i have a question?

[mg357]

dear smith and wesson forum i have a question
what would be considered a modest Smith and Wesson handgun collection? any and all help with this question would be greatly appreciated sincerely and respectfully mg357 a proud member of the smith and wesson forum

 

[oldman45]

Depends on if you are collecting one brand or just handguns. I would say 24 handguns would be a good start to a collection. If you are only going for one brand such as S&W, I would think 8-10 would make a great start.

 

[Model29Lover]

That is a question that will probably get a varied response as most have a different perspective on "modest". That being said I view someone to have a modest collection if they have more than 3 guns that they love, period. One could get into having at least one pre model 29 and a 29-2 and an early 1911 etc etc. but to me it comes down to you and what you love. I love model 29's obviously, so that is what I collect. I am just now at the financial place to start doing what I have been dreaming of doing for years!! In my head I have been a collector, cause I have such an affinity for them, so ya it comes down to how you feel about certain ones. If you are just looking at making a sound investment and are not a shooter purist then I am sure someone else will give you a comprehensive definition of a "modest" collection. Hope this helps you man.

 

[GatorFarmer]

I've answered this before, and can't remember precisely my break down, but something like this :

1. Genuine Colt 1911 that you can shoot
2. Colt SAA that you can shoot
3. older DA beater revolver, Colt or S&W
4. An alloy J frame
5. A spare alloy J frame
6. A steel J frame to compare the others too, either a 36 or 60
7. A Model 27 with an odd barrel length, 3.5" or 5"
8. A Model 28 that you can use without worrying about it
9. A Python, you just sort of have to have one at some point
10. A Model 19 4"
11. Model 19 snub, again, you sort of half to
12 and 13 a Model 15 and 15 snub, same theory as 10 and a 11
14 a Model 10 or 64 pencil or heavy barrel
15. A Walther Pocket pistol
16. A practical pocket pistol
17. some sort of Derringer
18. a .22 revoler
19 a .22 auto
20. a 3" barrel J frame, bonus for odd calibers like .32 SW Long just so you can be different
21. A Colt Detective Special to compare your J frames to
22. a 9mm Glock to actually use
23. Another caliber Glock to keep the first one company
24. A baby Glock to make momma and poppa Glock proud
25. a muzzle loading pistol
26. A Sig Sauer to compare your Glock too, bonus for .357 Sig
27. An H&K auto to compare everything else to
28. a S&W 3rd gen auto cause they are cheap now, but in 20years everyone will be saying how they miss them
29. more advanced tastes - an Artillery Luger
30. Still more rarified tastes a Registered Magnum
31. a boutique 1911 (Baer, Wilson, et al)
32. Whatever gun you actually end up liking after having the HK, Sig, what not, probably something rusty you get for free in a trade


That'd be a start. Not really much of an accumulation mind you, but it'd be a start.

 

[Faulkner]

I have a modest collection of Colt pocket pistols . . .

And I have a humble collection of M1 carbines.

 

[fiasconva]

So that's where all those M-1's went....

 

[Jellybean]

A modest S&W collection?

Maybe 10 for a modest collection, which is more than one or a small to fairly small collection but less than a fairly large, large or obsession. It all depends on how modest the collector is.

Even with nothing but S&Ws you can have different "collections" such as all one frame, one material, one barrel lenght, one caliber, fixed or adjustable sights, etc. etc. But, you might make an exception to include "other" brands in case an original is too rare or hard to come by, such as a Uberti.

 

[sjmjax]

There are infinite answers to a vague question like that. My responce is focused toward a small 10 gun collection that represents the wide range of models and frame sizes. Something like this:

3 J-frames, one each Models 36, 40 & 49.

4 K-frames, Model 10, 15, 19 & 17 or 18.

3 N-frames, Models 25 -2 or -5, a 27 or 28 and the 29

That in my opinion is a modest collection that represents a good portion of the product line and a core to build upon.

 

[redlevel]

Two, by definition, constitutes a collection. Two would be a very modest collection.

You know what? Yours is a really unusual question.

 

[albiek22]

I feel if you own one handgun or one hundred, that would be your collection. When you start, you could buy for frame size, barrel length, caliber, and or time period when it was manufactured. Later on you could change direction of your collection. It is your collection.

Larry

 

[oldman45]

Or you could just be happy with whatever guns you own now or buy in the future.

I have more guns than I can maintain but it took me 50 yrs of buying, sometimes a couple a month, sometimes a couple a year.

My gun collection is more of a hobby. I have more handguns than long guns. I have more S&W than any other brand. It just happened that way. No design on particular products. I bought when I could afford the gun I was either looking at or the one being offered to me at a good price. Some guns were bought on layaway.

But now when someone wants to go shooting, all I have to ask is what caliber, brand and type do you like to shoot. It is a great feeling to have a lot of guns but it was a long trip to get here.

 

[m657]

whatever your intent may be, get started NOW!

shooters generally cost less than 'collector items';

more recent models often are way cheaper than older ones;

Once you get to the point of "Law of Critical Mass" it won't matter (as in "enough your Significant Other can no longer track exactly what--or how many-- you have in that collection)

I favor the rational approach suggested by GatorFarmer....

Different stages in your own tastes will cause an evolution in the types of acquisitions you make.

