OK, I will weigh in on this one.
I am a collector and a shooter.
Years ago I used to tell my friends that if they did not shoot a new gun within one month they had to give it to me.
That ain't me anymore. I have plenty of guns that I have never shot, and probably never will. Some are antiques and there simply is not ammo manufactured for them anymore. Some are too old to shoot without worrying about them blowing up.
I am not a 'high end' collector, the kind of guy who phones in his bids when a $50,000 Henry is up for bids. Much too rare for my blood.
I got into collecting when I realized that good, used Smith and Wesson revolvers could be had for prices that were affordable. That's what roped me into collecting.
I am not into collecting in order to realize a profit. When I finally sell my collection (or my heirs do) I do not expect to make a profit. My profit is the pleasure I have in owning interesting, and sometimes unique firearms. If the final tally realized when my guns are finally sold is less than I originality paid for them, so be it. I am enjoying them right now.
There are few serious collectors. All the guys that would value them as much as you do, are dead...
You have obviously not been in the room during a serious auction. The action on 'collectable' as well as non-collectable firearms is always fast and furious. None of the guys who are bidding are dead.
No unfired guns in my collection either. Be like keeping a Ferrari in the garage and never driving it.
If you examine it more carefully, that argument really does not hold any water. The analogy to owning a Ferrari and not driving it falls apart if you consider the numbers. If one has a garage full of collectable automobiles, and chose not to drive one of them, that would be understandable. If one only owned the Ferrari, and chose not to own it, that might be odd. By the same token, if I only owned one firearm, and chose not to shoot it, that would be weird. I don't own just one firearm, I own quite a few. Of those, there are a few that I choose not to shoot. Perhaps because ammunition is not made anymore, perhaps because I am afraid of damaging them.
I have a good friend who collects antique clocks. We often talk about collecting. One thing we both agree on is that when a collector passes on, it is pointless to try to keep the collection together. The individual pieces should be auctioned off, sent back out into the universe to become parts of new collections.
One other thing. I have several old, antique firearms that I do shoot. Just last weekend I was shooting my S&W New Model Number Three and Merwin Hulbert Pocket Army in a Cowboy Match. There are collectors who would be horrified that I actually shoot them. Part of the pleasure of owning them, is to be able to actually shoot them occasionally. I don't shoot them a lot, and every time I pull the trigger, in the back of my mind there is a fear that they may sustain irreparable damage. But when the match was over and I was cleaning them, I looked back at how much fun I had shooting them.
Did I mention that my Trap gun that I shoot every week is a Winchester Model 12 made in 1948?
Does this qualify as a Safe Queen? A Triple Lock made in 1908 that I put a box of ammo through a few weeks ago? I may never shoot it again, or I may, I don't really know right now.
How about this one? A DWM Luger from 1915. When I first got it, I put a few boxes of 9mm through it. Haven't since. Will probably shoot it again sometime, right now, it's just nice to have a Luger.
I'm racking my brains now, trying to figure out if I actually own any Safe Queens. Maybe this Model 27. I must have fired it sometime, can't really remember right now. I don't shoot it because I don't want to scratch it up. Most of the collectable guns I own are not pristine, they already have some wear on them, so I am not reticent to shoot them. This one is so pretty I just don't want to scratch the finish. But I'm sure not going to let the opinions of others dictate whether I shoot it or not.
OK, definitely a Safe Queen. S&W 32 RF #2 Old Army Tip Up. No ammo made any more. Yeah, I have a couple of boxes of old ammo, but I am not going to shoot it.
This one is a little bit different though. Is it a Safe Queen? It has been converted to fire 22 RF ammo. Yes, I have shot it with some 22 CB caps. Probably won't shoot it again, afraid of damaging the firing pin. The hammer is custom modified and I doubt I could find a replacement. But it sure was fun to fire it.
This reminds me of the time some guys fired a Luger made for US Army trials chambered for 45 ACP. Definitively an irreplaceable treasure, only about three were made. Before they fired it, they said they hoped they didn't blow it up. And they didn't. I'm sure it was safely put away in a collection somewhere, but the owner had the cojones to allow them to shoot it and film it.