I know most of you have sold guns over the years that you regret selling after the fact. I call it Seller's Remorse. There are many reasons for selling them but often when you go back to look at pictures of them there can be that felling of remorse. That feeling can be mitigated knowing the new owners are happy and the gun has a new good home. I realized that I just can't have everything I want and I am always running into new, cool guns to satisfy my cravings. And taste change through the years and we massage the collection to reflect that change. It is great just knowing they were mine at one time.

Here are just a few of the guns I have parted with recently (there are others) that bring out that remorse. No problem, as I know there is another great catch around the corner for me.

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I tend to veer between being a bit sentimental about (some) guns I turned loose of and just moving on.

It's all stuff; and part of being a wayfarer.

I feel your pain!

There are only two guns I've ever sold that I regret selling, had to at the time because I needed the money! Plus I was young and stupid.
I was just in my safe and picked out three handguns for use as trade ins, don't really have an attachment to them and I want to expand on my S&W collection plus I've been looking at a new carry piece.
If I sell these three will I regret it?, sometime in the future I will because they were part of the collection.

That's a lot of remorse Chief. Those are some of my favorite guns.

Of course that's nonsense. Sometime read the gunshow reports and all the nay sayers come in and tell us there are never any good guns, or if they are, they're way overpriced. Notice those folks never bring any of their guns to offer at what they feel is a fair price. Its just your guns that are overpriced.

We all regret selling some guns. Usually after that gun suddenly becomes popular and the price jumps. The more you sell, the more you have the chance to be upset.

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Dick Burg

I'd certainly have remorse over the 3" K-Frame. Model 65?

I have sold off two gun collections due to financial difficulties. There are a great many I wish I had back. Fortunately, throughout my collecting ups and downs, I have been able to keep nearly every Smith that I really liked. Now I am at the point that I will patiently wait and save the money to buy the next "I gotta have it" gun.

I've never parted with a gun I wasn't sorry I did later, I remind myself of that every time I get the urge to do something stupid.

Over the past 50 years I've sold and/or traded off quite a few firearms. There are only three that I seriously regret letting go. These are their stories (Gee! That sounded like the beginning of an episode of Law and Order!).

1. A Ruger "non-warning" M77 in .22-250, that was an absolute tack-driver. It was an early enough one to have the Douglas barrel and it was the most accurate rifle I've ever owned (that is saying a lot). It wore a Redfield 3x9 scope made in the days when those were competing with Leupold for quality. I was laid off for the winter, we had small children and needed grocery money very badly. I sold the rifle. I've never forgiven myself, even though I now have another early M77 in .22-250 that I acquired a few years ago to assuage my pain.

2. A 4 screw .44 Magnum 6 1/2" revolver that probably dated from 1957 (I have no record of the serial number). Again, sold due to financial difficulties. I'd just finished college on the GI bill, wife had just given birth to our fourth child and times were tough. We needed a milk cow to help with the groceries and I had a chance to buy a nice, bred, Jersey heifer, but no money in the bank. Sold the .44 and bought the cow. We had her for 5 years and got 6 gallons of great milk a day as well as 4 calves out of her. We eventually sold her for twice what I paid for her. Financially, a good deal. But I sure miss that revolver!

3. The first center fire rifle I ever bought new was a Marlin Model 336C, chambered for the .30-30. Used it for deer hunts when I came back from 'Nam. One of my 'Nam buddies used to hunt with me and had a beat up old Remington slide action .30-06 that had belonged to his brother. He wanted that Marlin really badly. Finally, I gave in and traded it to him for the Remington and some cash, with the proviso that if he ever sold it, I'd get first right of refusal. Well, he got married and moved to Idaho. A few years later, his wife told me he pawned it! I was heartsick. Sure wish I'd never let it get away. I've owned a number of Marlin lever actions since, including a nice Model 1893 in .32-40 that has killed its share of deer. But I'd love to still own that first one.

There you go. My regrets.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Heres Mine. Kinda, it went for something I will use more and the shooter will use it for what it is made for. Not regretting it just wanted to show what a certian smith is worth to me. Cheers, Ted

PS....Its a Browning BPCR in 45-70, Groups 2"@200yds

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Sometimes you do what you have to do. Back in 1994, My son was diagnosed with cancer (age 9) and stayed in an out of town hospital for numerous weeks. My wife lost a lot of work and the resulting money crunch left me with no choice but to liquidate my US military collection. I had a solid group of weapons including Trapdoor rifles and carbines, Krag rifles and carbines, all the usual WW1 and WW2 rifles and pistols, many holsters, belts, slings, bayonets, etc. Some of the guns I regret selling because in todays market, they are irreplaceable (for me anyway $$$$). But when it is your child's life in the balance you do not sit and ponder each individual firearm. It was more of, "Sell em all!" My collection netted about $25,000, which was sorely needed to pay expenses and deductibles. I figured up, using recent auction results and Gunbroker prices, that it would take well over $100,000 to even come close to replacing them with equivalent quality pieces. Not happening unless I hit the lottery.

