Personally, I have no use for a NIB classic gun.
If I own it I want to shoot it.

What do people do with their NIB classics?

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Buy American
Vote Responsibly

A few years ago, I bought a NIB M27, 8 3/8" nickel, in the presentation box.

I took it out and shot it. Later, I found a 5" nickel barrel here on the Forum and I had that installed. It shot real well.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Are you talking about "old" (original) classic or "new" classic?

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I'm not a Collector, I'm a shooter.

Rule 303

SHOOT IT These guns were made for shooting, not for looking at.

i bought a ruger .22 auto NIB classic red label'
standard 4''

remake of the original ?

i have shot it a bunch.

altho ? i've never figgered out how to strip it.. to clean..
i just wash the heck out of it with wd-40 , and shoot another 1500 rounds ...

peabody

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yer dawg ate my duck

I just purchased a new 625JM. While it's not by definition a Classic, in 30 or 40 years it might be considered a collectable. Since I don't really expect to live that many more years I had no problem at all with pulling the trigger and taking much of the bite out of the serrations. Also didn't feel any guilt in chamfering the cylinder which, BTW, had a pre-chamfered ejector star. So, in reality all I did was finish what S&W had already started. Also saw no problem with tuning the action or test firing it with 98 rounds of ammo within 24 hours of picking it up. Once the X frame grip I ordered for it I intend to do everything I can to try and wear it out, however I also don't expect to live for the 50 or 60 years that may take.

Sum it up and I purchase a gun to shoot it and for no other reason. I'll leave the collecting to someone else.

Shoot It ! there are very few collectable one can own, play with, defend ones self, hunt with if needed and still retain a lage portion of their value. If you need to sell it, look at this way, the value you lost firing it was the lease payment and if you hold it long enough you will suffer no loss and a potential gain in your original investment. You got pay to play.
Penmon AKA Jim

Sir, some people shoot them. Some put them up and maybe clean and admire them every so often. Some use them as data points in a long-term research project. Some do more than one of these. Whatever floats yer boat. [shrug]

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

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Wishin' don't make it so.

assuming your talking s&w because thats where we are, yeah people shoot them i have two a model 36 snubbie and a model 27 four in both in nickel and i shoot them both. it doesn't seem to harm them in anyway. i can't speak to blued guns cause all my revolvers are nickel or stainless

Everything I own are shooters, though a couple are mighty pretty. I'd probably think twice about shooting a NIB 28-1, though. Still looking.....

Until you shoot them, you don't know if they even work. Shoot 'em, that's what they were made for.

I have a 25-5 in pristine condition. It sits in a safe. If I ever decide to shoot it, I have ammo for it and will shoot it.

I have a 29 that has never been fired that was bought in 1967 sitting in a safe.

Why buy them and never shoot them? I have other guns I can shoot in the same calibers. One day I may want a new model 25 to shoot and I have it.

I have a few hard to find guns that are NIB, autos, not revolvers. I haven't shot them.... just because.... I haven't shot them, I guess. No real reason to. I have other similar guns that I shoot, I bought these because I like the fact that there were relatively few to start with and even fewer are still NIB. Mostly I just like having them because I wanted them back when they were new but they weren't available to me then. But, they're also examples of how different things were in the gun world then than now. Lastly, it's fun to pull one out open the box and say, "Check this out!".

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Don't kiss smiling dogs!

I bought a 25-3 125 years anniversary.
First i took it out of the safe to look at it.
But laws here in Sweden say that it has to be locked in a safe when not at the range.
Can't hang it on the wall.

It shot great with .45Colt Winchester ammo.
Had it cut for fullmoonclips and was planing to use it for practical shooting.
Used handloaded .45acp with 255grains bullits and Hercules 2400.
Still shot great
Sadly economy made me sell it at a huge loss

NEVER EVER SHOOT one of these collector guns!

That way the first one to get to your house and find it will get more money for it - possibly.
Then again they may not know what they have and just trade it for a rock.

Either way - You've made someone happy

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In dog years I'm dead.

I recently purchased a 586 laser engraved U.S. Customs Service Bicentennial (1789-1989) commemorative. I have always been a shooter but I'm going to need you guys to prod me on this one. I'm a 21 year veteran of Customs, so it's sort of like slapping my Mom.

Some I shoot, some I don't. I am likelier to shoot an ANIB gun rather than something that really looks unfired, but that's because I hate to destroy value frivolously. If I want to shoot a particular model and I have only an unfired version, I will probably buy a less pristine specimen and have fun with that.

I disagree with the blanket principle that guns are meant to be shot and every gun should be. From the manufacturer's point of view, a gun is intended to be sold. From the buyer's point of view, a gun can be used in whatever way the buyer wants to use it. If that includes staking tomato vines, so be it. If there are buyers who don't get to the range much but just enjoy ownership of fine pieces of machinery, that's their choice and I'm supportive -- even if I don't completely share their outlook.

There is a question of scale here, too. A serious collector with dozens if not hundreds of specimens can't possibly shoot all of them, or at least shoot all of them well. Somebody with a carefully planned collection of four or five firearms specifically suited to different purposes would probably not be a candidate to leave a gun unfired. But then, such a person would be an unlikely owner of, say, a NIB 1910 Triple Lock.

