Really... is that one gun worth 4-5 others ???

[Magnum Wheel Man]

this thread is inspired by the guy who traded 6 guns & cash for one vintage gun...

I can understand in some cases, but I get great joy out of nearly all my guns... I'd personally have a hard time trading 2 for one... even if it was something I really wanted

so... for those of you who feel they have a gun worth 4-5 of your other guns... lets hear about them... maybe some pics of that prized gun... & any story about what you had to go through, trade or pay to get to take it home...

[Tactical Jackalope]

One mans junk is another mans treasure. Things have different values to different people. I wouldn't trade and X amount of fighting pistols for an old and outdated, used to be fighting pistol. Then again some people are strictly collectors. I'm curious to know the guns that were traded and for what.

To each their own. Is usually what it boils down to.

[newfrontier45]

Many shooters are totally satisfied with plain factory guns with plain factory grips. Some need to at least put custom grips on their guns. Others go a step further and will have a gunsmith make some changes or perhaps have nicer finishes applied. A few will go so far as to have a full custom gun built that is everything they want but cannot obtain otherwise. I have a mix but have become less and less satisfied with factory guns. Virtually all my three dozen revolvers have custom grips ranging from $100-$300. With plans to have two fitted with ivory. Including the $2500-$3000 custom .500 I'm about to commission. I already have four custom Rugers and I'll tell you this, I would NEVER trade them for equal value in plain factory guns. Same for my upper end factory guns like USFA's. Quality over quantity for me.

[Magnum Wheel Man]

ah... but would you trade 2 USFA's you loved to have 1 custom 500 built ???

I get the custom gun thing, I have several... but I'd have a hard time trading 2 guns I loved ( that I may have already customized some ) to fund a new custom project

... I'm not rich by any means, but most of what I have collected, I like... so I guess, myself, I'd have to be patient ( which really sucks )

[Pahoo]

I'd personally have a hard time trading 2 for one... even if it was something I really wanted

I'm pretty much in the same boat on this and perhaps mostly due to my age and where I am, on my collecting. However, I have seen others that have done so and that's their call. There are guys who go through guns, like the monthly gun magazines. They buy, not always trade up and sell low; really low. ....


Be Safe !!!

[mavracer]

but I'd have a hard time trading 2 guns I loved ( that I may have already customized some ) to fund a new custom project

Then pick to other ones, ones that may be easily replaced at a later point.
I easily have 5 guns that I'd trade for a 2500-3000 custom and then I'd turn right around and reaquire those same 5 guns as funds became avaliable.
Love my SR9 it shoots great I'd trade it in a heartbeat for $500 toward something else I wanted.

[jmr40]

Depends. Over the last 10 years or so I've steadily been thinning the herd so to speak. I carried 5 guns I rarely used down to one of my favorite LGS's about 5 years ago and put them on consignment. 2 months later I walked out with a brand new Kimber and $1500 in my pocket. One of my better gun trades. I'd had all of the old guns long enough to sell them at a profit, got 1 really good gun I actually use and money left over.

[newfrontier45]

ah... but would you trade 2 USFA's you loved to have 1 custom 500 built ???

No but I wouldn't trade any of the guns I love, no matter what they cost. Been there, done that and learned my lesson. I would, however, trade any of the myriad guns I'm not in love with. I'm actually about to put an early USPFA on Gunbroker because I've never been satisfied with it. To pay for that .500. Along with two or three others guns that I've used very little.

[dgludwig]

I'd personally have a hard time trading 2 for one... even if it was something I really wanted

Too much of my answer to your question depends on which guns and why. For an extreme example to make the point, two HiPoints for one Korth would seem to be a "no-brainer". On the other hand, there are a couple of firearms in my collection that, for sentimental reasons, will never be on the block for sale or trade.
Most people trade guns because they don't have enough disposable income to just go out and buy another gun only because they might really want it. Most of us go through a process of "rationalization" before we're able to justify (to ourselves and/or our significant others) acquiring another firearm to add to our ever growing inventory; making each new gun acquisition based more and more on want and less and less on need.
So, in that context, I could see myself trading several firearms along with the balance in cash to obtain a gun I've always wanted but couldn't afford to buy otherwise. Five of my nice repeating shotguns for one svelte Merkel 20 gauge double? As much as I would hate to do it, yep, I would. And I'd never look back. Well, maybe an occasional peek backwards just to make a good night's sleep something to work for.

[newfrontier45]

As the owner of a svelte Merkel 28ga double, do it!

[dgludwig]

Actually, newfrontier45, that was a hypothetical proposition. In reality, I've been chasing grouse and woodcock around in Michigan and Pennsylvania coverts for the past couple of decades with my Merkel Model 147 EL 20 gauge double-and, no, I didn't give up five pump guns and boot to get it.

