Should I shoot it?

Don't shoot it, I have a Smith 25-3, NIB since 1977, fought the temptation to fire it by buying another used 25 and shooting it. Like some of the other replys said that first shot will be an expensive one.
 
It all depends on why you bought it and how much you paid. If you bought it as a shooter and will not be dissappointed if it doesn't bring much someday on resale, the sure, shoot it. If you bought it and plan on seeing it sold some day, then no.
 
I really pissed a guy off once...

I bought a new, in the wood box WW II commemorative Winchester... supposedly very rare, definitely unfired...

then I proceeded to cut the zip-tie, insert a stripperfew rounds, and proceed to start sighting it in...

he was PISSED... and I do not understand it... YES, I know I bought a comemmorative... YES, I know it was unfired... I didn't BUY it to save... I bought it because 300 bucks for a firable deluxe grade Winchester seemed a good price... and I wanted a nice one to shoot...

I STILL shoot that gun... and I'll be danged if ANYONE will tell me otherwise!

'tis up to you, as has been said... if you bought it to keep, or to shoot, do so... if you bought it as an ornament, then don't shoot it...

'twere it me, I wouldn't have bought it unless I intended to shoot it...
 
What's it worth now? What will it worth if fired? Are you counting on the difference to retire or put the kids through college? In my experience most of these commemoratives never attain value much over a standard model gun of the same type. There are better investments if you're looking to turn a profit.
 
Here's the thing: "Commemoratives" are my exception to the "guns were made to be shot" rule. Once you pull the trigger on a limited-run fancy commemorative, it's just another gun, collector-wise.
 
no, No, NO !!! Don't shoot it.

I would suggest that the difference in value between it now (unfired) and what it would be (fired) more than pay for the purchase of a similiar (non-Commemorative) revolver for actual use. Think about it ..

Gunner

:eek: :rolleyes: :p :D :cool: :eek:
 
The 2nd Amendment.
The shot heard round the world.

I looked at your photo and read the thread.
You've asked a good question.

My thoughts:

The firearm is "unfired".
It's just a gun in a box.

If you sold it someday, "unfired", it'd still be just a gun in a box.
It's a collector's item without a history other than it's "unfired in the box".

Were you to carefully document it's accuracy, with photos and targets and ammunition, and save the spent cases and unfired ammunition, you'd have a collector's item with a history, complete with comments by you about how the firing session went, etc.

Were a collector to someday want to purchase this particular item, they'd have an interesting history of the gun, and the attendant items to show with it.

I'd take more and detailed photos of the gun in its "unfired" condition and then proceed to give the gun some history by enjoying it and the process of documenting the history of that gun.

It will still be "unfired in the box" in the photos, but, you'll get to enjoy it and add to its interest by passing on your information to whomever the gun ends up with, either by selling it or its being handed down to future family members.

History is one of the things that fascinates me about firearms.
Personally adding to the history of a gun makes it more valuable, in my opinion.

Good Luck, and thanks for an interesting question to ponder.
 
I would absolutely not shoot it. I own a number of guns that I have never fired, probably at least a half dozen. I bought them to shoot, but never got around to it. I own a few guns that I will never shoot. I bought a Walther P38 last summer out of the paper. It is a 1945 production gun complete with all the Nazi markings etc. I never really liked the P38. I have any number of other semi-auto 9mm handguns to shoot. I bought this one just because I thought it was cool. And it is historical; it exhibits the very poor finish common when a country is going down the tubes. Firing it would not decrease it's value, but what am I going to get out of it that I wouldn't get out of just firing my Glock 17 or one of my Hi-Powers, or my P89, or my Kel-Tec P11............... Is it keeping me awake at night knowing that I never shot them, no. Do I still enjoy owning them and take great comfort in knowing that they are there in my safe, yes. Do I still take them out and admire them ? yes
I own a modest collection of S&W Revolvers. Nothing rare, just pinned and recessed revolvers, all made within the last 40 years or so. But to me, they are so beautiful that I won't put them in a holster. I will shoot them, but will not risk wearing the finish of them with a holster. I have other revolvers that I can carry, and if I nick them, fall with them, whatever, it won't break my heart. The beauty and my pride in ownership far outweigh carrying them to me.
I have a few old pocket watches. Watches my grandfather and my father owned back when men carried pocket watches. One of them is the gold watch my grandfather got when he retired from the steel mill. Do I have some desperate burning itch to carry them to see what time it is ? No, I have other watches that do that just fine without the risk of losing them or damaging them. Does this now make them something that isn't worth owning ? Not to me.
It is your gun and you can enjoy it anyway you please. I just don't see what shooting it will get you and we have already discussed what it will cost you.
 
I faced the same dilemna with an unfired, NIB SAA from 1956. Solution: sell it and buy a gun you can shoot. Some guns/commemoratives were made to be eye candy only.
 
BusGunner007,

Except it doesn't work that way.

Limited edition commemorative Winchesters, Colts, et cetera, are a whole sub-hobby of gun collecting all to themselves. Their value is based entirely on them being "Unfired In Box" (preferrably "Cylinder Never Turned" if they're revolvers). It would occasionally amaze me when someone would want to look at a 470th Anniversary Beretta 92, for instance, and want to take it out of the case and work the action. There's a whole showcase full of Berettas to rack the slides on, dryfire, whatever, and they want to scuff up a rare $2,000 limited edition commemorative. :eek: Pulling the trigger on a live round in one of those one-of-470 Berettas costs over a thousand dollars for the first shot, but only pennies for subsequent ones, if you know what I mean

Once you fire the gun, it no longer has any value to one of the collectors that specialize in these things, except as a nice example of whatever the base gun is.
 
Would you be upset if someone told you that the gun has been fired because there are signs that the gun has been fired before?

That pretty much explains if you should shoot it or not.
 
Tamara,

I guess that 2nd Amendment .22 would fall into the "sub-sub-hobby" catagory for me, then.:p

Perhaps there are other commemoratives that I would not shoot, such as the Beretta mentioned, because I like Berettas.
Then again...

I don't see firearms as eye candy.

If it was bought to be intentionally stored as unfired, then don't fire it.
If it was bought to enjoy as a gun, then shoot it.
If the intent was to own a special gun for show and tell, record the history of its use.

I don't disagree with you, I offered an idea to consider.
Besides, I kinda LIKE the idea that the first shot would be so expensive and that I was the one who fired it!:D
 
BusGunner007,

Bear in mind that I don't buy guns I can't/wouldn't shoot myself, either. ;)

I have, however, bought a commemorative or two in the past that someone had already fired, and got a guilt-free fancy shootin' iron at a reasonable price. :D
 
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