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David Wilson

Uh...do you have one of those, by chance?

Wish I did, but I am making do with a couple of TL targets that were well refinished in the 1920s.

I have shot one, but I forget which.

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David Wilson

I bought a NIB 624 no dash last year and debated shooting it... for a day.

It is no longer unfired. In fact, it is no longer unfired a lot!

Assuming you are referring to an “old classic”. If I fell in to one that was new in box, I would have to sell it to a collector. That way I could afford two or three high end shooter grade revolvers that I could really enjoy owning.

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Always Stay Strong!

I would settle for a couple of nib $50 gold pieces .....and yes they would be safe queens

They bring them out once a year on the 4th of July and say... Ooooo... Ahhhh... like watching fireworks!!!

I used to keep mine pristine and boxed. Then, it dawned on me that I might just be keeping these so that after my death (or divorce), my wife's new husband would enjoy shooting them. No more pristine and boxed for me. They have all been "deflowered".

They put them in a safe for a few years, never shoot them, then sell them at a loss, if they can.

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That's just somebody talkin.

I've only owned one nib gun that I never used.Tripled my money in 6 years

I shoot them

Some good posts here. Personally I go for nice shooters and try to keep them as nice as I can but a little honest wear may happen and that will not ruin my day. Can't seem to shoot any of them enough to hurt them.

I am 56 almost 57. I have kept a lot of guns really nice for a long time. I have my grandfather's 30-40 Krag from 1899 that he used on his farm 80 years ago. I have a bunch of Smiths that are (were) "new in box." I also have 50 or 60 various other guns that I have babied. I recently retired and realized that these guns will out live me. I am doing my best to wear them out before I wear out. I intend to take good care of them but I am going to use them as much as possible. I don't want to die with a bunch of nice guns in my safe. Just my perspective.

Awesome thread resurrection, bringing it back from 2011! Some people get all touchy/nasty about bringing back an old thread, I like it. If it's a thread that interests you, bring it back, that's why we're all here!

So, anyway, I've got a question; was it worth it? Did you really love shooting those classic LNIB guns...? Just wondering if you "got much" out of shooting those cherries...

I'm currently in the camp of some of my guns are shooters, and some are true collector pieces that have not been shot outside of the factory, and I have no plans to shoot them. I guess I'm fortunate, because if it's a model that I really like, I'll have shooters and LNIB examples of it. If I didn't go so deep into gun accumulation, I'd probably just shoot the ones I had.

I actually get enjoyment out of having some guns in a pristine condition, and I don't have any desire to ruin that condition. I also have some guns that have been fired, but they look almost unfired. I take those out on rare occasion and shoot a few through it... Because I love to shoot, those types of guns tend to be my preference to purchase these days... YMMV

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NRA Life Member

I wouldn't buy a gun that I didn't want to shoot.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Saturday I attended the local gun show I saw 3 model 29s One was 99% blue in a box with all the tools the blue insert was in like new condition the wooden box was in great condition. There was a very light turn line on the cylinder. the guy was asking $850.00 willing to dicker. number 2 was second was also a 6 in. barrel, was 90 % heavy turn line the box was dented and scared the insert was broken no tools the guy was asking $850 firm. the 3rd was a 3 in barrel with combat grips 95 % bluing no box papers or tools and this guy was asking $700.If I had $1550 I would have both the 1st and third and shot the **** out of both of them.

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Carpriver.

I'll bet some just hug and fondle them, nothing wrong with that.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

I know I just like to fondle them. Sometimes I get mad at one or two and sell them. I sure wish I could turn a profit, but in reality I'm real lucky to break even. And I've lost some money on one or two...or more.

But we need to keep the terminology straight. To the best of my limited knowledge, all S&Ws go through an inspection step where every other cylinder is loaded and fired. It might be called "proof of function". And over the years I've owned and looked at a bunch of guns. Its not at all uncommon to discover the factory didn't bother to clean the gun after firing. If you want an unfired gun, don't buy a S&W. Or a Swiss SIG. There is no magic to "unfired". Just accept the concept that every single gun you buy or handle has been fired.

If you have a new gun that you want to shoot, just for the stupid pleasure of saying dumb things like you've shot all your guns, its OK. If you've got some sense (a stretch), look carefully at the cylinder. You'll probably discover which cylinders were used. So just reload those 3 and have at it. Then if you've got good hands and skills, you can clean the gun really well and then it'll look as if you haven't shot it at all, and it skipped the QC step at the factory.

But then you could shoot a gun a few times and then clean it really well. To the uninitiated, it would appear unfired. And some common sense. Don't holster the gun, ever. Not even a single time. And don't eject the fired rounds. Bring along your old cleaning kit. No, not the sealed on in the box. Bring another, used on. Just the jag and individually punch out the fired cases. When you exercise the ejector rod, you scratch it each time. Over a couple of shooting sessions, you wear it enough that any old fool can see the usage.

