna judge you because your style is different from mine.

 

[DC Plumber]

I hate to be rude, but who gives a _______?

It's still a free country. We are free to buy, collect, throw away, give away, neglect, abuse or behold any legal inanimate object we want to, as long as you are not infringing on the rights of others.

With 400 million or so people in this county, some legal, some not, there is no way we can all want or like the same thing.

I know it's human nature to judge people, but I don't think it's right. I'm guilty of it at times, but I try my best to accept people as they are. If I judge them, who's to say I'm not in the wrong?

 

[vaupet]

Whatever makes you tick. I'm a bit of both. I like firearms and shoot them all, some in competition.
I do this for pleasure, because if you really want to excell, i think you should focus on one or two types of shooting, and I like them all.

A buddy of mine (our best competion pistol marksman) would shoot only air pistol and 22lr match pistol during the 10 month competion season and then during the 2 month stop he would shoot whatever he gets his hands on.

to each his own

 

[JohnBT]

"I have a lot of guns that I haven't shot."

We should get together, I have a lot of ammo I haven't shot.

 

[lonegunman]

As a competitive shooter, I'm shooting master or expert class with several different guns.

As a hunter, I do pretty good, not much gets away if I get a shot on it.

As a collector, I own guns that I do not shoot and I shoot rare guns as well. I don't see a problem with collecting rare guns and not firing them or somehow diminishing their value. Would you insist on shooting an aluminum cylinder Air Force issued Aircrewman just to prove you could?

When you hear those bubba stories about some Fudd who ruins a hard to find old military rifle or drills and taps a post-war S&W and makes it a near worthless shooter, it is mildly sickening. I have a post WWI commerical Colt 1911 that some geezer had a gunsmith put cheap sights and a replacement barrel in,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ruining the collector value.


Two things come to mind.

1. Where did he find this lousy gunsmith? He took a $2500 gun and made it a $400 dollar gun. He could have sold the thing and bought a Les Baer or Wilson Combat and got far more gun. Instead he actually paid to ruin it.

2. Sure it is YOUR gun, you are free to do with it whatever you choose. Why would you think it makes you look intelligent to ruin a valuable collector's item? Worst of all, it rarely becomes the "huntin rifle" or in this case,,,,,,,,,,,,combat pistol, you were wishing for.

 

[deadin]

I would like to encourage all those with any collectible guns to go ahead and shoot the **** out of them. drill and tap for accessories and even have them refinished. Especially any that I already have in my collection as that will make mine worth even more...

 

[TennJed]

I disagree with that last statement. There's nothing blue collar about gun collecting, unless you're collecting Hi-Points or Jennings.

I am going to have to disagree with your statement. Where I come from (Mississippi) there are a lot of "blue collar" workers with nice gun collections. While they use most of them I know several people that have nice higher end guns that are safe queens. Most of the time they are shotguns or rifles and it might take a lifetime of buying one here and there.. Hunting is so important here that alot of working middle class people have a very high appriciation of firearms.

Blue Collar does not mean dirt poor and unable to have hobbies or nice things. You may have to wait a little longer to buy them, but I personally know quite a few blue collar guys with a handful of very nice guns.

 

[Kliegl]

I actually agree with all you said, and I think it validates my point. Gun collecting can be enjoyed by the upper class, middle class, and working class alike, thus it is not a specifically blue collar activity, like say, collecting mirrors from the 80s with an image of Pat Benatar in a bikini on them. (No offense to those lovers of mirrors, Pat, bikinis, or 80s Big Hair, of course.)

 

[TennJed]

I actually agree with all you said, and I think it validates my point. Gun collecting can be enjoyed by the upper class, middle class, and working class alike, thus it is not a specifically blue collar activity, like say, collecting mirrors from the 80s with an image of Pat Benatar in a bikini on them. (No offense to those lovers of mirrors, Pat, bikinis, or 80s Big Hair, of course.)

My mistake...i apologize I read the post wrong...looks like we agree

 

[Bravo Sierra]

I know an 86 year old man who has an amazing collection of guns and cars. He is old military and retired LE.

In his shed he has a Pontiac Solstice with less than 200 miles and in his safes he keeps a handful of battlefield trophies and dozens of other guns.

