Have you done a cost analysis of your collection?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Orion8472

Orion8472

Member
Joined
May 8, 2008
Messages
3,638
Out of curiosity, I decided to do a cost analysis of my firearms and ammo. I was using what they [firearms] cost me when I purchased them and the current price of ammo. If you have done this, were you:

1. Shocked at the amount you've spent?
2. Though, "That's about right, actually."
3. Had to say, "I need to step up my spending"?
 
I wouldn't call it a cost analysis, but I do keep a spreadsheet of everything I own. Gun type, caliber, serial#, price paid and approx value today. In general, it gives me warm fuzzies to see that delta between the price and current value. ;)
 
I've dropped only about $5000 for guns and ammo total, but almost nothing on reloading equipment because my grandpop gave me a lot of stuff and I traded around for some other stuff. In relation to what 99% of everyone else on this forum has, I've barely spent anything!

My reaction though wasn't that I need to stop spending, but that I need to get a better job so I can pay for more of this stuff! :D
 
Is anyone adjusting for inflation?
Still feel warm and fuzzy when you run the numbers against initial investment compounded by 5% interest over the # of years that you've owned the firearms?

If you take those things into account I doubt they are good investments. But you have the benefit of having fun with your guns and getting most of your money back out of them, should you decide to.
 
I have about $3,000 invested, total. Small collection. If my firearms collection value ever gets near to or exceeds my tool collection, then I'll get worried.
 
I know almost exactly how much I have spent since 2006 when I started tracking it (and yes I put in significant money before that).

As of today my collection is probably worth less than half of what I have spent on it since 2006, and like I said that includes some equity that existed from prior to 2006 that is not accounted for in my spending number. So overall, I've lost well over half the money I have ever sank into shooting. The only thing that would have been a worse investment is a car. This will change at little if all things AR15 related return to high price levels with the election.

Also I started shooting more sometime after 2006, now do a lot more shooting than gun buying, and ammo/components represents a 100% loss.
 
Elrowe said it best. Factor in the pleasure and enjoyment and especially all the great people you've met along the way. If I do that I've made a fortune.
 
I keep track of the collection value, mostly for insurance purposes, and I think it is "about right."

I made the mistake once of tallying up, piece by piece (which I acquired over about 3 years) what I had spent on my suppressed SBR with 2 uppers (and the associated optics, etc.) On that one I was shocked at the amount I had spent.
 
No. Too much work.

First gun I bought (that I still own) = $55 for a new Single-Six Covertible in the early '70s.

Last gun (so far) = $2500 for a P210, plus $280 for 2 spare mags.

Hey, do I get to count the cost of all of my late father's guns as = to zero? And my grandfathers' guns and my mother's gun and my aunt's gun and my great-uncle's gun? And the Mountie my uncle gave me in the early '60s? That would bring the average cost per gun down. Do I figure the cost of the Cooper rifle I gave my dad as zero or do I have to use what I really paid for it? What about the Guerini 28 ga. he gave me?

Too much work. I was a physics major, not an accountant. ;)
 
I dropped almost 6k on one rifle/scope combo. I need to slack off on my spending, but..... My name is Chad, and I have a problem....lol. My pockets aren't as big as my ambition. But it is a solid investment to me. Seems like no matter what I own I always see something else I "can't live without".
 
The real reason why I wanted to do this was because I received my bill for my renter's insurance and wondered if I have enough on there. . . . . . but then wondered if they [the insurance company] would insure weapons and ammunition. . . . .then wondered if I WANT them to know about them.

Maybe I should just buy a good, solid, fireproof safe. :confused:
 
You should carry insurance only if you cannot afford the loss of what you are insuring.
 
I could afford for my house to burn down, but since I would rather not absorb the loss if it did, it is insured...
 
Replacement Value, the key is could you afford to replace your guns if something happened. That is why I carry renters insurance and keep up on what it would cost to replace my Guns as opposed to what I have spent acquiring them.
 
Still feel warm and fuzzy when you run the numbers against initial investment compounded by 5% interest over the # of years that you've owned the firearms?
Click to expand...

This is the wrong standard since, for most of us, it's been a long time, like 10 years, since we averaged 5% interest on any investments. My firearms are the most stable investment I have...at least they haven't lost any value, unlike my IRA's and 401K's (and they are earning more than the money would if it was in the bank.)
 
Funny this subject should come up. This weekend I was doing some tidying up in my older gun safe and found a receipt from February of 2000 for a Ruger P97 pistol and holster for which I paid a total of $345. I think it was a better investment than a tech stock!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

mnrivrat
  • Locked
Value Analysis & Firearms Purchases
Replies
6
Views
676
sm
S
R
  • Locked
The concept of Sunk Costs and Ammo
2 3
Replies
65
Views
3K
Robert
Robert
V
  • Locked
  • Poll
Shoot more or less since Covid started?
2 3
Replies
62
Views
2K
Pete D.
Pete D.
Orion8472
  • Locked
How many of you have had waning feelings about firearms?
2 3 4 5 6
Replies
126
Views
7K
SniperJon
S
Krogen
  • Locked
Ammo Cost = Gun Cost, How long?
Replies
23
Views
1K
Detritus
Detritus
Back
Top