Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Future collectibles

I think the Ruger 77 Hawkeye Africans will be collectables. They're already limited production in classic calibers and an all around great rifle. I've got two. I don't shoot the 275 Rigby all that often but I might wear out the 223. As a wildcard I'm thinking the Marlin lever guns with the Remington proof marks. From their later production run, you know the ones that actually worked. They were produced in very limited numbers and will be needed to fill spaces in collections. This is a fun topic. 🤔

I don’t think the classics will be collectible. Im in my late 40s and talk to every gun person I can. The older people like me will always be interested in a model 52 Winchester or nice lever or revolver, but the younger people like the millennials or Gen Z will not. They will be interested in AR rifles or some striker fire pistols and not the 1911, Luger, or K frames. I still come across a few people that are into high quality or heirloom type firearms but, it seems like most will choose a Ruger American or Savage Axis instead of a Sauer, Blaser, Mauser or pre 64 rifles. Most I talk to haven’t even heard of Anschutz or Cooper but they can talk about Glock or Smith and Wesson M&P. Some can talk about the rifle scope combo they picked up at Sportsman’s, but can’t talk about the optic or ammo too much. I hope I’m wrong and the younger people fall in love with the classics.

After seeing some of the prices Boat Paddles are bringing these days, sometimes I think I should unload my 260 and 280, and even maybe the .22/250. Can't even remember the last game I took with any of them....

Problem is the $$ some of these "classics" are bringing.

These young guys can buy a newer cheap rifle, decent to pretty good glass and ammo for less than just the cost of a classic rifle.

It's funny, gen z if they are a gun person. They will mature and their taste in firearms will mature with time.
Some stuff cannot be truly be appreciated until we're older.

I'm not a young guy but I don't really pay attention to collectable stuff for that reason. I like older stuff, a lot of it just isn't worth the price to me anymore. For what it costs for some old whatever that's rarely ever going to come out of the safe, I can buy a new custom action, modern optics, etc.. It's not that one's better than another, just that there's a lot of really good equipment these days that that money can go to besides classics.

I'm 34, and was only interested in "classics" in my teens and 20s. Was mainly into milsurps, mainly because that's what I could afford, and because I'm a history nerd. Somewhere along the line, probably when I got a NM A2, I realized I simply like stuff that works, and works well. All of the milsurps are gone, and everything wood and blue, including classic 700s, 110s, 99s, and Mauser sporters, except for a few shotguns. Give me SS and fiberglass everytime. Nothing against the classics, I just can't afford to keep em and not really use em. Fwiw, my brother is a few years younger, and mainly shoots BPCR and lever guns, though he has a few nice ARs.

Not limited to guns…

We live in a disposable society.


Whats the last watch, gun, vehicle, etc.. you bought to pass down?

Good point.

But having agreed with that statement, I do have some nice classic guns that I enjoy, rifles, shotguns and pistols.

But, I’m a seasoned citizen. Have AR’s, plastic guns, just not that many and no infatuation with them.

DF

I’m that guy I guess. Not vehicles, but certainly have watches and knives that I feel are heirloom.

Fortunately both my boys seem to feel the same.
My daughter and son-in-law could not care less. Of course, unless they can get some money from them.

To me they are just tools. I have a few that are heirlooms to me that belonged to my father and grandfathers but even if those might be classics I would never consider selling them. Probably go to my sil or nephews. The ones that are mine I keep because they work for me.
I guess if you are a trader or collector, the possibility of having classics would be more important.

Buying firearms as collectibles is like buying art - buy what you like because the only way that you are likely to make money on it is to find someone with the same tastes as you may have. Doing it that way allows you to enjoy it while you own it but don't count on it making you money. Take a look at what some of the "collectible" firearms from a few years ago are selling for today - a pittance of what they were at that time.


drover

I guess, we would have to know what “collectible” is defined as. I am aware of a person here in town that buys “proofed” firearms. These are firearms that belonged to royalty and such and there is a written record of when and where the firearm harvested an animal. At least that is how I appreciated his explanation of proofing. Much of what he has are 416 Rigby’s, Wesley Richard’s, Holland and Holland etc.

I’ve been in the gun room and deeper in the vault. With a smidgeon of research when I came home, I guess the collection value is in the millions.

Gulf Breeze Firearms, out of Gulf Breeze, Florida handles the proofing from what I understand. Cool place for sure.

