Thoughts on selling or trading your guns...

[Andy54Hawken]

Often while reading a thread I'll see a post that states : "I'll never sell my guns" or words to that effect.
This phrase is sometimes followed by a post that almost makes it sound like a capital crime to sell a gun.

I have sold or traded many a gun of mine.
Some were ones that I restored , others simply because I could and wanted something different.
A few were guns that I just could never seem to shoot very well.
One or two were sold "On the Cheap" to folks who were just starting out in the "Gun World" and wanted or needed a gun.
During some hard times a couple were equal to a house payment or two.

Of course I have guns that I would never sell or trade.
And have I suffered from "Traders Remorse" at times? You bet!

I have saved my pennies , stopped getting coffee out , used "Lay-away" and more to earn the extra cash to buy a gun.
But by selling or trading a gun of mine , that can allow me to get that "new to me gun that I gotta have", a bit quicker.

As the tread title asks , just wondering what others on here think about selling or trading.
Andy
Edit for pre-coffee typing.

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[Member 34319]

I only regret underselling a gun. In other words selling it to find out later it grew in value even more and I should have waited. I have found myself thinking about a gun I did sell a lot. Thinking I would likely still enjoy shooting it.

My problem is I have a fixation on "new". In other words I need something new to keep my interested. A new project or gun to spice things up. Otherwise I tend to fall out of the loop and not recreate as much as I used to.

I think my main problem is I just haven't built or found that perfect gun yet and I don't want to just settle on something that isn't perfect.

 

[RVTECH]

I never sold a gun because I 'had' to but otherwise as a justification or rational for something different or simply because it was something that did not meet my expectations. Have I regretted selling/trading some? YES! but usually not until much later when I realized It went up in value dramatically or I wasn't as satisfied with the new gun as I thought I would be. Some I sold /traded very quickly after acquisition when I realized very quickly It was a mistake to buy. One example is a Kel-Tec Sub2K I bought impulsively - and sold not long afterwards.

 

[Stomper]

I have sold two guns and gave two as gifts, but that was a LONG time ago.


1. Ruger GP100 .357 (REGRETTED IT)

Given as a gratuity to the clergyman who married me & the 2nd wife... he got the best part of the deal!



2. Ruger Blackhawk 45LC (semi-regret)

Given to one of my best friends, years latter he loaned it to our mutual friend who needed some protection (lived in Lakewood near Tacoma) & had it a few years but pawned it... and let it expire. That's between those two, not me.



3. Bersa .380 (no regrets)

Was a cool little CCW, but I'm NOT a .380 guy. I sold it to an aquaintance got my money +$20 back out of it.



4. PolyTech Chinese AKM47 (MAJOR REGRET)

Bought it NIB for $250 from an FFL back in '89, sold it to my brother in law about 5-6 years later for $500 because my second wife (aka ex) nagged me because I already had a Colt AR15A2... the beatch. My BIL still has it, so at least it's still in the family.



Let's just say that I have MORE than compensated for my losses, however.

 

[MilitantBEEMER]

When I was younger I had to sell a gun here and there because of a financial emergency. Now however if I sell a gun it is because I am interested in something else. I have bought guns on a whim and decided to get rid of them pretty quickly. I like to buy and sell and enjoy trying and learning about new guns. It is a hobby for me so most would not be missed. Plus today I am basically debt free so I can always go out and buy another if I choose.

 

[The Heretic]

I have sold guns because I didn't have the budget to get others I wanted more, but for the most guns I sold, I did like them, I just liked others more, and years later I wish I had most of the guns I sold and the new guns I bought with the money I sold the others for.

Then I got to the point where I could afford new guns without selling the old, but I had to discipline myself somewhat, so I only bought new guns if I sold ones I already had.

But I stopped doing that this year after I inherited some money.

Now that I don't need to sell a gun to buy a new gun, I pretty much have the policy that I won't sell what I have unless I don't like it. The reason is that I am paranoid that in the future I won't be able to get the guns I want now because of legislation or because they stop making what I want or for whatever reason the gun isn't available.

