Guns that hold value?

[ctb1]

I think the OP was looking for guns to buy that would "hold their value over the next 10-20 years". I think that would be quality mainstream guns in mainstream calibers from top manufacturers like Smith & Wesson and Ruger. Stay away from oddball stuff in less than common calibers made by lesser manufacturers. I think trying to make a profit buying any "thing" that does not produce revenue is a crap shoot.

 

[Willegene]

Thanks for the replies
I am not really looking to make money, although that would be nice, just don't want a safe full of worthless guns later in my life.

I will look at S&W, Ruger....

How does Rock Island Stack up? Saw a 1911 A1 that caught my interest

 

[88E30M50]

A Rock Island 1911 is a good gun to own and shoot, but I don't think it's up there in value retention unless bought used at a fair price. For most any gun, if you buy new, you will take a hit in value unless the gun is hard to get. If you buy a decent condition gun used, and then maintain it while you own it, you should not see much of a decline in price and maybe a small increase over time. The guns that grow in value are guns that are well regarded but that are no longer in production.

For buying new guns, if the guns are readily available, you will almost never get someone to give you more money for a used gun than they can buy a new gun for, so growth in value disappears there. Focus on finding well regarded guns that are either at their current value or slightly under and you will enjoy years of shooting great guns and will not lose money if you decide to part with them later on. Avoid the fad guns. There are always those guns that command a high price because they are cool and everyone wants one. The Keltec PMR-30 was one of those that were selling for $700+ dollars because nobody could get them and they were cool. If you jump from gun to gun with the current fad, you will lose lots of money in the long run. Sooner or later, most fads die out and that's a good time to get something interesting on the cheap.

 

[VERT]

Thanks for the replies
I am not really looking to make money, although that would be nice, just don't want a safe full of worthless guns later in my life.

I will look at S&W, Ruger....

How does Rock Island Stack up? Saw a 1911 A1 that caught my interest

RI 1911 is not an investment piece. 1911 that would hold value: older Colts, SA TRP, many of the semi customs.

 

[Moneyshot]

Gun values that seem to be tied to politics are all of your Ak/AR type of rifles, but the value comes and goes with legislation. Then of course you have movies guns. Dirty Harries S&W 29 or the Rock's Alaskan Agent Smith's 50AE Desert Eagle. But I like to put my money into older quality Colts and Smiths that are no longer in production. But if bought and sold at the right time any can make money or be an investment.

 

[asevans]

each person will value different guns differently. i wouldnt give you a dime for a mosait. i would pay good money for old Belgium hi-powers, Belgium A-5, any old colts, series 70 1911s, old smiths. thats just me though. rock island 1911? sorry, not for me.

 

[indykid]

It is hard to predict the future. Back in my original collecting days (late 1980s) I never would have dreamed that the $400 Norinco 56S would be near or over $1000 in todays dollars. When the Romanian SAR series came out, some dealers had a hard time selling them for $350, most sold for under $300. These days $600 for a clean SAR-1 is considered a good deal.

ARs have become that old "dime a dozen" as there are so many manufacturers of them. At first it looked like they would go up, but without the expected government knee-jerk ban, they are very reasonably priced, as opposed to the AKs that used to be allowed into the country but are now banned (Norinco, Poly Tech, Maadi, SAR series etc.)

Pistol wise, Colts retain value nicely and as someone stated, the snake series can be considered reasonably safe investments. One surprise with pistols it the Beretta 92, with some of their special editions going crazy, and the standard production Brigadier doubling in the last 10 years. Standard 92 series seem to hold value nicely, but I wouldn't expect them to be worth keeping except as shooters since they are very common. Even some of the special editions have been ignored, while others are commanding crazy prices.

Personally if I were starting to collect, the pre-Bush1-ban and post-Bush1-ban Chinese AK variants would be high on my list as ones that will hold or go up in value as I seriously doubt we will ever see more imported, and some models were not imported in large numbers before the ban, and now are in a demand that the Chinese were only dreaming about in the mid to late 1980s.

Find something that interests you, research the history of that firearm, and good luck.

 

[223 Gunner]

Lots of great advice in this thread, I may change up my collecting a little.

 

[zippy23]

It might be worth while looking at a gun as a tool instead of an investment. In the future every gun might be worth way more than what they are now, who knows, and in a collectors market, those guns are only worth what someone is willing to pay at the time. There may not be anywhere near as many "old school" gun collectors in 20 years. If it goes bang, its worth a lot in my opinion

 

[Dosproduction]

Yeah COLTS SMITHS AND not as much rugers are the way to go. As some one else stated if u know ahead of time what will be in demand (banned) then that is golden.

 

[Leadeye]

Back in the 70s and 80s it was easy, just check out whatever Clint Eastwood was waving around. Automags were hard sells before he had one in a movie, then they tripled in price.

 

[ziggy]

I have owned guns for more than 50 years. That does not make me an expert, but it does give me some perspective. I believe almost any working gun in a common caliber will hold its value because the cost of manufacturing keeps going up. Ten or 20 years from now, most of the guns of today will be worth more just because of inflation. To do better than inflation, pay attention to what has been said here in the posts above.
Personally, I like to keep guns that I shoot or that I want for some other reason - came from my Dad, etc. I am not a collector to have a collection.
I would suggest you try to go see some private collections and spend time talking to collectors if that is your interest. Otherwise, buy what you plan to shoot and you can be confident that inflation and manufacturing costs will make your guns worth every penny you paid for them and then some.

 

[hANNAbONE]

I'm not sure about "appreciating value" - but I have found thatCZ .. SIG .. KIMBER .. seem to do very very well @ holding valueThat means to me you could own one for a very long time and always get your money back if you desire.