Hey everybody. I kinda got caught up in a thread in the last few days about someone who let a special gun get away from them, and someone posted something to the effect, "we've all had it happen, move on, no regrets". Then I said, "does this need it's own thread? So now I'm doing this...

I occasionally lose sleep at night, and since I'm saying that here, in this thread, you know where I'm going with this. Where to start...?

Okay, how about...

About 1984 I was working at a small gunshop in Wisconsin. The guy that owned the shop resisted all my pleas to get a Class 3 license, and finally told me to get one myself and run the business out of his shop.

Okay, long story short, it's 10 years later, I have closed up my moderately successful machinegun dealership because, you know, life happened. So, in accordance with federal law, I have current legal ownership of numerous machineguns, including:

Thompson M1A1
Royal Typewriter Korean War vintage Browning BAR
H&R Reising M50
Interarms-import UZI w/ wooden buttstock
Valmet M76, professionally converted to select-fire

Then we needed money.

So, I sold them. ALL of them. Looked good up front. I just about tripled my money on the whole bunch. Of course, today I couldn't touch any single one of them for 2-3 times what I got for all of them then, but I'm.....fine.

Oh, and to make things worse, a few years back, all the pictures I had taken back in my Polaroid/35mm ownership days have completely disappeared, as in "here they are/ where'd they go?" Fortunately, I still have copies of most of my federal forms, but that only makes the loss more painful. But I'm...fine.

Of course, then there was that....No, no. Your turn now.

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Ain't This Fun Though?

We all have shoulda coulda woulda (or maybe shouldn'ta) regrets, and I think if we got where we are now without financial or physical ruin, and if we dwell on them, we could become bitter or cynical. Methinks we should smile about our fecklessness, carelessness, immaturity and ignorance of days long past, and occasionally pass on the lessons learned to younger folks when the opportunity arises.
There is some satisfaction in that.

The closest I can the Savage built No4 Mk1 (no star *) with a six-groove barrel that I inspected at an auction but didn't bid on due to rust in the bore at the muzzle. I'll probably never see another.

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Release the Kraken

I respect that answer, but you're avoiding the fun part!

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Ain't This Fun Though?

When I was in high school a friends dad had a little.410 engraved double barrel he wanted to sell for $15.00. There was not enough money in my world for that gun. I'm 84 and still think about that gun. I sold a 3 1/2" .357 Magnum for $400.00, some regerts.

And then there was Lujuana.........

Not a gun regret but a big one nevertheless. Summer 1980, 1st of 7 working in the swamp heat, I got a small bonus. Went up to a storefront in Orlando and put the whole $760 on a bar of silver. I reckon it's tripled today. If'n I'd bought 58 shares of Disney (where I was toiling 6-7 days a week building EPCOT), with the 3 splits I'd have 2784 shares @ about $110 or $306,240. Upside, I still have the silver where in my late 20's between strippers and "consumables" any money would be long gone. "Regrets; I've had a few".........Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

Applies to other things we acquire earlier in our life, and then "let go", only to have serious regrets later in our lives. or things we did not buy or trade for or the like, things we did NOT acquire, and later, regret not acquiring that item. It isn't necessarily a financial regret, lost income, but just that no mater how much we may search for the lost item, or one just like it, even "replacing" it just isn't the same. I could list guns, cars, and other items I will forever regret not keeping, or not buying. I guess one could even regret lost "opportunities', relationships, and so forth.

Nostalgia is part of growing older. SF VET

My "regrets" involve guns I Didn't Buy !!!

Why I didn't buy that S&W model 19 357 magnum with 2 1/2 " bbl and nickle plating ... I love short bbls and wasn't married !

And I passed up an early Ruger Blackhawk in 41 Magnum ... because I thought I wanted a 44 magnum (reading too much Elmer Keith ) and I didn't know what the 41 Magnum could do with cast bullets and handloads ... I got a model 58 S&W but passing on that Blackhawk still Haunts me to this day !

That's my only two regrets ... not too bad !

Gary

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Certified Cajun
NRA Member

Most of my regrets involve people, not guns.

John

First revolver I bought a Model 15 Combat Masterpiece, 1974. Sold it two years later, pressured by an ex fiancée. After a couple of more “we don’t need this” of things I owned I figured out what I really didn’t need……

Replaced the 15 this year finally.

I don't have any regrets. Well,,, there was this once....

Back when I lost my job in 2009, I had to make the decision as to what guns and ammo I needed to sell quickly so that I had more of a cushion for keeping my house. Losing my house would have been real financial ruin. Luckily it kept me afloat until I got a six month temporary job and then the final job that I worked at until retirement. I managed to replace some of the guns I sold and because of changing interests I didn't bother trying to replace the rest.