He can't drive anymore than he can shoot but is all that he has left. He is going to die happy if he isn't put into a nursing home.

 

[tipoc]

There is a doctor in my town with a VERY nice customized pickup truck... He showed it to me one day and one of the first things he did was to uncover the bed and prove that there were no scratches. He claims that he has NEVER put anything in the bed. My reaction was somewhat incredulous. It is a truck that is what it’s for! I have worn out several of them hauling stuff got a lot accomplished doing so including building a house. His idea of using a pickup truck is rubbing it with a diaper and entering it in car shows. To each his own.

There are a good many custom vintage car and truck shows annually in my area. This is a hobby where men and women go out and restore older vehicles some to factory specs and other to custom condition. Some beautiful vehicles to see, lovingly restored and maintained. A mans moral compass would have to be off to not see the value of what the owners had done.

When it comes to guns it has been the collectors of firearms that have largely kept the history of firearms development in print and have sought out good/ like new examples of older guns and tried to keep them that way. The individuals who make up the ranks of the Colt Collectors Association and the Smith and Wesson Collectors Association, the folks over to the Ruger forum and many others enjoy their hobbie and they help to keep the history of the shooting sports and gun lore alive. There is a lot of value in that. To dismiss them casually seems a mistake. Also many are very serious shooters.

You can be both.

Here is a bit about a collector of military vehicles. Without his work many of these vehicles would have disappeared literally into the scrap heap of history. He would rub down some with a diaper.

http://www.mishalov.net/military-vehicles/military-vehicles.html

It's worth going to see these.

tipoc

 

[woad_yurt]

Regarding someone who has kept a guitar unused and in its original box:

I'd call him a poser.

Depending upon what type of guitar it is and what it cost its present owner versus its worth now or in the future, some may call him an intelligent investor.

 

[USAF_Vet]

No offense to those lovers of mirrors, Pat, bikinis, or 80s Big Hair, of course

none taken

I collected a bunch of skills that have largely gone unused since I left active duty. I still try to keep up with some of it, but door breaching and room clearing is a skill I can let slip away with time. Not a lot of need for that in my day to day.

I'm not a serious collector, though. I have a wide variety of firearms, but nothing super rare or even remotely spectacular. I buy guns to fit certain roles that I have need for. The impulse buys have been sold off, or I fought off the impulse to begin with.

When it comes to milsurps, I have two. One is, and will forever remain, in it's original condition. The other, not so much. I understand where milsurp purists are coming from, to some extent, but a Mosin Nagant turned sporterized deer rifle doesn't grind my gears the same way a less common milsurp would.

Me, I shoot my guns, so if I choose to alter one in such a way that it allows me to shoot it better, so be it.

 

[xfyrfiter]

I knew an older gent that had a NIB version of every handgun Ruger ever made. It made his widow a lot wealthier.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Collectors and shooters are not mutually exclusive groups.

I collect and shoot. I don't own any guns that I haven't fired, but some of them get babied and shot very little, while others show substantial wear and tear from heavy use.

I have a fair weather friend who is like your buddy, and fancies himself a master, because he constantly buys/sells/trades off guns to get the ones that work best for him. But he's also not well-rounded. Dude can shoot IPSC like it's nobody's business, but watch him fumble with a SAA. He and I also went praire doggin' once; He had a borrowed .22-250 with a 4-14x Burris, and missed most shots beyond 80 yards. Same thing when I let him use my Howa M1500 Varminter .223, which was a .6 MOA gun with my taylored loads. He only knows one discipline.

I certainly can't drill steel plates or reload a race gun with his level of proficiency, but because I've chosen to use my time practicing many different types of shooting with all types of small arms, I'm more adept at simply picking up any gun and using it fairly well. I shoot well with my PF9, Witness Limited 10mm, S&W 686, Beretta Stampede, P3AT, cut-down Remington M-11, 30" Ithaca, AR-15 carbine, Spanish Mauser, .45-70 Levergun, heavy barreled .220 Swift varmint rifle or any of the other guns I own (or don't own).

At the same time, I respect his skills, and he respects mine. We both know I can't compete with him in his chosen sport, and that money bet between us on hitting a clay pigeon in the air with a shotgun or 500 yards off on the ground with a rifle is money in the bank for me.