Are guns a good investment?

[Badbullgator]

Regardless of zombies, politics or otherwise, I have never sold a gun for less then I paid for it.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Hopyard]

Are guns a good investment??? Almost nothing you will ever buy at retail prices from a retail store will be a good investment.
You start out with the disadvantage that both the wholesaler and the retailer need to make a living, so the cost
of the item to you is way above the actual value of the item. This true for just about everything you might ever purchase.

Some things retain value better than others; scarcity or uniqueness may once in awhile play to your advantage, but
usually you will lose if you are starting out with a retail purchase. YMMV.

[aus71383]

I think they are valuable on many levels - and it's better to have too many than too few. I don't "need" to bear arms - but if I ever do, and I haven't "kept" them - it won't even be an option. It's an investment in freedom. I don't expect or plan to ever sell any of the guns I own in a crisis situation - what would I sell them for? Cash? Gold? They are more valuable than those since they are actually useful (assuming you have ammunition for them).

As for "investing" in guns so that when you run low on cash you can quickly sell a gun at any gun store - no. They are a terrible "investment". That is just wishful thinking and irresponsible spending. You're better off with money in the bank earning interest - at a minimum.

Austin

[peckman28]

It's an investment like collecting rare art is. If you really know what you're doing, you can probably flip them and make some money. However, the vast majority aren't going to be able to pull that off, and it would require quite a bit of knowledge of surplus and older weapons for you to really make headway on that front. So, for your average person....no, it's not an investment. It's a great way to protect your other metallic investments though (silver and gold).

[ponchsox]

I don't consider them an investment, but I like the fact that I can purchase a new gun, shoot the heck out of it, and get 80% of my money back if I had to.

[zacii]

They can be a good financial investment, sometimes. If you are careful. Whenever I buy a gun it's always with resale options in mind. Not only can it hold its value, but how well of a market is there for such firearm? A person may invest 4 or 5 figures into a collector's edition firearm, but the market may not be there to turn around and sell it, perhaps.

Another investment aspect of it is inflation. I'll give you case in point. My father bought a Model 70 30-06, in 1956. He paid $100 for it. Now, because of the demand for pre-64 Winchester actions coupled with inflation, that rifle is worth $500 well used. If it was in pristine condition, it would fetch even more.

However, as mentioned in the previous posts, they have a value beyond monetary. So, it's an investment on different levels.

[QKShooter]

If you are talking about purchasing firearms as an investment to turn a future profit then certainly some firearm values have increased astronomically in value.

If say you would have bought up all of the COLT Six Shooters & vintage 1911s back when nobody really wanted them you would be an incredibly wealthy man these days.

If you would have purchased a few Colt Pythons & DIRTY HARRY wheelies and kept them pristine/NEW IN BOX - you would be making a nice profit right now.

I wish that I would have bought 6 more GALIL rifles back when they were first imported by Magnum Research because they have more than tripled in value. Original GALIL Empty Cardboard Rifle Boxes are fetching $200.00 these days.

Had you run all around Pennsylvania, Ohio, & West Virginia 30 or so years ago and bought up all of the flintlock Pennsylvania rifles out of barns and out of country folks attics you could own your own mansion in Hawaii right now.

The "trick' is knowing what to buy coupled with a willingness to hold onto them.

If you are talking about having extra firearms to sell in a true nationwide TEOTWAWKI/SHTF environment then probably anything that expels a projectile will be worth something but, so will many other things.

[Dangerfield]

About 15 years ago I bought a Colt Python 4" for $500 (Less than 50 down the pipe) because of the sweet trigger. I new nothing about Pythons at the time. Comparing it with the ones that sell today, it has been a great investment! I won't ever see a return because I propably will never sell it.

[Smitty901]

Also this ^^^

But really, potable water will be the most valuable commodity in any disaster

Want to trade you r guns for water I have plenty

[wingit]

she questioned my sanity. "What do you need with another gun?"
."

I usually tell a woman "why do you have so many shoe's" (you know they don't just have one pair)

[bmcgilvray]

My acquisitions have always tended to "go down the black hole," never to be offered on the market but recent actual sales of similar examples are encouraging. Blue steel and walnut from quality manufacturers commands much more respect than aluminum alloy and plastic at this point in time.

Knowledge about the firearms chosen for investment and their market would benefit. Condition is everything.

Luck and time plays a large role.

For instance. I purchased what appeared to be a run-of-the-mill Model 1917 Enfield in nice condition to plug a hole in a budding U.S. military arms collection back in 1976. Gave $75 for the rifle which was no bargain at the time. Fast forward to today. Turns out that by accident I managed to purchase an original unmolested rifle with all matching parts which never had gone through an arsenal rehabilitation program. Most 1917 Enfields extant have been Parkerized, had parts mixed and matched, restocked with refinished wood having additional post World War I arsenal overhaul markings. Worse yet are the "garage restored" Model 1917s lurking at gun shows that have been put together by Bubba and there are a lot of those seen these days. This one is just as it left the Remington plant at Eddystone, Pennsylvania in September of 1918. It would be of interest to an advanced U.S. military collector and valued at perhaps ten times it's original hang tag price when I got it. Until I "bought the book" only a couple of years back and studied up on the it, I attached no special significance to the rifle and it's condition attributes.

And it only took 36 years. Depends on how one defines a "good" investment.

[DocT65]

Hard to say guns are "good as gold"........with a government that can start drying up ammo with an executive order (remember the '90's?), seems like ammo is a better investment. Without the ammo, all you have is a nice club or paperweight. The ammo is a consumable product, gun is not. In a pinch, ammo is the limiting factor, thus the more valuable commodity. Just a thought....

[ppkheat]

My wife- "Investment? But you never sell any"

[idodishez]

Never sold, traded, or gotten rid of any of my guns. I keep them all. But yes, I like to tell myself and others that it's an investment. When they are all banned and no one can buy them anymore, I'll have plenty.


Nobama

[Smitty901]

Would not call them an investment as investment means someday it will need to be sold.
I would phase it as a necessity.
As for ammo if I sold what I have stashed around I could buy a new car and bike cash. But aint selling.