Shooting a Collectable

alsaqr said:
Way back when i fired several of my collectibles. My GF and myself fired a previously unfired first generation Colt single action. Cleaned the gun and replaced it in the original box.
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A colt collector would recoil in horror upon reading this. A first generation Colt SAA with an unturned cylinder is one of the holiest of holy grails. If that gun had never been fired, with no drag marks on an unturned cylinder, you cut it's value in half by firing it.
 
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tark said:
A colt collector would recoil on horror upon reading this. A first generation Colt SAA with an unturned cylinder is one of the holiest of holy grails. If that gun had never been fired, with no drag marks on an unturned cylinder, you cut it's value in half by firing it.
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ouch!
 
silicosys4 said:
Its kind of a pain in the rear. All I wanted was a nice shooter milsurp, and I ended up with a gun thats worth far too much money to shoot.
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That’s on you and good for you to recognize the fact.

Lots of extremely rare cars and such have been destroyed to make movies and more than a few rare collected coins have been found by children and spent as regular currency.

And there are also people that just have lots of money, want what they want and don’t care about what happens after they die, they want to have fun now, not leave the most valuable collection of goods to whomever gets their stuff after they die.
 
Mark_Mark said:
Would you guys shoot collectable guns? If it meant knocking the value down a few hundred bucks. I’m talking $1200 to $2000 gun, nothing outrageous.

Or do you guys buy a collectable example, then a shooter example and shoot that one?
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Does that always reduce the value of the gun? Could it increase the value in some cases?
Thanks
 
silicosys4 said:
Depends on who you shoot. I know of a carcano and a pocket pistol that are worth a ton more money now because of where they were aimed when the trigger was pulled the last time they were used.
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oooooh that was dark! lol
 
silicosys4 said:
Depends on who you shoot. I know of a carcano and a pocket pistol that are worth a ton more money now because of where they were aimed when the trigger was pulled the last time they were used.
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John Kennedy was assassinated with the Carcano and the Archduke with the pocket pistol. The derringer that shot Lincoln might fetch a few bucks as well.
 
If they are not looked upon as pure investments, then Yes.

But make sure that anybody else who shoots it doesn't simply treat it/ handle it like other guns.

PapaG stated my view in a somewhat similar manner, if it already has been shot, yes
 
A specific, extremely narrow angle has been my experience.

Two or three ‘’mostly’ virgin guns- -but not true collectors— mostly were an M-1 Garand @@ Special from the CMP and a S&W 3rd Gen handgun.

Being left at home only two other guys had ever seen them (just once each); practically nobody who could appreciate them

It was like having special museum displays (almost) which were locked in solitary confinement in prison.

Good-looking paperweights.
 
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I bought a “beater” Luger so I don’t have to shoot my numbers-matching piece. Why? Because the beater can be shot and enjoyed for years and an extra bit of bluing wear won’t affect its value one whit. The nice one, an original part breaks and I’ll kick myself for years.

That said, there’s a difference between “don’t choose to use for most of my shooting” and “won’t shoot it at all.”

But if it was a gun that would be inevitably and noticeably altered by ever shooting it, ie an unfired antique Colt… I’d not shoot it, and it wouldn’t really be a gun, but an investment. I’d have an honest conversation with myself about how long I might keep it vs when it made sense to let it go.
 
JTHunter said:
I have but the .32-20 ammo is hard to find, too expensive for my tastes, and really "low powered" compared to similar caliber ammo. This Smith & Wesson was made in the mid-30s and is referred to as "Mod. of 1905 – 4th change".

View attachment 1153378
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You have a real treasure there, A long barreled K-Frame Smith, built in the Golden Years, in an uncommon caliber. And the 32-20 , in a K-Frame Smith, can be "hot rodded" to near .327 Magnum ballistics.

Wanna sell it? PM me. I have a C&R license and I'm talking four figures.
 
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tark said:
You have a real treasure there, A long barreled K-Frame Smith, built in the Golden Years, in an uncommon caliber. And the 32-20 , in a K-Frame Smith, can be "hot rodded" to near .327 Magnum ballistics.

