Guns as investments and special meaning.

[Greg Massey]

The pros and cons of your guns. Are your guns a good investment no matter the cost? Understanding the risk and the awards of owns firearms as investments. Are all guns collectible, i feel some are and some not so much. It's like buy what you like, it doesn't take a high dollar shotgun or rifle to enjoy what you love doing. Who hasn't paid to much for a gun, i know i have it's all about learning. I do feel guns hold value well over time from the 235.00 dollar Remington 870 to the high dollar Benelli. I have never seen a unhealthy market for guns in all my years. I buy what makes me happy, i have not problem carrying a cheap shotgun or expensive one. I have guns that have special meaning from the first squirrel, deer, duck, turkey that i killed with these guns and lets not forget the times i missed. I have guns i inherited after my dad pass away, my father-law and brother. I was on a lot of hunts with them as they used these same guns i own now which all has special meaning. So again i do buy guns for investments  hunting, shooting and protection and I have a mix bag from Winchester, Savage, Mossberg, Browning, Stevens, Ruger and Smith. Yes i agree a lot of these guns just take up space in a safe or cabinet but I still enjoy taking them out and wiping them down and thinking of pass hunts. Just good old guns from the pass and i do take some out for that special day of hunting or shooting and remembering pass love ones..

[1iagobblergetter]

I only have a couple out of 20+ that hold any sentimental value really,but I still seem to never hardly trade or get rid of the ones that don't and still pick a new one up here and there.

[Happy]

I am not a collector. Every gun I own has a purpose and sees action. I do have one of my grandad's that has sentimental value. He told me that he wanted me to hunt it so I took it once last year and may take it once this year. It was his favorite gun and the first gun he ever put a scope on. I have that as well.

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[VaTuRkStOmPeR]

I don't see guns as investments.  I'm trying to get a few original 1187s and 870s for my son for sentimental purposes but excluding those purchases, I do t buy guns these days that aren't being purchased for a specific purpose that involves extensive use in the field. 

I've got too many guns that are already safe squatters and don't want anymore.

[spaightlabs]

An investment is typically thought of as something that is acquired with an eye towards increasing value or a return on capital.

While some guns may increase in value, that is almost never the case in the short term, though over a very long period of time some may hold value or possibly increase some.  More likely, is that money invested elsewhere is much more likely to earn returns.

Collectible guns or high dollar, desirable guns can be a different story but as an investment tool, the guns that most of us have are not a good vehicle to create wealth.  I don't think anyone here would advise their kids to buy as many Remington 870s or Super Black Eagles as they can get their hands on because some day they are going to be worth a lot of money.

Land, sure.  Rental properties, you bet.  Apple stock, Bitcoin, gold, collector cars?  absolutely.

I have a buddy that has a couple hundred collectible Winchester lever guns and old Colt 45 revolvers of all sorts of values - from a thousand up to $100,000.  Those are investments (or maybe not if the market changes) and were purchased as such. 

I've got a couple of guns with sentimental value I will never get rid of:  an old Walther my Dad brought back from WW  II, a Browning double auto my Mom bought my dad for their first wedding anniversary in the 50s, a high grade Browning o/u my wife bought me for our 10th anniversary.  The rest are all shooters and tools.  If they aren't being used, they get sold or traded for something I will use.

As much as I'd love to the able to tell my wife my guns are investments, she knows better from a financial perspective.  What they are though, is part of an 'investment' in a passion for the outdoors.  I get away with a lot in that regard - I lease ground and belong to a hunt club so my labs will have someplace to go to pursue their lineage and god-given instincts to hunt and retrieve.  We have a 16 foot trailer full of goose decoys for the same reason.  Tips to Canada for waterfowl, SD and KS for pheasant and quail, Wisconsin for grouse and woodcock, all part of the things I do for my dogs.   

[Bowguy]

I've not intentionally bought guns as investments n don't treat them that way but some of the guns values seemed to have gone up. When I was younger I bought a few silver pigeons for what seems cheap now, one a 20-28 ga set, Sakos, I have a few of them too, good thing I have what I want, price is kinda high to get another, than all the Belgium Brownings.
Not one gun in my safe is too valuable to use but the rate they've risen financially is higher than I ever woulda thought.

[spaightlabs]

I've not intentionally bought guns as investments n don't treat them that way but some of the guns values seemed to have gone up. When I was younger I bought a few silver pigeons for what seems cheap now, one a 20-28 ga set, Sakos, I have a few of them too, good thing I have what I want, price is kinda high to get another, than all the Belgium Brownings.
Not one gun in my safe is too valuable to use but the rate they've risen financially is higher than I ever woulda thought.

