Why did they buy the gun at all?

[rocky branch]

I'm an accumulator, though I tend towards certain areas.

Sometimes I bcome "inspired" and buy something that catches my attention.

If nothing else, casual purchases can be converted to "tradin' stock,"

If I sat around worrying the "why" of everything, I wouldn't get much done.

 

[coloradokevin]

It doesn't usually make sense to me, though I could understand why someone might sell off a gun they just bought and found that they didn't like.

It seems like this situation is quite similar to the people who sell their nearly new cars. I drive my cars until the wheels fall off, while other folks buy new on a yearly basis!

 

[Usmc-1]

City slickers buy guns all the time , then realize they have no place to shoot them , the local range costs money , it might ok a few times a month , but not everyday !

Plus you might buy it on impulse and once in your hands it doesnt feel right so you never shoot , or the old "ICONIC" crowd , I have an Indian motorcycle (2003 Vintage Chief) , when Indian came back into production a whole lot people bought into the "Iconic" collector bs , and paid 35 k for a bike they never rode , thinking it will be worth alot of money someday ,hasnt happened! Oh I also have a 1946 Indian Chief (w/a left hand sidecar)!!And that chief never moves!

 

[gym]

I think most are telling the truth, it's like cars. A buddy was a Porshe dealer, and he got many a new porshe's back after a week or two, probablly the same with most expensive sports that are faster than the driver. He loved it because some doctor would but one, and his wife would bitch about getting in and out, and the guy didn't like the ride, so He would make a quick 10-15 thousand and re- sell it for a few thousand less than new again. People buy things first and the see if they like them. Always have, more when times are good. But they will always do this. I think a lot of folks buy a 1911, then find out it's more work than say a Glock or other plastic gun, they are afraid to disasemble it and generally afraid to carry it peoperly in the ready position, so they just sell it. That's most of the issue I find with used 1911's people aren't real gun people buy them because they think they are cool, like old guys with bikes or sports cars. Then they find they don't really have the heart for them. Me I will still do doughnuts with a hi performance anything till the put me down.

 

[captain awesome]

I have some guns that don't get shot much. mostly due to lack of time, in my slow work seasons, its lack of income. This may not be the wisest saving practice, but instead of throwing money in a savings account, I usually look for a great deal on a used gun. The philosophy is that money in the bank is neither working for me(at least not enough to make much of a difference) nor entertaining, while i can have fun with the gun. So far it has worked out, as I have made a heck of a lot more money selling them than I would have just with savings account interest, and I have never lost a dime on one. A fair amount of those purchases don't end up with much range time.

 

[Ryanxia]

What gets me is the people who say LNIB only 200 rounds or w/e through them that are asking full retail price. It's like driving a car off the lot then wanting full price for it. Like it's been stated above it only takes a cleaning but you can't really tell if there has been 100 or 1000 rounds through it (I can't anyway).

 

[gym]

Capt., I wish we all did that instead of losing money in the market, although we have had the "Guns for investmant" thread done to death, The fact is that 90% of my guns went up, and 90% of my stocks went down. So putting quality guns as you describe, like a nice colt 1911, isn't ever going to hurt you, And will only go up over a 10 yr period, I can't say that for anything else. Gold, and all metals will only help if on hand, and one of those , end of days" scenarios takes place, and even then they will be trading the gold for guns and ammo. and food So you are in my opinion doing the proper thing, as long as you buy good quality rifles and pistols, along with ammo for them. Funny I was looking at my house early today, and there is not one room "excluding 3 bathrooms", that don't have windows in them, It's the latest code on 1 floor, and is cinderblock,but it would be impossible to defend against a group with weapons, someone should invent a kelar type shutter system that was bullett proof, I bet they would make a ton of money.

 

[Black Butte]

What gets me is the people who say LNIB only 200 rounds or w/e through them that are asking full retail price. It's like driving a car off the lot then wanting full price for it. Like it's been stated above it only takes a cleaning but you can't really tell if there has been 100 or 1000 rounds through it (I can't anyway).

Be careful. Under the guise of "consumer protection," your comments might inspire our government to mandate that "shot odometers" be integral to every firearm before they leave the factory.

 

[Badlander]

I think that if you can afford to shoot 200 to 400 rifle rounds every time you go shooting you can aford to own lots of guns, or you don't go shooting often.

 

[T.R.]

