Classic Guns

There comes a time in every collector’s life when he has to sell a gun or guns, or just try his hand at turning a profit. No matter how great the protestation everybody meets the situation face to face at one time or another.

There is nothing wrong with buying a used handgun. Assuming, of course, that there is nothing wrong with the used gun you are buying. But how to tell?

Are your guns insured for an amount that will replace them in case they are lost in a fire? Don't assume your homeowner's policy will cover them if they are lost.

The beloved Browning Superposed, coined by many to be John Browning’s greatest achievement, is still regarded as one of America’s most popular over and under shotguns.

David Arnold, the conservator at the Springfield Armory National Historic Site Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts says there are a few simple guidelines to help care for an antique gun - or a collection.

We have recently witnessed a significant change in the influence of the gun auction market and the firms that participate in it. Certainly, the most obvious indicator has been the many record-breaking prices achieved by a wide variety of models and types of antique American firearms, their levels of quality and/or rarity.

Innovative marketplace lets Federal Firearm Licensed (FFL) dealers buy and sell inventory.

The first breech-loading rifle to fire a self-contained cartridge is a great collector piece.

Accuracy, particularly with over-the-counter rifles, often is worse than the buyer expects, or hopes it will be. Remington, however made a gun with a guaranteed level of performance - less than one-half MOA in some calibers! Here's a full report, from Gun Digest 1968, on a workout of Remington's hot 40-XB.

Surrounded as we are with thieves, scoundrels, rogues, knaves, scalawags, prowlers and the light-fingered in this modern civilized era, the collector would do well to take safeguards to protect his valuable guns.

Firearms collecting is a rewarding hobby. Firearms are part of our nation's history and represent an opportunity to learn more about their role in that American experience. If done skillfully, firearms collecting can be a profitable hobby as well.

Gun collecting can be fun and profitable, but if you approach the craft with only a view toward investing, you're likely to have neither in the end. Here's how to get the most out of your firearms collection.

The reasons for collecting antique firearms are endless, but certain ones are basic. Although the investment angle must play a role, it should be but part and parcel of stronger motivations which tie the collecting activities to some personal preference that has captured the imagination and curiosity of the prospective collector.

With the firearms industry still enjoying the residual effects of the sales frenzy that started with the election of Barack Obama, firearms auctioneers generally report good overall sales in the firearms auctions business despite a struggling economy. The items that sell in firearms auctions, however, are not typical of what’s selling across the firearms industry.