Paper manuals?

Rastoff

Rastoff

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I keep all my manuals in a particular spot. I always include them if I sell a gun. They do take up quite a bit of room though. The electronic version is easier to store and easier to find when needed. I admit that I prefer the paper version for just reading, but I wouldn't lose a minute of sleep if a new gun only came with a link to an electronic version. In fact, I have the .pdf of every manual for every gun if I can find it on line. Ultimately it's easier.

Does anyone here demand a paper manual? I mean, isn't the electronic version just as good?
 
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Rastoff said:
Does anyone here demand a paper manual? I mean, isn't the electronic version just as good?
Click to expand...

Anymore when I buy anything that has the manual on-line I print it out. Kind of a hangover from dealing with real property for 38 years. I guess I still like to hold a document in my hand when I'm reading it.
 
I wouldn't care if the policy to include paper manuals changed and they were not included with any firearms. It's already that way with most appliances and other items we consumers purchase. I would, however, make myself a printed copy of the digital copy of the manual and keep both. Guns without a paper manual after such practice was discontinued would cease to be worth more than those with a digital manual since anyone could easily download their own copy. Those that had the paper manuals provided might still bring a premium if the manual was missing.

I don't say I'd like this to happen, but I sure won't be surprised if it does. As long as I have the manual in some form, I will be satisfied. The quality and usefulness of a manual is not determined by whether I have to print it for myself from the digital copy provided or whether the manufacture prints and provides it. We might get more information with the digital copy, since there would be less expense for the manufacturer!
 
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Manuals??? We don't need no stinken manuals!

Sorry, couldn't resist. When I buy a new gun I have researched it on the manufactures web site, read the manual online and probably watched a few YouTubes on it as well, so the paper manual never leaves the box. I save it just in case I trade it someday because it helps with the value of the gun. I have the online manual saved on my computer for every gun I own.

Besides, do real men really read the instructions??
 
I save the manuals for all the guns I buy, they are keep is a plastic sleeve in notebooks. When I sell or trade I pull the manual from the note book and it back into the box/case.

I bought an older Ruger rifle that is no longer made and it did not have and paper work, but the manual was online so I down loaded it and I read it.
 
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No. I prefer paper, and it works even if the computer is out.

In a national emergency or a local weather crisis, you may not have electricity.
 
Rastoff said:
I keep all my manuals in a particular spot. I always include them if I sell a gun. They do take up quite a bit of room though. The electronic version is easier to store and easier to find when needed. I admit that I prefer the paper version for just reading, but I wouldn't lose a minute of sleep if a new gun only came with a link to an electronic version. In fact, I have the .pdf of every manual for every gun if I can find it on line. Ultimately it's easier.

Does anyone here demand a paper manual? I mean, isn't the electronic version just as good?
Click to expand...

Much rather have it laying on the table in front of me .. I have manuals still for things that I've gotten rid of and a few times they have come in handy ..

Same with the companies that want to go paper less on bills .. I want that bill in my hands to look at and have a copy of !!
 
IMHO the original paper manual can not be replaced by an electronic version - for value that is. Original is always the way to go for maximum value.
 
How can you fold up and put into your shooting bag a plastic CD so you can reference it while at the range? (Don't say use your smart phone 'cause my phone hangs on the kitchen wall and has a long curly cord.)
 
Not so much guns, but I down load and save manuals for appliances and even furnace and water heater. I even found and downloaded the manual for my pickup.
 
Most of my collection came without manuals as they were bought used and boxes and manuals were long since discarded.

I do however have a collection of manuals dating mostly from the 60's forward. Some of the more popular S&W's have had many revisions and the company changed hands in the 60's so there are a bunch of variations.

I keep my manuals or parts lists in plastic sleeves in a 3 ring binder organized by model and or model number starting with the older versions on up to the newer ones.

Guns like the model 10 or 36 can have as many as a dozen variations and during the Bangor Punta years their logo changed about a half dozen times. For a paper collector it can be a daunting task and expensive too. When I started, a parts list was around $5 whereas now many are asking $25.

With the improvement in copy machines over the years one has to be careful that you are getting an original and not a copy. ;)
 
Whitwabit said:
Much rather have it laying on the table in front of me .. I have manuals still for things that I've gotten rid of and a few times they have come in handy
Click to expand...

When I sold my first house, I probably surprised the daylights out of the buyer when I showed up at settlement with a big box full of manuals for the appliances and built-ins in the house. I didn't need them anymore and I thought I would help the new buyer out rather than have everything end up in the landfill.

As far as guns, I subscribe to the thought that having the factory manual enhances the value, not that I'm planning on selling anything. If I'm buying something the absence of the original manual and/or box probably won't kill a deal for me, but if those are available I just have a better feeling about what I'm buying.
 
If you print out a manual from the internet (pistol, stove, toaster, whatever), you are using your printer & your printer ink. I assume this is why manuals are increasingly unavailable except online. Same with paperless billing.
 
PJO1425 said:
If you print out a manual from the internet (pistol, stove, toaster, whatever), you are using your printer & your printer ink. I assume this is why manuals are increasingly unavailable except online. Same with paperless billing.
Click to expand...

Same thing with IRS forms and instructions. Plus they don't have to mail them anymore.
 
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