My son survived and is now 28 years old, soon to be 29.

You are a GOOD man Sluf! Cheers to you and your boy. Ted

The only gun I ever parted with that I felt badly later was an old Forehand & Wadsworth pocket pistol, circa 1890s, and the only reason I was remorseful was, about ten years later, when I handled another one, I discovered that my first one was NOT BROKEN! The cylinder was SUPPOSED to spin both ways. So, way later, I was remorseful, because it was a useful gun for pocket pistol side matches in the cowboy action shooting game.

There was a time when I never parted with a gun once I owned it but once I broke the ice it never bothered me again. When I consider the magnificent guns that I own that I paid for with the sale of oddball pistols and rifles I just smile and congratulate myself.

The only other remorse that I have is for some guns that I literally gifted to a friend and after he died I couldn't get them back. Other than that, nah, no remorse. I even sold my virtually irreplaceable .44-40 Vaqueros and a Rossi Model 92 in .44-40, sold to a friend, and he's so happy with them I could NEVER feel badly about it (I kept my .45s so I'm good to go for the cowboy shooting when I get back to it).

For example, I sold in the past several years:

2 Norinco 1911s
3 mil-surp Mausers, a classic 98 8mm, a '96 Swede 6.5 x 55, and a Spanish 93 7mm
A gorgeous Colt Mustang Plus with original Colt mother of pearl stocks
A Model 97 Winchester 16 gauge, long barreled sweetheart of a shotgun
There were others.......

Acquired, for example:

S&W .38-44 HD (pre-war/circa '31 or '32)
S&W 2.5" P&R M19
Browning Hi-Power
S&W M25-5 4" .45 Colt (very recent)
S&W Model 15 2"

That's just some of the way I avoid remorse when and if I sell any guns.

YMMV

***GRJ***

PS:

I'd sell every one of them to pay for a child's medical bills. GOOD JOB DUDE! When you man up like that there's a reward for you or a better place or something!

Sellers Remorse Rivers run silent ( Sometimes ), and they run deep--But they come in all shapes and forms.

I have never forgiven my wife for talking me into selling my 63' Split Window Coupe for a down payment on our house 40 years ago.

My 4" model 63, and it's counterpart, a Marlin 39m Mountie.

HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! Ouch!!!! HAHAHA!!! That makes my face hurt it's so funny!!!!!!!

You made my weekend pardner!!!!!!!!!!

***GRJ***

For a few,I wish that I had held out for a few more bucks,but I can't say that I have any real regrets,and some premium stuff did go down the road..I've downsized quite a bit in the last few years,all part of my changing life plan.The plan matters more than any gun.
Fact is,if I only owned a few favorites,I'd still have a high percentage of the fun found in the entire batch.

At least he doesn't hold a grudge!???

(And that was pretty funny).

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Possum—The other white meat!

The only gun that I have real regret trading is the one and only gun my wife ever bought me. It was a new S&W Model 28-2 with 4" barrel. I had a target hammer and trigger added and had it brush hard chromed. I carried that revolver quite a bit, so there were some stories attached.

I had to sell a bunch of guns including my first gun, a 20 gauge single barrel Savage shotgun that my father gave me. He had the stock cut and a recoil pad put on. I have missed some of those guns over the years, but I sold them during really lean times to buy Christmas presents for my wife and child. I never regretted that sale.

To pick up on part of that story,my father bought me two Brownings when I was in high school.My father was an excellent shot(had either a marksman or sharpshooter qualification in WW2-I wish that I could remember which one) ,but wasn't a gun guy.He knew that I had the interest,so he told me to never keep a gun just because he bought it for me,it was only a thing that he was buying for me because I wanted it,and that if I thought that it was something that should be sold one day,just go ahead and do it.I sold the shotgun since it no longer fitted my interest-I still have the .22 automatic,as I'm solely interested in rimfires and that one has far more memories.

I have more remorse about all the guns I had an opportunity to buy and didn't or couldn't. So many guns... so little money.

I've never sold a gun in my life and I'm not sorry about it.

