Grayfox
Professional
Lots of collectors have special guns that they will never shoot. Nothing really wrong with that. Your gun, your choice.
I'm not one of them. Years ago I bought an absolutely pristine 1956 S&W .357 Magnum (pre-27) with the uncommon 5" barrel. Beautiful gun. For 5-6 years it just sat in the safe only coming out once in a while to be wiped down and ogled over. But one day I just said the Hell with it and took it to the range. After the first shots all I could think is why the Hell have I been denying myself this? Its absolutely the best shooting .357 I've ever owned!
Its still a valued part of my collection. I don't shoot it a lot. Maybe one box of ammo every couple of years. I take excellent care of it and keep it cleaned and oiled. Frankly, you can barely tell its been fired. Its value as a collectable hasn't been hurt at all.
I believe that part of owning a classic, collectable gun is the experience of shooting it. That's what it was made for.
By not shooting it, you're only doing yourself a dis-service.
Since then I have actually passed up on guns that were "too nice to shoot". I don't want any safe queens. I wanna shoot 'em!
But again, your gun, your choice. You're certainly not alone. Lots of collectors out there like you. I just think that you're cheating yourself.
I'm not one of them. Years ago I bought an absolutely pristine 1956 S&W .357 Magnum (pre-27) with the uncommon 5" barrel. Beautiful gun. For 5-6 years it just sat in the safe only coming out once in a while to be wiped down and ogled over. But one day I just said the Hell with it and took it to the range. After the first shots all I could think is why the Hell have I been denying myself this? Its absolutely the best shooting .357 I've ever owned!
Its still a valued part of my collection. I don't shoot it a lot. Maybe one box of ammo every couple of years. I take excellent care of it and keep it cleaned and oiled. Frankly, you can barely tell its been fired. Its value as a collectable hasn't been hurt at all.
I believe that part of owning a classic, collectable gun is the experience of shooting it. That's what it was made for.
By not shooting it, you're only doing yourself a dis-service.
Since then I have actually passed up on guns that were "too nice to shoot". I don't want any safe queens. I wanna shoot 'em!
But again, your gun, your choice. You're certainly not alone. Lots of collectors out there like you. I just think that you're cheating yourself.
