doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The dark side of gun collecting.

Appreciation in a gun collection is the result of the buy, not inflation or anything else.

I have made real money on only two guns in all my years of buying and selling over 60 (though I am not sure of the number) guns. Of the guns I have now I have no doubt I would continue to lose a little.

I believe previous posters have nailed it well in terms of harm:

1. Potential addiction causes stupid priorities for spending
2. Not a great investment, (all money made on a gun for me has been at purchase, all losses are gun rent in my mind)
3. Creates a estate problem for the heirs (like what will an heir do with over a hundred military rifles from musket through modern without real knowledge of worth and even with it the logistics of storing and or selling?)

All said collecting can be a joy, but mostly to the collector. That said all things in moderation.

Since most of our guns are pretty much a luxury for most of us (save one or two that might save US), for me the only "dark side" is if you don't secure them properly and somebody shoots themselves or someone else with one of them. Easy to prevent, but I've been in many households where it wasn't.

Basic economic principles and a little good sense should keep control of the economic "dangers" and old colonel's summary pretty well says it. Only exception is when an economic disaster unrelated to guns occurs (our periodic "recessions" for example) and carefully purchased guns have to be made "liquid" too fast. That can hurt. 1982-4 was such an experience for me--OWWW! Only upside was I later got to replace all the guns I'd sold off and try to avoid any mistakes I'd made the first time....

Eightbore is right. While I did make money when I sold my Winchester Model 70 collection, enough to pay for this house, the entire profit was from buying right and getting solid guns not refinished guns pretending to be factory original. That field has matured as they say and I would not be able to do it again. If you buy at fair market value you will struggle to keep up with inflation much less make a real return.

I could have made more money if I had bought the "right" stocks, couldn't we all, but picking them out is a problem. With global warming I have been thinking about investing in polar ice and ice bergs. Al Gore says it is a hot field to get into now.

I think Charles Gordon went into financial disarray having John Dickson and other makers build him guns on arcane actions in the 1890s to early 1900s. As others have said, people need to keep collecting in perspective with other necessities.

Ken

ok, get that.

but how about the impact of collecting on the gun market? E.g., by pushing the prices up?

HD,

You'll need to define the guns being collected. I think you'll see in the US, normal 12gauge "collectable" guns aren't going up and there were plenty of them made. A lot of guns would need to come off the market to drive up the prices.

If it is a high grade or rare gun, then prices could go up. It is supply/demand.

Ken

If you are driving up prices what will happen if you stop? They will return to normal. Demand goes up and down. You increased demand and when you stop, it will return to its' normal level.

I'm a pawnbroker/FFL. I talk to people every day who are in the market for guns. The thing that I've noticed is that more and more guns are ending up in fewer and fewer hands and most of those guns never see the light of day. I'm not talking about high-end double shotguns but simply what used to be considered "good" guns -- Remington 700 BDL rifles, Smith & Wesson and Colt revolvers, good old Wingmasters. These used to be the stock in trade among everyday gun users/owners. The hunter looking for a good deer rifle could always find a good selection of used Remington and Winchester rifles at any gunshop, pawnshop, etc. Today, the racks are fill of cheap rifles with parkerized barrels and plastic stocks. That's all today's shopper buys because they're cheap.

The "good" guns aren't on the used racks because the collectors have snatched them up and squirreled them away. Many of these guys are in their 50s, 60s, and even 70s. Many are still in their prime earning years and the kids are out of the house so they can afford to buy guns and put them up. They're not trading them off or selling them. THey're just buying. Consequently, there are fewer and fewer good old guns available and all that's out there is the modern junk.

Of course, in another 20 years or so, these same guys will be moving into the nursing home or passing on. When that happens, their guns will hit the market. Flood the market, more likely. Unfortunately, the upcoming gun buying generation won't be interested in wood and blued steel. They'll want hydro-dipped and camo plastic stocks, 30-round magazines and Picatinney rails. Wait a few years and you'll be able to buy a bunch of great old guns for a song.

ETA: Upon further reflection, perhaps the above actually only applies to brick and mortar shops. There's plenty of good old guns on Gunbroker, etc. Only problem is that the sellers put such ridiculous prices on them they never sell. They just relist and relist.

I promise, Dustin, NEXT YEAR, brand new tar paper on the exterior of the house!


Best,
Ted