What's a Safe Queen to You??

[Redcoat3340]

Like many here I got a bunch of guns.
Some are for carry.
Some are for "collecting."
And some are just because they are good guns like my M&Ps, Berettas, and Sigs.

I keep up with my carry guns and try to rotate the others.

But here's my question: What's a definition of a "safe queen?" How long do folks keep a gun in the safe without really shooting it before it goes up for sale or trade? (I rarely shoot my P08 but won't be selling that one.)

Just wondering....as I'd like to sell a spare 1911, a Sig 320, or maybe even an M&P 2.0 in 9 and there's some others. I don't really care about the 1911, but the Sig is a really good gun, that I don't shoot, and the M&P is even better, but is gathering dust. And I hate selling good guns.

I know this is a personal thing...and I can afford what I own. And maybe the answer is simply more range time! But I figured I'd ask 'round.

 

[Deus Machina]

Anything I'm more likely to think "I want to keep that in this condition" than take it to the range or carry it.
Succinctly: anything too pretty to lay on a rough and dirty shooting bench, too expensive to feed, or too hard or expensive to replace worn parts.
Unless those are a gift or inheritance, I steer clear.

 

[GBExpat]

To me, a Safe Queen is a firearm that spends almost all of its "GBExpat" Life in one of my gunsafes. Something(s) that I rarely reach for before heading out the back door and into the woods.

I have a LOT of those since I do much less shooting than I used to. Even when I walk around the farm there is an even chance that the pistol & rifle that I am carrying will simply come along for the trip.

And, no, "I should sell that one" rarely crosses my mind ... which is a major reason why I have so darn many. of the bleedin' things.

 

[FL-NC]

A gun bought with more intent to own it than fire it. Sometimes, with no intent to fire it.

 

[ford8nr]

A gun that not only I don't shoot, but WON'T shoot for various reasons.
One that exists ONLY to live in the safe.

Don't own any that I won't shoot ...

 

[Rembrandt]

Have many that I doubt I'll ever shoot, no need to since the collection is representative of my closet. Have numerous suits along with grubby work clothes. I don't wear a suit to mow the lawn or work clothes to a wedding. Those "safe queens" have a purpose, put away as investments and to enjoy handling. The everyday shooters and hunting guns, well they're sort of like those work clothes....get use for an intended purpose.

 

[PapaG]

Most of the stuff that I bought while working in a mom and pop gun store that "would be really great to have". Slowly, at 74, coming to the realization that I need to thin myself and the herd. I have a written history of the family guns for the boys and keep an up to date appraisal of the rest for my wife.

 

[huntsman]

IMHO a gun I don’t shoot regularly isn’t a Safe Queen just neglected I don’t shoot my inherited guns much anymore but they’re not going anywhere, but when I gave up upland bird hunting I sold and traded all the shotguns I used because that chapter of my life was being closed.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

They are guns that other people own and don't shoot, that I would shoot if I owned.

If a gun was too valuable for me to shoot I'd sell it immediately.

 

[jmorris]

I divide guns I don’t shoot into two categories one is a “wall hanger” old Damascus barreled guns and such that I wouldn’t risk injury to fire.

The other are “for looking at” guns that are the art work of the people that built them.

I use most of my firearms like the tools they are despite what they cost, so if I want them to stay pretty to look at, I have to keep them locked up.

 

[Bill Raby]

The whole safe queen thing makes no sense at all. Guns are a lousy investment. I know, you bought it for $500 in 1972 and it is worth $2000 today. Oh yippee!!! You are lucky if a gun can almost keep up with inflation. Unless it rusted after sitting in a safe for decades. Seen more than one of those. If you don't use it and you don't sell it, it has no actual value at all. There are much cheaper ways to fill your house with clutter if that is what you want to do.

 

[GBExpat]

The whole safe queen thing makes no sense at all. Guns are a lousy investment. I know, you bought it for $500 in 1972 and it is worth $2000 today. Oh yippee!!! You are lucky if a gun can almost keep up with inflation. Unless it rusted after sitting in a safe for decades. Seen more than one of those. If you don't use it and you don't sell it, it has no actual value at all. There are much cheaper ways to fill your house with clutter if that is what you want to do.

Rant over. There, feel better now?

 

[mcb]

The safe queens that are truly rare and irreplaceable collector items (ie an early Colt Patterson Revolver) don't bother me that much. I can respect that type of collection even though my own gun buying habits don't go that way.

The "safe queens" that bother me a bit (not really, but enough to write this post) are the guns that are current or where at one time a mass produced production guns that someone treats like a safe queen. This is usually the result of buying a firearms more expensive than they probably should have. To me a gun is a tool and though I feel I am relatively careful with and take care of my firearms they are tools and they do get used resulting in wear and tear on them. I hope to wear out a few guns before I am done!

But each to his own. If you like you Glock but want it to stay in NIB condition that is your prerogative, enjoy. Personally I like my guns to have some character preferably character earn through honest use by me.

 

[George P]

My only safe queens are my dad's service revolvers, one of which is a Colt from the late 20s. That might get shot once a year; his other one, a S&W from the 50s gets shot 2-3 times per year.

This remind me that I do have some guns I haven't shot in a while that I need to get out of the safe and just sell.

 

[P5 Guy]

Well, I've been told a few times "That gun is too valuable to shoot". I guess folks with that mindset define Safe Queen.
Then I shoot a couple magazines/cylinders and they walk away muttering and head shaking.
What are tools for after all? I would never abuse a tool.