But, while I was away at college, my mom sold my dad's nearly unused M1 30 cal carbine he brought back from WWII in the Pacific. She also sold a 45 ACP Automatic that he was issued, but never unpacked from the cosmoline. Plus she sold my Remington 22 bolt action that I used as a teenager for plinking in the desert.

I love my mom, but if she had sold my dad's guns out from under me like that, I am not sure I would still be on speaking terms with her.

About a dozen years ago I was suffering from 1911-itis. I felt a need to sell my 3" M66 and did. Price? $375.
AAARRRRGGGHHH.

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Ret'd LEO
SWCA #2275

In 1996 I bought a 4 inch blue python in excellent condition for $399. In 2000 I thought I needed the money and I sold it for $600. What a fool I was...

An almost pristine 29-2, 6.5", presentation case, all accessories that I got in 1979 when the original owner fired 6 rounds of full power mags through it and hated it. I sold it 5 years ago. That's truly the only one I regret.

I like all different types of guns and used to buy them, shoot them, and then when bored of the current one - sell or trade it for something else.

Got to own a lot of great guns that way but I sure wish that I had kept these:

4 screw 6 1/2" Model 29 .44Mag
Winchester 94 Trapper .44 Mag Carbine
WWII 'U.S. Property' Remington Rand 1911 .45
Pre WWII 'U.S. Property' Colt Service Model Ace 1911 .22
WWII 03A3 .30-06
West German Walther PPK/S .22LR
Colt 1908 pocket .25 auto
1939 Luger - Russian capture and reblue, but still a really cool gun.

W4, Those proud beauties weren't even my guns and I have sellers remorse !!!

Not here.

Sold this 629 years ago:


Replaced it with this recently:

20140916_110247 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

Sold this 625 years ago:


Replaced it with this model 22 a couple years ago:

20140914_094019 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

I'm much happier with what I've got now, sold the guns for what I had in them, and got good deals on the ones that were purchased later.

So far, that's how all my trading has gone.

While I have sold a bunch of guns, the only one I truly regret selling is my Blued 2" RB M10. It was my first CCW and sold it to pay for the M60 I then purchased. Later on I also sold the M60 to a friend that "had t have it", but since by that time I had long ago purchased a M60-7 I didn't regret that sale.

I started out trading pocket knives when I was a boy and graduated to guns when I was old enough. I rarely ever sold any guns since that money always seems to wind up being used for necessities...Being of modest income, I have had to trade for new guns...I have traded many that I missed later but most of those, came by way of trading. I try to keep in mind that they are just objects and are not that important...The older I get, the less important "stuff" is and trading has been as fun as the owning many times.

As mentioned, I have remorse for ones I've sold and ones I didn't buy.
Not a Colt hater but when it comes to some snakes I've had, I wish I still owned them so I could sell them for the crazy prices you see today...
And then buy more S&W's.

Can't think of any I have remorse about. Sure there are some I owned I would like to have back for their current value but no specific remorse about any one gun. I guess because I am not one of those people who say anything is for sale. Guess I don't understand that philosophy. Mine is nothing is for sale. Not enough money within reason to pry a sentimental or gun not likely to be easily replaced for me to sell.
JR

While I've not had as many guns as most of you on here, I've not regretted a trade yet. When I traded/sold it was because I no longer used or enjoyed the gun. The matching numbered type 56 SKS I had was fun to shoot but my brother enjoys it a lot more and he is nice enough to let me shoot it when I get the urge as long as I bring the ammo.

In the early eighties I sold a loose, ratty looking 3 digit Colt Commercial 1911 that I had bought in a pawn shop for under $400.
I sold that gun at a gun show for $700 and thought I hit the jackpot.
Now, not so much.

I have traded or sold at least a Dozen Guns in the past few Years and can honestly say that I don't regret a single One.This is how I look at selling or trading something...How hard is it to get back? There are 3 categories:

1.Can easily be replaced as long as you have the Money
2.Can be replaced but it will cost a bunch and you will have to wait awhile for One to show up.
3.Can't be replaced no matter how much Money or time you have.

I only get rid of #1's or maybe a #2 if I really need to,#3's stay with me until I die....Pretty simple

I've sold off a lot of my S&W collection and I haven't had much sellers remorse because it was time for me to downsize due to age (70) and medical condition (heart). However I sold my Browning HP about 6 years ago and I did trade a Model 27-2 with 6 inch barrel for a near mint Browning HP 1976 C version with adjustable sights because I wanted one again so badly.



I also gave my son my Custom Ruger Mark II and I still miss it a great deal but I know I could get it back anytime I want it as he is getting it when I die anyway.