OTOH - my current job may go away this next year and I may have to survive solely on my cash and retirement funds. My guns would be one of the last things I sell, but I do have guns I don't really need - I could get by with just a personal defense rifle and handgun, and a .22 RF rifle and/or handgun. That said, my guns would probably not pay my bills for very long - more likely I would just not buy any more guns and ammo for a while.

Stuff happens.

 

[wired]

I look at guns like I did girlfriends in my single days. Easy come easy go.

 

[etrain16]

I have bought and sold and traded numerous guns over the past years - I really don't know how many. I have a tendency to see a gun I like and decide I am going to buy it and see what I think. It's usually not enough for me to just handle a gun or shoot it at the range. I want to own it for a while, get past the initial emotion of "hey, this is cool!" and arrive at the decision of either "I'm keeping this" or it's time to move it on. I find that's just how I work. And, of course, since SB 941, it's become more difficult to do regularly since that extra $20+ for each sale/trade makes used guns less appealing.

I have no plans to stop buying/selling/trading, but the frequency with which I used to do it has slowed dramatically. Over time, I have built my collection to mostly guns that I won't part with. There are very few in my collection right now I would consider selling or trading, but you never know, if I see something I have to have and need the extra $$ to do it, well I may just part with something. I tend not to get too emotionally attached to any particular gun, I'm more pragmatic in my choices. But I do have a few, such as the Marlin 60 my dad gave me for Christmas one year, that will stay in my collection until it's passed along to my daughter. Nothing fancy about it, but it holds a special place in my collection because it was the first gun I ever owned, and it came from my dad, the man who taught me to shoot.

Honestly, I really enjoy the process of buying/selling/trading if for no other reason than the amazing gun owners I've met over the years doing so. It was a private sale that brought me to NWFA in the first place some 4 years ago.

 

[Member 34319]

One example is a Kel-Tec Sub2K I bought impulsively - and sold not long afterwards.

Im glad I'm not the only one!

 

[etrain16]

Im glad I'm not the only one!

Me three!! Thankfully I didn't pay $600+ for mine, I got it for a closer to reality price.

 

[ChiefStealth]

My firearms are like my guitars. Each fills a need that I have to perform a certain function. As long as I have the need, I will keep the gun. A couple are for SD. I will always need those. A couple are just for fun shooting. I'll keep those for a long time. A couple are for hunting. I prolly won't be doing much hunting in the future. I'll be turning those over to the grand-kids pretty soon. Sell? No!

 

[CountryGent]

When I was younger, I did quite a bit more selling or trading off of firearms and related, but now it it a lot less common. I guess the reasons are ...

• Though I have in the past, in recent years, I haven't needed to free up the capital from firearms. And the dollar doesn't buy all that much these days anyway.
• The real junk has been long since dumped.
  
• The political administrations, both at the state and federal level, for the better part of the decade, have been openly hostile to RKBA, so I figure just hang on to some items.
• I culled the battery down so that we didn't have as many calibers and gauges to stock. There are still too many, but I've gotten rid of most things that are already covered by another caliber/gauge and/or required expensive or exotic ammo.
• Most of the firearms I've dumped over the years, I have had no regrets for one reason or another. The tiny number I did regret, I really wish I hadn't gotten rid of.
• I'm more comfortable now with handing some home gunsmithing tasks and/or having a good gunsmith modify existing firearms to suit my or my wife's goal. In the past, I might have dumped a piece an acquired one closer to what we're after.
• As my tastes shifted to NFA items, gun-related finances have also gone that direction. That shift in taste resulted in some items being modified (Form 1), but not sold though.
• Finally, I'd like to leave a decent collection of firearms to my kids.

 

[JRuby]

before SB941 I gave quite a few guns away. I have stopped doing this due to the current laws. I have sold a few but rarely do I make anything off from them. So i am not planning to go into business with guns any time soon.
I am pretty happy right now with what I have.

Life to me is a constant transition. Things and people come and go. Enjoy them while you have them.

