How do you describe yourself? (As a C&R Collector)

[DennisCA]

Normally once I buy a gun I (normally) keep it.

What say you?

[emcon5]

I am a shooter, the only ones I haven't kept were because accuracy sucked.

[johnthomas]

I collect guns that shoot. I'm a good shot, not near a competition shooter, but I enjoy it. I like the mechanics of guns and the ingenuity of the the makers from long ago. I have only sold one gun, a Hakim that I hated, the rest I will not sell.

[echo1]

I pick up what catches my fancy and is cheap, or is very old and cheap. PAX

[Flyin Brian]

My motto is "Everything is for sale"!!

I usually buy and sell mainly to improve my collection, but I've also bought stuff that I knew was underpriced and I figured it would be worth the time & risk of tying up the cash for a while since I could resell it when I want to.

I don't know why I do this, but I would rather trade 2 rifles worth $500 each and a $1,000 cash for a $2,000 rifle than to give the whole $2,000 for said rifle. I've just always liked doing stuff that way, so I'm sure I'll keep doing it.

[Black Majik]

I shoot everything that I collect.

And sell off everything that sucks!

[joefrank64k]

They're just tools...interesting and useful, but just tools.

Some catch my long-term interest and are kept.....others don't and are sold.

[Eljay]

I generally don't believe in selling guns. That being said at one point I bought quite a few Mosins and later sold off most of the duplicates just before they tightened up the face to face transfers in California. Cleared out some space and raised money to put into filling the safe back up with more variety.

[bigbossman]

My motto is "Everything is for sale"!!

I usually buy and sell mainly to improve my collection, but I've also bought stuff that I knew was underpriced and I figured it would be worth the time & risk of tying up the cash for a while since I could resell it when I want to.

I don't know why I do this, but I would rather trade 2 rifles worth $500 each and a $1,000 cash for a $2,000 rifle than to give the whole $2,000 for said rifle. I've just always liked doing stuff that way, so I'm sure I'll keep doing it.

I'm closely aligned with this philosophy.

Guns catch my interest, I buy them. After a while I get tired of them, and sell/trade them off to buy the next wave of guns that catch my eye.

Right now, that's Winchester lever guns. I am having a REALLY good time collecting and shooting them.

It is very easy for me to sell off foreign made surplus rifles - I just don't get real attached to them. It is a lot harder for me to sell off USGI surplus, but everything has a price and I've never sold a gun that I've regretted letting go.

[adamjay]

I pick up what catches my fancy and is cheap, or is very old and cheap. PAX

I'd like to introduce you to my great aunt.

I have not yet sold a C&R. I've sold off some guns I had, I could always pick them up again if I wanted. I guess that thinking kind of dissuades me when it comes to the C&R stuff. Not that much of what I have is spectacularly unique.

I consider myself a novice collector, and my collection is not vast. Haven't ever had to "sell off the duplicates" like some of you guys. That, and I've never bought a C&R I ended up not liking.

[Jarhead]

I'm as much a collector as I am a shooter, most are more accurate than me especially,once I reload for them. Never met a poor shooter which couldn't be improved. I buy all the books to learn the history, I try to replace all non era parts with correct vintage parts. Plus I don't mind paying for quality and rarity

[Jimja]

C&R's for me are mostly about history, I try to get capture papers for as much stuff as I can and research the soldier that brought the gun back.

I like weird old stuff, some can be shot, some not. At the last shoot I finally got a chance to shoot my Roth-Steyr M1907, but I also have a great T-94 Nambu that I'll probably never shoot (that pistol can be fired by just laying it down on a table!)

Both are historically significant C&R's, one I can shoot, one I can't, but I don't really care, I like having them both.

[M1NM]

Had a few bolt C&Rs when I was first getting into guns - early 70s. They were cheap and what I could afford. Once I saved up enough $ to by my first German Weatherby MKV I decided I wasn't a C&R guy so I sold them all except for the 5 Garands (finally sold those last year). Still have the first Weatherby and have gotten into early Ruger No1s with the red buttpads.

[microwaveguy]

The ONLY time I have ever sold anything was actually part of a trade for something else I wanted. Otherwise I buy it and it goes in the safe. ( until I run out of room) I may have to figure something else out when the safe is full.

[IEatZ28]

I've always been a buy it, shoot it kind of guy but recently I've got collectors rifles so I've bought a cheaper version to get the fix and shoot the valuable one once and awhile.

For example, I bought a TIGR, but I'll that far less then I'll shoot my PSL. The PSL is to fix the itch.

Or, I have a 53 Tula SKS, but I bought a Chinese SKS to shoot and the Tula comes out once in awhile