Would you feel guilty shooting a "collectible"?

[seeker073180]

I'm not a collector, but an accumulator. All of my new guns go home, get cleaned, then taken out for a dance. However, I recently celebrated a BIG birthday and thought about getting a gun from my era and most of the ones I come across are mint NIB with papers, 99% no box, etc. Smiths, Colts, revolvers, semis, etc.

So, would you feel guilty taking a collector out of collector status (NIB/unfired)?
How about a LNIB?
How about a no box, no papers 99%er, >95%, >90%?
Thoughts?

 

[P5 Guy]

I did

Guns are for shooting not, in my opinion not for looking at while wearing cotton gloves.
Possibly an old historic piece from a museum shouldn't be shot, but nothing such as that will be in my gun locker.

 

[Bluestarlizzard]

At first I was gonna make a stink, but then I reread your post and since you can't be THAT old...

NIB and never been fired, I might say no, since, with most collectibles, that's not as much a gun as it is a collectible and the longer it stays in the box, the more it will depreciate instantly the moment you take it out and start farting with it.

Everything else, well, it's your birthday present, buy something you want and shoot till you're smiling like a loon.

 

[MR.G]

Have shot some unfired collectables over the years. Still feel guilty for doing it. Just me.

 

[guy sajer]

No guilt .

Guilt is when you do something wrong you are sorry for .

For me , shooting is part of the joy of ownership . But , I don't knock people that won't shoot for fear of diminishing the value . It's their call .

 

[lee n. field]

I'm not a collector, but an accumulator. All of my new guns go home, get cleaned, then taken out for a dance. However, I recently celebrated a BIG birthday and thought about getting a gun from my era and most of the ones I come across are mint NIB with papers, 99% no box, etc. Smiths, Colts, revolvers, semis, etc.

So, would you feel guilty taking a collector out of collector status (NIB/unfired)?
How about a LNIB?
How about a no box, no papers 99%er, >95%, >90%?
Thoughts?

If it had already been shot, I wouldn't worry about it.

NIB or LNIB? Well, are you trying to preserve value?

 

[Magnum Wheel Man]

I have some unfired guns NIB, etc. that I've yet to shoot... a couple safe queens, but I have a whole lot I have & do, on a nice sunny day shoot...

to me, they are guns... meant to be shot... the deciding factor between shooting something nice, & waiting till later are...

can I share this experience with someone???
can I shoot it without causing it any abnormal wear & tare???
do I have time to properly clean it & put it away afterwards???
do I plan on profiting by selling it as unfired???
do I have the urge to shoot it today???

I've never felt guilty shooting anything nice yet, using that criteria...

 

[seeker073180]

A no box should be considered, non-collectible tho, right? (I'm 40 btw). I wouldn't mind locating a "vintage" shooter, but the ones that take the time to list a year are usually finer examples.

Again, I'm not a collector.

 

[Bluestarlizzard]

A no box should be considered, non-collectible tho, right? (I'm 40 btw). I wouldn't mind locating a "vintage" shooter, but the ones that take the time to list a year are usually finer examples

Yeah, I wouldn't see that shooting a 40 year old safe queen as all that messed up.
In fact, I'd be think "'bout time you earned your keep."

 

[FrankenMauser]

I won't own a firearm I don't intend to shoot (a lot).

And, I don't care about its history. If I am considering buying it, it's because I want to shoot the thing.

Besides, it helps "collectors" out, by making everything else more valuable. (Yet another one of XXX removed from the 'collectors' market.)

 

[Grant D]

I have a NIB Ruger LCP " True Texan Coyote Special" that is unfired, but also have a LCP that I shoot.
I also have some WW 1 and WW II German autos I don't fire, but I could go to the range five days a week for a month, and not shoot the same handgun twice, so it's not like I don't have other handguns to shoot.

 

[Winchester_73]

If a gun appears unfired, I leave it alone. It doesn't bother me to have one I don't shoot. I also don't shoot when the pieces are hard if not impossible to replace. I have a japanese type 14 nambu with matching grips and a matching firing pin. Most are not matching today, so for me, owning one that is all correct is cooler than firing a gun which was not that well designed to begin with. I have one luger with one mismatched piece (I accept it because its a scarce luger) but my other 4 lugers are all matching. I wouldn't take a chance on breaking something due to what they're worth as is. I don't feel I'm missing out either, because often times (not always) later guns are more enjoyable to shoot.

