High End Rifles and Shotguns

[375H&H]

I would, and did, spend money on a rifle as somewhat of an investment, although I have no plans to sell it: Merkel 470 NE double. I doubt that gun would ever lose money as long as it is kept in good shape. Not much different than fine art as an investment, good to have some diversity.

As for a 22LR for an investment, no matter how nice or expensive, I would not buy one. I believe you would be extremely limiting your potential clientele and there are too many people out there with $100 22LR to get me personally excited about a "finely crafted one". There just isn't any romanticism with the 22LR to enter peoples heads and convince them that it is worth thousands of $, let alone $25k. With large DG double rifles romanticism abounds, and there is no cheap alternative that actually performs well (Sabatti's do not), but all 22LR will kill a squirrel at 20 yards even if bought at Walmart (the Walmart option might even be better). However, a used Merkel, Krieghoff, Heym, or others are actually not horribly priced, if someone truly wants to save for one.

Having said all of that, you only need one buyer for a sale, and ironically he may be on this site (BrentD) so that 22LR as an investment might not be such a bad idea.

 

[BrentD]

375H&H, I invite you to walk the firing line at this years National 22 BPCRA Championships in Raton New Mexico. You will see a hundred or more custom .22 singleshots. Amazingly beautiful and stunningly accurate. You just might change your mind. It's quite a show (and a great match).

 

[Europe]

375 h&h you need to take that rifle to Africa, nothing you cannot hunt with that

Panda Bear, I almost spent approx 15000 for a double 22 hornet . I have always liked the 22 hornet and doubles and it would allow me to hunt down ( Rabbits ) and up ( fox )

Brent I did not buy the 22 hornet but the fellow who made it was a fellow named Bradshaw in Texas. He makes a fairly nice double and single shot rifle, but dont know if he is still in the rifle making business or not

std7mag-----1861 3 band ---that qualifies as a nice addition to anyone's collection.

 

[std7mag]

Europe,
Still has the factory preservative on it. Never fired.
I bought it because of the deal, and the fact it was made local to me. I lived within 20 minutes of Harpers Ferry.

My good friend has an 1860 Lee Enfield Carbine. He used it for many years doing re-enactments, along with an original 1861 Colt Navy, Confederate in 36 caliber.
We both have several pistols and rifles that are replicas.
1847 Colt Walker, 1861 Colt Navy Confederate, 1861 Colt Army, Dragoon, Baby Dragoon, 1861 Springfield 3 Band.
And we've both made our own black powder.

 

[Europe]

Europe,
Still has the factory preservative on it. Never fired.
I bought it because of the deal, and the fact it was made local to me. I lived within 20 minutes of Harpers Ferry.

My good friend has an 1860 Lee Enfield Carbine. He used it for many years doing re-enactments, along with an original 1861 Colt Navy, Confederate in 36 caliber.
We both have several pistols and rifles that are replicas.
1847 Colt Walker, 1861 Colt Navy Confederate, 1861 Colt Army, Dragoon, Baby Dragoon, 1861 Springfield 3 Band.
And we've both made our own black powder.

What a wonderful "piece of America history" to have, and you live "right there" congratulations sir and to your friend as well--very nice

 

[Panda Bear]

what std7mag has as well as what several others on the forum have, certainly would qualify as vintage or obsolete ----- maybe even more so than previously listed obsolete cartridges . I wish I owned some of the ones that std7mag and others have. very impressive vintage firearms

 

[std7mag]

The Win 94 i bought for my father, while he was still with us.
He used to borrow his uncles rifle when he was young.
Took a few years going to different gun shows to find one in 32 Rem, like he used to shoot.
I don't know that he ever shot a deer, much less shot at one. Lol
Again, rifle has never been fired. Bought it for $600. A rightly sum back in 1990.
Still sitting in my gun cabinet at my mothers house.
I live in central Pennsylvania now. For now. Lol

As i said before, i like somewhat oddball cartridges. Maybe obsolete is the better word.
Built a Interarms Mark X into a custom 284 Win.
My stevens 200 in 7mm-08, i reamed to AI.
When throat burnt out i re-barreled to 250 Savage.
I have the dies, and have formed cases from 7mm Rem Mag to 6.5mm Rem Mag.
Now need a donor action, and a call to E.R. Shaw. Again, they are now "local" to me. (100 miles).

