to shoot or not to shoot

Doc Hoy

"I am going to go out on a limb here. The quality of some of the new stuff such as you find at Cabelas, or Bass Proshop is pretty irratic. If you can get hold of a good used pistol that has been smoothed up and lovingly cared for, you may be better off. "

I understand what you are saying, I am wondering though how you know it iwll be smoothed up and taken care of when you purchase a used pistol, and also, I am looking forward to the smoothing up and taking loving care of the pistols I purchase, I think that would be an enjoyable part of the whole experience.

I have pretty much decided that I will most likely only own replicas, but I will enjoy them and love shooting them. I most likely will not end up with a "colt" simply because of the money. If I do, then great, but if I don't, I am not going to let that keep me from enjoying the sport. so, I suppose that I will not have to worry about what to "shoot or not shoot".
 
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How would you know...

It is an excellent point, Mike.

In truth I guess it would be hard to defend buying used over buying new as long as you were buying the same description of pistol. In both cases you have to trust two things.

1) the integrity of the person or organization selling the pistol.
2) the willingness of that group or person to stand behind their description of the item that sold.

It is a good bit different buying sight-unseen from buying direct. But in both cases a healthy skepticism can go a long way to a happy purchase.
 
Raise your right hand and repeat after me:

Never, ever, buy a used gun without a complete and thorough hands-on inspection. In the case of a mail order purchase, never buy a new OR used gun without an iron-clad guarantee of a no-questions-asked return for a full refund after a minimum three day inspection period. Never.

Now, having said that, it's highly unlikely that any of the Italian replica percussion revolvers will ever have any serious collector value, so shooting one will not significantly impact the future value. Original manufacturer guns are a different matter.
 
I only buy them if I want to shoot them. I do have a couple of wall hangers, but they are wall hangers because they are no longer safe to shoot (In my opinion).

As far as collecting for investments, I am not smart enough to see into the future and know what they might be worth. If any of my guns or pistols are every really worth a lot of money, I hope the friends and family members I leave them to find out.

I used to collect coins, pretty to look at, but after awhile they all look alike. I used to collect baseball/football cards, but I lost interest when the babies we call sport heroes started acting like three year old and throwing temper-tantrums. I spent more accumulating the sets than I'll ever get out of them.

With guns, there are so many different types and styles. Although I want an example of everyone of them :cool: I know I am happy with what I have. It has been nine years now since I have begun accumulating (My wife says it is not a collection) stuff for my favorite hobby.

The rifles, shotguns and pistols are more usable to me. I have two I was given that are valued at a little over $1,100.00. They still shoot straight and impress my buddies and I.

What it comes down to, and I think most everyone will agree with me: You gotta follow your heart.
 
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