My Dad (1922 - 2004) hated to "waste" anything. He always felt guilty about shooting targets for fun. I doubt that his old 99 Savage even had 200 cartridges fired through it in over 50 years of use!!

I'm certain that there are many folks like Dad.

TR

 

[NMGonzo]

I can't afford thousands of rounds a year ... so my guns are not run raw or worn down to nothing. :/

 

[speedway]

When you have a number of firearms, it is not uncommon for a bunch of them to get neglected to a point where they become safe queens, and thus sold with low round counts.

I am narrowing down the scope of my collection, and have parted with polymer guns that had super low round counts.

 

[gym]

It's worth being a law enforcment officer just for the free ammo, at least the ones who still give it free. I would make full use of that if I were a bit younger. Now that they lifted the age restrictions in FL, "i don't know about the rest of the country" but you see all white haired guys driving police cars now. Granted some are retired from their main career, but the pay is great and so are the benefits, and they are always hiring. If that would have been the case when I moved here in 94, I would have jumped in, plus it's OJT for many, very little to no school, maybe a couple weeks of basics.
I'm talking Indian river County, I'm sure in Miami you are going to have a tougher time. But here when a cat is stuck in a tree it makes the TV news. I think they were talking 60,000 after 3 years with full benifits, plus you get a car to drive for free.With OT you can live well on that here. Almost a 6 figure job.

 

[blackspyder]

Some guns don't need firing every time you go out. I have a Rem.7500 (30-06) that hasn't had 5 rounds through it in the 10 years I've had it. I've got two Rem. 750's I've put 50 rounds total through them in the last 10 years (I put 2 scopes on one, and used it hunting once before swapping to the other one). I've got an S&W .38 revolver (pre-Model 10) that I put exactly 5 rounds through since it was inherited. Put 5 round through the new Rem 870 Express 12 Ga. 3.5" patterning it.

Why don't I fire these guns that often? I just have other guns I prefer to shoot, they serve a purpose in my arsenal (Who doesn't need a 3.5" capable 12Ga?) but they dont need 10k rounds through them just because.

 

[LeonCarr]

I guess I am the anti-collector. I own 8 firearms and they all get shot regularly. I feel that owning them and not knowing how to use them to their full potential is the biggest sin of all.

The handguns get shot every week and I take a rifle or shotgun about every other visit to the range. All of mine are utilitarian type, non reflective matte finished workhorses, no beauty queens or safe queens, except a side by side double 12 gauge that belonged to my great-grandfather and is black powder pressure loads only and has a cracked pistol grip stock.

I think lots of people have big collections to satisfy an ego or brag to their friends.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[GRIZ22]

City slickers buy guns all the time ,

Well so do country folks. If you have a lot of guns there are those you shoot all the time and those that you bought that you just wanted, tried them out, and keep them.

 

[MtnSpur]

I guess I am the anti-collector. I own 8 firearms and they all get shot regularly. I feel that owning them and not knowing how to use them to their full potential is the biggest sin of all.

I think lots of people have big collections to satisfy an ego or brag to their friends.

Just my .02r

Some people say PO-TATE-TOE some PO-TAH-TOE. While your 8 gun "collection" satisfies your needs, I know many collectors that may have 100+ and they can disassemble/reassemble, tell you every ballistic fact of each weapon and shoot many. The exception would be a weapon that would devalue in price if shot (ie: antique Colts).
Some folks actually make a fine living buying/selling collectible firearms like some folks buy sell antique furniture and gold & jewelry.

Chest thumpers and egomaniacs abound everywhere. Folks that know their weapons, collect and enjoy them for their own pleasure and satisfaction don't care what you or I think about it.

 

[hso]

Are they lying when they claim such low usage or did they decide they didn't like their gun purchase after minimal use?

You're making the assumption that other people purchase guns and use them the way you do. Some folks don't have ready access to rental ranges. Others just like having a gun more than shooting or have enough different guns that they don't have time to put a lot of rounds through any one.

A well known gun blogger that will not be named had a reputation for purchasing firearms that they would trade in or sell within weeks or sometimes days after purchase. They might have less than a box through them. Those of us that knew about this propensity had a lot of fun conjecturing on just how short a time a new gun would end up being traded or sold off.

People are just different.

 

[TriTone]

I may be missing something...

Let's find out...

...Are they lying when they claim such low usage or did they decide they didn't like their gun purchase after minimal use?

