what's your "no specific complaints but I just don't like it" method of dumping unloved firearms?

[41mag]

Somewhere along the way I suspect we've all come to that (perhaps) rare point, that we don't have a specific "I HATE it" making the decision to rid ourselves of an item fairly easy.

Can you give an example of what you had & what you did in such case?

This is not in the category of "Didn't really want it but bought anyway" or "bought it and have severe issues/complaints unresolveable". Nor is it the "something wrong & can't fix it right".

This is that odd space where an item just doesn't justify itself or bring any joy into your shooting hobby.

Maybe a list of "3" things that make you happy with any firearm, compared to a list of where this item fails you. Not so much 'the particular model/make/caliber' as much as the 'process of coming to decision/action' in solving the condition.

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[pdempsey1097]

I traded off a Mini 30 that I bought in CA.
Once I moved to Oregon, I could legally purchase the rifle I actually wanted.

The Mini 30 was finicky with ammo and mags (read expensive), and not nearly as accurate as the replacement.

 

[TTSX]

I got rid of my m91/30 because.... Well just because. And a 10-22 at one point. Can't really say there was a reason. Found guys online that wanted to buy pre BCG requirements and that was that.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Back before one needed a BGC for any private firearm sale...I used to do a lot of buying and trading of .22 rifles and shotguns , that needed a little TLC , to work and look better.
I'd buy or trade for one...fix it up...shoot it a bit or for a year or so...then trade or sell it off to get a new project.
This was a lot of fun and I got to learn a mess of things about different guns.

Nowadays with the hassle of needing an FFL , sales tax on used guns ( even private sales ) and a BGC..can and has cut into this pastime of mine.
A $20-$40 FFL transfer fee , isn't that much for a rifle or shotgun in the $400 on up range...but for a fixer upper rifle or shotgun at $200 or less , it seems a bit much to me...Plus the sales tax on a private sale or trade can mess one up as well.

Its not so much a item that doesn't "bring joy" to me...its the legal process for doing so , that creates the hassle.
Andy

 

[Timbertodd]

For me its a KelTec Gen 2 Sub 2000 and an AR15. I bought the AR 10 years ago and have since put maybe 50 rounds through it and the KelTec several years ago and maybe 50 rounds. I thought I would enjoy target shooting them but enjoy my bolt actions SO much more. Both are on consignment and I will purchase another bolt gun when they sell.

 

[Geardo]

I prefer to trade for something.

 

[Stomper]

I generally go through all these machinations BEFORE purchasing a weapon, and avoid the OP situation. For (literally) decades now, my policy is "I only buy firearms, I don't sell them"... which has resulted in acquiring three different gun safes.....

 

[cigars]

Last year I bought an odd pistol that the seller was selling because it was well, odd and finicky. He was honest about it. I bought for the exact reasons he was selling it. It's basically a worthless piece of junk but I for some reason I like these sort of things and am quite happy with my purchase. If I ever sell it(which I doubt), I will just use the same honest description until the right buyer comes along.

 

[Alexx1401]

For me this is pretty much every wheel gun I ever had. Just never liked them. Of course used to just be able to sell. That's no longer an option with out taking a hit money wise. Some I had in the past I do miss long after selling. I know if I buy again though it will soon just sit in the safe.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I generally go through all these machinations BEFORE purchasing a weapon, and avoid the OP situation. For (literally) decades now, my policy is "I only buy firearms, I don't sell them"... which has resulted in acquiring three different gun safes.....

You sir are a hoarder, welcome to the club...

 

[CountryGent]

A recent example: a dumped a Glock last year. I hadn't it carried or shot in forever, but had no particular reason to sell it either, until I started reorganizing. Some guns I came to regret selling, but that isn't one of them, as any rôle it would play was already covered by other handguns. No specific complaints, other than it (and all the magazines) was a waste of space.

All and all, it has become more rare that I sell guns these days. The actual junk is long gone and I (generally) take my time and do my homework before adding a new piece to the line-up. Unless I need to clear the space, there just isn't a reason to do so.

