Should I sell a couple safe queens?

[D.B. Cooper]

I never get any kind of emotional attachment to a gun.

I think that is kind of sad.

Almost every gun I own has a "story" as to how it came in to my family, who owned it before me, and how that person used it or how that gun has served my family's generations.

I do have a FEW guns that I have bought myself, but even those, if I don't sell them, will someday have a "story" for my son. (Who will tell that story just once in his life-to the guy at the pawn shop one day after I'm gone, and that guy will say "Cool story, kid, here's fifty bucks."

Hmmm...maybe I should just sell them all right now.

 

[tarosean]

Ain't she purdy?

damn skippy... thats what I like to see..

 

[SwampWolf]

I think that is kind of sad.

I agree. Very sad, indeed, but everybody doesn't think the same way. Thankfully.

 

[Waveski]

I am late to this party ...

"I get little to no enjoyment out of them. I have a good chunk of money just sitting in the dark year after year."

Mr Olympus , you made your own case. You clearly are getting no warm fuzzy feelings or other satisfactions from having these particular firearms sitting in the dark. Selling them and using the proceeds to acquire something which you and your family can enjoy and benefit from in real time makes perfect sense. Given your Gunbroker report , it appears that you have already arrived at that conclusion.

Personally , I have found that breaking through the "I can never sell a gun" barrier can be rather liberating. Sold a few , still have more that I can shoot and a few to show off.

 

[jdavis123]

When I was younger, a wise older gentleman told me to never sell my guns. His reason was that as long as they were in my possession I had something of value that I could see, touch and admire. Once it is sold and exchanged for money, the money would soon disappear and I would have nothing to show for it. Nice guns will always be in demand and increase in value, money declines in value almost every year. After many years of collecting S&W and Colt revolvers, I yielded to the mighty dollar and sold all but a few of my collection. Now years later, it would bankrupt me to replace them. My advice is that if you must have the money, do what you have to do. Otherwise, those guns are money in the bank.

 

[Olympus]

It's not about the money. I would replace them with other guns or things that I would get more use from. Likely just replaced with other guns that I would feel better about shooting and enjoying.

 

[P5 Guy]

Olympus, what's for sale?

 

[huntsman]

When I was younger, a wise older gentleman told me to never sell my guns. His reason was that as long as they were in my possession I had something of value that I could see, touch and admire. Once it is sold and exchanged for money, the money would soon disappear and I would have nothing to show for it.

Unless you convert the money to PM's, silver coins are easier to store more liquid than firearms and one can always play Scrooge Mcduck and roll in them

 

[shirojiro]

Well...I'm going to buck the trend. My rule is never...EVER...sell a gun. I have guns i haven't fired in years. They don't cost me a dime.

In the past, I have sold a few firearms. With rare exceptions, I eventually regretted it.

Sold a Universal M1 Carbine. It was a post war commercial copy partly made from left over USGI parts. No historical value. Sold it. Missed out on the CMP Carbines, now can't afford a wartime carbine. So I'm pretty much screwed. Kick myself every day.

Sold a perfect Ruger Secuirty Six 4" stainless revolver. Loved that gun. But I was competing in the Air force with an M9, so I bought a Taurus PT99 as my practice gun and sold the Ruger. Took many years, but now I kick myself ever day.

Sold a Winchester 94AE 30-30. My dad bought it for me when I turned 18. Realized I was never ever going to be a hunter. Sold it. The followig year I moved to Alaska. Guess who goes hunting every year now? Kick myself every day.

Sold that Taurus PT99. When I left the Air Force. Decided I didn't want anymore to do with training for killing people. 10 years later, and now I'm looking for a Beretta 92. Kick myself every day.

Sold a beat to crap S&W Model 10. I had just got an awesome Ruger Security. Now I'm looking for a Model 10 to pair with my M1 Garand. Kick myself every day.

OH THE M1 GARAND! How could I forget. Sold my WWII production Springfield Armory M1 Garand. I had been shooting Service Rifle with it. (And doing very poorly.) Decided I liked High Power better with my bolt gun. 15 years later, I was kicking myself for selling it. Luckily, I sold it to a good friend (who owned it all 15 years and never once fired it.) She sold it back to me for what she paid me for it. What a blessing. (And yet, I ALMOST sold it a second time. When will I ever learn!?)