Right on!  And you are right - retail does keep going up on guns and that will not likely change so there is at least the opportunity to retain as opposed to losing value, something which many investments do not do.

I have had the benefit of several guns increasing in retail value by a substantial amount over time as well.

[g8rvet]

I currently have one gun with sentimental value, a 101 Winchester 20 gauge that was my first real gun that I owned. My dad gave it to me when I was 12.  All the rest, including my Classic Doubles 101 in 12 g are just tools.  Tools that I like and tools that I take care of (and some that are expensive), but still just tools.  I do not own a gun that does not have a specific purpose, none of them are for collecting, but for using. 

[Tail Feathers]

I'm with gr8vet.  I own two with sentimental value, and one of them is a regular shooter.

One was my grandfather's shotgun, and one is the .22 I bought with my first ever paycheck. 

Guns are tools.

[Cut N Run]

All of my guns were purchased to hunt with & they all earn their keep.  I have a pre-'64 Winchester Model 94 in .30-30 that was my grandfather's.  I also own his 16 Ga. Ranger pump and my other Grandfather's 20 ga. 870 from the first year of production with a grooved forearm and a 6 digit serial number.  I will likely pass those on to my nephews, just because they were passed on to me. 

I have a Colt Model M .380 that my father in law took off a Japanese soldier he killed, who had taken the gun off one of our boys on Corregidor in WW II.  I did a serial number search through Colt and found the original owner's name, but it was a dead end search.  I planned to return it to his family, but there were no relatives to be found.  Time is undefeated.

Nothing I have is exceptionally valuable or worth as much as it is to me. All the rest of my guns have sentimental value, simply for the hours and experiences we've logged together.  Maybe one day my nephew(s) will take up turkey hunting or deer hunting, but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen.  They're too used to city life and would probably get lost in the woods.  They're more interested in computer games than reality anyway.

Jim

[wvmntnhick]

As is typical, I'm taking the path less traveled. I've bought guns and traded guns for a number of years. There was a time I'd buy any piece of junk someone wanted to move at a cheap price. I'd hold it until someone else wanted it way worse than I did and off it'd go. All legal channels mind you. I'd take that money and "invest" it in another gun with slightly more value and hold onto it for a period of time until approached with a similar scenario mentioned above. After a period of time, I've been able to amass a small collection of particular guns that I'm interested in. All were bought to hunt with and all have seen action. Some more than others and only one was bought anywhere close to the outrageous price they demand these days. Were they bought as investments? Not entirely. Are they at this point? I'll not lose money on them should I have to get rid of them. I'd call that a win.

[spaightlabs]

As is typical, I'm taking the path less traveled. I've bought guns and traded guns for a number of years. There was a time I'd buy any piece of junk someone wanted to move at a cheap price. I'd hold it until someone else wanted it way worse than I did and off it'd go. All legal channels mind you. I'd take that money and "invest" it in another gun with slightly more value and hold onto it for a period of time until approached with a similar scenario mentioned above. After a period of time, I've been able to amass a small collection of particular guns that I'm interested in. All were bought to hunt with and all have seen action. Some more than others and only one was bought anywhere close to the outrageous price they demand these days. Were they bought as investments? Not entirely. Are they at this point? I'll not lose money on them should I have to get rid of them. I'd call that a win.

Agreed.

[Tail Feathers]

Nothing wrong at all with using guns as investments.  Lots of guys trade up, buy low and sell high.  That takes more knowledge of the gun world and current values than I keep up with, but there is definitely money to be made for the astute gun buyer.

[tha bugman]

I love them all.  Guns are a beautiful piece of machinery IMO and all have a personality of their own regardless of cost


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[g8rvet]

A long time ago, when my dad and mom had bought a hardware store and were struggling to make ends meet with three young'uns, my dad came home with three long guns he had bought from a guy needing money for $100.  My mom said she was furious.  That was a lot of money in the mid 60s and he did not need any more guns.  He sold all 3 within a week for just shy of $200.  He never fell in love with a gun, but he knew what they were worth and he paid a fair price and sold them for a fair price.  I rmember getting a good lesson in ethics when a widow came in wanting to sell her late husbands gun for $100 and my dad told her "No, Ma'am, I won't give you $100".  She asked how much he would give and he said $300 was fair.  He sold it later and still made a nice profit.  There were years his gun shop made more money than his hardware.  He finally let his FFL lapse, a sad day for me and my brother as the days of wholesale gun prices were over!