A discussion on selling guns to buy nicer ones
 

Even though we hit 110+ for the 4th day straight yesterday(102 today is gonna feel downright chilly), a buddy of mine and me hit the trap range yesterday. In the course of one of our breaks while I was nursing a frosty Mexican Coca Cola, the subject of how we build our collections came up.

Now, while we both love shotguns, we are entirely different collectors. I love Parkers and he loves pre war Browing A5s. Still, while we may go different directions some of the issues we encounter on paying for them are the same.

My uncle always refers to his collection as gun equity. Meaning that for the most part the majority of his collection is for sale to buy the next right gun that comes along. It is always just a matter of how much "gun equity" you wish to dip into.

This brings us to the actual question at hand from yesterday, one which I will honestly say I struggled with.

If you found what you considered to be the "it" gun for your respective collecting bug, ie Parkers for most of us, would you liquidate the rest of your collection to purchase said gun.

His answer was a quick yes, in a heartbeat. He actually knows where his so called "it" gun is located, so he has probably debated this in the past if it ever comes up for sale.

For me it is more of a debate. If I sold all of my Parkers, I think I could get up to a decent A grade. A 33" 3 frame AA is more what I would call my "it" gun, but I do not believe my collection would get me there.

However, after long debate with myself, I feel the answer is no. While I would love to have that high grade gun, I enjoy looking at them and comparing the ones I currently have too much to actually reduce myself down to one lone Parker even if it was a very high grade. Heck, I don't even know that I could bite the bullet on my collection enough to make a jump to a BHE....

Anyway, just curious what some of ya'll's positions might be....

Just had that discussion with myself last week when a gun that is right in my wheel house was offered to me, an "it" gun as you called it. It was a lot of money by most folks standards, it was by mine. I could not bring myself to sell off several guns to justify buying that gun. That was last week, ask me this week and who knows.

I have sold a few here and there, but most of my Parkers are not for sale. I have sold other stuff I didn't want to acquire nicer ones. IE I sold my comic book collection to get a 28 gauge

Must of been a hell of a comic collection

My thoughts exactly :rotf:

I wouldn't do it - in fact, I would hate to part with just about any of my Parkers. I have too much fun with them. I rotate them when I shoot clays or when I hunt, in fact, I generally bring three or four of them to grouse camp each fall and give every one of them a workout.

But I have to admit to "striking when the iron is hot". A week ago somebody wanted one of my Parkers very much. I wanted to keep it - it is in high condition and I shoot it extremely well (for me) but this guy made me an offer I couldn't refuse (I would be crazy to refuse his offer.) so off it goes as soon as I get home from Maine.

There are small bore, high condition Parkers I dearly covet but I just couldn't bring myself to sell off a significant part of my collection - I just wouldn't be able to decide which ones to keep and which ones to let go....





.

To each his own !

And while I love looking at BH , AH , AAH and A-1 Specials I'm okay with the fact that the majority of what I have or will have will be VH or GH/EH guns . Maybe I'll add a DH 10 gauge at some point but if I don't ill not loose sleep over it .

I'll eventually find a VH/VHE 28 gauge that suits me , but until then I'll be okay . I suspect I'll never add a VH/VHE 410 but that's okay .

I do however want a factory original EH 26" and or 24" . I realize both are about as common as hens teeth but I'd like to have one of each :whistle:

Granted the little 28 isn't inexpensive its not break the bank expensive either . The short barreled EH's may be a little more then I've paid for an EH in the past but only time will "possibly" tell .

I had some old ones I had bought long ago when I was younger and they appreciated quite a bit.

I would like to have one each of an early AH, BH and CH eventually.

Swapping
 

Finding, mining, hunting, discovering, whatever you want to call it is the most exciting part. Collecting old lures one or two at a time for the past 40 years satisfied my need and bank roll to collect. 20 years ago I cashed in about 70 of them to buy two tickets for a cruse to Alaska for an anniversary. Ten years ago I was able to buy a Custer era Colt. That was sold to fund several Parkers. Another lure collector had a number of guns that he wanted to trade for lures. (I love it when that plan comes together) Made that trade- sold off most of them and bought more Parkers and some Foxes. Have since sold off four of the Foxes and am waiting on the next Parker.

Stay active. When you quit moving someone will want to put you in a box and bury you.

All this debate about selling to up grade is just part the the game. If I sold most of my guns for the "IT"gun. Two weeks later another "IT" would come along.

I've been fighting the "it" battle for darn near 50 years now !

Only problem is I like my "it" to be in multiples :rotf:

Yeah, for our 10th anniversary about a month ago, I sold off my Colt AR that I never shoot, a 6.5 grendel upper I had acquired, and a Colt woodsman to buy the Mrs. the infinity band ring from Tiffanys to go with the engagement ring and wedding band I shocked her with when we got married.

I am on the opposite end of the scale. Similar to Dean, I shoot and rotate most of my shotguns, and the few times I had a gun worth more than 5 grand I sold it, preferring a good shooter to a closet queen. Thus, I love my G grades, P's, V's, and Trojans, but have no use for D's or higher. I prefer a 16 to a 20, and enjoy the price difference in my favor. What I need to do now is get rid of some of the duplicates. But it is hard--each has its own personality it seems. That's the fun of collecting--everyone can take his or her own path to satisfaction.

