Let's hear your poor gun investment stories

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heavyshooter

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We have all made purchases and later, with hindsight, realized how stupid they were. Today I came to grips with one of my more dingbat rookie moves!:banghead:

I have been looking for a Coachgun with exposed hammers for about a year now. I intend to use it as a backup Home Defense weapon which is why I want exposed hammers (I can load it and leave it uncocked). I was in a local gunstore and looking though their consignment section and I found exactly what I was looking for. A Remington (Baikal) Spartan SPR220F. It cost $199.99 (this was mistake #1). The tag stated that "the left barrel occasionally stikes light." I disregarded this as a small problem because the fireing pin seemed to protrude sufficiently (mistake #2). A trip to the range prooved the deception of the seller. The left barrel would not fire at all. I took it to my smith and upon disassembling it he discovered that some one had done a butcher job on the left side and he is having to do extensive repairs to rectify their butchery. When it is all said and done, after overpaying for the gun ($150 would have been a more appropriate price) and paying for extensive repair, I will have spent enough to buy a new gun. Stupid!!!:mad:

Don't leave me out here by myself. Say I am not alone.
 
if i hadn't purchased my 5 guns, i could have instead bought a really nice desert eagle .50
 
Among many other guns, I collect ZAMAK pistols and revolvers from manufactures such as Jennings, Davis, Lorcin, Sundance, Sedco, FIE, RG, etc. So many folks would say that I have a few dozen poor investments ;)
I collect and shoot guns for my enjoyment, not for investments.
The only gun I was really burned on was a gunbroker.com pistol purchase "as-is" that looked very good....it was very good outside, with a bulged barrel inside! Seller neglected to mention that tiny defect. NOTE: All of my other gunbroker purchases have been better guns than I thought they would be.
Jack
 
I once bought a Mauser that had been rebarreled by Century Arms. It was chambered in 308. WOOT! Score! A CRF in 308! Right? I paid $190 for it at MGS, after examining the bore and basically making sure that everything went *click* when it was supposed to, and didn't when it wasn't.

Get it home, and it shot terrible. At 25 yards, it'd group 4 shots in a nickel and the fifth shot would be 5" off to the eastnortheast.

Turns out that the drunken monkeys at CAI had misthreaded the barrel onto the receiver, and the barrel was literally crooked and crossthreaded. The barrel and receiver were a total loss, and the only thing salvagable was the bottom metal and bolt.

<sigh>
 
When I was 15 (now 50,where does the time go?) I had a chromed barrel 16ga. shotgun. My older brother and I were at the house of a guy who traded in guns. He had a 22 stub nose that I wanted.

My brother offered to let me drive his car home to get my gun if I wanted to trade. Not having a license and getting a chance to drive alone for the first time I jumped at the chance. I wanted to drive more than I wanted to trade!

I made the trip without incident and the trade went as discussed. I took the stub nose out of town to shoot it and couldn't hit a can while standing 2' from it. Heck, I couldn't even hit it from 1'! :eek:

Needless to say, I got the short end of the stick on that one. I gave up a great shooter (I bagged many a rabbit with that one!) for one that you had to throw to hit the broad side of a barn.

I can't remember what ever happened to that old stub nose but it was the absolute worst gun I have owned in my life and that includes an old muzzle loader my dad gave me that won't even fire. At least I can use it as a club should the need arise! :D
 
Bought a SKS a year or so back for 150 thinking I was getting a steal, turned out the gas tube and gas block were not seated tight enough. $40 in wire and liquid gasket maker and $60 in a replacement stock, I finally got it working, could have just spent $200 for one that actually worked in the first place.
 
Don't buy guns for investments. If you compare the return even with simple interest you usually do better and the investment is much more liquid. There are exceptions of course and we maybe headed toward one of those "exceptional times" in 2009-2010.

If you want to have some fun because you are interested, buy some things that you believe will increase in value quickly.

