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Old January 25, 2016, 06:43 PM   #51
Rancid
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I would invest in a nice double barrel shotgun from a reputable maker. It may even be used. But $3K is not going to go far in the world of doubles. Good shotguns wear in, not out. Take it hunting, shoot some birds, build a few memories with it and the value as an heirloom will increase tremendously. Besides, in 50 years who knows what the gun laws will be but a double will most likely be the last thing they ban. Who wants an heirloom that you have to bury in the backyard with orders that no one in the family will ever mention that it even exists.
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Old January 27, 2016, 11:52 AM   #52
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Old January 27, 2016, 02:04 PM   #53
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I want to say a Colt Python, but I am also tempted to say I would buy multiple classic S&W revolvers for the same price as a single Python. It really would depend upon the mood I was in at the time.
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Old January 29, 2016, 09:44 PM   #54
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For $3,000 you could get a new Colt SAA..



AND a Colt Government Series 70 in stainless..


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Old February 10, 2016, 03:52 PM   #55
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Full Auto was a hell of an investment. Made my $$ off of them. I'm hoping the Ruger Maximum is another. Most of the "average" ones I have I paid, on average, about $350.00 for. Been lookin' at what they are selling for now? A little more than 25% I'd say. I guess 25% was just a figure I pulled out of the air. Sorry, unless the Gov't pulls he plug and starts confiscation, I would say that guns are one hell of an investment, JMHO, Coogs.
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Old February 10, 2016, 08:50 PM   #56
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Double Naught Spy wrote: Heirloom, investment, and shoot occasionally are not really terms that go well together as indicated by Scorch.

A single gun is not much of an "investment" if you are talking about financial security at such a small amount. You won't find many financial advisors suggesting you ad guns to your portfolio.

Buying a quality gun to shoot is a fine idea.

Buying a quality gun to pass down to the next generation or two is a good idea. There is something special about saying, "My dad taught me to shoot with this gun" or "I took my first deer with my father's rifle and now I am taking my son/daughter to try to get their first deer." Such guns will have value beyond dollars.
Dashunde; Double Naught nailed it. The value of an heirloom is entirely in who owned and passed it down.

Get a nice Colt, shoot it a lot, and tell your heir that it's important to you.

Take good care of it, and it will be around for 100 years.
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Old February 10, 2016, 09:31 PM   #57
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Coogs, let's try and put this a different way. Nobody is saying that YOU didn't make some quality investments in guns. But telling us how great you did on money you spent in the 1980's is as relevant as me telling you to go purchase Yahoo stock.

So, exactly (precisely!) what guns do you spend $3,000 on, right now -- today, that's going to bring you a pile of dough in 30 years?

Glocks? Anything Remington (!) is shipping right now? Maybe a 1911 or AR-15 (ya got 30 different manufacturers of either)

Maybe now is the time to spend $2,500 on a Python. They did make only a half million of them.
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Old February 10, 2016, 11:47 PM   #58
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I would invest in a nice double barrel shotgun from a reputable maker.
I think this is sound advice for an heirloom gun. Forget any handgun, and most rifles, a traditional double barrel shotgun is likely the last thing a gun grabbing government will go after.

Look at England, and other Commonwealth nations, pistol, and most rifles banned. Pump and auto shotguns banned or heavily restricted. Doubles are slightly restricted, but are "PC" and more allowable.

If you want something that has the greatest chance of being able to be legally owned in your family, a couple generations down the line, from here, the double shotgun looks like the best bet.

Here's another point, specifically regarding investment. You have to make a choice, you can have an investment, OR you can have an heirloom. Can't have both in a single gun.

Because, in order to get the return on your investment, you have to SELL it. If you sell it, its not there to be passed down in your family.

(ok if you can get a family member to buy it, but then its still not the same thing, now is it?)

I have one heirloom gun, my grandfather's Ithaca double barrel. It's been in my family since he bought it custom made to his order, in 1909. It will, in the fullness of time, go to my son, or my daughter, to be held in their turn, and passed on to my granddaughter (or grandson, if one comes along in the next few years, ) WHEN they are old enough to be responsible enough to ensure it stays in the family.

Its not worth much on the market, a plain field grade gun, in about 80% condition. Last time I checked, maybe $400, today? maybe $600

But the value to ME, and my family is beyond mere money. I have some of my Dad's guns, now too. Again, for me, keepsakes beyond price, because I Still have them, and don't have my Dad any more. Grandpa and I used that shotgun together when I was young, and I have many memories of being with Dad and those guns. NO DOLLAR amount can do what those guns do when I think about their (and my) history.