 

[Member 34319]

3 of my reasons.

I go through different phases of stupidity.

I'll get a stick up my butt and want completely different things.

I realize the world will not end in all of the imagined 3.8 billion different ways. (Yes very specific on how many ways the world will end.)

Recent examples:

Bought silencers. Need all guns to work with them.

Want to start competing again.

That zombie control gun is never going to get used.

 

[gmerkt]

Sometimes it's just boredom.

Lately, I've been unloading lots of guns because at age 70, I don't want them to become an source of liability of some sort or another. BUT: I quickly fall out of love for a gun that turns out to have issues. Some specific technical issue, not a design issue because that is all considered before the initial purchase. I've bought a few recently-made Smith & Wessons that weren't up to par, ditto a few Rugers. Even after the issues are resolved, I never can quite love the gun after that.

 

[CountryGent]

I too have been dumping firearms this year. Sold about a half dozen in the earlier part of the year and just sold one more recently (shotgun) with another still listed. Meh, sometimes a purge is in order.

 

[The Heretic]

It wasn't so much that I didn't like it, it just wasn't as practical for me as I thought it would be, and/or I got too old to bother with it, or something newer and better came out, or something I want more, or I don't really need nine SIGs?

I never shot the Armalite AR 50 I bought about 15+ years ago. For the longest time I didn't shoot it because I didn't have a scope for it. I also had very little ammo for it (only expensive Mk211). I solved both of those issues, but then couldn't find any place to shoot it without driving 5 hours to the middle of nowhere and then back. After spending all that money, I decided I wanted the $ rather than the rifle.

That is mostly it with me - I get it in my head that I need/want something, spend $$$$ to get it, maybe shoot it a few times, then decide that I want something else (either $ or another gun), that I didn't really need it like I thought I did.

I still have a few guns like that. I don't really need 9 SIGs either. Do I really need a 44 mag lever action, or a .45-70, or a .460 Mag? Probably not. I have a motorcycle in the shop I have never ridden, after 8 years - another example of something I thought I wanted and just never got around to doing anything with it.

That's life in the gun/motorcycle/etc. world right?

 

[oldcorpgunny]

I think that owning and appreciating firearms is a great hobby. Most of my family live in Europe and they can only wish that they had the freedoms that I have. They have even expressed that desire. One of my cousins in Wales, proudly showed me a photo of his .22 single shot rifle and a photo of his double barreled 12 ga. He can't keep them at home, but instead has to keep them locked up at the local constable's office. He needs to notify them 24 hours before coming to fetch them and (I love this part) has to pay an annual fee for the right to own these two guns! He owns a few acres of farmland and uses these guns to control rabbits and to hunt the occasional pheasant. It gets better.......He is required to dress like a hunter when he is out on his own land carrying either of these long arms. He is required to wear Plus Fore trousers, A plaid hunting jacket WITH leather patches on the elbows (wait for it) and it's topped off with a Sherlock Holmes style front and rear billed hat! All this so any neighbor that may see him will know that he is hunting and not out to shoot up the neighborhood!!

 

[belshawelk]

I have never sold a gun. Guess i have been lucky and never bought a gun I didn't want or had issues with. I just keep getting bigger safes. But I think shedding a few is in my future. Getting older and I just will never shoot all of them. Waiting to see how well my girls pick husbands and hence kids.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I too have been dumping firearms this year. Sold about a half dozen in the earlier part of the year and just sold one more recently (shotgun) with another still listed. Meh, sometimes a purge is in order.

I'd be willing to bet that you didn't loose any $$$ on any of them, right???

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Moving from hammer fired to striker fired pistols.

 

[wired]

I build most of what I own. I'll get into a parts buying frenzy and pick up enough to build 2-3 with one that usually does exactly what I want it to and 1-2 that just aren't perfect for my needs. The other 1-2 get sold off at some point once I get into a different groove. Nothing wrong with them per se' just not what I want.