I have made a little money with firearms. In each case, I bought very low and sold them within a month. The key is you don't develop attachments to them and you sell them quick. It was fun.

I have also bought specifically for trading at shows (or open to a outright sale) and you almost always loose as you are playing the FFL dealers game at that point. It is usually a $25 here or $50 there kind of loss, but a loss all the same. So, I suspect I'm probably in the minus when it comes to guns as investments overall. But it was fun!

The only guns that I consistantly either broke even on or made a profit were Colt's and I spent my money carefully.

Buying a gun 10 years ago for $300 and selling it for $450 today is not a profit.

When younger and first started to attend gun shows, I bought what I thought was a beautiful Colt Woodsman for $300. It turned out to be a re-blue and I sold it for $250 about 30-days later. I figure I paid $50 and learned a few things on that deal. I was so bugged that I missed the obvious that I would have sold the thing for $100 just to get it out of my sight.
 
Winchester 94

I bought a used Winchester 94 with 30-30 ammo and sold it at a small loss ($30) about a year before Winchester went under. Thankfully it worked fine, but I wish I had kept it.
 
I once paid $150 for Brazilian Mauser in .30-06 with a very dark bore. Around 8" at 50 yards - ouch! Sold it for $100.

I would distinguish the OP's situation of "victim of fraud by the seller" as a little different from "the gun didn't appreciate like I thought it would" or "the gun depreciated in value quickly over time", the latter two being bad investments.
 
I've made a few bad purchases

I'm helplessly addicted to bidding at a few online auctions I watch. Not gunbroker, gunsamerica or such but some actual live on-line auctions that can be attended live on auction day via on-line connection, kinda like Barret Jackson car auction.

The main problem with these kind of auctions is you rarely get to actually inspect the guns unless the auction happens to be local. Don't get me wrong, I've managed to score some smokin deals on some really nice pieces. A few examples: 85% S&W model 1917 $450, 80% luger bring back all matching #'s $500. H&K USP .40 $350...there are others. BUT I have also got some duds, one in particular that comes to mind is a Winchester model 1906 pump .22 (collect old pump .22's) total piece of junk, the barrel said S,L,LR and for life of me I could not get it to shoot LR at all, I thought the receiver was shot and was ready to write it off then tried some shorts thru it and low and behold it cycled and fired these no problem. Someone had switched the receiver and barrel assembly somewhere in its life (breakdown rifles), anyways I only paid $150 for it so it wasn't a total loss, its now my garage/squirrel gun.

Another one that comes to mind is a CZ75B I picked up for $350. Nice looking gun (black slide satin frame). From the start the thing had problems extracting spent cases, I thought it was problem with my reloads at first but other 9's I have extracted the same lot with no problems. I replaced the extractor on the CZ for about $35 and it runs perfectly now.

I guess my point here is; buying used guns can be a real crap shoot sometimes but to me thats half the fun....



DS
 
I waited too long to buy a Model 94, and paid about $600, when a couple of months prior I could have paid about $250... That was lame.
 
Internet Sales:

I've bought and sold a numbers of guns over the net. Ninety-Nine percent of the transactions have been above board. Mostly Second and Third Generation C&B Colts (NIB). Most of the sellers have been honest and I have had a couple offer my money back if I was not satisfied. The one transaction that went bad was a #2 S&W - antique, engraved, ivory grips, cherry case, ivory tipped ram-rod, and a box of original cartridges. The gun was advertised as being "mint" prior to the custom work being done on it and was "as new" in condition. When it came in I noticed the action was stiff, just wasn't right. I sent it to a specialist on vintage S&Ws and was told the sleeve that is threaded and is pressed into the cylinder was broke and binding. The seller refused to do anything about it and accused me of breaking it. Long story - it cost me an additional $500 to have it repaired. The original engraver who was also involved in the restoration told me the gun was broke when he did the initial engraving and that the owner (guy, who sold it to me) knew it was broke and said he wanted it for a show piece. I will probably get my money back out of it - and it will be as close to 100% (mechanically) as possible and accurately described when it is sold the next time. But, I had to eat the additional cost on the front end. I filed a complaint with the on-line site that the gun was bought through and was told they did not take sides in a transaction. The seller also terminated the listing as expired instead of sold and got out of paying their commission. Along with me, he essentially ripped off the listing site. They obviously do not care since the seller is still listing guns with them.:fire:

