How many folks actually.........?

[Mike SC Hunter]

You actually paid $1,143.14 for that Combat Commander. You have to adjust for inflation.

NO COMPARISON..........He didn't buy it today.........He bought it long ago........Doesn't count

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

In 1956, after reviewing the new Python, Elmer Keith said he didn't think anyone would ever spend a weeks wages on a pistol.

I have never spent a week's wages on a pistol. I think the most I every spent was on the new Ruger 1911. I have a Series 70 Gold Cup, but I bought it used for $325.

In 1980. My wife bought me a 6 in Python from their custom shop for $480.00 for building her(us) a house. I still have it......So....Iffen I ever sold for for $500.00....I'd still be making a $20 profit after owning it for 44 years.

 

[LVSteve]

It was interesting to watch the Rock Island Auction over the last three days. All kinds of firearms sold for tremendous sums of money. Go look at the results and prepare yourself for sticker shock. There were individual guns selling for the price of houses.

Were you looking at just the bid numbers, or did what you saw include their 23% (or is it 26% these days) premium.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Guess it all depends what one thinks __________( fill in the blank) is worth to them. Personally I Never spend $$$ on high end anything. For shooting Iv’e seen WAY More people with expensive guns that can not shoot them any better than ones half their price. Many think a high priced gun makes them a better shot.

It's the Indian.........Not the arrow.

 

[TheTinMan]

Correct, but to be honest though, a lot of that is just range day bragging rights with branding.

After state retirement, I worked county with a female deputy that had to qualify with her off duty gun right next to me. Her husband, ( a Lieutenant), had bought her a beautiful FN Browning High Power....It was exquisite to look at. But either her or it couldn't qualify. It jammed, was wildly inconsistent, etc? Maybe it was her or maybe the gun, but the main qualifying department gun was a .45 Glock 21 and she did fine with that? Anecdotal I know.

For off duty, I carried and still have a S&W SD9VE and it shot flawlessly and I did fine with it even with a heavy trigger, but I was used to it? I dunno?

Again, I think a decent quality firearm and consistent shooting skills eliminates many of the problems that a $2000 custom gun "fixes".

I bought a Les Baer years ago and it never occurred to me to brag about it. It is a fine firearm both in terms of function and appearance.

I also bought this for $300 - that I’ll brag about!

Inglis Hi Power made 1944, factory refurbished 1963, ugly as sin and runs like a top.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

It would vary depending on what I was trying to do. I spent a pretty penny on a Hilton Yam 10-8 that I carried as a duty weapon. It worked well every time, and was a better platform than my skill level. I switched to the issue G21 because of the holster, not the pistol.

I bought top quality ARs (Bravo Company) as a long term investment in my well being, partly based on seeing what did and did not work in serious carbine classes with Pat Rogers and a Dean Caputo basic maintenance class. The number of lesser quality platforms that malfunctioned regularly was frightening, and interfered with that shooters learning and ours.

I am left handed, and long-term reliable ambi safeties on 1911s can be a problem. I have a custom 1911 that is mostly in the nature of a barbecue gun (the serial # is my bar #), and a 945-1 compact. If I were to buy another 1911, it would likely be in Super 38, and with features that work for me. Cost is not the same as value. A right hander can do well with a stock 1911 with decent sights most of the time. Back in the day, as others have noted, it took a lot of handwork to make a 1911 right for serious use; that is not so true now and for example the Tisa products seems to have a consistently good reputation.

Take this out of guns. I had a Subaru Legacy for several years and when it got to the point of a lot of wear (187K), I would have bought another but for two factors. One is that they no longer made one with a manual transmission, which was very disappointing. The other is that I wanted a vehicle that would take two good sized (Rott) dog crates. That meant an Ascent, for substantially more.

We are working on getting a Super C motor home built. The build quality of most RVs is abysmal, and I would never have a Class A for that and other reasons (acceptable quality starts at well over $1 million) and the power trains, brakes, suspension, handling, etc. generally are not near as good as a Super C built on a Class 8 truck. I can actually kept the cost within what I consider reasonable, because we will not have slides and other crud, but it has been a chore to find what I want and it looks like I will have to change platforms from a KW 880 to some Western Star model. I can make it work. It also avoids the crud that goes with flying.

"COST IS NOT THE SAME AS VALUE".........Sir, that should be carved in stone somewhere.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Shortly after Y2K, my brother, myself and 4 or 5 other guys from our conservation club would meet every Saturday morning for a 45 shoot. My brother has always been a better handgun shooter than me! I was holding my own against him with the parts gun (1911) I built in the mid 80's. then he bought some sort of target model Kimber. The I had to "UP-GUN" to my best Sig 220 from W.Germany in the early 80's. He Responded with ordering a top of the line Kimber Custom Shop and a Wilson Custom build. They arriver about two weeks apart and were really cleaning my clock! Both gun were on par with each other, but on any Saturday he would shoot one gun better than the other. I figured out that it was the pressure inside his eyeball as the major difference in the gun were the rear sights. There was no way I could swing the money to order a custom Wilson just to "Keep up with the Jones!"

I was in a LGS and the had a 625 Series of 1989. With my good reloads I would beat his custom 1911's using that S&W revolver. He declared a foul as I used a revolver and him a 1911. If you target won't win...Change the rules!

Ivan

 

[Cal44]

Have people noticed new pickups selling for $90k plus?

Or small 40 year old houses selling for over a million?

Or $18 hamburgers?

Why would one expect firearms to remain inexpensive?

On the other side I know 35 year old engineers making $300k per year and with spouses who make make just as much.

Old retired people had better lay in a stock of Spam and cat food while they still can afford to.

