Firearm Investment

[mustaine]

Hello all, First post here, I would just like to get some opinions of some of the different investments I can make with firearms.
First of all I really Like to shoot and have fun with different firearms. So I will be collecting all kinds from handguns to assault rifles.

My first question is, do guns appreciate in value? if so, which ones better than others?

does more shooting make them less valuable?

thank you guys for taking the time to answer!

[jdonovan]

My first question is, do guns appreciate in value? if so, which ones better than others?

generally no

does more shooting make them less valuable?

generally yes.

If you want to 'invest' you need rare, historically significant, or some combination of.

A modern firearm that the company made 10,000+ of is going to have NO collectable value, unless you are talking about 150-200 years from now.

Rare, and old, in and by themselves don't make for any guarantee of value. Watch some TV auction/pawn shows. It may be old, or one of 10 in the world, but if a collector isn't really hot to own it, there isn't much value.

Also the collectables market for low to mid priced items is VERY soft right now it might be a good buying time, but only if you've got a lot of money to tie up for 10-30 years.

[meak99]

A better investment might be ammo that is kept N-I-B at this point. Prices are already going up and I think they might continue that trend through November, and even longer depending on who wins.

[Djskrilla]

Ammo will become currency after the apocalypse..the voices tell me

A gun is like a car for the most part...you'll never get what you put into it 99% of the time.

[Diomed]

It's rolling the dice, same as any other investment.

The only guns that have a chance of increasing in value while being shot are machineguns (and it doesn't always work that way - I've lost money on every machinegun I've sold). Everything else has condition inextricably linked to value, and shooting degrades condition.

[Reverenddel]

I don't buy guns as investments, same as I didn't buy Comic Books to put them immediately in plastic sleeves.

If you're looking for a decent return? Metals are the way to go. Copper, Brass, Lead, Silver, Gold, even Steel is making marketable returns.

[kevinmfduane]

Certain military surplus guns are a great investment. Depending on how long you can sit on them. An SKS rifle used to cost $79, 16 years ago. They now sell for $279-$350. 16 years ago you could buy them by the crate. M1 carbines used to cost maybe $15 after shipping to your front door and they now sell for $650-$1,000. Mausers were once in such high supply that people chopped them down into hunting rifles and brought them into the woods hunting. Today those rifles if still intact would be very sought after. My Grandpa bought me what I thought was a junk .303 british enfield for Christmas 15 years ago. He was mad that the price had gone up from $79-$89. They now sell for $275-$300.

Military rifles always follow the same cycle, when they are available they are a dime a dozen, as soon as the crates dry up the collectibility and price go up.

I bought a ruger 10/22 when I was 16 for $129. I sold it last year for $250 after putting maybe 10,000 rounds through the barrel. The stock was chipped and plastic butt plate was gouged.

New guns are more than likely not a good investment, in general. Like muscle cars from the late 60's once they are all gone, the most sought after ones are in high demand even in less than great condition.

[jrswanson1]

Yup, old guns (with wood, not plastic) have gone up in value. I'd snag more unusual Mosin Nagants if I were buying guns as an investment. $99-$130 depending on who's selling, some of them out of the crate are worth more if you know what to look for. Even now, people are hacking them up, including rare ones by Remington and other US manufacturers. Matching serial numbers are the big draws, you just have to go through a few and you'll find a gem. I really wish I had the sense to buy Mausers and SMLEs back when they were under $100.

[joeshmo]

ak-47 have gone up in price and are a hit or miss at stores or shows. I'll be putting quite a few away as safe queens here real soon. .22 have gone up and the price of new or used ruger mini 14 is now insane. Everything is going up in price and will continue to do so. PPL are selling glocks on sites like this for more than they sell them at the store!!! I could probally sell a mossburg mavirick 88 for more than I paid for it.

[Kreutz]

My first question is, do guns appreciate in value? if so, which ones better than others?

They only go up in value. You wont see the % gains like you would with say, a Google IPO stock, but they will never decrease in value. The possible exception to this was the huge price spikes after Obama was elected, prices have come back down more towards normal since 2010-ish (not too many $1500 AR-15's out there anymore), but that was a bubble.

Saigas have doubled in price since 2004, I was going to buy their 7.62 for 220.00 in 2004-ish....never got around to it, now they go for what, 450-500?