Thoughts::scrutiny:

1. Most are legit - but you can get burned

2. On most guns it would cost you more to go to another state and pursue any legal recourse than you will gain.

3. On high dollar guns, use a third party. Have it sent to a reputable source to be checked out. Once you get the OK - then transfer funds. If the seller is not willing to do that, you got a red flag.

4. Sites like Gun Broker (one of the best)(not the site mentioned above) have a feedback system. Also, I have had vendors provide other avenues of feedback such as ebay (even though gun transactions are not allowed - gives you an idea of what type of person you are dealing with).
 
I paid $450 for an HK94 and another $350 to have it converted to an MP5.

$800 fer cripes sake!

What was I thinking?! :neener:
 
I have been very lucky [original 1903 Nm for 400$] and extreamly unlucky ithica 37 at an auction paid $175. from a distance --upon recieving it the shock had been sanded with a disc on a drill ...finished with floor poly with a brush and the extractor was broken..
I tried to salvage it by sandblasting the metal +Bluing it with Instant blue in a bottle.
Finally I gave up and its in a plastic bag in the attic-I say Ill never buy anything at an auction =Oh I also bought a Winchester Mdl 70 In 375H+H for $375.00 figured I could make some profit on it --Naa Finally sold it for $375.00--Dont ask about the Ruger 22 auto pistol that shoots 14 in. low to the left GGRRRRrrrrrrr
I think the way to make money at auctions -is buy cheep surplus junk [mosian nagants] and offer them at auction--the fools buy that stuff at higher prices than you gan buy at a gun show retail!!!
 
Bought a 336 Marlin with a crooked barrel, found out later a horse had laid down and rolled with it in a saddle scabbard, only paid $100.00 for it. Traded it for a near new Ruger Mark II 22 pistol. I guess it worked out.

This was by no means a bad investment. The person who traded a Ruger Mark II for a 336 Marlin with a crooked barrel should be posting this story.:D
 
Don't buy guns for investments.

Maybe the word "investment" was the wrong word to use. The question I am asking is, "Have you ever spent more on a firearm than you should have?" I could have bought a new coachgun for $300 dollars (with a warrenty). Instead, I am about to spend $300 for a used one (with no warrenty).

I would distinguish the OP's situation of "victim of fraud by the seller" as a little different from "the gun didn't appreciate like I thought it would" or "the gun depreciated in value quickly over time", the latter two being bad investments.

Thanks PremiumSauces. This is more in line with the point I was trying to make.
 
Bryco .380 before I knew anything about reliability in firearms. Still have the thing waiting for a gun buyback in my area to unload it.
 
Every gun I own was an "investment" or atleast thats what I told my wife. I just neglected to mention that I would never sell any of them regardless of how expensive they may become. So in a sense all the guns I own are terrible investments. But every time one goes up in value I am quick to point it out to my wife and say, "see, aren't you glad I bought that when I did?"
 
Dr. Fresh, you did not pay too much. You wanted that gun, and you got it. The price is not out of the realm of reasonableness.

You perhaps could have got another gun, another time, for less. But that is guessing. You got the gun you wanted when it was offered to you. The price will catch up to it. In the meantime, shoot the heck out of it.
 
Well, there was an AK I had my eye on at a different shop for $400 and I could have got it for $350. Someone bought it before I could. I kind of settled for the SKS. I do like it though.
 
tried to make a Mosin into a kimber ended up 200 bucks in the tiolet.
$100 gun into a sniper rifle LOL
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
 
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