Wanna sell it? PM me. I have a C&R license and I'm talking four figures.
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are these rare?

there was 32-20 3rd change hand ejector, very nice royal style bluing. $750. I should have bought it! It’s was calling me and very COOL! oooh well it’s gone now
 
Thinking on this a little more, I realized that I do have one gun that I have not shot. I've had it a couple of years, and totally intend to shoot it. Just haven't gotten to it. It's not really a "collectible," but I like it anyway. It was in sad shape when I first ran across it. It had rusty, had a bent hammer, who knows what else. It was all I could do to get it apart for a little cleaning & inspection. I sent it to my favorite gunsmith, and this is what I got back.
index.php
 
Spats McGee said:
Thinking on this a little more, I realized that I do have one gun that I have not shot. I've had it a couple of years, and totally intend to shoot it. Just haven't gotten to it. It's not really a "collectible," but I like it anyway. It was in sad shape when I first ran across it. It had rusty, had a bent hammer, who knows what else. It was all I could do to get it apart for a little cleaning & inspection. I sent it to my favorite gunsmith, and this is what I got back.
index.php
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that thing Solid! your gunsmith is magician
 
I guess I should mention now that others have brought it up, that I do own some other firearms that are considered collectible.
A NIB flatlatch M36. This one still had sawdust in the grip checkering when I got it. I don't shoot it. Not because its particularly valuable or rare ,
I'm sure the amount of sock drawer NIB M36's, even old ones, is longer than most guns,
There is just no reason to shoot this. I just don't think shooting a snubnose .38 with S&W factory wood grips is fun.
I get far more enjoyment looking at it in its present condition than I would shooting it just for the sake of shooting it.

I have an Astra Terminator that I don't shoot much, if at all these days.
Not because its valuable, although certainly more valuable than when I bought it,
Not because its not fun, because it is with .44spcls or mild .44mags,
I don't shoot it because if anything breaks...Astra hasn't been in business for decades and spare parts are hens teeth.

I have a Nazi ppk, an RSHA gun.
I don't shoot it. Not because its in great condition, its not.
Not because its particularly valuable..it isn't, in its condition.
I don't shoot it because its not fun to shoot, even in .32. I shot a few rounds and let a buddy shoot a few, a magazine total, then cleaned it and put it up. That was 15 years ago.
Its a snappy little cuss with an uncomfortable grip.

I have a S&W 10-8 in nickel that I'm pretty sure is unfired since leaving the factory, still wearing the carbon burns on the face of every other chamber on the cylinder...which is how the factory test fired them.
I don't and won't shoot it.
Not because its particularly valuable, it isn't.
Not because its particularly rare, it isn't
Not because it wouldn't be fun, it would
I don't shoot it because it wouldn't be as smooth as my well used 10-8, and I like seeing a true representation of the quality S&W was turning out for nickel guns at the time. Honestly not that great.

There are a lot of guns I have in my safe that don't get shot, mostly because I reach around them and grab the guns that are better for that instead.
 
silicosys4 said:
I guess I should mention now that others have brought it up, that I do own some other firearms that are considered collectible.
A NIB flatlatch M36. This one still had sawdust in the grip checkering when I got it. I don't shoot it. Not because its particularly valuable or rare ,
I'm sure the amount of sock drawer NIB M36's, even old ones, is longer than most guns,
There is just no reason to shoot this. I just don't think shooting a snubnose .38 with S&W factory wood grips is fun.
I get far more enjoyment looking at it in its present condition than I would shooting it just for the sake of shooting it.

I have an Astra Terminator that I don't shoot much, if at all these days.
Not because its valuable, although certainly more valuable than when I bought it,
Not because its not fun, because it is with .44spcls or mild .44mags,
I don't shoot it because if anything breaks...Astra hasn't been in business for decades and spare parts are hens teeth.

I have a Nazi ppk, an RSHA gun.
I don't shoot it. Not because its in great condition, its not.
Not because its particularly valuable..it isn't, in its condition.
I don't shoot it because its not fun to shoot, even in .32. I shot a few rounds and let a buddy shoot a few, a magazine total, then cleaned it and put it up. That was 15 years ago.
Its a snappy little cuss with an uncomfortable grip.

I have a S&W 10-8 in nickel that I'm pretty sure is unfired since leaving the factory, still wearing the carbon burns on the face of every other chamber on the cylinder...which is how the factory test fired them.
I don't and won't shoot it.
Not because its particularly valuable, it isn't.
Not because its particularly rare, it isn't
Not because it wouldn't be fun, it would
I don't shoot it because it wouldn't be as smooth as my well used 10-8, and I like seeing a true representation of the quality S&W was turning out for nickel guns at the time. Honestly not that great.

There are a lot of guns I have in my safe that don't get shot, mostly because I reach around them and grab the guns that are better for that instead.
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Not to offend “Real Collectors” out there… But those would fall under Collector Guns in my book! NICE
 
Remember in 2011 Colt came out with a 100 year model of the 1911 45ACP. I wonder how many of those are sitting in the back of someone’s safe.
As I remember they limited production to something like 4 or 5 thousand.
 
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