Discussion » Statements » Rosie's Corner » Jay Leno owns a lot of cars. He probably doesn't drive all of them. He loves cars. Are gun collectors like that?
RosieG

Jay Leno owns a lot of cars. He probably doesn't drive all of them. He loves cars. Are gun collectors like that?

It seems that they value the guns not for how they could be used but simply for what they look like or who owned them before or what significance it might have had in our history. Some antique guns I've seen on Antiques Roadshow are quite beautiful. Engraved with intricate and meaningful designs. Gleaming metals or rare woods. I can totally understand those who collect guns like that. But how many guns that are fully functional does one need or really use? If you have 40 weapons as the Las Vegas shooter supposedly has would you use all of them? Just wondering. :) Oh. Also do guns increase in value as some classic cars do? Are there specific kinds of guns in which you would invest to get a good return on that investment?

Posted - October 3, 2017
Tags : None

Responses


  • 6988
    I was in the local Walmart store last week. I noticed a polished gun on display in a gun case for a bit over $1000.  It was a huge handgun. It was really scary looking. It was a gun like Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood) used in his movies. 
      October 3, 2017 12:54 PM MDT
    1

  • 2500
    Yes, that is true in many cases.

    There was a gentleman in my hometown many years ago that had a rather large collection of rifles, somewhere north of 400 if I remember correctly. He may have fired a few of them from time to time just to demonstrate them. All were flintlock "long" rifles, Pennsylvania or Kentucky (really the same thing), all handmade by various gunsmiths around the country, all pre-dating the Civil War. MUCH greater value from a historic perspective than as just "shootin' irons". I shudder to think of the value of that collection if it's still together (and I hope that it is).

    And don't forget that guns are usually use-specific. One does not use a high-powered rifle to "kill" clay pigeons on a trap or skeet range. A 20-gauge or 12-gauge shotgun with modified cylinder "choke" may be the preferred weapon there. But that would never do for taking wild geese "on the wing". For that a 12-gauge magnum or even a 10-gauge magnum shotgun with a long barrel and full "choke" is preferable. Which would be the wrong weapon for upland game hunting so now were's back to that lighter gauge with modified cylinder "choke". An over/under rifle/shotgun makes for an appropriate "turkey" gun as those wily old birds can show up standing in the open at a distance (the rifle) or in dense brush very close to your blind position (the shotgun). For hunting gray squirrel, rabbits and other small animals (or Necco wafers) a .22-caliber rifle or handgun (revolver) is the preferred choice if you're not using a shotgun. But not for larger game like whitetail deer. There something a bit heavier is preferred such as a 30-06, 30-30 or 308 Winchester rifle or a 357 magnum or 44-magnum handgun. For bighorn sheep or mountain goats then distance becomes a problem so the flatter trajectory of a .270 caliber or a .284 caliber rifle may be just the ticket. If you're on the trail of larger, dangerous big game (any member of the Ursus family) then you better be carrying something like a 7-mm Magnum, .458 Winchester Magnum or a .460 Weatherby Magnum with something like a .454 Casull revolver (a VERY heavy magnum handgun) as a back-up piece would be far more appropriate. And if you're going to take "varmints" at a distance one of the many "wildcat" cartridges may be just the ticket, like the .220 Swift. What's our firearms count up to at this point?
      October 3, 2017 2:22 PM MDT
    1