doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Fake "collectables" for shooting.

Every thought about how silly some of us view the myriad of guns made to be "collectible" instead of shot and how many people fall for the trap? If you make a new gun and add a little extra half axx moderate machine engraving, then add a serial number to say it is one of five hundred or even fifty is it really collectible? To me this is like all those Franklin Mint coins or plates which are just a fake collectible item that will never gain in value. Or the Ruger Red Label with a little simple engraving claiming to be one of fifty special edition guns. Come on they are still a Red Label at heart.

Been looking for a Winchester 42 .410 for early dove season and preserve birds. Found one that suits my needs. It is a "fake collectible" in my book that has seen very light use. Glad it has been shot because it is neither a rare Winchester 42 or a unfired, nib gun. It is one of the 42's that Winchester had made for them in Japan. But I was thinking that since it is not a real collectible I'd would shoot it anyways than let it sit in my gun room gathering dust for the next sucker looking for a wannabe collectible gun. Then you have the Browning labeled Japanese made copies of the Winchester model 12 and 42 in the Citori grade VI which Winchester never made with fake looking Gold inlays. That's a double or triple fake collectible in my book. A Japanese copy of a American gun with stuff added to it which never came on the original to start with. Like a Chinese made, 56 Chevy repro with a turbo charged 4 cylinder motor and neon light under the frame. Yum what a collectible car that would be.

It's gotta have a pix of John Wayne.

Some people like that stuff.
You don't.
NBD

I would buy a Chinese repro '56 Chevrolet if it was medium fast and medium cheap.

NIB = Now It's Bob's
I shoot everything!!

Ducks Unlimited annual dinner guns immediately come to mind at the mention of fake collectibles. They're pretty though and shoot just fine. I don't think they bring any premium to speak of upon sale. Anything produced for the purpose of being collectible, isn't...Geo

I've owned the Browning versions of the 42 and Model 12. In fact I believe it was McIntosh who wrote about all the Best guns he had seen and he added the Browning Model 12 in the list even though it was not a double just because he felt it was just made so good.
I sold mine and ended up with a pre - war 42 with a 26" barrel.
Shot doves with mine, it works great with the full choke.
I also had it restored so it is not a collectable so much now.
Love those 42's

I don't think any of us would live long enough for one of the fake collectable guns to gain any significant value. I think if you put a plain new one of the same basic model "under the bed" with the fake, for the same amount of time, it would bring as much, or maybe more than the fake. BTY, I wouldn't want a Chinese 56 Chevy; a 57 now, that would be something to hope for.
Mike

Anything with the word "Classic" in it's description, isn't.

Anything with the word "Collectable" in it's name, ain't.

NOTHING that has been made in China, since the Ming dynasty, is now or will ever be "collectable".

There are fewer people EVERY DAY who want a real 55, 56, or 57 Chevy, that was actually made by GM, who the hell would want a Chinese copy?

I bought a few NIB, unfired, guns over the years. I never bought them because they were unfired, that was simply how I found them. I usually started firing them at a pattern board, then shot clays or hunted them.

They aren't unfired, now.


Best,
Ted

57 you say. I had a fellow working for me who had one. 57 Belair Coupe, 283 fuel injected, black and white colors, one owner. He bought it while working for a local chevy dealer. It was one hot car in its days. Everyone who saw it had to stop and talk about it. If he did not like you he would not pop the hood or show you it had fuel injectors. Few ever learned that it did. Most never knew you could get fuel injector on a 283 in 57 in any chevy. God knows how many people tried to buy it from him.

Poor fellow ended up with Alzheimer's and spent his last year in a nursing home. Don't know who bought his car but I doubt they knew he had an extra fuel injected motor for it over his garage. They might have found it when they were cleaning out his parts collection. He was a bit of a pack rat. By the end he could not know what he had.

Heck of a nice guy. He did odd jobs for me on the farms. His nerves were shot from WWII. He carried a flame thrower, which he truley hated. Had to get up close and personal which he said was bad enough. He said when you lit it off every person in the other side would start shooting at you because they figured they could be next and everyone hated those flames. Nasty way to die.