guns as a "commodity"

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I would never consider firearms to be a commodity or currency.... Selling one to someone who does not have one is handing him the means to TAKE all the rest.
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If the crap were hitting the fan, the last thing I would do is start selling or bartering weapons and ammo to people I didn't know and trust... just a matter of time and someone will try to grab the whole stash.

I would arm all my family members I could, and maybe some tried and true friends if they lived nearby, but otherwise I'd conserve it and save it for when we really needed it.
 
I'm not your lawyer, but buying a bunch of guns with the intention of selling them for profit sounds like you are considering becoming a firearms dealer. That particlar business is highly regulated, and the authorities take a dim view of the participation of amateurs.

I don't know where they draw the line, but it's something to keep in mind.
 
After a quick read, that's one "civil unrest" and one "If the crap were hitting the fan ...".

I refer all to Rule #5 in the Forum Rules, linked at the top of this page.
 
i sold mine to a lgs for trade and they were logged in the disposition of my logbook as required by the atf.

as far as buying and selling goes as long as its done properly they cant say anything since you have to fill out the background check and your supposed to do that when you sell to someone else.

third this was a thread about investment now vs return later during the zombie apocalypse.
 
I started this thread asking a simple question about specific brands and calibers and did not intend for it to examine motives, ethics or other factors. So far no one has specificaly answered my question... What brand and calibers of handguns would be best to own long term from the standpoint of holding value and being easy to sell later. Simple question. Any answers?
 
Whatever people want in the future. That's probably why you haven't got a lot of the type of responses you desired. You're asking us to predict the future and know what will become collectible or desirable in the future. Its hard with things being manufactured en masse. And many firearms (unlike hemi cudas) are just lightly used and put on a shelf in the closet for years so there may be 50,000 nice examples of a pistol in 2050 that you buy today but only 2 left of the 7 plum crazy hemi four speed convertible AAR cudas (or something).
 
He says that "come the revolution",,,
Those buried revolvers will be worth more than gold.
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Uh, "come the revolution," he might not have control of, or even access to, the property where they are buried.
 
I think collectible and affordable are two ends of the spectrum but most of the ultra high end stuff is past military and as the garands and lugers are today's market the future i think will be early model military issue m16/ar and other firearms that have seen service. people tend to collect what they grew up with and we have a current 40+ year group of people that went to war and put their life on the line with the ar platform. where there are many civilian models because of the active use the military models are still unavailable.

think of past military firearms and tell me collect ability wise there isnt a pattern

1873 about any firearm thats from this era is collectible that the military used
s.a.a
Springfield trapdoor

moving thru history
30-40 krag
1903 rifle
garand
m1 carbine
m1a /m14

i think the next generation will be the Vietnam era ar's with the triangle handgard and the birdcage flash suppressor and no case deflector or forward assist.
 
collecting

I remember years ago reading an article by Col. Cooper about hoarding ammo. He advocated having large amounts of .22lr as trading fodder. His assumption was that most people have some type of .22lr firearm in their inventory, and if the time ever came, having plenty of .22lr to trade might get you something you need.
 
Joe,
I don't think anyone is trying to *not* answer your question, but a high quality answer really depends upon the specific scenario of the (possible) dollar devaluation relative to other currencies. There is not a single simple answer:

If it's devaluation because of very high inflation, you may want to consider buying an authenticated historical sidearms or other historical collectibles, as most collectibles tend to track inflation when. The highest quality historical collectibles (like George Washington's sidearm) typically will appreciate much more than you're great-great-great grandfather's civil war pistol.

If it's devaluation due to a lack of governance or the gross failure / collapse of a central government that is dollar denominated, then any popular, easy to use handgun would likely command a very pretty price, as would shotguns and others that could be used to put down civil insurrection in your neighborhood / city in the absence of other legal authorities. Tasers would also probably be an excellent investment.

Is this helping any?