That alone is enough to give me remorse.

On other brand trades I gave up a Ruger Mini-14 to buy parts for other guns.

A Remington 700VS was sold to buy a Romanian PSL which isn't as accurate but infinitely more fun to shoot. It's a lot more accurate than people give it credit for with match or sniper ammo. The timing was perfect as they've doubled in price since.

My Ruger P89 was given up to my wife and replaced it with a CZ 40-P.

A 50 BMG single shot upper was sold to fund an AR-15 pistol. It's a lot easier to lug to the range and still makes a big boom. I don't have a place to shoot stuff up at around here, anyway. For me the whole appeal of the big fifty was bustin' stuff up.

An old scope I had no use for was sold to purchase a "magnum" German airgun I've wanted since I was a boy.

So far so good. I've gotta stop buying guns and get back to shooting more.

My Fire Breathing Dragon! 629 ND cut down from 4" to 2.5" and maga ported, given a round butt and a trigger job. WHAT WAS I THINKING? Just look at those grips, I know woman who wished they had as many sexy curves, yea baby!

Tom, the best thing you can do to rid yourself of that sellers remorse is to delete those pictures. Outta sight, outta mind.

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Get off my lawn!

I do not regret getting rid of handguns that I have owned. What happens is that one goes, another that I like much more comes along, and is then mine. My trade/sell stock is now very limited! Bob

There are a bunch of guns I wish I hadn't sold or traded, but I always figured I would be able to get another in the future if I wanted it. Then I got married...

I've sold a few guns but the ones I regret selling are a 16" Winchester Trapper in .44 Mag and a Beretta Mod.71 .22LR. Both like new and only lightly used.

This may work for you..... get your wife interested in shooting. She may not mind as much if you want to buy stuff because she like it too. Worked for me. She did latch onto my 67 no dash though! Bob

You're collection helped saved your young son's life. I can't imagine anyone's collections ever being worth that much. God bless you and your family, and thanks for sharing you're story.

I've let a 1955 Heavy Duty .38/.44 in excellent condition get away in the past, along with a Lew Horton 3" .44 Special, a 1977 4" Model 29 in presentation case, a 1974 3 1/2" Model 27, a 4" Colt Trooper Mk III .22 Magnum, a 1978 Colt .45 National Match, a 4" Model 686 w/ a very slick action, and a nickel plated S&W Model 1917 that shot like a dream. There were others, but these are the ones I would like back. Oh well. we can't keep them all.

Sold some (2-3) Model 19s in the late 80s ......after getting a 686 and two 3" Model 66s......... cus I could always get more 19/66s .... they made tens of thousands!!!!

Fast forward to 200x..... hey I don't have any 2.5 or 4 inch 19/66s !!!!......

Thinking I should correct that deficiency I headed out to the LGS...... only to ask ......."where have all the 19/66s gone???"

Took me the better part of 6-10 years to find the guns I wanted in the shape I wanted

Seller's remorse? Occasionally. Some guns I sold simply because I'd lost interest in them. Cool. A few have been sold because circumstances made it necessary. Once upon a dark time in my family, I drove to a gunshow and sold a all matching K-98, a 1921 Springfield 1903 that was just about museum quality, a Colt Python (actually that one didn't really hurt so much) and a Hi Standard Victor. Made money, but hated having to sell the guns, most especially the 03. It was gorgeous... and it was a real match winner. But so it goes.

That was many years ago when the girls were little and there were things that had to be done. Later... in the college years, I sold a number of my beloved M-1 Garands, another all matching K-98 (I knew I would not get to keep it when I bought it... brought it home and told them that it would end up being a semester of college. Came very very close!), another Colt... this time a AR-15 Hbar. Sold it right near the top of the panic... another help with the college bills.

This year I sold off a few pistols that I'd bought but never really bonded with. Sold some of my AP from the M-1 Garand days... took my wife on a 35th anniversary trip up to NYC and Niagara Falls. I don't miss those pistols.

Nowadays... not so hot to trot trying to buy everything I see. Have one RIA 1911 that is nicely customized... does everything I want a 1911 to do. I have a new to me Ruger Mk. II... competition target model w/ a 4x Burris scope. That thing shoots like a house afire! I have several nice S&W's... not museum or collector quality, but very nice. I profoundly enjoy them. Hope and pray that I will not ever see a repeat of those times when I had to let various guns go. It would be very difficult if not impossible for me to replace the revolvers that I now have. Times have changed, money is harder to get and costs for the guns I like are above my pay grade.

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Possibly that is what it comes down to for most of us. Those guns that really grab you will go down with you.