Guns as an investment.

[sigstroker]

I sold an early year open bolt 380 for $3800 a few months ago. It had a lot original spare parts with it still in the wrapper.

I thought the ATF came and collected all the old open bolt MACs. My friend that used to have a gun shop said they came and picked up his unsold ones and checked his 4473's so they could send letters to the owners of the ones he sold. Or maybe it was just the MAC-10's?

My old boss had a brother that had one that used to go out and shoot it full-auto from time to time.

[wpage]

When measured against vehicles. If you look at commodities which just sit there. Firearms are items that are usable items that not only have commodity value have use.

They do not lose 20% when you take them out of the show room like a vehicle. They are fun and useful. If chosen correctly gain value. Is wall street better?

[Ripon83]

1994 as the AWB drew near I bought a Colt AR 15 for $899....how'd I do ��

[jdben92883]

Guns are generally a poor investment. I'm not trying to single out M1NM, but his example will have a lot of people saying ohhhh and ahhhh until they actually understand the numbers. He said he purchased $2500 worth of guns in the 70's and 80's. Let's use 1980 as a starting point, 2016 as an end point. Annualized, that's only a 6% return over 36 years. That's certainly better than a loss, but it's not jaw-dropping by any stretch. Similarly, the original owners of Pythons don't have nearly the same returns buying at <$200 in the 70's as the guys that bought for <$1000 in the 2000's. The later just got lucky.

I personally like the fact that since I buy used, I rarely lose any significant $$ on firearms. I like to think of them as long-term rentals. You get to play with cool stuff for almost free. Ammo and accessories kill the bank account though. And buying firearms during panics is a sure way to get a spankin'.

I looked at guns I bought in the 70s and 80s as a hobby that would hopefully increase in value later. Over the last couple of years I sold about 20 (only keeping 1 of each caliber - when the ammos gone the gun is gone). My guess is I had about $2500 invested and sold them for over $20,000. The risk of them being legislated out of existance does exist. I had a .380 open bolt Mac11. When the AW registration hit I decided to get rid of it as it would be unsellable. I paid $150 for it and traded it at FedOrd in El Monte for a new 1911 and one of their M1 Garand Tanker builds. The 45 went years ago for $500 and the M1 recently for $1200.

[audiophil2]

I thought the ATF came and collected all the old open bolt MACs. My friend that used to have a gun shop said they came and picked up his unsold ones and checked his 4473's so they could send letters to the owners of the ones he sold. Or maybe it was just the MAC-10's?

My old boss had a brother that had one that used to go out and shoot it full-auto from time to time.

Open bolts were grandfathered in up to 1/19/1982. They are considered machine guns by ATF but do not require a tax stamp and are not in the registry. They can be transferred face to face in any state that allows it. Anything made after the cutoff date is considered a machine gun that requires it to be in the NFA registry. Those were typically form 1'd into machine guns. There were MACs and other guns taken away or removed from the registry but it was for other reasons.

There are still a few open bolts kicking around the internet for sale. They are just getting really poor in selection now.

Anyone that had an open bolt gun in his hands could easily figure out why it was reclassified as a machine gun. I have a legal open bolt select fire STEN. They are very fun to shoot but I always have to give a short training course to shooters that never fired an open bolt gun before.

[erik_26]

Short term = Not likely. Exceptions would be price gouging off-roster guns to Californian's crazy enough to pay $200+ over national MSRP. Suprisingly, there are plenty out there that will.

Long term = Well, it depends on the make, model, year, condition and rarity of the weapon. Bonus points if in original factory lube, box, mint paper work and proof of single owner. This example is you are buying new today and looking to sell 25+ years from now.

As others said, there are better investments. You mileage could very greatly on laws between now and when you sell. In California, handguns will likely be heavily restricted (owner must store at a licensed storage facility) or be outright banned from the state.

Custom guns are tricky because they are, well, custom. What you find desirable might be worthless to everyone else.