The guys at the auction house and I still get a good laugh thinking about how I drove in to the auction house with the body of my car almost riding on the axles because of the load of stuff I brought.

OK, I'll play.
In 1968, I bought a college graduation present from me to me.
A 1967 Corvette coupe, only 6,000 miles, 400 HP, 427 CI tri-power, oxford green with tan interior, white stripe on the hood, with AC, leather seats, and electric windows.
I sold it for $3,200 and bought a 1968 427, 435 HP Corvette convertible with a hard top, which was a trouble-ridden piece of junk that I sold at a loss.
I suspect that '67 is a $100,000 plus car today, if it survived, which I doubt, because the guy I sold it to called me a couple weeks later asking if I knew where he could get another. It was stolen and stripped.

I once bought a 1955 "pre-27" with a 5" barrel, Magna stocks that numbered to the gun, and the gold/blue box that also numbered to the gun. Very slight blue wear. I was too dumb to know what I had, and sold it a few years later at a loss.

The other one maybe not as dramatic, but I bought a beautiful little AYA side by side 20 gauge from Sears-Roebuck about 1978 or so. A pretty fancy gun in my world. Again, I kept it a few years, used it for dove hunting and such, then traded it off for something else.

Those both bug me late at night.

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John 3:16 .

Regrets? I've had a few. The guns I wish I didn't sell:
1. 581 in nickel with box and Curt Harlow grips
2. Ruger Wiley Clapp gp100
3. 29-10 with Curt Harlow's excellent work unfired with all the extras
4. 586 with Curts grips
5. Star PD
6. Ruger Redhawk in blue .44

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The best I can with what I got

My regrets tend to lean towards cars and motorcycles. But when I sold them I had a reason. It was never because I “needed the money”
It was usually to by something else.

New, unfired SIG-AMT. I relocated in summer 2009 back when the economy was in the tank. Sold the rifle in anticipation of not being able to find a job very quickly after the move. As luck would have it, 2 weeks after I sold it, I landed a solid job. AMTs have practically doubled in price.

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Some Might Say.

I passed on a first gen FACTORY ENGRAVED Colt Single Action Army. $2200. With a very cool period correct (1920s) buscadero style holster. The stocks were not original, but very cool tea stained Catalan stocks like John Wayne’s. This was only ten years ago. What a dummy I was.

I've had a few. But then again, too few to mention.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I have lost count of the guns I sold but wished later that I hadn't. Probably the most prominent was a Colt Walker. It was in fairly junky condition. But how many real Walkers has anyone here ever owned? Then there was the Volcanic pistol I bought for a song in a small town shop. And the time I had a chance to buy Ian Fleming's documented Ruger .22 at a good price but didn't. And the list goes on.

Don’t have that many regrets.
But there is that Shelby GT-350 that I wish I still had.
Speaking of regrets- one of my fav Willie songs.

Nothing I Can Do About It Now-Willie Nelson - YouTube

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Stock Photo.

S&W Model 915. The first handgun I ever owned. I bought it the day I got out of the Army.

I occasionally regret having sold it. I think that's odd because it was one of the most inaccurate handguns I ever owned and it wasn't just me that had problems shooting it. Nobody who tried firing that particular handgun could hit with it. I ended up giving it away.

I think if I had to do it over again I might have kept it just for sentimental value but I absolutely never would have carried it and I wouldn't have invested in it. magazines or good holsters or anything like that for it.

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Retired Career Security Guard

Have bought, traded and sold several hundred guns in my lifetime. Started when I was 10 years old. Do I wish I had kept them all? Yes, I do........However, I like my Wife better and I doubt she would have put up with it all.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Regrets? Where to go to school. Major. Passing on a cool job because I was "in looooove." Getting married.

I’ve sold and traded quite a few I regret however the one I regret the most might seem silly to you all. It’s a model 10-5 that had no sentimental value and slight pitting in its standard 4” barrel. I don’t know why that one bothers me so much but I even reached out to who I sold it to years later (on here), and I don’t remember the answer I got but I still don’t have that gun. It was my favorite shooter and my most accurate S&w (in my hands). I’ve sold 66’s, a 27, 28’s, 686’s, and many others but it’s that stupid 10-5 that i want back the most.

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Jim

Wish I would have mortgaged the house and bought a pile of food company stocks the week after covid shut down the country. With restaurants and schools closed, lots of food processors were near failing. When schools and restaurants opened back up, the companies were right back in it and growing to keep up with demand. Those food company stocks I did buy, doubled in just 1 short year. In hind sight---I would probably be retired now and not looking at another 5 years.