[newfrontier45]

Me neither, I did it the old fashioned way. I put it on a credit card. Which means I spent too much but it was worth every nickel.

It also came with a fitted set of Briley .410 inserts.

[dgludwig]

I got mine after prostrating myself before my wife and promising her I'd never buy another gun if I could just buy one last one-the Merkel. She relented.
I'm such a liar.

Post Script: Despite many chances at a double on grouse when hunting with the Merkel, it never happened. But several years ago, I finally scored a double on grouse in a Michigan cedar swamp-but with an old, circa 1955, Browning Double-Auto. Karma, I guess.

[Ben Dover]

I have a dozen old klunkers in my safes that I would gladly trade for a new Tavor, or a KAC SR25.

[BigJimP]

No, I wouldn't trade 2 guns I love ....for something else...regardless if it was a "fair" trade or not in terms of value.

If I like a gun I keep it ....regardless of what it cost....

If I want a custom gun ( and I have several too ) then I save my money until I can afford to buy it outright vs trade anything.
---------
I will admit I shoot the same 3 or 4 guns a lot ..( 75% of the time ) ....and the other 40 or so handguns I have, don't get that much range time, but I still hang onto them ( to give to the kids, etc )....but just because I don't shoot some of them a lot doesn't reflect what I think of them in my collection. As an example, I don't shoot a lot of .44 mag - even though I have several S&W revolvers in .44 mag ( model 29's and 629's in 3", 4", 6" and 8 3/8" barrels...) but I don't shoot them a lot, because it beats up the arthritis in my hands and wrist too much / doesn't mean I don't like them, and won't keep them .....and even when I do shoot them, a couple of boxes thru one or two of them is plenty.

[Bluestarlizzard]

Trading up has been my Dads way forever. Some things he'll sell/trade to get a new gun, but only if he has too for something more expensive, but usually he'll just sell one thing and make up the rest in cash.
Needless to say, in 40 some years of collecting he has a lot of money tied up in his guns and nothing from when he first started out.
And yes, there are many regrets along the way. Some of which he tells me about and it makes me want to cry. I found a pile of old receipts once and started poking through them. The commentary was priceless.
"You had a such and such?"
"yeah, it was a peice of crap."
five minutes later,
"jeez, dad. How many Remington 870's does one man need?"
"I was in a combat shotgun phase."

But on the other hand, as it stands now, he has a bunch of really cool stuff and has amassed a great amount of experiance along with it.

I, on the other hand, have a much lesser pile contributed to the greater collection. Only the WASR-10 would be in danger of going to a new home if something REALLY awesome came my way.

[Slopemeno]

I would.

I've been thinking about consolidating. I was looking at a Weatherby .460 on Gunbroker, and said "ah, I can't afford that"- but then I thought- yeah, I really could. Ditch a couple of .30-30's, a shotgun and one .458 and I'd have all the money I needed.

[lefteye]

How many Remington 870's does one man need?

FIVE! I thought everyone knew that.

[publius]

I don't trade or sell guns anymore. I have regretted every one I sold except one.. If I don't have the money, I don't get it.

[Bluestarlizzard]

Lefteye,

His greatest total of combat shotguns at ONE time was 8.

I don't think they were all Remington 870s. But still, 8.

Now he's down to a respectible 3 and no Remingtons.

[lefteye]

Heck, I've only got one close quarters combat 870, but my deer hunting 870 with a rifled barrel and Leupold scope is good for combat to 100+ yards. I would have six 870's (one more than necessary) if I hadn't sold one about 38 years ago.

[Bluestarlizzard]

Dad doesn't hunt or shoot competition.

He just likes guns, preferably ones designed for combat or SD.

If only we had the real version of his childhood toy gun collection (or hell, still had the toys!) which was kept neatly stowed in his dresser draws when not in use killing imaginary Nazis.

[bac1023]

I don't trade guns, but I was prefer quality over quantity.

Dime a dozen guns don't do much for me. I like the stuff you don't see everyday.

[Winchester_73]

Is it worth 4 or 5 others?

Of course it...can be...sometimes...

There are two wrong ways IMO to look at it, to say "in general no" or to say "in general, yes." I say this because that decision should be made on a case by case basis, using an open minded perspective each time. I've trade multiples for one, and I never regeretted it. It all depends.

I think early on, gun collectors and shooters make the same mistake - that having quantity is special, and while it can be, quality is that much more special. Having a codensed collection of special pieces, but less of them, is always better in the end. That is why I have often said a 200 gun collection does not impress me, unless its 200 quality pieces. Having 200 guns, which are cheap and or common is something that a lot of people could do, if they wanted it. Many of us may have a large mortgage, have another hobby (or addiction), a car payment, etc that prevents us from having 200 guns. Sometimes we choose not to have that many, but the point is, having a large collection is attainable for most people, IMO.