I still take Dad's Government model to the range on Father's day. I usually don't shoot it too well, dang breeze keeps putting tears in my eyes, but I take it out anyway. Some things are just ...special.

If you get it, you know just what I'm talking about. If you don't you probably won't understand, but trust me, for some of us, it really matters.
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Old February 11, 2016, 03:13 AM   #59
Coogs
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Like I said, 25% was a figure I pulled outta the air. Not going to get in a pizzin contest here, I was just stating that I had been investing in guns SINCE the 80's, and still do. Particularly Rugers, particularly the Maximum. I don't know stocks, bonds, CD's any of that investment type stuff, so, I work with what I know. And besides, I get to take my investment out of the safe now and again, clean it, play with it, even take it out of the house and shoot it. Can ya do that with a 100 dollar bill or a stock certificate? Coogs.
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Old February 11, 2016, 05:06 AM   #60
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Heirlooms are something that you pass on to your children and they pass on to theirs. Monetary value, and sentimental value ought to go hand in hand, in this respect or there is little motive for the recipient to keep it, rather than sell and pocket the proceeds.

So, I would pick something that speaks to you and speaks of you. Something that gels with your personality, and something, if shot, would also elicit fond memories in the inheritor.

On a more practical note, it is hard to imagine how things, politically, will evolve/devolve in the decades to come. So would it be something that could, conceivably, be summarily confiscated in the future, such as a soul-corrupting EBR if the gun-tide turns. In this respect, something discreet might be wise also.

So my suggestion would be a handgun. Custom 1911's spring to mind if you're an auto-loader type. Perhaps a Korth if you're a wheel-gunner.

That said, the side-by-side shotgun mentioned above has a nice fatherly sound to it too!!

Either way, the item should have character and that is not always the same as cost. A Sphinx, whilst a fine and expensive weapon, seems to me a little cold and clinical as a personal item. A Freedom Arms, or engraved SAA might seem to have a bit more soul, for example.

Some points to consider, perhaps?
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Old February 11, 2016, 09:32 AM   #61
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So, I would pick something that speaks to you and speaks of you.
All of my guns "speak" to me! It would be really difficult for me to pick just one to be an "heirloom". I suppose it would probably be my AC556. Full autos are already as rare as hen's teeth. 50 years from now, I hate to think what it would be like.
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Old February 13, 2016, 07:00 PM   #62
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If it's to be an "heirloom" the eventual value shouldn't matter as it would not be sold. A true heirloom is handed down from generation to generation and, as has been pointed out, the value lies in it's personal/emotional importance to whomever is destined to receive it.

I have guns that my father gave me when I was a kid 35, 40+ years ago. I've shot them with my sons, they're not expensive but they have meaning and my boys will shoot them with their boys and so on.

I have a number of custom 1911s and revolvers that I've had built or that I have bought that I carried on duty, use in competition, or carried off duty and for protection. My boys have seen me carry and use these guns, they know the history behind the builds or the gunsmiths. I also have long guns that hunt with and use in competition. There is an attachment to dad's guns.

I bought a Hi Power for my youngest to use to shoot action pistol with me. He used it for a year, I'm retiring it and replacing it with a new CZ P-09 and gear when he turns 14 in a couple of weeks. He'll be shooting this gun until he's old enough to buy one for himself.

My father's guns were stolen during an armed robbery when I was a teenager. Since then he's been very picky about what he's bought and carried, generally buying guns that mean something to him. My boys know this and understand the importance of the guns he's acquired since the robbery.

All of these are/will be heirloom guns. Some cost a couple of hundred dollars, some cost several thousand. The common thread, the thing that transcends cost/value/worth is the importance of them to the individuals that own them and that will eventually receive them. IMO, if you want an "heirloom" gun, buy something you really like and want to shoot in competition or hunt with or carry for self defense, something you're going to use. Then use it with whomever you intend to leave it to. Teach them how to shoot with it, take them hunting, compete together. Give that gun some meaning beyond "I bought this because it was expensive, that's it's legacy".


Another route to consider is buying a gun for the person directly, start the heirloom's legacy with them. I have a Colt Commander being customized for my oldest son to commemorate his accomplishments in the military and earning his way into special operations. It is being specially engraved for him. His grandfather has had leather gear made to go with it. It is a gun that he will cherish, enjoy, carry, shoot, and compete with for years to come. Eventually he will hand it down to his child, who will know it as dad's Colt that grandpa and great grandpa gave him special. It will be a gun with a story, a life of it's own, that will be part of the fabric of our family history.


It's not an heirloom because you bought it. It's an heirloom because of how you used it.
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