But there is also the idea that you, the shooter, want the gun to look well used. Maybe you just like the idea of doing senseless damage. If you've paid the price for the gun, go ahead and make it a gun of less value. I don't care because mine mostly remain pristine. And every gun you mess up makes mine worth more. So the most sensible thing to do is shoot the guns you normally shoot. And not shoot the best examples if you have any sense at all (I know, sense is a rare commodity.)

And the comment about how many guns you have is well placed. The only K22 I shoot these days is K155. Its a good gun, or maybe a really good gun, but it was well fired when I got it. I clean it after every session, but its the only K22 from a selection I will fire. We could go on to discuss 357s, or even 44s. Same deal. Pick one and shoot it. In the past I've bought other used guns and fired them a bit, just because that's why I bought the gun. But those weren't new guns but once. And when they came to me, they needed shootin'.

So do as you please. If you're stupid, you make my guns worth more and yours less valuable. I don't mind, but if you see me smiling, its not because I think you're smart.

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Dick Burg

Shoot them!
Would you marry the best looking woman in town and then save her for the next husband?

I would buy as many as I could. Put them in the safe for the next libtard president and then sell them at all time highs

Good luck with that.

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That's just somebody talkin.

They are all devices for sending rounds downrange. I have no safe queens.

I have to wonder...A question to all the "shoot them, that's what they were made for" crowd.

When you do sell what WAS an unfired, NIB example....do you still try to get the UNFIRED price? Or do you suffer the loss in value happily?

FN in MT

I have no problem at all with the "i shoot every gun I own" thinking. But think about any gun at least 100 years old. For example, lets think about a Winchester Model 1894 made in 1894 lets say it's serial number 36. Wouldn't it be cool if who ever bought ol' number 36 had carefully stored the gun away and you could now own it? Would you shoot it?

I like nice things as well as the next guy, but if (that's a big if) I was wealthy enough to concern myself with such things, I'd be bidding on EK's revolvers and such museum-type pieces (I'd likely shoot them too).

Otherwise, I'd be into fully automatic arms (and probably cannons), have an armorer friend or two on staff at my ranch, and a bevy of talented young maidens loading ammo day and night in support of the fun.

I think I'd grow my own coffee too, right near my private, 1000 yard rifle range.

The joy of ownership is worth something...but I mostly break even.



PS: I enjoy these type threads!

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Be Well

Id probably buy at least two of them.One for shootin and one for just fondlin. ;-))

imsoon to buy a Heritage Arms SSA .22 with 6 and 1/2 inch barrel. Ive been dying to get one o f these since I first saw one. I COULD have had one at the last show but for two things--one being--that it sold minutes before I got to the sellers table. 2)It went to my Nephew Nathan--who bought it for his son. Anyway,ill be getting one with 9 shot cylinder and spare mag/cylinder.

I want two of these--and yup--you guessed it.One for shootin-the other for feeling.

I thoroughly enjoyed shooting them, and have since enjoyed shooting them even more. Fine wines are made to be drank, beautiful women are made to be loved, and pristine firearms are made to be shot. To do any less, would be an insult to their respective makers. Just my opinion.

i get mine out ! about 4 times a year rub clp collectors grade on them and put them back in their silicone sock's and then back in the safe ,But i do that with the ones i shoot also!

Do whatever makes you happy-it's your gun.

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Forum consigliere

I don't buy them. I did in the past, but always sold them off again. I think they should be saved so those who follow us, can see what a NIB gun looked like "back in the day." But I know I would want to shoot it. So, I leave them and hope a serious collector buys them and puts them up. I don't care if THEY shoot it, after all it's their property, they can do with it as they please, I just won't do it myself.

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John 3:16 .

OK, is the "S&W fires every-other chamber" thing documented gospel, or is it one of those things that "everybody knows," but can't cite any specific documentation of such. I'm not disputing rburg. I believe it to be true myself. I recently bought a "NIB-fired only at the factory" Model 15-3. It is nickel, and in pristine condition, except it is obvious that every other chamber has been fired.

I got the gun at what I think was a good deal. I paid maybe $125 more than what I would expect to pay for a good 90% shooter grade Model 15. The box, papers, tools, and grease paper are all in great shape. Problem is, I bought it on a spur of the moment impulse. I figured I would shoot it, and if it was the only Combat Masterpiece I owned, I would. I took it out of the safe last night intending to shoot it today. Nope. Put it back and got the old battle-scarred one instead.

For now, I'm going to leave it in the safe. I might sell or trade it later, and I might end up shooting it. I am trying to accumulate some stuff, silver US coins, silver bullion coins, etc., for my daughter. I believe a pristine Model 15-3 might fit that category of "stuff that's worth something" very well.

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Georgia On My Mind

No Safe Queens....Chute Um!

and BTW..."I AM ENTERTAINED!"

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NULLI SECUNDUS

About five years ago I bought a " mint" python off of gunbroker.I had been looking for a shooter for over a year but the prices were only $200 less than this one.I intended to shoot it,but it really was mint and I couldn't do it.So,I'd take it out and fondle it and put it back.I finally sold it last summer for almost 3x what I paid for it.That was satisfying