Two or more, that is.
The recent deals on Model 10s made me think of several occasions when I bought a gun in similar circumstances and later wished I had bought two of them, or maybe even more.
Most of us oldsters remember when we could buy a nickeled Model 36 for $150 OTD at the local hardware store. That isn't what I'm talking about. I can afford a new j-frame at current prices easier than I could afford the $150 ones way back then. What I'm talking about is a time I could have bought a couple of copies of a gun without breaking the bank, but just bought one, or in some cases, none at all.
The best personal example I can think of was when the SKS rifles were all the rage. I guess this was in the late 80s. The cheapest I can remember them at my local shop was $69.95. I was on a teacher's salary then, and that was before the big raises we got from Zell Miller, but I could have bought three or four of those rifles over a six month period. I bought one, and traded it off. I just wasn't that interested in them. Now, I have two. I paid $275 for a Yugo and 600 rounds of Wolf ammo just before the election in 2008, and thought I got a bargain. I bet there are two thousand (literally) of those rifles stuck back in closets, at the bottom of truck tool boxes, behind truck seats, and lying on shelves in barns just in my rural county. I know folks who probably bought a dozen of them.
In the early 90s, probably about 91 or 92, the Norinco "Model of The 1911" clones became available. I had decided I needed another .45 acp 1911A1. My good friend at the gunshop recommended the Nork. I still didn't have all that much disposable income, but the Norks were relatively cheap, and I have excellent credit at that store. I should have got two. If I had realized what a bargain they were, and what good quality the Chinese 1911s were, I would have. The jury was still out on them then, though. According to information on The 1911 Forum, the Norks first were available in 90/91, and Clinton issued his executive order banning import of Chinese handguns in 1995, so they weren't available all that long. I wish I had bought two of them.
About five or six years ago, the same gunshop from the first two examples got in about a dozen police riot shotguns on a trade with a South Georgia Sheriff's department. They had Smith&Wessons, Remington 870s, and Hi-Standards. They were asking $185 for the Remingtons. I bought one of the Hi-Standards for $145. It was banged up and had a little rust, but it functioned flawlessly. There was another HS and several 870s that looked fair, and I flirted with the idea of getting another one, but decided against it. I wish I had bought another one now, just to keep in the barn. I doubt if that deal will come along again.
To end on a happier note, right after Christmas in 2007, my same friend who works at the gun shop called me and told me that someone had traded two Model-10s, and did I want them. I told him to put them back and I would look at them the next day. What he had was a five-screw M&P from 1948 (my birth year) and a 10-7. The M&P was in about 85% shape, and the 10-7 was a pinned model, in about 90% condition. He wanted $250 for the five-screw and $200 for the 10-7. I looked at them, and knowing I was running short of funds right after Christmas, I told him I would take the five-screw. I got to the truck with the M&P, sat there for a minute, said "shucks" (or something similar), went back in the store and told them I would take the 10-5 too. The girl doing the paperwork, one of my students, said, "We knew you were coming back."
I guess I have gotten more predictable in my old age.
The recent deals on Model 10s made me think of several occasions when I bought a gun in similar circumstances and later wished I had bought two of them, or maybe even more.
Most of us oldsters remember when we could buy a nickeled Model 36 for $150 OTD at the local hardware store. That isn't what I'm talking about. I can afford a new j-frame at current prices easier than I could afford the $150 ones way back then. What I'm talking about is a time I could have bought a couple of copies of a gun without breaking the bank, but just bought one, or in some cases, none at all.
The best personal example I can think of was when the SKS rifles were all the rage. I guess this was in the late 80s. The cheapest I can remember them at my local shop was $69.95. I was on a teacher's salary then, and that was before the big raises we got from Zell Miller, but I could have bought three or four of those rifles over a six month period. I bought one, and traded it off. I just wasn't that interested in them. Now, I have two. I paid $275 for a Yugo and 600 rounds of Wolf ammo just before the election in 2008, and thought I got a bargain. I bet there are two thousand (literally) of those rifles stuck back in closets, at the bottom of truck tool boxes, behind truck seats, and lying on shelves in barns just in my rural county. I know folks who probably bought a dozen of them.
In the early 90s, probably about 91 or 92, the Norinco "Model of The 1911" clones became available. I had decided I needed another .45 acp 1911A1. My good friend at the gunshop recommended the Nork. I still didn't have all that much disposable income, but the Norks were relatively cheap, and I have excellent credit at that store. I should have got two. If I had realized what a bargain they were, and what good quality the Chinese 1911s were, I would have. The jury was still out on them then, though. According to information on The 1911 Forum, the Norks first were available in 90/91, and Clinton issued his executive order banning import of Chinese handguns in 1995, so they weren't available all that long. I wish I had bought two of them.
About five or six years ago, the same gunshop from the first two examples got in about a dozen police riot shotguns on a trade with a South Georgia Sheriff's department. They had Smith&Wessons, Remington 870s, and Hi-Standards. They were asking $185 for the Remingtons. I bought one of the Hi-Standards for $145. It was banged up and had a little rust, but it functioned flawlessly. There was another HS and several 870s that looked fair, and I flirted with the idea of getting another one, but decided against it. I wish I had bought another one now, just to keep in the barn. I doubt if that deal will come along again.
To end on a happier note, right after Christmas in 2007, my same friend who works at the gun shop called me and told me that someone had traded two Model-10s, and did I want them. I told him to put them back and I would look at them the next day. What he had was a five-screw M&P from 1948 (my birth year) and a 10-7. The M&P was in about 85% shape, and the 10-7 was a pinned model, in about 90% condition. He wanted $250 for the five-screw and $200 for the 10-7. I looked at them, and knowing I was running short of funds right after Christmas, I told him I would take the five-screw. I got to the truck with the M&P, sat there for a minute, said "shucks" (or something similar), went back in the store and told them I would take the 10-5 too. The girl doing the paperwork, one of my students, said, "We knew you were coming back."
I guess I have gotten more predictable in my old age.
It would just make me cry.
I also wish I hadn't sold off at various times the three pristine .22 Colt Diamondback's I've owned over the years, the list goes on..........