Now, if you have a family heir loom, say a original 1894 Winchester from the late 1800's.... now we are talking $$$$$. But that investment would have been made by your great, great, maybe even another great, relative in which they aren't seeing any return on their investment as they are dead.

Another way to look at it is, you use that gun to protect yourself or you family from grave injury or death, whether it happens 6 months or 30 years from now, it was worth the investment.

Long story short, I wouldn't plan my retirement on my collection. In fact, I plan on passing everything down.

[kozumasbullitt]

I view firearms as "safe bets". How many hobbies can you enjoy and not "lose your pants" when you want to sell? When I buy a new golf set, they become almost worthless on the second hand market. Guns hold their value very well with some exceptions that increase in value.

[beerman]

I looked at guns I bought in the 70s and 80s as a hobby that would hopefully increase in value later. Over the last couple of years I sold about 20 (only keeping 1 of each caliber - when the ammos gone the gun is gone). My guess is I had about $2500 invested and sold them for over $20,000. The risk of them being legislated out of existance does exist. I had a .380 open bolt Mac11. When the AW registration hit I decided to get rid of it as it would be unsellable. I paid $150 for it and traded it at FedOrd in El Monte for a new 1911 and one of their M1 Garand Tanker builds. The 45 went years ago for $500 and the M1 recently for $1200.

I ,like you, bought a lot of milsurps back in those days...And I was a regular at Fed Ord...I bet Paul still owns that Mac of yours.

[Nick Adams]

If the SHTF I imagine guns will be worth their weight in gold.

[bountyhunter]

Only the ones you can no longer get go up in value, either due to laws or lack of production. Laws have been a steady push for CA.

NOPE. I bought my first new revo in about 1989 and it was a SW686 that sold for $349. SW still makes the exact same gun today (newest version of it) and you will pay close to $800 for it now or more. That's a pretty good rise in price.

If only all my stocks and funds had done that.

It's true the "non available" guns go up ridiculous amounts, but good ones that are still made also go up.

[Ripon83]

Well

My dad suggested I buy Apple Stock in 1989. I bought 200 shares for $309. My dad bought a little more, like 2500 I think, if I still had mine today they'd be worth about $25,000 plus dividends.....and yes his would be closer to $300k. Thing is I took profits, got back in a few times, and out a few times and it's been a great ride.

Still $309 = more than $20,000 if you gathered the right stocks.

NOPE. I bought my first new revo in about 1989 and it was a SW686 that sold for $349. SW still makes the exact same gun today (newest version of it) and you will pay close to $800 for it now or more. That's a pretty good rise in price.

If only all my stocks and funds had done that.

It's true the "non available" guns go up ridiculous amounts, but good ones that are still made also go up.

[Ripon83]

Dispute

Preppers tout this often. With 320 million people here and as many guns if SHTF and two thirds of the population dies off there will be 3x as many guns as people. I suspect food, sanitation, and safe havens will be far more valuable.

If the SHTF I imagine guns will be worth their weight in gold.

[dyson]

NOPE. I bought my first new revo in about 1989 and it was a SW686 that sold for $349. SW still makes the exact same gun today (newest version of it) and you will pay close to $800 for it now or more. That's a pretty good rise in price.

If only all my stocks and funds had done that.

It's true the "non available" guns go up ridiculous amounts, but good ones that are still made also go up.

Thats a good point, always inflation and production costs. How much has the glock msrp gone up?

[Ripon83]

How much are hi cap mags worth to those in communities where they are banned?

[russ69]

I held off for a while before participating. Firearms can be a decent investment if you start early enough and buy the right products. Just to give you a few examples of brand new guns bought at retail: HK91 $420, Colt ARs under $400, SA M1A SM $940.
Guns are a good inflation hedge. The down side is that they may be hard to sell or can be made illegal overnight without warning. That has some risk. But over the years, your chance of getting your money back is very good, better than most hobbies.