Most guns aren't a big money making scheme,especially in the shallow end of the pool.The expensive rare stuff,the ultra stuff,the truly artful stuff,is where the potential may be,not regular production,or minimally enhanced by a machine products.
Add to that, a change in tastes/trends.Most of us here average 60 years old,I suspect.Do the youngsters fancy revolvers/old school stuff or are they buying black guns.My LGS says black guns.I'm still a little stunned that my minty 1969 Belgian Browning AV,a highly collectable gun I always believed for the last 43 years that I've had it, is in a bit of a dead zone.The guys that like this stuff,have aged,passed.Few buyers,more supply.Need I add that I think more and more people are anti-gun,and the interest is subject to increasing pressure,growing populations not wanting ranges near them?Not positives rom an investment standpoint to say the least.
Add to the equation,the transaction costs of selling a handgun.Yesterday,I sold another supposed "collectable." A brand new 34-2.Offered here,there,no interest at around 675-690 shipped,which frankly I thought was quite reasonable by any standard.By the time,I get done with next day shipping,the FFL,the GB fee,the fee to take it off of my PL,I net less than 600.Yes,I made a few dollars in the last dozen years of my ownership,but certainly no homerun,and I bought it very right when I did.I didn't have to sell it,but if I wanted a quick liquidation,that means wholesale to a dealer,and I would have lost money.If you want to leave something to a child,let it be something that is easily sold,such as gold or a stock.Don't saddle them with a selling headache.
As I've stated many times before,the real return in investment comes from the joy of ownership and shooting them,not from an investment return notion.