No reason to assume someone is lying because their habits are different that yours. Most of my guns have thousands of rounds through them. My latest XD-9 has about 9,000 rounds through it at the moment. That said I also have an HKUSP9 that only has about 200 rounds through it.

I've also purchased and sold several guns in the last year that just didn't work out. There are a load of reasons why you might turn around and sell a gun after only a few boxes of ammo.

Seems to me they could have rented the gun and saved a lot of time and money.

If there is a place around that has the gun to rent. Even then, sometimes you try the rental gun and you really like it so you get one, then when you get your own you discover little ( or even big ) things that you didn't realize on the rental gun. Sometimes you realize you just don't like it as much as you thought you would, so why keep it around if you're not gonna enjoy it?

If you ever buy a gun from me, trust me it has been used.

Good to know, the same is true of all guns that have been shot.

 

[slowr1der]

While some of these guns may really be shot this little, a lot of them are liars. 95% of the guns I've ever seen for sale the guys claim either it's only had 2 boxes of shells through it, it's only had two magazines full through it, or it's had less than 100 rounds. The large majority of them you can tell they have been shot quite a bit, way more than they are claiming. I've learned to take this with a grain of salt. To me a used gun is used and brings a used price. I go by what it looks like appearance wise internally and externally. If two used guns are identical appearance wise, I'm going to be willing to pay the same amount for a gun that the owner claims is fired 2000 times versus one that the owner claims has only had a box through it.

I have a friend that always believes this though and just about every gun he buys he pays an almost new price, and sometimes more than new, claiming he got a great deal because it was basically new since it only had a couple of rounds through it. Most of these guns have been shot a ton, but he refuses to believe that. The last one he got he showed me and it looked nice on the outside, but once we field stripped it, you could see there was tons of wear on the inside. The guy that sold it to him sold it to him for about $100 more than they normally go for claiming it had only had a magazine through it. Yeah right.

 

[Cryogaijin]

I've put probably 75 rounds through my hunting rifle. The bugger is simply so accurate that it isn't terribly fun to shoot. The most fun I got out of it was taking 4 gallon jugs of water out to the 300 yard limit of the Fairbanks gun range, and trying to pop them all before they froze.

Easy at 0f. Impossible at -40f.

Everything else I own I've put several hundred rounds through.

 

[rogertc1]

"I think lots of people have big collections to satisfy an ego or brag to their friends. "

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

Kinda rude Leon...I don't look at a collection as a phallic symbol as you perhaps do. Have guns cause I want to. There are have and have nots. I have guns and cars. It is an addiction. But I don't waste money going to bars or gambling either....everyone is different.
This calls for some of in gun room pictures Leon: (All 4 walls are full) I have posted them before.

 

[LeonCarr]

I am impressed. If that is really your personal collection, why do they have gun shop type tags on them?

 

[rogertc1]

When I have my gun room full of guns Over the 200 mark. (Trying to quit now as I have everything so far i want) I tag (tags from Office max.) them all and even keep a spread sheet too. Pushing 60 I notice my memory is not as good as it used to be. I have year purchased, caliber and type firearm. I Tag the military helmets, Inert rounds, and a bazooka too. I mark all the exta mags and drums with a silver sharpie with what gun they go to. Have Lots of ammo too.
Brag ...hell yes. It is one of my personal accomplishment. My museum.
Really fun to sit in my room, turn in my chair, and see all my collection at once displayed. I can recall 40 years of acquisitions and enjoyment. Really makes me happy. Kinda like Donald Ducks Uncle Scruge swimming in his money vaults.
Daily money bath cartoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBRrCY5uhWY

I just reorganized the vault so I will have to take some new pictures and post soon.

 

[ny32182]

Most of my actual shooting goes through a small number of guns. Therefore I have a small handful with thousands of rounds through them. Then I have some that are unfired, some that have well under 500 rounds, and the rest have +/- 1000 or so. When I sell, it is always one of the lower round count variety. If I liked it enough to put thousands of rounds through, I probably wouldn't want to sell it.

I'm sure some sellers are BSing the round count, but I would expect the percentage is small. Most gun owners are not shooters. Of the gun owners I know from work, etc (basically gun owners I met outside of an actual shooting context) I would expect any gun they own to have a very low round count. I know several folks who bought a pistol, went to the range once, fired 100 rounds, and it has been sitting in a shoebox in the closet ever since. I would expect this happens a hundred times more often than someone buying a pistol and actually shooting thousands of rounds a year through it.