 

[DB is Here]

My name is DB Wesner and I've sold some of my guns:

1) No Regrets-I sold an SKS to a co-worker to fund the purchase of my AK-47.

2) Some Regret-I sold my SP-101 .357 to a dear friend that lived in a bad neighborhood and had several car break-ins in his neighborhood. I then replaced it with a 3in GP-100 .357

3) No Regret-I sold another good friend an SW Air-weight .38 Special. I bugged him for 2 years to come with me and buy a gun, took him shooting several times. He fell in love with the SW so I sold it to him to get him to be a member of the club. I replaced with an LCR .38 Special.

4) No Regret- I sold an SW Sigma .40, it had a 10 round ban compliant magazine. It was a decent gun, but the compliant mag was a buzz kill for me.

I now feel better for having been able to vent my spleen...

 

[11Charlie]

I can't say I have ever sold a gun but I'm getting more and more involved in them and keep aquiring new ones that I add to the safe. With that said I have considered selling a couple of them so that I can buy a couple that I really want but just can't justify the cost at the moment.

 

[ThePhonMan]

I would never judge anyone who sells or trades their guns. They are their property to do with what they wish.

Personally, I've never traded or sold a gun I own but I have given 2 away. I guess I look at guns the same way I look at tools. When I'm done with them I can pass them to somebody else who will get use out of them.

I gave a Marlin 1894C chambered in .357mag to a friend who's new wife really want to get into shooting with us but he handed her a lever action 45-70 as her first rifle shot. That didn't go over well. She really took to the Marlin so in the interest of adding a happy wife to the shooting ranks I gave her the gun. I regret not owning it but not giving it away.

I gave a Squires Bingham .22 semi-auto rifle that would religiously fire our of battery on the 10th round to a friend who rendered it inoperative permanently, gave it some patina and character and turned it into a wall hanger in his parent's cabin. I hated that gun so good riddance.

I have one more candidate for give away still in the safe, a S&W 4506 that even in the hands of the best shooters I know, cannot post a group smaller than 4" at 21 feet. I bought it from a reserve deputy who was trying to replace it with a SIG for his duty weapon and he warned me that is sucked. But he needed the money and I really didn't care at the time. I just haven't found anybody I like so little that I'd be willing to unload it on yet.

 

[Boboclown]

Eh, I sold a few before. The only time I regret it was when I did so to pay for tuition. But normally its just so I can get the gun I wanted but was not available at the time. Just like the Galil Ace (sort of).

 

[wired]

I have one more candidate for give away still in the safe, a S&W 4506 that even in the hands of the best shooters I know, cannot post a group smaller than 4" at 21 feet. I bought it from a reserve deputy who was trying to replace it with a SIG for his duty weapon and he warned me that is sucked. But he needed the money and I really didn't care at the time. I just haven't found anybody I like so little that I'd be willing to unload it on yet.

I own 30 something guns right now and have owned hundreds over the years. No loss when I sell because its going to get replaced with something else.
I can honestly say that maybe 1/4 of the handguns I own right now I'd be pleased silly if they could shoot 4 inches at 7 yards. Minute of man is good enough sometimes.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I've been told down at the plasma center I frequent to bankroll my habit that my platelets resemble guns.
true story

 

[Crohnos01]

I've sold a few over the years. One time, a VERY long time ago, a guy at work ran short on cash and wanted to sell me his S&W 10mm... I bought it for $300 if I recall correctly, took it out and put a box of shells through it. It just wasn't a gun I was "in love" with... it shot ok, but...eh... About 2 months later the guy wanted to buy it back. Being coworkers, I sold it back to him for the same I paid him for it.. I kind of wanted to make a buck on it, but I also felt bad for the guy to have to of sold his gun in the first place.

I also sold a Berect a PX4 Storm just before the big BE check law want into effect... again, it was a gun I just hadn't attached to... nothing wrong with it, it just wasn't singing to me.

So, no regrets on either for me. Now days, I tend to hang onto what I have had for years just because I feel like the document trail is too easy to track on new stuff I buy, and call me paranoid if you want, but I just don't trust the government even if it doesn't have Hitlery at the helm.