When do you sell a gun?

[Maverick44]

I usually keep them even if I don't shoot them that often. I VERY rarely shoot by Swiss Vetterli because ammo is a PITA to make and the gun is a PITA to clean the BP out of. I wouldn't sell it though because it's old, cool, and is a blast to shoot when I do shoot it.

I've only ever sold/traded 6 guns.

CZ-52 - Couldn't get it to shoot worth a damn, sold it at a loss to a collector.

Mossberg 500 18.5" - I got stupid lucky and won it in a penny auction. I paid less than $40 for it including shipping and a transfer fee. I didn't care for the tacticool stock on it, and didn't really have that much fun shooting it. I'm not a shotgun guy. I traded it for a S&W SW40VE.

S&W SW40VE - had less of a soul than the Mossberg, had a shitty trigger, and I just didn't care for it. I don't think I had it for more than a few months. Sold it and bought the Swiss Vetterli.

H&R Victor - I bought it cheap. The trigger wasn't great and the ammo was non existent (32 S&W short). It amused me how tiny it was, but I just never felt like getting the stuff to load for it. Now, I'm not going to say it wasn't a well made gun. From what I could tell, it was just fine and the fit and finish were decent. I will say that the design itself was very Saturday night special like. I never shot the thing once. I sold it for what I paid for it.

German K98 Mauser action - Was going to build a custom rifle with it, but I never got around to doing it. Sold it to a guy that had a similar idea to mine. It would probably still just be sitting in the back corner of the safe had I not sold it.

PPS-43C - This is the only one I regret. This thing was cool as hell and I had plans to go through the NFA process and have it converted into a SBR. I sold it and bought a Lee Enfield No.4 Mk1*. That Enfield is one of my favorite guns, but damn I miss that little PPS.

I will probably sell my Taurus M66 once I get around to getting it fixed and replace it with either a S&W or a Ruger, but that's it.

 

[Mohawk600]

Havent sold anything for the last fifteen years or so.......liquidated a collection prior to that due to divorce/hard times and regret all of them.

 

[skfullgun]

I try not to sell but I have done a few trades to get something I wanted more that what I had.

 

[Sam7sf]

Guns I got rid of were 5 cz’s cz52, p09, scorpion, 75compact and sp01. Minus the 52, cz makes cool looking stuff but has qc issues I can’t stand.

Got rid of all my zastava ak’s. Seems the serbs think it’s ok to come in drunk on a Monday and assemble guns.

Got rid of a ruger sp101. First gen American ranch In 300 blk also. That thing struggled with light primer strikes.

Trades and sold lots of sks, akm, fal rifles in my younger days when stuff was cheap. Regret that now.

IMO the one gun I hated the most...sig p320 compact. What an utter pile of shit mine was.

I enjoyed other guns I traded but were not being used. A gun should be wasting critters or punching paper. Not spending its life in a safe

 

[Lonesome Dove]

You know when the time comes and there are many reasons. Just never get attached to materialistic crap and you’ll never regret selling.

 

[Charlie]

I'm not selling any more guns (I hope). I am trying to buy only "keeper" guns. I'd rather give my nephew or my grandsons a nice keeper than sell it. My worst regret as far as selling a gun was my HK P7 (as mentioned earlier). It was a beauty with Nil grips. A weak moment on my part. I'm sure it has at least doubled in value since I stupidly sold it. Most accurate handgun I ever owned.

 

[Southpaw]

Havent sold anything for the last fifteen years or so.......liquidated a collection prior to that due to divorce/hard times and regret all of them.

Same here minus a divorce. Sold a bunch I felt I had too for cash but in retrospect I probably should have found another way. That wasn't all the long ago and would have done better to just hang on to them.

 

[GoPappy]

I'd like to leave my daughter the option to sell at this point. I figure even if she gave them away for fire sale pricing it would still be a nice little lump sum for her.

