Guns as investments?

P

Prof Young

New member
Friends of Firearms:

If you spend any time at gun auctions, it would seem that guns hold their value. I'm sure like anything else, there are collectable firearms that can function as an investment, but are subject to the usual market variation.

So the question: Are guns a good investment financially?

Live well, be safe
Prof Young
 
I think that they could be a good investment if:

--you already have the means to store them safely (without harm coming to them through neglect or improper conditions) and securely (providing reasonable security against theft) in the quantities required to make a decent profit
AND
--you have some knowledge of what guns you need to purchase that will appreciate significantly in value
AND
--you have a ready source, or the time to search, for the proper guns
AND
--you have the knowledge, time and ability to liquidate the guns when required
AND
--you live in an area (and expect to always live in an area) where the possession and sale of the firearms in question is legal and not too heavily restricted
AND
--you carry insurance on them to preclude loss through "acts of God" or theft
AND
--you feel certain that the specific firearms in question will not be legally restricted in the future in a way that might devalue them.
 
There's a handful of guns, original Walker Colts come to mind, that are increasingly valuable and can easily be liquidated for their "true" value.
For everything else, just keeping up with the market is a major and unusual accomplishment. When anybody tells you that he bought a gun for x number of dollars, but it is now worth y, take it with a grain of salt unless there is a third party standing there with y dollars cash in hand wanting to buy the gun on the spot. Valuing guns and gun collections is often an exercise in wishful thinking. Even Christies overvalues stuff
 
You don't need to get lucky - they've ALL gone up dramatically in the last 15 years. Fantastic investment, as long as you don't get your head taken off to begin with, and understand the limitations re: insurability etc. Still, guns are definitely not as good of an investment as ammo is!
 
I'd say good condition/rare milsurps might be a good place to start. Machine guns aren't coming down in price if you can afford the initial investment.
 
I've bought and sold lots of firearms over the years. Each and every time I sold a firearm, I made money.

Some times I didn't make as much as other times, but I've never lost any money on selling a firearm.

Same goes with magazines. I've made lots of money on those, but the timing needs to be spot-on.

As long as you buy a well-known brand and keep it long enough, you will make money. Brands like Taurus, Rossi, Star, Charter Arms, etc., are gambles. You might make some money, but it will vary.

But yes, firearms are a good investment.
 
Since posting in this tread, I took a few minutes and gave some thought to all the firearms I've sold in the past, and which ones tended to provide the best return on their purchase.

For me, it was the S&W revolver. No particular model, finish, or caliber. Many times I doubled my investment, and a couple of times, I tripled my investment.

All had the OEM box, paperwork, etc. That's the way I buy them. If you don't have all the OEM stuff that they come with, you can expect less money for them.

There were a couple that I wish that I still had and hadn't sold. One was a 629-3 with a 2.5" bbl., and iron sights. The frame had been rounded and smoothed from the factory. It was designed for CCW and it was one of the most awesome handguns I ever owned from S&W. It was one that I had tripled my investment on.

Rifles seem to provide a smaller return, but then again, it boils down to what is in demand at the moment. For a long gun, it really is a matter of the right timing.
 
QUOTE:

Operating under the premise that you never sell guns, no, they are not a good investment.




I tried doing that many years ago at some point. It just didn't work out for me. ;)
 
If you buy the best quality you can afford, and like what everyone else is going to want to buy, you will do alright, I suppose.

Most firearm values have kept up with inflation, so that is certainly good.

One thing I know : lower-quality bubba'd shooters are not going to make you any money, or so little money it wasn't worth tying up the investment for.

Nice condition pre-1898 is always scarce
Colt and S&W revolvers,
Colt 1911's
Mauser and Luger pistols
British WWI and WWII revolvers
Any US service rifle from Krag to M1
Mil-surp arms in matching condition, Mauser, Lee-Enfield, pre-WWII Mosin-Nagant rifles
Post-WWII semi-auto milsurps in wooden stocks.
Bayonets

Some prices are high enough to make you wonder if you'll make money, but nothing seems to be in a bubble about to burst. If you are knowledgeable about what you are buying, and buy right, you'll do alright. If you just look at the balance sheet that may or may not exist in 20 years time, you might not.
 
Not all investments are intended to make money, some are for security. Gold is an example of security investment, protects against inflation and can make some money. A firearm is a security investment and don't forget to invest in ammo as well other wise you have a very exspensive stick.
 
If your goal is just to make money, there are better ways. On the other hand I've rarely sold a gun for less than I paid, and I've sold a few for 2X-3X what I paid. It is not that difficult if you buy used guns and only at good prices.

This is one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of most of the budget guns. A lot of cheaper guns will certainly function as well as a top tier gun and often sell for 1/2 the price. The problem is that the $200 budget gun you bought 15 years ago is only worth $150 today. The $400 S&W I bought 15 years ago is now worth $600. Which one really cost more?

Granted the $400 I spent might have grown more in 15 years if it had been invested somewhere else. But I got to use the gun for 15 years and still make money.

