Information on "Shames"

[Sebago Son]

Indeed it is a myth and a big one. Here is a fact about guns being a good financial investment. Consider this: If you had invested $1 in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) on January 1,1975, ignoring taxes, reinvesting all dividends, and unadjusted for inflation, it would have grown to approximately $97 today, i.e., in today's inflated dollars. Let's just say for simplicity a growth of 100X over 50 years in the stock market, or about a 9.5% annualized rate of return over that time period. What gun that you could have bought for $100 in 1975 would be worth buying for $10,000 today? I would say $500-1000 would be much more realistic than $10,000. And what guns would appreciate in value by 9.5% every year for 50 years? I'd like to buy one. So which is the better investment, guns or the stock market? There were mutual funds based on tracking the DJIA available in 1975 that still exist today, so my rate of return calculation presented above is accurate and fully supportable. In summary, as financial investments, guns suck.

You sure you are doing it right? As one small example, there isn't one of these 28s in this bunch that I paid more than $350 for in the past 10 years. What is this pile worth today? Pre-28s, 28 NO DASH, 28-2 & 28-3. On of each lenght, plus a few more. Before you say, be sure to count the side plate screws. Most have boxes. Best part? No Load. I would gladly take Smith & Wessons every day over the ever decreasing value of dollars.

 

[DWalt]

I do not believe you understood my statement. It has nothing to do with what kind or how many guns with however many screws you bought in 1975, or how much you paid for them then. Unless you can get around 100x of what you paid for them in 1975 by selling them TODAY, you would have been monetarily better off spending the amount you paid in 1975 for your guns on buying into a DJIA mutual fund in 1975 instead. Look up the term Return on Investment. The DJIA fund's value TODAY will likely be far greater than you could get by selling your guns TODAY as the fund produces a far greater ROI than the sale of the guns can TODAY. Another way of saying that the value of the 1975 mutual fund appreciates far more over 50 years than the increase in value of all the guns bought for the same total dollar amount in 1975. Example- take a Model 28 you paid $350 for in 1975. If you instead spent that $350 on buying a DJIA fund, that fund's value would have grown to 100x$350 = $35,000 today. What do you think your Model 28 would sell for today? It sure wouldn't be $35,000. If it sells for $2000, you are in the hole for $33,000 you could have collected had if you spent that $350 on the mutual fund instead. Interesting fact. Had you put $10K in that same fund in 1975, you would have been a millionaire today, and could buy hundreds of vintage Model 28s, NIB. Understanding knowledge of the time value of money is how millionaires become billionaires. I know you did not buy your guns in 1975, but the same type of analysis applies for any time duration you wish. But the numbers will change proportionally. And the fact that guns suck as investment vehicles will remain intact. They are toys, not investments, and only very rarely will they be anything else, e.g., guns with unique histories like George Washington's pistols, Jack Ruby's revolver, guns at Bunker Hill, etc.

 

[Golddollar]

I have a gun that would probably top the List of Shame. When I started out with Cowboy Action Shooting, I needed to get a shotgun. I went to a gun show, and I found a Stevens Model 311 double barrel shotgun in 12 gauge. To say that the finish on the barrels was a mess would be a grand understatement. The story I got was that the gun was left out in a boat and then it rained. The original finish was wrecked, so the prior owner put cold blue on the barrels. That probably wasn't much of an improvement but at least there was no rust on the outside of the barrels. The bores were fine.

This gun would probably gag a maggot, but to me it was perfect. At the Virginia State SASS Championship I found a vendor who could laser burn stocks and I had my alias, SASS badge number and an image of a groundhog burned into the stock (my alias is Punxsutawney Pete). It may have been a shame that the original finish on this gun was ruined, but this gun will have to be taken from my cold, dead fingers.

 

[DWalt]

Opooo"

I have a gun that would probably top the List of Shame. When I started out with Cowboy Action Shooting, I needed to get a shotgun. I went to a gun show, and I found a Stevens Model 311 double barrel shotgun in 12 gauge. To say that the finish on the barrels was a mess would be a grand understatement. The story I got was that the gun was left out in a boat and then it rained. The original finish was wrecked, so the prior owner put cold blue on the barrels. That probably wasn't much of an improvement but at least there was no rust on the outside of the barrels. The bores were fine.

This gun would probably gag a maggot, but to me it was perfect. At the Virginia State SASS Championship I found a vendor who could laser burn stocks and I had my alias, SASS badge number and an image of a groundhog burned into the stock (my alias is Punxsutawney Pete). It may have been a shame that the original finish on this gun was ruined, but this gun will have to be taken from my cold, dead fingers.

Back in my Cowboy days of 25 years ago, the more the shotguns were "distressed" the better. I used a beat-up Model 97 with nearly no original finish. But it worked. Several years later I polished and hot blued it, looked pretty good. But I had stopped CAS by then and I sold it.

 

[RebCop]

A while back, seems like everything is a while back,
Ran into an Old Buddy at a Gun Show.
We just cruising around , chatting and looking at the guns.
Then we see this Nagant Carbine.
John picks it up. He's way more familiar with them that I am.
He looks confused, I look closer then I'm confused .
Dated early 1940s, and it looks brand new!
1940s, the Russians were under the gun, sending folks into combat with shovels, and here's a gun that looks brand new!
So was it really one that got overlooked? Or is there some type of replica?
And if it got overlooked and unissued there, how did it get here?

A lot came in in the 90's. Some that had never been issued.

 

[Tommezgun]

A lot came in in the 90's. Some that had never been issued.

I bought a Nagant carbine in the early to mid 2000s. I happened to go to a local gun/surplus store, and they had a crate or 2 of them. I like military rifles and the price was $114. It looked unissued to me, but I bought it to shoot. I see them at gun shows with considerably higher prices. They had some of the rifles that were in not as good condition as the carbines and at a lower price, but I bought the better-looking firearm. I guess I am just petty that way.

 

[sophie]

I must not get out enough, I've never seen that term used on a firearm forum. Of course there is some evidence that I'm a little "slow".

I've not seen or heard the term either.