Would you shoot it?

I dont sell guns anymore unless i hate them, i regret almost every single one i let go.

Guns were made to be shot, to me it seems disrespectful to both the gun and the craftsmen that made them not to shoot them. Being able to be shot was the entire purpose of their creation. As long as they are safe and or in good working order i would shoot them. Maybe just a box a couple times a year, but i would shoot them.
 
" Would you leave it that way or shoot it?"

Shoot it.

In about 1971 i fired three cylinders of a first generation Colt single action. My girl friend fired the other three cylinders. Despite having been fired, the revolver bought a great price when sold 50 years later.
 
P35p said:
I don't understand the theory that you must shoot a gun to enjoy it. To me that logic makes no sense at all when the enjoyment to me is the weeks and months it can take to track the history of a piece that you acquire from either the veteran or the family of the veteran. However a question to those of you that shoot everything no matter the age or significance of a gun. Let's say you have a dozen or more of the same basic gun. Do you still feel the need to shoot everyone of them so you can say you enjoyed them?
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Its a gun, its only reason for creation and existence was to be shot. What value does it have if it cannot do the one thing it was created to do?

The history is irrelevant, it has no bearing on weather or nothing the gun functions

Guns are not art work, or baseball cards. I would not have a dozen or more of the same rifle. If im not shooting them they get sold, hopefully to somone who will.

I have 2 ars and 4 uppers between them, its not a dozen but its a few.

6arc precision build. 20in heavy barrel, 15in free float rail, 6-24x50 scope.

223 defense build, 16in, 1-6x24 lvpo and light, 13in free float.

223 dissipator upper to keep my iron sight skills up

300 blackout upper, 16in with red dot wanted to try the cartridge. Hits steel hard, easier to load for and runs better than 7.62x39 in an ar. Just a fun cartridge.

Every one has a specific job to do, and i shoot them all regularly. I do plan to build a sbr hopefully next year, and that will cover everything i could want in the ar platform. i dont need a safe full of the things.
 
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If If If

Just not that easy of a question really. There are a lot of "if's" when the subject is a very high value gun. That value may be more than monetary.
I would consider the value compared to the worst that could happen and make a decision based on that.
 
Shadow9mm said:
Its a gun, its only reason for creation and existence was to be shot. What value does it have if it cannot do the one thing it was created to do?

The history is irrelevant, it has no bearing on weather or nothing the gun functions

Guns are not art work, or baseball cards. I would not have a dozen or more of the same rifle. If im not shooting them they get sold, hopefully to somone who will.

I have 2 ars and 4 uppers between them, its not a dozen but its a few.

6arc precision build. 20in heavy barrel, 15in free float rail, 6-24x50 scope.

223 defense build, 16in, 1-6x24 lvpo and light, 13in free float.

223 dissipator upper to keep my iron sight skills up

300 blackout upper, 16in with red dot wanted to try the cartridge. Hits steel hard, easier to load for and runs better than 7.62x39 in an ar. Just a fun cartridge.

Every one has a specific job to do, and i shoot them all regularly. I do plan to build a sbr hopefully next year, and that will cover everything i could want in the ar platform. i dont need a safe full of the things.
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If I only had two guns I would shoot them all also. :)

The primary function of most weapons is to act as a deterrent. Just like a nuclear round, you don't have to shoot it for it to be effective.

When we forget history we tend to repeat the same mistakes over and over.

Believe it or not there are probably a million people in the US that do collect guns like baseball cards or any other collectable. You don't that's obvious but that doesn't make those that do wrong. When I say I don't understand the I must shoot it mentality, I'm not talking about a person that only has a couple guns none of which I would consider collectable. One day you just might find that rare gun you consider a holy grail gun and change your mind. We do tend to adapt our thinking as we age.
 
P35p said:
If I only had two guns I would shoot them all also. :)

The primary function of most weapons is to act as a deterrent. Just like a nuclear round, you don't have to shoot it for it to be effective.

When we forget history we tend to repeat the same mistakes over and over.

Believe it or not there are probably a million people in the US that do collect guns like baseball cards or any other collectable. You don't that's obvious but that doesn't make those that do wrong. When I say I don't understand the I must shoot it mentality, I'm not talking about a person that only has a couple guns none of which I would consider collectable. One day you just might find that rare gun you consider a holy grail gun and change your mind. We do tend to adapt our thinking as we age.
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I do feel its wrong. Its somewhere between greed, hubris, and wastefulness. You have useful tools that you refuse to you and gather up to hoard in a safe collecting dust. That money could be far better spent on guns that will be used, ammo to shoot, training to build skill. Shoot you could donate the money to feed the homeless and do better.

Yes freedom is is amazing, but with it comes responsibility.

Not trying to tell anyone how to live their lives, but thats my perspective on things.
 
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I do feel its wrong. Its somewhere between greed, hubris, and wastefulness. You have useful tools that you refuse to you and gather up to hoard in a safe collecting dust. That money could be far better spent on guns that will be used, ammo to shoot, training to build skill. Shoot you could donate the money to feed the homeless and do better.

Yes freedom is is amazing, but with it comes responsibility.

Not trying to tell anyone how to live their lives, but thats my perspective on things.
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Hmmm..... any time I see something like this I always immediately revert to one thought...

