Which To Keep?

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xfarfuldog

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I recently purchased several revolvers from a collector. Now I am afraid I may be in a little over my head. I admit breaking one of my cardinal rules by going into debt to purchase some of these. I do not have to sell any of them. But it will be tight for awhile if I don’t.

My present collection of revolvers includes 2 Pythons, a 27-2,
19-4 snubby, 19-4 4”, 65 3”, 13 3”, a 66 no dash snubby, a 686 no dash, and a 686-3. I also have about a half dozen or so autos I might sell.

Please do not view this as a solicitation. I am just looking for some input. I am a member of OGCA and there are several monthly gun shows including tomorrow. Some are a no brainer such as the 66 and my Python I ave had for 30+ years. Which to sell and which to keep?
 
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For sure keep the Pythons and 686's. Ditch the semi autos... Take a breather, check your finances before considering selling any more.
 
Definitely keep the 3" 65 & 13. These are hard to come by and IMHO the perfect carry revolver.
First choice to sell would be the 686s as those will be fairly easy to replace later. But with the 3" guns, the 19s and 66 are a bit redundant.
Honestly, I'd keep all the revolvers and dump some semi-autos. Good wheelguns are getting harder to find, but semis are a dime a dozen. ;)
 
Keep em all. Tighten up the belt for a week or two. Would you rather have the money or the guns. Now, if your kids need food or you are being evicted then duh, sell some stuff.
 
The 27 is the 3 1/2 barrel. All the guns are in excellent condition. I could easily replace the 2 Glocks, the Shield and the VP9. But the Beretta cougar 45, the P228 and the Colt pony not so much
 
I would never sell a Python the prices are only going higher. Plus it’s one of the best 357 magnums ever produced.. sell what you can easily replace down the road. Keep the pythons, m27-2, the two 19’s, 686. Is sell one glock, beretta, that should get you back in the black.
 
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xfarfuldog said:
The 27 is the 3 1/2 barrel. All the guns are in excellent condition. I could easily replace the 2 Glocks, the Shield and the VP9. But the Beretta cougar 45, the P228 and the Colt pony not so much
Click to expand...

I would keep the 27 3 1/2 for sure. 686 and the semi's you mentioned would be the first to go. But, only if necessary...
 
I am not an L-frame fan so those would go if I owned them

Probably most of the semi autos would go as well.

I would certainly keep the Pythons, snub 27 and snub 66.

The 13 and 65 are up in the air. Probably would sell the 65 and keep the 13....I like Blue

The 19 Snubby would be a keeper and the 4" 19 would depend on how much money I needed and how close I was to that goal.
 
I'd have to keep that 228 out of all the semis mentioned. If it's too tight to manage through, i'd sell anything still being made first, then the 686 first of the wheelers. If you need fast cash, just about anything 3" will sell fast and at top dollar, but will be harder to replace. You know what you like the best. Firearms can be a somewhat risky investment. We never know for sure who will be running the show years down the road. They may not always be so easy to liquidate.
 
Tighten the belt as has been said. The 4 semi's you mention are not going to bring that much. You could probably sell the 686's for double what the auto loaders would bring and not lose money (or as much). And the 686's would probably be easier to replace. JMO
 
X, if I had to, I'd start with he 686's, as they will be the easy ones to replace, when your bucks up again.

I hope you can find away to avoid selling any of them. Start bring lunch to work, quite drinking beer:eek:, and assorted. All of these are good ways to save a few bucks.
 
Personally, I think the Pythons are over rated and right now you can get so much money for them that you might not have to sell anything else. If you think they'll make you more money tomorrow that's up to you but there is a point of diminishing returns and I think Pythons are there for awhile.

Keep the M27 and M19s. This is, after all, the S&W Forum - and those are very special guns.

If you still need to raise more funds dump your polymer pistols and keep your 3rd Generation S&Ws.

After that, well, if money is the issue you will get more for the snub nosed revolvers in today's concealed carry market.
 
OK, I am planning to retire in a little over 3 years. I know I shouldn’t have used credit, but felt this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I bought 7 revolvers from this collector. I can pay them off in about 3 1/2 months.

I am deciding whether to keep my house or sell. This will make a difference in my finances. Already painted inside and replaced the carpet. Just not sure I want to go into an apartment.

