Is it ever time to say goodbye?

[atlanticfire]

Is it ever time to sell a pistol? I hear some guys say “never” sell a gun. I have been thinking about it lately because there are some guns that I would really like to have or at least try out for a while but funds limit putting out more money. Most of my gun allowance goes to reloading. Here is my scenario.
I have been putting a lot of time into my pistol skills, particularly my 1911. I’m starting to gain a lot of confidence in myself and once I feel the time is right I’d like to do some steel challenges. I feel this gun is not only necessary to my collection but I feel a strong attachment to it. I’m generally a revolver guy so the fact that I like this pistol so much should be saying something. Ok, so here is where my poll comes in. I have two large revolvers a S&W 629 8 ¾ with an awesome scope and a BFR 500 S&W 10” with the same scope on it. I can hit 100 targets with the 629 and it doesn’t bother my hands at all. I can shoot the BFR ok, but after shooting it my hands shake. And sometime are sore later that evening. I’ve had it a few years and shoot it off and on but I feel that I pull it out more for the wow factor than I actually do enjoy shooting it anymore. I also feel that the recoil in my hand is having a negative effect on all the work I’m doing with my smaller pistols and causes some of my old habits to creak back. So…….what do you think?
Everyone’s opinion is of value to me!

 

[76shuvlinoff]

I just sold a .357 Blackhawk convertible simply because I was not using it. Recoil was nothing but I didn't see it as collectible, it held no sentimental value or family history for me and I want to fund a different revolver.

I have guns I can't see parting with but I'm no recoil junkie. I will not force myself to enjoy a firearm so either I like it or I don't. If none of the above apply and there's no grin factor then it goes.


.02

 

[snakeman]

if you dont thoroughly enjoy them sell em' and get something you will enjoy

 

[rcmodel]

+1
Sounds like you already figured out the BFR is doing your shooting more harm then good.
Time for it to go!

Your wrests will thank you later when you are my age!

IMO: The older I get, the less I feel the need to impress my friends with guns that hurt me!

rc

 

[firesky101]

If there is no sentimental value, and no real purpose for having it (having fun shooting it is a real purpose), then it is ok to let go. I sold a subcompact .380 once I got a 9mm that was lighter and smaller, no regrets.

 

[BossHogg]

I like to shoot my guns and have no problem of letting one go if I don't shoot it. I won't own a gun that hurts me to shoot. I agree with RC on not needing to impress anyone. I find myself shooting more and more of low pressure rounds.

 

[buck460XVR]

All the guns I own, I shoot and enjoy shooting(other than a couple passed down from my dad and grandpa). If I don't shoot them or enjoy shooting them, they go down the road and help finance something else. The return in investment from my guns is the pleasure I get from shooting them. There are better investments out there if one is looking for monetary returns.

 

[JVaughn]

If it is uncomfortable to shoot and is negatively impacting your skills with others, let 'er go.

 

[montanaoffroader]

If you don't enjoy shooting it, it's definitely time to say goodbye. Unless you are a collector or there is sentimental value, there is no point owning something you don't like to shoot. Might as well sell it and use the dough to pick up something you will have more fun with.

I've owned a couple of guns that were not fun to shoot for one reason or another. They are gone now, replaced by something more fun to shoot.

 

[kimbernut]

Two

In 36 years I've sold two that I should have held on to, two that I no longer enjoyed and traded one toward an M1 NM Garand. I still have three that have never really been family that could get traded but for the most part once in the stable they rarely leave.

 

[RUT]

>>if you dont thoroughly enjoy them sell em' and get something you will enjoy<<

My theory exactly. Why hold on to a gun you're lost interest in?

 

[RugRev]

I have had guns in the past I had to have that after a while I wondered why I bought. They moved on. I would have rather have had something and later changed my mind about it than wonder later what it would have been like. Sometimes one's tastes change or needs. Most of what I have sold I never regreted parting. Sometimes, situations change, too.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

If you're not using a particular gun, there's certainly nothing wrong with selling it to buy something you would use. I've made impulse buys on guns before, regretted it, and sent them down the gun trade trail. As long as there's no sentimental value attatched, it's just an item that can be replaced, upgraded, or swapped.

 

[jblackfish]

Sure, there are times when it's time to let a gun go. It may not come very often but for example, 1) when you have something that you don't use and 2) it means less to you than something else you want and 3) having it is the difference between getting what you want and keeping what you have, it's time to let it go and get the one you want. There are other reasons but we each have our own feelings about it.

 

[xXxplosive]

Sold a Ruger Blackhawk once to someone I knew.........when my wife found out she made me get it back.....she was right.....still have that Ole' gun and still like owning it.

 

[JohnKSa]

I've sold and traded a few guns. In nearly every case I've regretted it at least a little bit later. That said, even in most the cases where I've regretted it later, I still feel that it was a worthwhile sacrifice.

 

[CajunBass]

I buy and sell them all the time. Never regrretted it one bit. They're just things.

 

[bikerdoc]

Time to let it go. Seems it is causing more problems than it is worth.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Mine come and go on a regular basis with the core "Never Sell" guns getting an addition from time to time.
After a time, if it doesn't get shot, please me to look at or have an implied investment value... it's fair game.
Let it go - just don't let the funds disappear frivolously.

 

[C-Fish]

Hundreds bought and sold...Just tools.

Few will never part with though.

 

[JaxJim]

I voted You'll regret it. Then I read "Apache..."'s note and that is the reason: don't fritter the money away on anything else. Keep the money in your gun fund and I'd vote "Time to let her go".

 

[Coal Dragger]

Get rid of the BFR, frankly .500 S&W is kind of a silly caliber for a handgun since anything that can chamber one is not exactly going to be very handy. Plus as you noted recoil makes it hard to shoot well or often, which pretty much means you are not likely to master it. Come to think of it I've never met or even talked to anyone who really enjoyed shooting one, or that has ever said they would never part with one.

 

[Onward Allusion]

You'll probably miss the gun at a later date. I have many guns that I haven't shot in years. I have them because I like and enjoy them but don't necessarily have to shoot each and every one every week. I like to have options.

 

[dirtengineer]

I have never sold a gun, but I have traded...

 

[rjrivero]

My observation thanks to Mr. Obama.

Remember the "run on guns" that happened when Obama got elected? You couldn't find ANY standard caliber ammunition anywhere. The only ammo you could find was odd-ball ammo. 45 GAP stands out in my mind as being readily available when nothing else was on the shelf.

It was during this time, I was re-acquainted with some of the more "odd" pieces in the safe. I remembered why I kept the old .32 H&R Magnum and the 500 Smith and Wesson and 17 Remington on the rifle side. I was glad to have them, too.

For that reason alone, I'll keep the few odds and ends I have laying around. I might buy a 45 GAP and a 327 Magnum revolver too!