Now if i could find some 425 Westley Richards casings, i could call PTG and get my wildcat 7mm developed.

 

[ImBillT]

I would not financially invest in a rifle or shotgun. The market is very narrow. Most other more traditional investments are far more liquid, and less dependent upon taste. If you want a fancy rifle or shotgun, it would be wisest to consider it more like a luxury purchase than a financial investment. Sure, it could last years, and even generations, but that’s an heirloom, not a financial investment. Occasionally both increase or decrease in value, but they serve very different purposes in life.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Well, I would, if I could. In fact, for a long time I had considered buying a nice but not wonderful Belgian double of some sort and having it sleeved with a pair of .22 barrels with eccentric bushings to regulate it properly. In fact, I think it would be more fun that any other type of double. I still do.

With such a rifle would be ideal for Dangerous Rabbit Hunting (c.f., Monte Python and The Holy Grail, for references), or just plain fun.

When I built my first (and I thought at the time, only) custom rifle and threw every dime at it I could, I made sure it was a .22 on the advice of a good friend. Put your money in what you can and will use the most, not what you will use the least. So, .22 it was and I never looked back. But it is a single shot for Wiley Squirrels, not a dangerous game rifle.

If someone wants to gift me a fine double rifle in a 400 caliber I will gladly take on the mantle of being "that guy" who is out there hunting everything from pronghorn to moose looking like Allan Quartermain... but 25k is like 10 seasons of elk + 6 trips to Alaska, and at this point my back is strong and my wallet is light.

 

[375H&H]

375H&H, I invite you to walk the firing line at this years National 22 BPCRA Championships in Raton New Mexico. You will see a hundred or more custom .22 singleshots. Amazingly beautiful and stunningly accurate. You just might change your mind. It's quite a show (and a great match).

If I were in the region when that was going on I would love to go.

I stand corrected on my earlier statement about not buying a 22LR as investment. Cabelas gun library will buy anything so you have more clientele than I first noted.

 

[BrentD]

If I were in the region when that was going on I would love to go.

I stand corrected on my earlier statement about not buying a 22LR as investment. Cabelas gun library will buy anything so you have more clientele than I first noted.

You could easily go to the regional in Wyoming or one of the Cheyenne matches. If there is a will, there is a way.

 

[375H&H]

You could easily go to the regional in Wyoming or one of the Cheyenne matches. If there is a will, there is a way.

Agreed.

Closest one to me is the quigley shoot in Forsyth, Montana. I will take my son when he is older and after watching the movie.

 

[BrentD]

I can find you matches in all kinds of places. Quigley is different for sure. It is one that I've never been to, probably never will. Not much of a .22 match from what I've heard but lots of nice centerfires.

 

[EOregonian]

I would not invest in firearms-my father is a gun collector and has been since prior to 1970. I grew up knowing the difference between commercial mausers and a military/turned bolt custom or a sporterized mauser. Watched him turn bolts, take off barrels, and know stock makers like Milliron and others. I remember going to gun shows simply to find vintage 350Rigby ammo for his original Rigby when there weren't brass makers making all sorts of vintage brass. He owned tons of blanks most of which were bought before the walnut blights-don't know if I spelled that correct-and recently sold them to a certain semi-custom rifle maker for a mint. Oh and if you remember the Gun Digest Books he had several on the cover or in the book.

The problem is you have places like my home state that are attacking the sale/transfer of firearms to de-value them and make their sales as difficult as possible. When my father dies I am pay hundreds of $ in "transfer" fees in order to simply inherit them when I have been in law enforcement for over 20years obviously I have no felonies. And it will only get worse. On the other hand I have a Chevelle that I have no problem selling from a regulations stand point.

 

[Don Fischer]

I would not buy any rifle as an investment, I buy user's. But some rifle's do seem to make pretty good investment's. Example, I inherited an 03 Springfield customized by Paul Jaeger in 1945. Cost of the rifle finished in 1945 was $500. Appraised value in 1993 was $7500. One catch, to get $7500 you had to first find someone willing to pay that much. I think really, to buy a rifle as an investment it's gonna be so expensive going in you may well not want to use it. Then at some point you get tired of looking at it and use it and darned if you don't ding it up! I would not pay the price of those English rifle's or shotgun's. Like to look at them but that a lot of money to get a rifle you can get a package kit to do for $400! Now if I were rich, the feeling would change. Then I'd still get what I could afford though.