Antique Colts and 19th century European weapons (with all the beautiful engraving) are a solid investment but they're a pricey buy in.

does more shooting make them less valuable?

Firearms are very durable if taken care of. A gun in firing condition is worth more than one that is not (aka a wall-hanger). Realistically I wouldn't fire an investment piece beyond a few pre-purchase test shots if feasible. Which its not in an auction setting.

You should get a C&R license.

[grumpyMSG]

Firearms are like Harley Davidson motorcycles. If you purchase them new, they have an initial drop in value. Then after a while they will start to grow in value. Eventually they will pass their original price. Take care of them and don't expect to get rich quick off of them. One other thing to remember about firearms is that if you purchase one from a gunstore for $250, expect only to receive $100 to $150 should you try to trade it in or sell it back to the store.

[Reverenddel]

I kinda take inflationary view of cost. Things that cost me $100 bucks 15 years ago HAVE gone up, but I remember Pre-Katrina, when gas was $1.79... FOR PREMIUM!

And that wasn't that long ago.

I have never LOST money on an old purchased gun, but I have never MADE money from them.

[dorminWS]

My philosophy on guns and the value of them is first and foremost that I buy them for the pleasure/satisfaction of owning and shooting them. That is reason enough.

Over time, they will hold significant value if taken care of. Some more than others, depending on the gun. If TSHTF, they should be of immense value. If I fall on hard economic times, they can be fairly readily converted to cash. I therefore view them as a significantly better expenditure of discretionary income than clothes, cars, nightlife, boats, RVs, recreational vehicles, travel, or most of the other ways other folks with discretionary income spend it. But unless something bad happens, my guns are like SWMBO's diamonds: Yeah, they're worth some money, but it matters little, because I'll never part with them while still breathing if I can help it.

[BW1911]

Most usable modern guns aren't great investments (unless something changes, like another AWB, for instance), but they are great insurance!

[gunderwood]

I kinda take inflationary view of cost. Things that cost me $100 bucks 15 years ago HAVE gone up, but I remember Pre-Katrina, when gas was $1.79... FOR PREMIUM!

And that wasn't that long ago.

I have never LOST money on an old purchased gun, but I have never MADE money from them.

Stop immediately! The last time I tried to explain the time value of money as referenced to stocks, etc. it did not go well...some people just can not understand that DOW at ~12k in 2012 has actually lost value compared to DOW at ~12k in 2000. Just because my 401k is getting >10% returns recently doesn't mean I'm actually gaining purchasing power...

Government inflation stats (and thus those nifty online calcs) are heavily manipulated to make things look better than they are. It seems that the formula gets revised about twice a decade to lower inflation and "keep it in check." (5 of 5)

[mustaine]

Thanks for the reply's guys! I should have evaluated a little more but I would like to purchase guns to first and formost shoot them of course, but lets say i buy $10,000 worth of firearms within the next 5 years. and shoot them, but also take care of them. would i expect to get $10,000 back if i came across hard times? i'm looking for a "fun investment" I would buy gold or silver but you can't take that out and play with it! (unless of course, you are my wife, ha) you didn't hear that from me.

[jdonovan]

I'd be surprised if you got 60% on the original investment selling to a dealer.

[kevinmfduane]

If you had $10,000 to invest your single most reliable firearm investment would be to join the Civilian Marksmanship Program and buy (12) M1Garands. The good ones start at $625 up to about $1,500 for a collector gun. You are only allowed to buy 12 a year. You could shoot them for 10 years and at the very minimum sell them for 150%+ what you paid if you kept them in good shape. No one on the open market would sell their service grade M1 Garand for the $625 they can be bought for. If I had extra money to invest in anything it would be in these rifles. They are very very very liquid so you don't have to sell to a dealer. You could post each one on this forum and they would each sell for a profit within just a few days. People don't want to join the CMP and they don't want to do the paperwork, and they don't want to wait 60 days, and they don't like the luck of the draw, they want to see before they buy. The $625 service grade Springfields and the $25 to ship gets you the gun for $650. You could post it the same day on here and get $800 for it within 4-5days. Historically, the M1 Garand only goes up in value, if cared for, never down.

[Kreutz]

I sold two of my firearms privately at a slight markup...dealers will give you less than you paid because they have profit margins to worry about.