 

[JTHunter]

As I don't have a gun safe, this may not qualify. One of the guns I inherited is a S&W .32-20 revolver and, while I have shot it a little, I found out what its book value was and "retired" it.
Another is a .38 Colt that is ~110 years old and its cylinder no longer locks up correctly, making the gun unsafe to fire. It has a lot of family history so I won't get rid of it.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

Except my carry gun(s), they are all safe queens.

With the exception of one Uberti Schofield, they all get shot at various times for various purposes.

 

[lionking]

Back in the day I use to have the attitude that there is no reason to own a gun if you don't shoot it. That attitude changed for me once I started collecting mil-surp guns and sometimes scored a incredible condition one. I bought with intent to shoot it at least sometimes, but a couple I never did after I hold and look at it and go " dang this thing is just mint or nice do I really want to put wear on it?".

To each their own, collect or shoot . I've got other guns to shoot so a couple safe queens so be it.

Safe queen by my definition, a gun you buy as a collectible that you don't shoot or shoot very sparingly.

Wanna see some?

 

[crestoncowboy]

I dont really get the negative attitude toward not shooting a gun either. Because they are "tools" your supposed to make a point to rotate through them and wear them equally? I have many hammers and tape measures I've gathered through the years as sales or gifts. They stay in their place and the 20 year old estwing and Stanley in my tool belt get all the use. Is that so bad? I suppose I could sell them and buy an even shinier hammer .... idk. I tend to use the same tools I like best though they truly are tools. But I don't pick through them and sell off ones I haven't used? Front end service sockets that came in sets with ones I actually needed....and I have no idea what they would even fit? I guess they should go to the pawn shop, since I may never use them. I feel it's a "tool" if you have to have it to accomplish a task. Many (most) on this forum passed up that "tool" definition for 99.9 percent of their gun collection a long long time ago Im afraid. I know I did

Then because I dont shoot them every year or 10 I'm supposed to sell them to buy something else? Why? What if on the eleventh year I wanted to get out my 5.7 or M1 carbine. Why would I lose my butt on it if I think I may want to use it someday? I obviously wanted to use it once or I wouldn't have bought it, maybe that mood will return. Plus many are getting hard to find to replace even if I did. Furthermore If I'm having to sell one gun just to buy another I think maybe I need to work on my financial situation or just buy one to use and save up a while. I know guys where I work who do that and at the end of the day they have wasted thousands and have a sccy (real life example btw) Makes less sense to me to buy, then sell for half then buy another over and over. If I don't want to keep something I wouldn't have bought it. (I still have my first car) I won't say that I could make a ton of profit from my collection but I can get my money back, those guys have nothing at all to show for theirs. Unless I just simply dislike one, only then it will go down the road. I guess that's my rant for this year.

Anyway, to answer the ops question, I suppose a safe queen to me is one that won't be fired more than a session every few years. I only have two I won't fire at all. The rest of my "safe queens" I keep around just because a friend may be over and want to shoot one or it may come up in simple conversation. I guess all but my ccw and hunting guns would be considered safe queens.

And if I don't use it and don't sell it it has no value? I have a crap load of lanterns, buffalo nickels, wheat pennies, v- nickels etc that are worthless I suppose. They certainly have value to me. And someday hopefully to my grandkids or great great grandkids

 

[AlexanderA]

The very term "safe queen" discriminates against collectors, and in favor of shooters. The assumption is that if a gun is not shot (regularly) then somehow it's a second-class gun. And that somehow shooters are the norm, and are superior to those who merely collect and admire guns.

As a practical matter, if you have a large collection you are only able to shoot a small fraction of your guns, at best.

Let the shooters do their thing, and the collectors do theirs. After all, we are all on the same side. I propose we discontinue the use of the "safe queen" terminology since it only serves to divide the gun community. I have a lot of guns that I don't shoot, and never intend to shoot, but I don't call them "safe queens." To me, as a collector, the term is offensive.

 

[crestoncowboy]

It doesn't offend me at all just to hear the term "safe queen" unless the negative connotation is there, and often it is.
Kind of like when I call my wife princess, most of the time it's a well recieved term of endearment. But when I'm drinking water from the waterhose and she walks through with a bottle of Voss or ice water in a YETI tumbler, the negativity of the "princess" isn't lost on anyone.

 

[gunlaw]

All of mine are safe queens... until the weather straightens out

 

[jmorris]

The whole safe queen thing makes no sense at all. Guns are a lousy investment. I know, you bought it for $500 in 1972 and it is worth $2000 today. Oh yippee!!! You are lucky if a gun can almost keep up with inflation. Unless it rusted after sitting in a safe for decades. Seen more than one of those. If you don't use it and you don't sell it, it has no actual value at all. There are much cheaper ways to fill your house with clutter if that is what you want to do.

Yeah, like buy a swimming pool, RV, Rolex, motorcycle, invest in AIG, Bear Stearns and other “solid” investments.

Then again just about anything would be a better investment than the shoes and clothes I have to haul to goodwill for my wife every few years...

Lots of ways to loose money, a hobby that doesn’t, isn’t a bad thing to have.

 

[Rockrivr1]

I have a number of guns that sit longer then they should in the safe, but I will never sell them because I enjoy shooting them when they make it to the range. Then there are those that sit in my safe because I don't like shooting them. Any gun that sits due to that is earmarked for trade/sale fodder when there's something else I want to get.

 

[Mn Fats]

They are guns that other people own and don't shoot, that I would shoot if I owned.

If a gun was too valuable for me to shoot I'd sell it immediately.

Exactly. And buy ones you can shoot. Unless there was some sort of deep sentimental story attached with it- which Armored Farmer here has a gun like that and I believe he took a Deer with it last season!

Safe queen. Buy a poster.