Collecting; a cheapskate's view

[Captainkirk]

Collecting, as we've discussed, can be whatever you want it to be. If you have more than one gun, you can consider yourself a collector. Doesn't have to be gold-inlayed, engraved guns in plush-lined wooden boxes replete with all the accoutrements either (although they ARE an awfully nice bit of eye candy..you gotta admit!) You can spring for a couple hunnert-dolla-brassers off Gunbroker, and voila! You're a collector! Now, spring for one of those generic double-gun boxes and you can have yourself a home-made cased set. Add accessories to suit; rinse, lather and repeat. You, sir are a collector!
The coolest part of collecting is that once you buy them, you don't have to shoot them to enjoy. Take 'em out of the cage, polish, oil, whirr the cylinder through (you know you wanna!) twirl 'em on your finger (best done over a sofa cushion, speaking from practical experience) cock and point (but for cryin' out loud, don't dry-fire!.....and you DID make sure they were unloaded, right? Don't tell me you didn't). It's all part of the freebies now that you are a collector. Many times I've seen high-end Colts advertised as 'unfired'...I guess as an investment you might be forced into this. Some have been advertised as 'unturned'.....good Lord, who has THAT kind of will-power? That's just downright SICK, I tell ya! Twisted! Now, I have guns I've not fired.....YET. But I don't have any I haven't fondled and worked 'em through.
Now, me; I'd rather have a safe-full of Italian repros than one ultra-rare display gun. In fact, I do just that. Let's face it; the guns of yore were built to be the equivalent of a claw hammer. An implement to be worn on the hip to be used at the owner's discretion when you find an errant nail (or rattlesnake) sticking out somewhere. The dusty trailhand or soldier certainly had no use for fancy eye-candy guns. And truth be told, neither did most of the real gunfighters, lawmen or old west bandits. The fancy jobs we drool over were given as gifts by Col. Colt to heads of State or royalty. So, don't be embarrassed to start your meager collection on a budget (or the lack of one). Cheap is OK, as is 'used'. But one warning.....once you start, it's hard to stop. Just sayin'.....

[StrawHat]

This is the first pair of replica revolvers I purchased.



I got them in 1971 or 72 and paid $130 for the pair.  A lot of money but I got two tins of caps, two pounds of powder, holsters, and a few other things.  I had been accumulating and shooting originals but found I was getting a lot of flack on the firing line.   I told the one guy to make me an offer, he did and I realized he wanted my 1860 more than I did.  I do not regret selling any of them, or any of the other guns I have sold.  I enjoy buying, shooting, holding and selling.  It is all part of the hobby.

[dc7x64]

And also importantly, trading. I would have never had half the guns I've owned if I hadn't traded them in for something else! My tastes have changed considerably over the last 10 years though, gone are the AK-47's and AR-15's, replaced by the classics, Mosin-Nagants, M-1 Garand, Springfield Trapdoor! To be honest though, nothing has been as fun as getting back into shooting Black Powder! I've actually got an old Vietnam Veteran friend of mine who has broke out his BP revolvers again, and is currently waiting for the Big Brown truck to deliver his new Dance Bros. .44! 

[brazosdave]

hey dc, I kinda went the same way.  When I was still in the Army, I liked the SKS, AK, Tokarov, etc.  I sold all of em, replaced em with Uberti Hombres, Pietta 51's, Hawken rifles and the like.  I just wasn't getting the same fun factor when I went shooting with them as I used to, seemed like i was just shooting up a couple boxes of ammo and that was it.  When I got interested in BP and the guns of the 18th, and more specifically 19th centuries, the fun was back.  And then add in leatherwork, casting, bullet making, bp making, etc, and I had a full blown hobby instead of a couple of guns i shot from time to time.

[mazo kid]

Hey Capt'nK, thanks for giving me permission to own guns without shooting them all! I have always liked the old iron, even though I do have some contemporary and repro guns. I have some buddies who used to live close by ( a couple have since moved a ways away) and we used to joke about the guns we traded back and forth, more than once ending up with our original trade!

[dc7x64]

Hey Brazos! I hear ya! I'm trying real hard to keep some centerfire guns around! It started about 2 years ago with the purchase of a Thompson/ Center Hawken rifle brand new, which currently has the original .50 cal barrel replaced with a Green Mtn. .54 cal 1/70 twist roundball barrel. It was so much fun I decided I needed some BP revolvers......well you know that's where I'm at!

[Captainkirk]

Hey Brazos! I hear ya! I'm trying real hard to keep some centerfire guns around! It started about 2 years ago with the purchase of a Thompson/ Center Hawken rifle brand new, which currently has the original .50 cal barrel replaced with a Green Mtn. .54 cal 1/70 twist roundball barrel. It was so much fun I decided I needed some BP revolvers......well you know that's where I'm at!

This is what happens; this is HOW it happens. Deal with it. There's no cure.

[Dryball]

Woo hooo I'm a collector now!!!  I just got my 2nd Walker...an ASM never fired     I will post pics, in a few days, of the happy couple.

[mazo kid]

Waiting patiently for pictures.....

[dc7x64]

DryBall, Now all you need is a '60 Army and some kinda pocket pistol in a shoulder holster, and your rolling out Josie Wales style

[Dryball]

Mazo, I have been remiss...but busy. I promise to try to get some pics up very soon to include the conversion cylinder. 

DC, I'm almost there!  My first C&B was a pocket police that I got quite a while ago, and I have been thinking about the '60.  I almost got the Josey Wales model but the wife was with me at the time.  Who makes the best one or should I just got with the Josey model?

[dc7x64]

Dryball, they are a little mis-leading on what they call a "Josie Wales" model. The model he digs up from out of the ashes of his home is an 1861 Navy with a conversion(Didn't exist at that time). The gun he carries in his belt is what I think is a standard '60 Army. The stores usually antique the gun call it a Josie Wales model and charge a lot more for it! My 2 cents.

[brazosdave]

This was from about a year or two ago.. There are more guns since, lol!

[Hewy]

Hey Brazos! I hear ya! I'm trying real hard to keep some centerfire guns around! It started about 2 years ago with the purchase of a Thompson/ Center Hawken rifle brand new, which currently has the original .50 cal barrel replaced with a Green Mtn. .54 cal 1/70 twist roundball barrel. It was so much fun I decided I needed some BP revolvers......well you know that's where I'm at!

This is what happens; this is HOW it happens. Deal with it. There's no cure.

I gotta bring this forward. Over this last year my thoughts now have turned to action. I too am ready to sell off some of my
centerfires in favor of BPs. Even some bp guns replacing with a couple of different model Colts, like an 1860 Army and an 1861 Navy or maybe a Dragoon.
Merry Chrismas

[Hawg]

I'm an accumulator, not a collector.