To avoid this, I did a written inventory of my guns and included the estimated current value of each gun.

I’d hate for my son to be selling off my guns and say “That old Ruger single action with three screws in the frame was made in 1958, so it can’t be worth more than $50.”

 

[TexasRedneck]

To avoid this, I did a written inventory of my guns and included the estimated current value of each gun.

I’d hate for my son to be selling off my guns and say “That old Ruger single action with three screws in the frame was made in 1958, so it can’t be worth more than $50.”

Or better yet, have kids that are involved enough in guns to know values, and how to determine where the market is. In my case, it's sons AND daughters - and they're all gun nuts. My oldest daughter is ALWAYS carrying the little double-stack Beretta .380 I bought her when she turned 12.

 

[baboon]

To avoid this, I did a written inventory of my guns and included the estimated current value of each gun.

I’d hate for my son to be selling off my guns and say “That old Ruger single action with three screws in the frame was made in 1958, so it can’t be worth more than $50.”

Once while working a gun show I watched a guy buy a Colt SAA off an old lady. Because of it's condition he said it wasn't worth much but He would "HELP HER OUT"! after she was long gone he sat there with his buddy fondling this Colt that he screwed her out of. He kept bragging about it until I told him to STFU. Told him he should be ashamed what he did, & I hope he was killed in a wreck on the way home.

 

[Southpaw]

To avoid this, I did a written inventory of my guns and included the estimated current value of each gun.

I’d hate for my son to be selling off my guns and say “That old Ruger single action with three screws in the frame was made in 1958, so it can’t be worth more than $50.”

I do, but ultimately it's up to her. Your example is rather extreme and not really what I was talking about. If she want's to knock off a couple bucks to take it below market and sell quicker, I really don't have a problem with that. If that bothers her, then she can request a price in line with the market and do what needs to be done to get it.

and yes, @TexasRedneck, that is what we are currently working on.

 

[Sam7sf]

Once while working a gun show I watched a guy buy a Colt SAA off an old lady. Because of it's condition he said it wasn't worth much but He would "HELP HER OUT"! after she was long gone he sat there with his buddy fondling this Colt that he screwed her out of. He kept bragging about it until I told him to STFU. Told him he should be ashamed what he did, & I hope he was killed in a wreck on the way home.

Good for you! I loved working shows but worked for a dirt ball. Know what it feels like to see people getting screwed.

 

[TreyG-20]

I went full neckbeard and unloaded a bunch of stuff in 2013. I couldn't help myself. Made a little change and have since replaced it with nicer things. I have no attachment at all to material things. If I need or want the cash for something else I let them go.

 

[SQLGeek]

Thanks all for your responses, I've enjoyed reading them.

When I get bored with it.

That's pretty much where I am. There are 2 guns I'll never sell for sentimental reasons but the rest are fair game.

 

[easy rider]

At some point I usually regret selling any gun, but sometimes it's necessary. Two guns I sold in the past that I thought I could always buy later were the S&W model 59 and the Colt Python, but, at the time my family needed the money more. I also sold all my guns when I gave up most everything to ride the country and start a new life, I knew they could cause problems for me moving from state to state. Now, I am really picky on what I buy because I have no intentions of selling.

 

[robertc1024]

The few guns I've sold were in the learning process of what I like. Every one was a really good gun, but as I shot more and more different ones, I've gotten more and more picky.

 

[no2gates]

I am waiting until I need a third safe, then I figure it might be time to prune some out of the collection.

 

[studenygreg]

When I replace it with something better.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Mohawk600]

I am waiting until I need a third safe, then I figure it might be time to prune some out of the collection.

lol... i have two safes now and am in need of a third

 

[Reinz]

It makes me sick when I hear gun guys brag about screwing widows and orphans on guns. And the guns are usually from their dead buddy! When I look them in the eye and say “so you’re proud about takin advantage of your buddy’s widow?”, then they start crawfishing about the defects of the gun. I just walk away.