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"Tastes just like chicken"

Back about 35 years ago, I had a chance to buy a Johnson Automatic Rifle in very good condition for $150.
Same seller, a 1917 Enfield, same condition, same price!
Thought I needed the $ for something else....

My first handgun was a nickel 4" Colt Python bought new in 1974 when I was 16 years old (actually my dad was the "legal" purchaser). Sold it in 1983 to scrap up money for the down payment on my first house. Fortunately I sold it a good friend so I still get to visit it once in a while.

I would be embarrassed to list all of the guns I let go over the years.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

My father a few years ago sold some machine guns that he had bought back in the 80s because they were either duplicates or "too much work".....

Gone were an Uzi, and HK sear, and - this one hurts - a M2 .50 cal. I finally convinced him to not sell any others as they are just going to go up in value, save them for when he really needs the money, not because they had increased in value so much since he had bought them.

Also, we had a family friend who passed on and we could have bought his collection at a really good price, but we convinced the widow to sell them on the market for the most money. We couldn't have afforded the whole collection, but I regret not buying his Lahti.

Finally, we passed on a Japanese Type 92 - their version of the Lewis Gun - that was a veteran bring back from Iwo Jima with impeccable provenance, including a jar of sand cleaned out of the gun from the island. At the time, 8 grand seemed a bit steep....

If you had done that every stock would have tanked and you'd be mentioned in the evening news.

Local Investor Killed by Wife After Losing House

Look at it this way. You just changed one asset for another. I sold a boatload of guns and ammunition and a car to keep from losing my house when I was out of work. And if faced with the same situation I'd do it again. Luckily I got my mortgage paid off years ago.

More than I can list here. Live and learn.

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No baby we aint

If you can believe it, Knott’s Berry Farm used to sell guns. Really! Their original theme was The Old West, and that included an old style gun shop.

I was visiting my recently un-estranged grandfather in 1969, when I was 15, and he took me to Knott’s. I was really too old for it at the time but he didn’t know what else to do with me, but all was forgiven when I saw that gun shop.

I had just been getting into guns, and was a voracious reader. I had just seen an article in one of the gun rags about .45 Colt SAA Cavalry guns, and wouldn’t you know it, the Knott’s shop had one!

Almost no finish, but crisp, clean, all matching, sharp markings and inspectors cartouche, and that 7-1/2” barrel, all for the princely sum of $200! They also had a cartridge converted 1860 that some knucklehead had nickel plated, but I only had eyes for the SAA. I begged my grandfather to buy it; I had the money in my savings account and would of course paid him back, but he didn’t think I knew what I was talking about and refused.

I was so mad!

The following year I was visiting him in Sarasota, FL and I told him that Colt was now worth $500. He still didn’t think I knew what I was talking about, but my birthday was near so he took me to a pawn shop that had an awesome selection of old guns and he quizzed me on them. I blew him away, knowing every model and even closely estimating the prices, so he told me to pick out one for my birthday present.

I settled on an unfired .32 nickel Colt Pocket Positive ($125 in the original box!), so I did ok, but I still think about that SAA that got away, especially when I see what they are going for now.

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Richard

I mentioned a couple earlier, but have thought of another one I sort of regret. A 1964 Colt Python, blue, with a 4" barrel. One of my "grail guns." The rarest of the rare, a "shooter" grade Python. Most I see are pristine examples that I wouldn't have wanted to shoot, but this one was already scratched up a little. I paid $800.00 for it. Took it home, flitzed it a bit, Ren Waxed and got it looking presentable enough to take to the prom. Man I liked that gun. It wasn't any better than any other 357 I'd owned before or since, but it was a 4", blue Python one of the two guns I'd wanted when I bought my first handgun (the other was a Model 19, it won out because it cost about half what a Python did even then).

Then I lost my job, had to sell a bunch of guns, and finally the Python went on the block. At least I sold it for more than I paid for it, and it went to a young Marine, just back from the sandbox. I figured he'd paid for it "over there" and cut the price a little for him.

A few years later, I was selling another gun on our local "gun for sale" board and got an "I'll take it" from a guy who's name seemed familiar to me. Yes, it was that young Marine. When we met up I asked him if he still had the Python...(maybe he'll sell it back to me). No, he'd kept it a few months and sold it to someone else. Drat.

I've got a couple of the "new" Pythons and really like them, but I still wish I had that '64, in blue.

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John 3:16 .

Regrets, I've had a few but then again too few to mention.

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Retired Career Security Guard

Traded a 1966 mustang for a brand new 1972.......pinto.

I traded a 1966 Mustang for a 1972 Chevy Nova.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.