No two Parkers are exactly alike. Despite what our wives sometimes say

After using a gun a few times I have a hard time deciding to part with it. The longer I keep it the more attached It becomes.:banghead::banghead:

I don't really have the words to describe why I like the old Parkers so much but growing up in an area where only two were known to exist in the entire county...never thought of owning one, much less a few. So many collectors that we admire and to share the thoughts of collecting and shooting them and to understand the pure joy of owning them, I think it takes us back to when we first saw one and the people we admired who owned them and some great souls who we wish were still with us to enjoy them. Maybe that is why we have such a hard time letting them go, so much to enjoy, like hearing what you guys are up to on this forum, good times.

My Parker collection is a shooting collection. I love the small bores and the high grades, but they don't have to be in mint condition. Because of this, I have enjoyed many more different Parkers than if I had always been on the hunt for mint guns. Some of my Parker collecting mentors of the almost sixty years of collecting have not been shooters. They have missed a big part of Parker collecting. I shoot my Parkers several days every week. On another subject, I have the "it" gun in sight, but am not working very hard at selling enough to pay for it.

I agree with you on those points Mr. Murphy. All my guns are shooters and only one is close to being in the same zip code as mint.

If I find something I like better I sell off gun(s) to obtain a better example. I do regret selling but that goes away quickly. My only self imposed rule is to not allow my collection to exceed a total number. I do hunt and shoot with 90% of my guns but I do enjoy having a couple of mint guns just to have. I focus on American made duck guns sxs's so my collection includes examples from four different makers. The best part of this hobby is sharing and shooting with like minded addicts.

I am fortunate in that I get to see lots and lots of collections in my work. The very best collections I see are a culmination of years of selling off a lesser gun to acquire a better example. The very best collections I see are usually less than 100 guns but the owner may have owned hundreds and hundreds during his collecting years.

I get that Josh and I have done that numerous times but I think you will agree there is a big difference between upgrading to a better example and buying an "it" gun. Normally in an upgrade there is a minimal amount of cash loss, on the other hand the proverbial "it" gun sucks the life out of the gun fund. It does mine anyway.

I am always surprised at the amount of people that sell guns so quickly after acquiring them. Or how quickly after getting a good amount of work done to them and waiting a while for that work to be done.
For many the thrill is in the chase or in the chase for the next one and the best way to do that is to buy each one right and make a little on it to use it as a stepping stone to the next.

Great post, Dudley. In my collection, a gun has to have quite a problem for me to sell it quickly after acquiring it. How badly do we really need the money from a good gun to go out and buy another? I bought my first Parker in 1960 and haven't missed a paycheck since. I would just wait for Friday, deposit my paycheck, go home and send away for another Parker.

in my neck of the woods collecting parkers would have been a bust i never even seen a parker till in the 80 s....a few lc smiths and stevens were about it....the internet opened up the world of parkers and other good doubles for me....back in 1960 i made 3 dollars a day chopping cotton and hoeing grass out of cotton....i guess thats why no parkers were around my house....charlie

Trading up
 

I traded remington and browning semi automatics for doubles in the seventies and eighties as everyone wanted the firepower of more shells. Doubles were cheap and damascus was feared and cheaper. I would buy guns at garage sales, small shows, and wherever I could find them and trade up at big shows like Tulsa. Broken guns were bought that were attained cheap and repaired then traded. Friends knew that I was looking for doubles and would call me when they knew of one. Brian is right about the chase of a gun and then wanting something else better. If the gun fits and is a really good shooter it stays. I turn down guns now that I would have jumped on years ago. Charlie's statement about the internet hits home. I found parts that I had been looking for for years. Before the Parker information became public you would have to go on what you knew as far as condition and rarity, It has been a neat endeavor that has helped meet many fine people. The "IT" gun is always on the horizon, and probably always will be.

I was fortunate enough to come across and acquire my "IT" gun several years ago. I got the bug for hunting grouse and woodcock by reading the likes of Burton Spiller and thus, in my feeble mind, the ideal upland gun was a side by side, preferably in 16 ga. Well, I was able to add a DH 16ga to my gun case. It has Damascus barrels, 26 inches long, choked cyc and lt. mod with double triggers. To me the perfect combination for grouse and woodcock in the thick Minn woods. It is a 1903 vintage gun, un-molested with perfect screws and wood to metal fit. She is not the prettiest gun in my safe, nor the most expensive, but she is my "IT" gun. To top it off it fits me fairly well and I don't embarrass myself when hunting with it. I did need to sell a couple of little used guns to get it, but it was well worth it.

Excellent thread!! Some good replies and well thought out to boot. First and foremost I am a shooter. Second, hunter. I have a nice bunch of Parkers and Lefevers now for shooting clays. A few Fox guns for upland birds. I had quite a few London guns, LCS, Ithaca, etc. Even a nice early Winchester M21 that I moved to upgrade my Parkers and Lefevers. If I don't score well with a gun it goes. Won't even bat an eye. Thank you Mr. Gun, have a nice day. That all comes down to fit and feel. Just personal preferences, nothing against the gun or maker. Heck, I have hardware store sub-gauge hammer guns that I can shoot lights out with!! I suppose sometimes it's a combination of the arrow and the Indian?? Nothing wrong with sexy high grade guns, but I'll take a shooter any day. That said, if anyone wants to donate a C, B or A grade, I'm more than happy to accept that rather charitable gift. :)