Welcome to the incredible shrinking dollar.

 

[walter o]

I am not complaining or braging .A retired mech .steel worker at the age of 74 i lost my wife of 55 years.GETTING to the point.I decided that i wanted to have aaa gun built as a memorial to her (we shot together )
I now have a COLT pocket 32 cal Engraved re-blued, and Ivory Grips
Scrimshawed ,with a different ROSE
on each panel and on the bottom of the trigger guard well over the monthly budget .Went past my limit on it but i will keep it with no regrets and don't miss the money one bit II
I do miss her
Each time i look at it i think of my wife ROSE

 

[weatherby]

It's the Indian.........Not the arrow.

But if the arrow is bad so can be the shot.

 

[45Smashemflat]

It’s your money…. Seems pretty simple.

Would you spend x$ on x wine? No, but I’d spend x$ on x bourbon…

If buying the high dollar 1911 prevents feeding or clothing the kids, that’s one thing. But if you’ve got your bases covered, buy what cranks your tractor. (And be prepared for a similar purchase for the missus…).

 

[STORMINORMAN]

Well, a while back I bought my 1st ever 1911: a Remington R1 Govt. Model: very "plain jane" but shot just GREAT! Paid $349 after a $50 Rebate. Included their "Lifetime Factory Warranty", too...

A couple years later I bought a 2nd R1: the Enhanced Commander. It was $399 after a similar Rebate. Shoots even better.

I replaced the grip panels on the Govt. Model and added the pretty trick Meprolight LTD "Bullseye" sight that was a custom fit for that model's unique(?) dovetail. Have done nothing to the Enhanced Commander as it really didn't NEED anything.

Other than reloading for them, shooting and cleaning them I have nary a single expense. Don't know about any warranty coverage but, so far, nothing has ever gone wrong.

So: is a Wilson Combat, a Las Bauer, a NightHawk (or even a 70 Series Colt?) truly a better gun that would make me happier? Probably better, but not really any happier. OK: better, for sure!

I prefer to spend the difference on other 45 ACPs I can also shoot and enjoy: my XDM Elite Compact with a Vortex red dot, a Ruger American, Model of 1955, etc.

Cheers!

P.S. I have two Subarus (an SVX & a pre-direct injection Outback) and I won't pay more for legroom on a 2 segment flight than the cost of the durn ticket!

 

[Golddollar]

I think my collection of John Giles and Jim Clark guns will show my feelings about spending substantial cash on customized guns. Their work was known to me from my voracious reading of gun books and magazines belonging to my dad or me. My feeling was that in becoming a competent bullseye shooter I was not going to handicap myself on equipment. I don't regret a penny I've spent.

 

[lamarw]

Were you looking at just the bid numbers, or did what you saw include their 23% (or is it 26% these days) premium.

I was watching the live auctions. The impressive price was the hammer price prior to buyer's premium, taxes or shipping cost. It appears as though most of the wins were from on-sight bidders. Buyer's premium for internet bidders is now 27%.

 

[TheTinMan]

Were you looking at just the bid numbers, or did what you saw include their 23% (or is it 26% these days) premium.

The premium is 17-1/2% if you pay cash and bid directly with RIA. That’s still high, and remember they take 10% or more off the hammer price before paying the seller so the real bid/ask spread is at least 27-1/2%. (The haircut on sellers goes down as the value of the firearm goes up and it does get to zero at some point.)

 

[MSD2343]

The tricked-out high-end models aren’t for me. I thought I was being extravagant a few years ago when I opted for a bare bones Colt Classic 1911 over the more affordably priced Springfield Mil-Spec.

 

[Telecaster]

They sell a lot of $1000 whiskeys, but most people are fine with a cheap bottle of Jack.

 

[The Kid]

You would probably be amazed to really know the true number of high dollar firearms bought every day.

I worked in a custom gunsmith shop for a decade. Built many many guns with a $5k price tag, always had standing orders just another day at the office. Some of the more special ones over the years ranged up to $20k or more.

A close friend is a master engraver and does work for a well known boutique pistol company. He cuts an unbelievable number of jobs in a year with their standard engraving package that he designed, I think it’s a $5k option over the price of the pistol. A couple years back they did a planned limited run of a fancier engraving package, extended the run due to demand and couldn’t keep up, price was $10k per.

We have to remember that for almost everyone “our” baseline of what seems like “a lot” of money is a drop in the bucket for many. Multiple times I saw guys spend more in a day in the shop I worked in than I’d gross in the same year. While I could never fathom being able to afford to do something like that I also didn’t have a jet to take me to meetings to make international deals for my corporation. Reality is different for everyone, your wildest dreams may be someone else’s Tuesday afternoon.

 

[45Smashemflat]

I bought a Nighthawk many years ago, just as they were going “live” as a company. I bought it as a fan of the 1911 design (I already had a couple of Kimbers) and I wanted to reward myself for an achievement at work. It’s a great pistol. It’s pretty old (now), but still brings me joy. The fit and finish is fantastic, and it shoots like it has eyes. I think I have $3K in it, and I custom ordered precisely what I wanted. Could I get my money out of it? Probably not…. Don’t care.

 

[44wheelman]

Just a simple question of taste, expectations, and disposable income.

Does a Rolex tell better time than a smart watch?
Does a 3 series BMW and Toyota Corolla not do the same exact job?
Natty Light or a craft IPA?

30 years ago, I would laugh at buying a Colt SAA, when I could get a Ruger for 1/4 or less.

I bought a used Les Baer wad cutter gun. And when I use Federal Match Wadcutter ammo in it, all my holes touch at 25 yds.