Within the last 10 years or so I've really thinned out the guns I used to own. For the most part I've reinvested in better guns. Six years ago I decided I wanted a Kimber. I took 5 guns I rarely used to our local gunshop and put them up on consignment. I had about $1500 in all of them. Two months later I picked up a check for $2500. I spent $800 on the Kimber, $400 on a scope and put $1300 in the bank. I've sold a few others and used the money to put McMillan stocks on a couple of other rifles.
 
I'm with Ruger480

Never sold a gun. Don't plan on it upon my death. There will be a lot of lucky nieces, nephews and grandchildren running around happy though.
 
You don't need to get lucky - they've ALL gone up dramatically in the last 15 years. Fantastic investment, as long as you don't get your head taken off to begin with, and understand the limitations re: insurability etc. Still, guns are definitely not as good of an investment as ammo is!
Click to expand...

No, you don't need to get lucky, but at the same time, very few people are actually using guns as part of their retirement portfolio.

The AR15 I purchased in 2002 cost just over $800. The same model sells today for $1200. So is it worth 50% more than then? Not really. I won't be able to sell is for $1200 as a new AR15, even if I haven't shot it (but I have). Then there is inflation. At an average of 3% per year, 12 years of inflation, if compounded simply, means 36%. So now you are only up about 14% in 12 years, a little over 1% per year, not including expenses to maintain and keep the AR15 in shape.

All of a sudden, the investment looks pretty crappy as a money maker.

Now, if you want to buy high end collectable guns, that is another matter and one that requires considerable consideration in what the future of collecting holds.
 
First,guns have a wholesale/retail value.If you are buying at market retail,well,it might be a while before you can turn around and sell it and make money.

But,if an acquaintance comes along and says"Hey,I'm in a bind for my daughter's braces,I need some cash and I have this old gun that was my Grandpa's".He names his price,you can do well if it is a quality piece Likely he checked what the local gun store or pawn shop would pay.Beat that by a reasonable amount,he'll be happy

Example,a co-worker offered me a German Anschutz Mannlicher stock,double set Jr Varminter for $200.I suppose,if I decided to get rid of it,I would get a good return.

Unfortunately,I have been the guy in a bind before!! If I still had my 45 SAA,or my Victor,or my Woodsman,etc,etc.

When it comes down to it,the day you sell it,its worth however much cash someone else will trade you for it.

There are some risks,particularly some new gun law.

And,while a gun has tool value,in poor economic times,its hard to afford the luxury of nostalgia.

Folks with 22's are wondering about ammo versus value.

Old Winchesters,pretty hard to get a deal on.Savage 99's,Marlin Levers,good single shots,quality American doubles,Colts and S+W's,probably keep ahead of inflation.
 
Guns as an investment…hmmmm.

I smell an opportunity here. There are companies that let you buy gold or silver and do NOT make you take possession of it. They keep it safe and secure and there is no shipping and handling charges involved in the transaction. If the price of gold or silver goes up you can sell your gold/silver and take your profit. Again you never have to touch the metal itself.

So.

A company, Fireams-Security Certified And Marketed (Firearms-SCAM) could be set up to buy the ‘best’ firearms in the market place today, (I’m thinking S&W Performance Center, Les Baer, Sphinx etc.) as well as proven collectible firearms (think Colt Python) and the guns themselves would be kept in a secure location, (my basement) and you would get period confirmation that the guns were being well cared for and still work (I’d send you a target I shot with them). After you invested you’d get period reports of what the whole collection was worth and your percentage of that investment. If you wanted to cash out then certain guns (ones I found I didn’t like) would be sold at auction and you’d get the cash. (Might not be all you wanted but hey, that’s business (business---a transaction between someone with money and someone with experience. The person with the experience gets the money and the person with the money gets the experience.))

What could possibly go wrong?
 
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gun arent for investment purposes.


seriously, sure you can see a specific model of say 586, that only had 3000 made. being offered for 3,000. but if you had one, theyd only offer you 200.00 for it.
 
Before reading the other posts, I'll give you my reply. Yes, guns can be good investments, but probably not as good as conventional investments like securities. Like anything, its part knowing a lot about a broad spectrum of firearms, timing, and a good bit of luck.

For the most part, antique/historical firearms and transferable machine guns seem to be the better investments, and you are not likely to find bargains on any of those - strictly buy and hold...and hold...and hold.

Sometimes you will come across guns that are selling "cheap" compared to what it would cost to make new ones - this was the case with SKS's, Schmidt Rubins, and other guns they crated in and flooded gun shows in the '90's. These can make good investments.

Other times, a manufacturer will make something that is odd, unique, weird, or "I can't believe they made something like that". Examples of these guns would be: COP 357, Braverman/Stinger Pen gun (non-nfa), G.R.A.D. Knife pistol (nfa), Powell Knife Pistol (non-nfa) - and they will eventually go up in value....eventually being the key word.

Then there are guns that end up on a banned list. Anything "high-capacity", military-looking, drums, etc. That's hit and miss depending on which way the political winds blow. I don't see non-Colt AR's appreciating much more than the rate of inflation for quite some time. Colt-AR's....maybe. However, I think the Tavor and SCAR-17 could be worth looking at from an investment standpoint.

Or, you can look for exceptional quality like: Korth revolvers; Colt Pythons; higher end shotguns or higher-end Beretta Shotguns (I think these have good potential). They will generally hold their value, and on occasion increase substantially.
 
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