Sometimes the mandatory "one gun a month" (or year) rule will help keep your discipline. As you familiarize yourself with the market and establish your own favorites, you will come to define what your goals really ARE....and those are entirely changeable.

Make sure you have an appropriate gun safe with room for future expansion.

Cheers.

 

[feralmerril]

Collecting guns and probley anything else is a personnel thing. Some collect I think, to "impress" others. That might be okay for others but not me. I bought what just I wanted. At one time I did like to collect guns of our early western period. I lost a big part of them due to theft and couldnt begin to replace them at todays prices.
Who am I, or anyone else, to tell you what to buy? I could have wrote "Oldmans" respondance. Thats the way I did it too.
Beyound your personnal shooters, I belive what you get, would be considered a collection.
When you get a collection, as you age at some point you will began to wonder what your wife and heirs will do with it when you croak! I am there now. I worry that my wife will run out of money, yet probley have a few years liveing expenses tied up in my guns that might go for a fourth of what they are worth when I am not here to sell them.
I am one of those persons that was born with zero talents. I cant sing, and frankly cant build a dog house or anything else. However since I was a kid everything I really wanted in firearms or cars, trucks or airplanes and motorcycles eventualy became a top collectors item over other similar items or models.
I would say from that, collect what turns you on. At the end of it you will find out wheather you had good or a "crappy" taste!

 

[H Richard]

Although a collection to me is two or more of anything, I classify myself as an "accumulator" instead of a collector. But I mostly accumulate S&W's. As I have aged, I went from shooting S&W's to older, pre-war, and antique models. I seem to have a few of each. When I see something S&W I like, (and I have the money), I buy it. I just seem to "like" the ones made between 1858 and and 1940 better.

 

[NFrameFred]

To me . . . .A modest collection would be one where you have acquired enough to make you interested to find out the history of the various models you have and a desire to know more and acquire the ones you'll get interested in from your research.
YMMV

 

[pharmer]

1) J frame .38
2) K frame .22
3) N frame .44mag
4) K or N frame .357 mag
5) 9mm or .45 acp 3rd gen auto.
Modest. Joe

 

[nra357mag]

Since your question said a "Smith & Wesson handgun collection", I suggest the following tip(s). If you're kinda just getting started, the natural impluse will be most likely to spend $$ on whatever hits your fancy, and you can afford at the time, the result of which will probably be that you'll end up after a few years of having "some of this, and some of that". That said, there's nothing wrong with that. After awhile, your tastes will narrow to specific frames, models, production runs, etc. Let's say ie: that you have a few N frame M27's that REALLY gets your skirt blown up. You'll find that you'll be selling some of your M10's to finance another M27 of a different barrel length or such.

My general observation of "collectors" is that they tend to specialize after awhile, vs "accumulators" who have a bunch of guns of different species.

Again, nothing wrong with that concept, it just doesn't seem to fit with my observations of "collectors". BTW, have you seen Smithnuts picture of the variations of his M10's? Maybe it's still in the archives somewhere.... That'd give you a idea of my point.

My .02 fwiw
Best,
David

 

[wbraswell]

One is an item, two is a very modest collection, three is a modest collection, and 4+ makes you a gun nut. I don't know if it's a virus, or an infection you get at a big gun show.

 

[Duke426]

I agree with "sjmjax" that 10 or 12 S&W with two or three examples in each J, K, L and N frame sizes.

 

[1 old 0311]

Looks like I am odd man out ( what again?) The value of my ammo exceeds the value of my firearms collection.

I KNOW my firearms will last 100+ years, LONG after I am gone, but if ammo got tight(er), more expensive, or banned, they would just be paperweights.


p.s.I was going through my ammo stock and found a box of gun show reloads with a $4.50 price tag. I also have a box of .38 110gr Silvertips with a tag of $14.00

 

[G.T. Smith]

Two, by definition, constitutes a collection. Two would be a very modest collection.

You know what? Yours is a really unusual question.

I have to agree with redlevel that two would be a very modest collection, but to start a collection, you have got to have that very first one in the collection. So it is my opinion, that if you have one S&W 65-4 4" barrel, and you intend to collect more, the the 65-4 IS your collection. I want to call it my nano-collection. That is exactly 1 gun short of a modest collection. Got it?
Peace,
gordon

 

[pawncop]

It, as with so many things is life, really depends on what your view is. I am an accumulator of firearms. I am not limited to any one brand, model, caliber, action, etc, etc, etc.

The majority of my accumulation is comprised of S&W revolvers, but I have almost as many self loading pistols as I do revolvers (quite a shock when I actually broke down the numbers). I have Colt's, Ruger's, Beretta's, H&K, FN/Browning's, and so on.

I have a modest collection of firearms, as I do not focus on brand, model, caliber, etc, etc, etc.

And the fun part is that I will continue to expand my accumulation based upon what I want, and what I like.

The joy is in the quest, after all.

 

[zercool]

I hauled my modest collection out today. I guess by the above standards, I'm actually an accumulator, but I buy whatever grabs my fancy at any given point... and I buy shooters, not safe queens.

At the moment, my S&W list is:
21-4
28-2
67
242
642
5946

Modest, but it makes me smile!