doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com To Shoot or Not to Shoot? That is the question.

A couple more comments before I call it a night.
Jerry, I think of that Ottmar rifle like a lab not going duck hunting, If any gun I ever handled was built to shoot that's it!
Don't know if I would shoot that Evans or not; maybe there wouldn't have been a question when I was 20 years younger?
Michael, Age sure does add perspective and heighten appreciation, some of the more positive traits.
I'm really curious to hear from Terry on this one? Come to think of it, I'll bet he's in Vegas.

Terry and the gang ARE in Vegas and from all reports a great time is being had by all.

I know the moment the "Light" came on for me. I was shooting Mr. Niedner's Pope rifle and in a moment of distraction I double charged the case. When the rifle went off it sounded like an 06, luckily it was a Borchardt action and nothing was hurt. If I had done that with his Ballard...........

I am new here and I hope I am not intruding.

I am firmly in the I don't want to own it if I can't shoot it crowd. I don't shoot them all all the time, but I would like to be able to. Having said that I am glad there are people that buy these historic guns and don't shoot them. I love to go to gun shows where these guys hang out and talk about/look at these guns. A lot of times I could hav a custom gun built to the same pattern for the price of an older classic. I don't feel at all guilty about shooting the new gun, and I still get to enjoy the old.

Brad Hurt

While I might say, "I Don't own a gun I don't shoot, I suppose that is slightly different from "I Won't own a gun I can't shoot."

Perhaps a better way of saying this is that, "I Can't own a gun I won't shoot."

I have no idea, not even an order of magnitude guess what that Maurice Ottmar rifle costs. But I am quite sure, it is not in my price range. I also don't have Van Gogh originals, that I don't hang on the wall. I just don't have a ticket to play on those playgrounds.

FWIW, the most valuable rifle I own is that J. Lang double rifle. It deer hunted all but the very last night of the season with me this year. It was not fired, but it's condition suffered some for the experience, so be it I guess.

Meanwhile, do I own not very many guns? I don't know what "not very many" is to you, but by my count of several years ago, it was in the range of 30ish. Since then more have been acquired than sold, and three are being birthed at very locations around the country as we speak. If that's not very many, so be it. It's what I got, I like what I got, and I shoot'em.

Brent

The guns that I don't shoot tend to end up in the hands of someone else that don't shoot them.

Ken

Michael, Terry and Daryl ought to be able to add perspective to this one, eh?
Welcome Brad, jump right in!
Brent, I appreciate your honesty about finances, I have difficulty with those that say, " I would never own that expensive gun, too pretty to take hunting." When they really mean, " There's no way in the world I could afford to own that gun so I could make the choice to shoot or not."


I'd figure that Ottmar rifle (shown above and below) at about $8000 give or take, being one of his high quality hunting rifles. As a 7x57 weighing about 7 lbs. and extremely well balanced, it begs to be shot at something running (which I never do). Maurice was extremely versitile and prolific of a span of some 30(+-) years in the trade. (He was also one of the nicest and well liked of any man I've known.) His quality had peaks and valleys, but this is a small ring commercial Mauser action that hasn't been drilled for a scope has nickel silver skeleton buttplate & grip cap, a great piece of possibly genuine French walnut, light engraving by Roger Kerr and very high quality workmanship. Probably made in the '80's so not an antique nor even very old, but deceased maker for what that's worth?!? Certainly a worthy collectable but it would be irresistable for me to shoot, If I could afford to own it! Which I can't.


As for quantity, what I meant was that while I probably don't own many more guns than you, I own enough that I have several just because I like them with no real intension of ever shooting them. I work full-time in the shop so things like casting bullet, extensive handloading or case making are not hobbies for me, I'd rather get outdoors.

Ken, You've got a great perspective and I've a few of those guns.

(BTW, this topic may be used for my next Shooting Sportsman column, but if I quote I will either do it anonymously or ask permission.)
Thanks,
Steve

BTW: For those that don't know me, I will post a lot more pix of guns I don't own, than of guns I do.
Steve

I have owned a lot of guns that I never shot. Not because they were worth a lot or really rare but, because I buy many, keep a few and pass the others on. I don't have time or the resources, (i.e. i tend to buy old/obsolete British calibers and can't afford to buy dies, bullets and brass), to shoot them all. In a few years after my second retirement, hopefully. My take on the question at hand? If you own it you decide; if you can't decide sell it.

Steve,
There's another element as well, at least from my perspective. There's quite a few quality guns you probably can shoot and unless you are clumsey or abusive, it's frankly harder to tell light usage. On that mini, for instance, while I really did plan to shoot it but never got around to it, due to kids sports, lots of BR matches, loading- shooting other guns, one of the main reasons was all that light virbant case coloring that was gonna disappear pretty quick and probably wipe a lot of value away.

Ah, but some of us more conservative folks value and sometimes actually prefer a little less vibrancy in the color contrast, a softening if you will. Too much contrast, to me, is somewhat off-putting to my essentially traditional nature and I much prefer less glitter & glint. I like gold borders, narrow ones that is, but to me lots of gold smacks too much of Weatherbys & nouveau riche and I find myself wanting to check the owner's smile for little gold symbols inlaid in his teeth...
Regards, Joe