I bet $100 that the person who said/wrote this has spent money on something that I and some others will believe is silly. Some people think that money spent to go see a movie is better spent elsewhere... heck you could give it to the homeless*. The same could be said of having any type of nice furniture, a TV screen wider than 50", or a car worth more than 7k (after all, there are plenty in that price range that are serviceable for transportation). Go out to a nice restaurant? Technically money wasted. Heck had a steak, even made at home? You could have had rice and beans and donated the difference. Fly first class? Money wasted. Ever bought a bottle of decent single malt scotch? Wasted money. Have a nice riding mower when a push mower will do? Yup, money wasted.

That list could gone on for eternity. As silly as it sounds, it's no less silly to think that a man who really likes displaying an old collectible revolver... mostly because he just likes the old collectible revolver... should have donated whatever he spent on said revolver to the homeless*



*about 80% or so of which will summarily spend that money on meth, heroin, Crack, alcohol, or any combination of said items. Or if they're hungry it's because most money they do get goes to said items.
 
But to answer the original question, yes I shoot it. At least on occasion with mild loads. I collect old firearms, and currently I don't have anything that I don't shoot other than an antique English SxS BP shotgun. I've scoped the barrels and honestly I would be comfortable shooting mild loads in it... but alas the cap nipples are rusted solid. One day I'm going to drill them out, tap new threads in the breech plug and put new nipples in, and shoot it. When I get time.

But there are examples of guns I would own and not shoot. A sorta serviceable original SAA that's probably safe to shoot, but also apt to break and require service with much use? I'll probably leave that in a display case. Of course I would have bought it for a smoking deal, as I don't spend much money on something I'm not comfortable shooting.

In the OPs case, it sounds darn near new old stock, so any breakage is quite unlikely. I shoot that revolver. Not a lot. But some.
 
Shadow9mm said:
I do feel its wrong. Its somewhere between greed, hubris, and wastefulness. You have useful tools that you refuse to you and gather up to hoard in a safe collecting dust. That money could be far better spent on guns that will be used, ammo to shoot, training to build skill. Shoot you could donate the money to feed the homeless and do better.

Yes freedom is is amazing, but with it comes responsibility.

Not trying to tell anyone how to live their lives, but thats my perspective on things.
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Bwahahahahaha, thanks for the laugh and yes I am a greedy capitalists'.

If you want to feed the junkies and alcoholics sell your two guns, the government extorts thousands upon thousands from me every year to pay for their drugs already. ;)
 
I had quite a few NIB S&Ws and one Colt. About 3 yrs ago it finally hit me as to what these guns were good for? Biggest part of these guns were from 50s and 60s what I would call quasi collector items. So I decided to sell them off. Put my price on them and hold firm. I ain’t selling to eat. Got plenty of hi condition shooters to play with.
Was at a show last year and was looking at a S&W in presentation case which was priced at top dollar. The turn line was very visible as was some residue between top of forcing cone and frame. Before I had a chance to say anything guy says that’s scarce unfired in the case. I ask him if he was original owner which he wasn’t. Told him it had been shot
a bit. He then comes up with the “ They all are test fired song & dance “ . They are but I wish they weren’t because it gives dipsticks plausible deniability. There are sometimes a gun that is hard to determine if unfired, others not that hard. The point being that it’s not the wear. It’s the difference in price. Many NIB guns have had more wear and tear from being handled than shot.
 
i have an old collectors item, it was used by my great grand father, then by my grand father and then by my father... it's kind of warn. but hey, guns were made to be shot not looked at. so now i drag it out and let visitors and friends shoot it so they can tell the story... it's over 125 years old now. but again, guns were made to be shot.
 
georgehwbush said:
i have an old collectors item, it was used by my great grand father, then by my grand father and then by my father... it's kind of warn. but hey, guns were made to be shot not looked at. so now i drag it out and let visitors and friends shoot it so they can tell the story... it's over 125 years old now. but again, guns were made to be shot.
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Was it unfired when it came into your possession? If not, it's not really applicable to the original question:

Super Sneaky Steve said:
Let's say you had a very old unfired handgun. Would you leave it that way or shoot it?
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you say not applicable, that depends on perspective i guess. it obviously isn't apples to cucumbers but i do think the "attitude" is the same. you either "collect" or you "use". the OP asked what "YOU" would do. that's what i would do. either sell or shoot. but that's me. not you.
 
Some guns have more intrinsic value than monetary value.
Guns passed on for generations can be priceless to the owners.
Unfired guns will almost always a dollar amount that can be meet.
In these ways they are similar.
 
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I bought my Dad a Pacific Theater Commemorative .45 pistol somewhere around 30 years ago. My Dad has since passed, and the pistol has come back to me. Should I take it out and shoot it?
 
that is an entirely different question,
1, "what would you do"
-vs-
2, "should I"

only "i" (the person being asked) can answer the first one.
and only you (the person asking) can answer the second one.
 
If the gun was purchased strictly as an investment and firing would decrease the ROI, then it would not get fired.
But that has never happened, and they all get shot, even the heirlooms.
 
treg said:
If the gun was purchased strictly as an investment and firing would decrease the ROI, then it would not get fired.
But that has never happened, and they all get shot, even the heirlooms.
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Never?

I own a few firearms that have not been fired since they left the factory, and they won't be fired during my lifetime. What the next owner does after I die, or some future owner after that, is beyond my control.

If I had wanted a gun to shoot, I would have purchased a LNIB or "Excellent" used firearm. I chose to purchase new, unfired. To then go out and fire it when I have other guns that have been fired would be silly.
 
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