What else? Oh yeah! S&W 22LR pistol. Sold it thinking I was done shooting handguns. Oops.

Ruger MK II. Same as above.

You see a pattern here?

NEVER.....EVER....SELLL.....A GUN. You will eventually regret it. Not this year or the next. But one day, some day...a long time from now, you wil regret it.

PS: Sorry for the long post.

I think an additional point is: you bought it in the first place for a reason. That reason might be less important right now than it was in the past, but the fundamental reason likely still exists.

 

[35 Whelen]

Wanted to get some thoughts on whether or not I should sell a couple safe queen pistols. I've got two guns that I've had fir at least 10 years and never shot. One of them is a mint Royal Blue 4" Python. I have been going back and forth on whether or not I should sell these guns. I've never fired them, they rarely even get taken out of the same to show off. I basically own them to say "hey I own auch and such". I bought both guns for great prices and they have both doubled their value since I've owned them. So they do make good investments and they don't require much and they don't cost anything to store or maintain, so they are zero maintenance.

But in the other hand, I get little to no enjoyment out of them. I have a good chunk of money just sitting in the dark year after year. Sometimes I think I should just sell them and buy something I could actually enjoy. But a part of me knows if I sell either gun, I'll probably never own another one again. So I hate to let go for that reason too. You can see why I go back and forth.

Everyone is different. For awhile I owned a NIB 4 3/4" 3rd Generation Colt SAA in .44 Special. I kept thinking I would shoot it, but never did. I finally sold it for the price of about three new Uberti's and couldn't be happier. Fast forward a couple of years to another new 3rd Generation Colt SAA only this was a 5 1/2" 45 Colt. I was determined to keep it and shoot if, but would up selling it for an astounding amount of money.

So, I say sell it.

35W

 

[Carl N. Brown]

CajunBass said: I never get any kind of emotional attachment to a gun.

Old brass frame 1858 Rem replica, I sold it to my stepdad when I needed money in 1979; it was given to me when he died in 1988; in the 2000s I fired it in black powder matches, it was like having him shooting with me. I often get sentimental attachments to guns. Of course, some in particular self-defense guns are just tools like crescent wrenches or hammers, no emotional attachment. But then there's the hatchet my daughter gave me ....

 

[Jim NE]

Lately I've been buying some little-used guns of moderate value. But they are "minty" rather than "mint" as I won't pay market value for any mint/unfired gun...unless it's a hi point. Especially vintage S&W or Colt revolvers, as even very light shooting use is fairly apparent, and decreases the value from the obscene prices unfired guns can sometimes have. I recently bought a nice 45 year old gun that had only a box of ammo through it in 45 years. I put another half box of ammo through it without any qualms. Didn't change value at all. If I can't shoot a gun without decreasing it's value, I really don't want it.

And then there's functionality check - I wonder how many people own expensive unfired collectors pieces that don't work, but nobody knows it because it's never been fired. Some people love old battered rusted non-working original black powder revolvers from the American frontier era. I wouldn't buy one of those either. Many well stated cases have been made on both sides of the issue throughout this thread. If it were me, though, I'd sell the mint Python(s) and buy a minty Trooper that can be fired now and then, and spend the rest on on good shooting polymer guns or surplus or good used S&W revolvers.

 

[jmace57]

When I was younger, a wise older gentleman told me to never sell my guns. His reason was that as long as they were in my possession I had something of value that I could see, touch and admire. Once it is sold and exchanged for money, the money would soon disappear and I would have nothing to show for it. Nice guns will always be in demand and increase in value, money declines in value almost every year. After many years of collecting S&W and Colt revolvers, I yielded to the mighty dollar and sold all but a few of my collection. Now years later, it would bankrupt me to replace them. My advice is that if you must have the money, do what you have to do. Otherwise, those guns are money in the bank.