So there is collectible than there is collectible.

I have a personal “collection” of firearms but I’m not a “collector”. I don’t care about resale value, rarity or how much they’re desired by others. I buy guns that for various reasons make me happy and I shoot them all. But I would never try to convince anyone that the reasons & the way I collect guns has any superior merits to their methods & goals. I know quite a few people on these forums would be unimpressed with the wood, blued steel, nostalgic calibers & average accuracy my rifles have but that’s okay. There’s no stainless, synthetic or safe queens to be seen anywhere but that’s not a criticism of any of those.

When I was younger, it was possible to get common mass-produced rifles in various grade levels to accommodate basic functionality & buyers who wanted something fancier. That doesn’t seem as common now. Instead you get special collections like Ruger’s African series or special runs distributed by Lipsey’s. I have one of the 100 Ruger #1 RSI rifles in .275 Rigby that Lipsey’s had made for the Dallas Arms Collectors Association which someone in the future might think of as collectible. But there’s a lot of RSI’s out there just not in that particular caliber (except as 7x57).

I think the popularity of the various AR platforms has moved some of the focus away from old-school custom gun craftsmanship and shifted it more to DIY types starting with a base rifle & accessorizing & upgrading it to make it uniquely their own. I think more gun owners are incrementally building & swapping out parts instead of dropping a single large sum to get a traditional custom rifle built.

For me, collecting has more to do with emotion & nostalgic connections than money or value. In my opinion, any rifle that has strong design connections to a Mauser M98 has good collectible genes. During my lifetime, guns with a unique or innovative designs (e.g. an H&K P7 Squeeze Cocker) become collectible if it didn’t last long & they’re not common. Hollywood can make a gun become iconic (Walther PPK = James Bond). Civilian versions of unique military weapons are a good bet & often what I think of when guessing a future collectible. If it looks like it’s going away (e.g. Colt Python, Bowning Hi-Power), it’ll become collectible then get reincarnated. Personally I think a lot of the common modern rifles fall more into the category of functional than collectible. But that may simply reflect my bias towards Ruger #1’s & older Winchesters.

Thanks Odonata, succinctly put!

JM 336s in good condition are only going to get harder and harder to find. And they sure as hell aren't getting any cheaper.

I've never owned one, but the CZ550s don't seem to come up for sale often. If they aren't already collectibles, after being discontinued, they're getting there quickly,

More generally, as more new cartridges gain traction, I think any walnut/blued bolt gun -- in good condition -- chambered in 7x57, 6.5x55, or 257 Bob are going to be collectible. (Based on Gunbroker trends, they might be there already.)

Collectable. Who ever thought old surplus mausers, Enfield, Mosin, and SKS and all the old WWI and WWII and onto 1970's handguns would sell and demand the current prices and demand.

You're welcome! Anything for a fellow "South Louisiana" person (I'm originally from Houma).

One other thing that always makes a good collectible is having a classic popular design & then having lawyers or the government "improve" it for liability or safety reasons. There will always be a demand for the original version.

There's a CZ550 on GB right now for $7,500 if you're left-handed & want to Buy It Now. Get it before it's gone! If you're rich enough & crazy enough to buy it then the cost of .505 Gibb ammo ($18.80 per round @ MidwayUSA right now) shouldn't deter you.

I have my 7x57 as a .275 Rigby. I have my 6.5 Swede. But trying to find a .257 Bob in a left-handed rifle that I like has turned into a bit of a scavenger hunt.

Ruger will build some Hawkeye configuration that is totally absurd.


No one will want it, it will be blown out by CDNN.

Then, Wannabe Collectors will realize "They only made so many"
and everyone will want them.

Instant collectable.

Not a rifle, but I really should have bought some of the Super Redhawks.
The Wheeled Cannons chambered for rounds much more sensible in
much smaller guns. Those will be sought after.



I think the OP was thinking of guns so good, so popular, they are in demand.

The best money is in good quality retards.


The Hawkeye Pistol is a classic example.

It's a bit laughable to me what becomes collectable. A company stops making a gun because it's a mediocre POS that nobody wants to buy, and 2 years later everybody wants one at 3 times the original price. I have a few quality firearms that were top quality when I purchased them. Most have more than doubled in price. Maybe because money is only worth half as much, but at least they are still top quality pieces.