There are numerous reasons why currencies have devalued, a lot more that I can probably post here. Lack of relative long term productivity, significant debt, currency manipulations, setting a fixed / unsetting a fixed exchange rate to another currency / commodity, market or government fear, investor loss of confidence, etc etc etc. If you could provide what you believe the mechanism that will cause the devaluation that will help better answer your question.

Good luck!
 
What brand and calibers of handguns would be best to own long term from the standpoint of holding value and being easy to sell later. Simple question. Any answers?
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Common duty class handguns from reputable makers. Colts, Sigs, GLocks, S&W, Ruger, etc.

These are the guns that will be in demand, and will hold value, in the future, just as they are today. If you are looking to make money, buy something else. If you are looking for something to hold value (not necessarily dollars), good quality guns do that.

Twenty years ago, you could get a good dot matrix printer or a used .38 S&W/colt, etc. revolver for a couple hundred bucks. Which one of those could still bring you a couple hundred buck (adjusted for inflation) today? Odds are it wouldn't be the printer!

Get some police trade-ins, get a couple hundred rounds per gun. Stash them away, and when you need to sell, I'd be willing to bet you get the value you paid for them back. The actual dollar number will likely be different, but the relative value will remain the same.

Other than for actual collector category guns, they don't increase in value much, but they don't lose much either. That $300 pistol bought then might be $800 today, but then gold was $800/oz and today its $2000+! Good guns keep their value. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of our currency, currently.
 
TXAZ,
I think your last paragraph describes the devaluation factors that "could" be in beginning stages very soon. I think I would rather invest in quality non- collectibles firearms rather than a couple of high value collectibles. I had not considered .22 caliber, but you and others on this forum make a lot of sense suggesting .22. I will add .22 target type pistols to my short list.
 
44AMP,

Thanks for the excellent advice! I think you have grasped what I am looking for. Any caliber recommendations.
 
I would look buy firearms you personally like so that if you don't make any money, you're still happy.

Buying and selling firearms is not an easy business unless you buy very low and sell high.

Some people suggest you buy the imported inexpensive military weapons. If you did that, I would buy by the case.

Firearms are poor investments in an overall sense. They are not liquid assets. If you had to pay the rent in two weeks, you would be hard pressed to get market prices on a gun, any gun, that quickly and turn it. Hence you would likely be late on the rent or the price you would get would be about $0.75 on the dollar at best. Not much of an investment when you can buy stocks and quickly sell them.
 
not looking for an investment as my main business is buying and selling basic rental houses of which I now own enough of to never look at another dollar based investment. I am looking for an alternative to gold as a hedge against inflation and dollar devaluation. stocks will have little value in such a market and gold is already high priced in anticipation of the probable coming dollar devaluation. I have made up my mind to invest in guns and ammo. I am now just trying to do it in the most educated manner as to the brand, model and caliber to look to buy on my local used market.
 
He has several (10 or more) inexpensive (Heritage brand) .22 revolvers buried around his property,,,
Each one is sealed inside a piece of 8" PVC pipe,,,
Along with several bulk packs of ammo,,,
And a few minor medical supplies.
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I know a guy who did that with an SKS back in 1992 or so. He buried it in (what were at the time) the woods. The interment apparently took place late at night, and it may have involved alcohol.

In any case, he remembered it around 2000, and when he went to retrieve it, a subdivision had been built. His TEOTHWACKOZOMBIE rifle is now beneath somebody's in-ground pool.

As far as buying for appreciation, there are better investments. I only have a few guns that have shown a marked increase in value over the last twenty years. If I factor in the initial capital investment, the maintenance, and the time involved, the rate of return is truly wretched.
 
Whether guns or ammo, be sure to stick to calibers that will be in universal demand. 9mm Luger, .38 Special, .45 ACP, stuff like that. Strictly for a barter item, pick up 10 bricks of .22 LR as soon as you can, tuck it away.
 
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