Some of this depends on the value of the gun. Most of you don't own or fire guns worth $5k or more. Some of you do. Most of the people who have a $5k gun have one that is modern. However, what if it was a collectible gun, in high condition and pretty old? Would you take the risk, for little to no gain? For example, I have a 1956 44 magnum which is one of the first 100 S&W ever made. Its 98% and all correct. I also have a 29-2 that is nice, but much more common, and worth a lot less. Why shoot the first year gun? It feels the same, looks nearly the same. No point in my mind. Most people aren't in that position to say what they would do, so they instead assume what they would do if they had such a gun. I have some safe queens and I have some shooters. One thing about guns is that you can almost never have enough collectibles, but from a practical sense, you can have enough shooter guns. I have both in my collection.

 

[rclark]

There are 'obvious' guns that one would set aside.... Only I haven't run into one yet . I do have some old .22 rifles that I don't shoot because they chamber a .22 cartridge no longer made. But say a NIB Ruger Flattop .44 that I ran into for a fair price? You bet your bippy I would. The value of a gun, to me, is in shooting it, otherwise I might as well go by a couple pounds of steel for a paper weight and accomplish the same thing. Just as 'useful'.

Why shoot the first year gun?

If you are not going to shoot it then ...why own it?

 

[flight954]

Nope

 

[Jim243]

I am not a collector, so I could not say one way or the other.

Jim

 

[WV_gunner]

I'm not a collecter, I enjoy shooting guns too much to buy a gun I'd never shoot. No way I'd ever buy a gun with the intention of never shooting it unless it had some historicle significance.

 

[Winchester_73]

If you are not going to shoot it then ...why own it?

You said there are "obvious" ones that should be set aside, and this gun certainly qualifies. In case you are not aware, there is a strong market in rare, antique, and collectible firearms. Many of these guns are not shot, or very seldom shot. Not every gun owner shoots all of their guns, as you should already know. My 5 screw 44 mag is a scarce collectible gun which I bought as an investment. Its worth a fair sum of money, and it offers no tangible shooting advantages to a later 44 magnum. In addition, all pieces are serial numbered to the gun. I wish to preserve its value and collectibility, and not take any chances.

You don't own such a gun (based on what you said) so of course you can't understand my position on the issue. A 5 year old Ruger Redhawk can be shot literally to pieces or to where it doesn't work (I know Rugers last forever, it was only an example), and then sent back for a repair or replacement. The 44 I have is a different animal. It really doesn't matter what you would do verses me because its unlikely for someone like you to ever own such a gun. I don't mean that to be insulting, but would you pay what they retail for, just to shoot it? You can have a 29-5 or something and shoot it all you want. If you intend on being a shooter, and I intend on being a collector, which is different, there isn't a need for us to understand each other. Some people get a bunch of guns to shoot, which are all very similar. That is something I never understood. I don't see a need to have 5 different Remington 700s, all in 30-06, but some people do. It doesn't matter to me what they do, but I wouldn't do it.

 

[RickB]

Since an unfired collectible might be worth hundreds of dollars more than a nearly-pristine version that has been fired, there is no good reason to buy the former if you want a gun to shoot.
I bought a really nice Colt Army Special, in 99% condition, with only the barest hint of finish wear at the muzzle. When I realized that there wasn't any finish wear on the front of the cylinder either, I suspected the gun had remained unfired for 100 years. Since my palms don't get sweaty at the prospect of "deflowering" a previously unfired collectible, I sold the gun to a collector and bought something else to shoot.

 

[PawPaw]

I wouldn't mind locating a "vintage" shooter, but the ones that take the time to list a year are usually finer examples.

I have picked up a few vintage shooters, but mine normally come from the House of Hock. Like this one that came home with me recently.

That's a Colt Pocket Positive, and the serial number puts it in 1922. It's chambered in .32 New Colt (.32 SW Long) It's not collectible by any stretch of the word, but it's a fine little shooter. Not only did it not have a box, nor papers, someone had polished it to the point where most of the barrel markings are gone forever. Still, it's a great little shooter and a wonderful example of how Colt made revolvers in the 1920s.

 

[Hawg]

There's not been a gun made I wouldn't shoot. Something like say a 73 Colt 1st gen with provenance it had never been turned much less fired. Oh yeah I'd heat that puppy up.