The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Opinions on firing a rare or expensive gun?

Quentin2 · August 29, 2016, 08:21 PM

As many others have said ... It depends.

I bought an all matching, near pristine 1941 byf P.08 about 20 years ago that obviously had not been fired much. Since I already had (still have) a shooter grade P.08 I've been able to resist firing the byf all those years. I haven't had the byf appraised but expect it's worth about $2500, but a broken numbered part would drop the value greatly. Heck, its original "black widow" grips are probably worth $250 but back when I bought it those grips were viewed as a negative by the seller and me. Who knew they would grow popular.

However, now as I get older I do want to run a magazine or two through it. Not often you get to fire a 75 year old but like new pistol. My shooter is a 1913 and we made a big deal of shooting it on its 100th birthday! The 1913 has suffered only one broken part after shooting thousands of rounds since I bought it in 1975. The byf is made of stronger steel so you wouldn't expect a couple magazines to hurt it.

August 29, 2016, 08:21 PM	#45
Quentin2 Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2009 Location: NorthWest USA Posts: 1,996	As many others have said ... It depends. I bought an all matching, near pristine 1941 byf P.08 about 20 years ago that obviously had not been fired much. Since I already had (still have) a shooter grade P.08 I've been able to resist firing the byf all those years. I haven't had the byf appraised but expect it's worth about $2500, but a broken numbered part would drop the value greatly. Heck, its original "black widow" grips are probably worth $250 but back when I bought it those grips were viewed as a negative by the seller and me. Who knew they would grow popular. However, now as I get older I do want to run a magazine or two through it. Not often you get to fire a 75 year old but like new pistol. My shooter is a 1913 and we made a big deal of shooting it on its 100th birthday! The 1913 has suffered only one broken part after shooting thousands of rounds since I bought it in 1975. The byf is made of stronger steel so you wouldn't expect a couple magazines to hurt it.