That brings me to my next point: How do we each look at our guns? I often look at a gun valued at $200 as "$200" which works for me. Others view the gun as a grown up toy, others a connection to past time in their life, others see guns from loved ones and remember that person. In reality, we all probably have guns from each category. I however, usually assign a dollar value to the gun (unless its from a family member). If I have for example 6 Winchester 94s from the 70s, all in 30-30, valued at $400 each, and I can trade them for a $3000 gun, I will do it each and every time. Having a ton of common guns isn't all that impressive in my mind. The bigger consideration is the total dollar amount for each side, rather than the total amount of guns, IMO. I mean who wouldn't trade 4 common Glocks for a vintage mint boxed SIG P210, for example?

However, there are some guns we all have which we would hate to do without for various reasons. I have some I would be reluctant to trade but when the trade results in $500 for my $300 gun, I am often very interested in that trade. Sometimes a trade is even dollar wise, but still worth doing because maybe the gun you are giving up is a tough one to sell (if you were trying to sell it) or maybe you are getting a much more prized gun, despite the money being close.

The way I do things, probably closely patterns the way bluestarlizzard's dad did trading, buying and selling to get his collection. I'm a collector at heart, but I don't ignore the money either. By either buying or selling the wrong way, many of us make this already expensive hobby more expensive than it has to be.

I snapped a photo of a prime example of when I personally would trade several guns that I have, for one.

Below is my collection of S&W 1st model revolvers. There were 3 issues of the 1st model: 1st issue (top), 2nd issue (right) and 3rd issue (left). First issue guns are hard to find. They were all made before the civil war, which probably increased their attrition rate. Many 2nd issues were made during the civil war but most were not, and for the 3rd issues, all were made after the civil war. In addition, far fewer 1st issues were made compared to 2nd or 3rd issues. There were over

All guns work in the photo, and the conditions are above average (except for maybe the gun bottom left). On the left there is an all blued 3rd (scarce) and another 3rd that probably shipped with the pearls it has. The bottom gun on right, a 2nd issue, has nearly all of its silver plate on the frame (barrels and cylinders were blue, frames silver plate for 2nds), so the condition is great. Despite all of that, I would trade the 6 bottom guns (3 on left and 3 on right) for the top one, just about every time. To a S&W collector, a so called 1st model 1st issue (aka 1st 1st) is a big deal. Mine happens to be a 3rd type (there were 6 sub types of the 1st issue) which is more scarce than the later types 4, 5 and 6). Most seen today are type 6.



I have many other guns that I would trade multiples to get, because they are scarce/rare, historically significant, more valuable, and often more special to me.

Months back, a seller on gunbroker was selling a collection of approx 50 S&Ws from the same guy. I believe he was a retired dentist, IIRC. Many S&W collectors have over 50 S&Ws, so I wondered how great of a collection it was, in the scheme of things. Then I started looking at the guns. Every gun he had was either rare, factory custom, all were vintage, many were lettered and most were in very high condition. Some of the more special ones (all were special) were a 6in registered magnum, ANIB and a triple lock target (scarce) in 44-40 (rare) which had 2 extra cylinders fitted to the gun, and numbered to it from the factory, one in 44 Russian and one in 44 special. IIRC the Reg Mag went for around $12k and the 44-40 went for $7.5k. Despite being "only" 50 guns, that was one great collection. In my collecting, I have attempted to focus more in on having better guns than having many lesser firearms.

I'm also not ragging anyone who really enjoys having a large arsenal, or having 9 different 10/22s or 15 AK47s. I am just attempting to point out a different philosophy regarding firearms acquisition. Early on, I had many examples of guns which would not interest me today. OVer time, I slowly refined what I look for, which means I pass up many guns. In the long run, I think I am better off than I used to be. Being selective during purchasing can reap big rewards when selling, if one decides to sell.

[BigD_in_FL]

As the owner of a svelte Merkel 28ga double, do it!

There ya go.....If it fits you, it is one the lightest and nicest 28s out there.....

I would rather have a smaller group of guns of the best quality I could afford with each having a specific purpose than a safe (or two) of guns I don't shoot ......(Sorry BigJim my friend)

I have a friend who owns 2 Browning 52-gun safes that are full, plus he has another 2 dozen on display - when he come to the gun club, he shoots the same gun every time -it is a decent enough Browning, but if he got rid of the ones he doesn't shoot or have collector's value, he could easily afford to get a few custom built shotguns made to his personal specs