I will mention that I sold a nice S&W Model 29 and a Model 10 a month or so ago for $1100. I put the cash in my gun safe. I looked in there today and there is $700. It has been serving as an ATM machine. If I don't buy something with it soon, it'll just be gone.

 

[Homerboy]

The Walking Dead definitely upped the demand for Pythons. Sure, collectors were there before, but more now. Buchmeir makes reproduction of the swivel holster and rig that Rick wears. They are selling like Hot cakes. No need for that exact holster and rig but fans want it. The whole setup is like 200 bucks. You could alot less on a belt and holster but fans want that one.

 

[threefeathers]

I would and have done so in the past. Get something you like, or go to a good shooting school like the Firearms Academy of Seattle.

 

[FL-NC]

I sold a 4" python in the mid 90's for $400. I had to carry it to 2 gun shows to get that, which is what I paid for it 2-3 years prior. Regret it now.

 

[Dog Soldier]

I am not a fan of Colt DA revolvers. I do have a few. There is a Colt 4" .32 New Police that I like to shoot once a year. It so accurate and mild to shoot. I have always intended to shoot some cotton tails with it.

 

[CraigC]

D.B. don't be despondent you are the model of a gun guy. If they have not done what you describe they have not experienced gun collecting. Very good.

I don't agree. Selling the wrong guns teaches us how to part with the right guns. I've bought nearly 170 guns, sold, traded and gifted dozens of them. Sure, I regret a couple of them but I also learned a valuable lesson from it. The rest, I don't miss or regret at all. I keep pretty detailed records so I can look at one and know what I got in trade or what was bought with the money. If I'm honest to myself about it, I really only truly regret one and that would be easily replaced. So while I do get attached to inanimate objects like guns and vehicles, I'm definitely NOT in the never sell camp. Just like buying guns, selling them is also an acquired skill. Sometimes you just have to let things go. Some things keep us rooted and enrich our lives, others hold us back in the past and keep us from moving forward. The challenge is knowing the difference. Which reminds me of a Buddhist quote:

"...Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom."

In this case, I would sell that Python in a heartbeat but that's because they do not appeal to me in any way and I'd be wanting to spend that money on something that did.

 

[dh1633pm]

I keep some rifles for collecting and some for shooting. If you pick quality, most will appreciate in value. I sell some every year to make way for new rifles. Nothing like bringing a new rifle home.

 

[larryh1108]

So while I do get attached to inanimate objects like guns and vehicles, I'm definitely NOT in the never sell camp. Just like buying guys, selling them is also an acquired skill. Sometimes you just have to let things go. Some things keep us rooted and enrich our lives, others hold us back in the past and keep us from moving forward. The challenge is knowing the difference. Which reminds me of a Buddhist quote:

"...Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom."

Well said and I could not agree more.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Sell it before Walking Dead gets canceled and the price plummets

 

[robhof]

Wanted to get some thoughts on whether or not I should sell a couple safe queen pistols. I've got two guns that I've had fir at least 10 years and never shot. One of them is a mint Royal Blue 4" Python. I have been going back and forth on whether or not I should sell these guns. I've never fired them, they rarely even get taken out of the same to show off. I basically own them to say "hey I own auch and such". I bought both guns for great prices and they have both doubled their value since I've owned them. So they do make good investments and they don't require much and they don't cost anything to store or maintain, so they are zero maintenance.

But in the other hand, I get little to no enjoyment out of them. I have a good chunk of money just sitting in the dark year after year. Sometimes I think I should just sell them and buy something I could actually enjoy. But a part of me knows if I sell either gun, I'll probably never own another one again. So I hate to let go for that reason too. You can see why I go back and forth.

I would sell them, but I won't own a gun I can't shoot, unless you want to leave a priceless ornament to your children, who if they're like mine would sell them as fast as they can for the money, which is why I sell what I can't use and buy what I can enjoy till I can't.

 

[Styx]

You'll miss them when they're gone. I've sold firearms that are still in production that I miss to this day. If you didn't have some deep down and buried feelings for them OP, you wouldn't have came here asking whether you should keep them or not.

Then again, life is short, you can't take them with you when you die, so it's really a lose, lose situation.