I do not plan on shooting the blue revolvers. Originally I did but they are just too nice. I thought I could move from being a shooter to a collector. Maybe not.
 
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I'm not a Colt or semi-auto guy so the answer is easy for me, but my answer may not fit your situation.

I've been buying and selling S&W revolvers for 45 years, and I consider myself a pragmatist. "Things" can cause emotional reactions, but for the most part they're still just "things." The pleasure you get from each one is often hard to measure, but each of those you listed might range from "just a tool" to "my favorite of the bunch." I often read folks on this forum making statements to this effect: "I sold a Model XX years ago, and I wish I had it back." I can think of one I'd buy again (a blue Model 27 5"), but I'm not looking for one. I cannot know which ones hold meaning to you so I believe you need to answer that question for yourself.

Reading between the lines in your post, I interpret your rationale for selling any of your handguns would be to let you pay off the dept you've incurred from buying them on credit. If I'm correct I like your thinking.

Make your decision, then look out the windshield, not the rear view mirror.

Best of luck with your decision.

ps: you posted your last post (#19) while I was typing. Knowing this update I wouldn't sell any of them. I'd pay off the debt in that four months, and then I wouldn't go into debt for any more.
 
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xfarfuldog said:
The 27 is the 3 1/2 barrel. All the guns are in excellent condition. I could easily replace the 2 Glocks, the Shield and the VP9. But the Beretta cougar 45, the P228 and the Colt pony not so much
Click to expand...

Sell the Glocks and the VP9. See if that will take you through.
 
They are just things. If being in debt is making you uneasy (which I certainly understand) then sell them all and pay off your debt. The sleep is worth it.

I had to have a mass sell-off a few years ago, to pay for a new roof I would never see. I had to take a buy-out from a relocation company (at a $65,000 loss) in order to move from where I was to where I wanted to be, and the roof needed to be replaced first. The 65K was enough of a nad-kick without going into debt for a roof, so I started hauling guns to the gun shop to sell on consignment.

The only thing I wouldn't put on the block was the Fox Sterlingworth 20 gauge that had been my grandfather's pheasant gun.

I sold some doozies, including a pre-war non-registered .357 Magnum. That one hurt.

When I had enough cash for the roof, I stopped the bleeding. I had a pretty good collection left, and I've since been able to add more than I sold.

So, to answer your actual question from someone who has been there, I would say to keep whatever has actual sentimental value to you then start selling the rest in order of how much you can get rather than how hard they would be to replace.
 
Admitting up front that we are on the S&W forum so all Python discussion is already tainted... I think the Python is WILDLY inflated in value currently. I also simply don't (necessarily) believe the quick, easy and "pffft no brainer!" knee-jerk reaponse that Pythons will only rise simply based on the Python market of the last decade.

To clarify, yes, I agree that they will rise in price, but I believe that all metal handguns that are currently discontinued/not in production will rise, but I do NOT believe Pythons will sustain this growth.

Put it a third way -- a Python is worth a heap of cash and 5 years from now, absolutely still worth a heap of cash. HOWEVER, a RM/Triple Lock will rise at a higher rate over the next 5-10 years than a Python, in my opinion.

If you have a Python -AND- you will ultimately sell it and you know that you will (and you want to), I say that now is a FINE time to do it.

If you can find a buyer that sees value in that bloated Python market, sell that sucker right now, especially if it's a later gun, 80's or later.

Most all of us here attach a lot of emotion to guns/collectibles, and that's fine, good, expected. Aside from emotions and such, guns have value based on many factors. Condition is the biggest factor. In my opinion, a close #2 factor is SCARCITY.

Some odd-featured Pythons have scarcity for sure. But I'm not sure if most realize that otherwise... Pythons are NOT SCARCE. Colt built and shipped more than half a million. That's a lot. That's more Pythons out in the world than the S&W 39-2.

No, I'm not equating these two in values. I'm just offering one reason why I believe that Pythons carry a bloated value.

If I owned one and it's fate was to be sold, I'd do it while prices are high (now!) and demand is high (last couple years... maybe a bit less now?)
 
I regreted selling a few of my firearms years ago. I will not make that same mistake again. Never ever sell a gun unless it is absolutely necessary.

BTW if you sold the Python revolvers I highly doubt you will be able to afford them again as prices are ridiculously high. Good luck and be safe.

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
 
Amoung the semi-auto's I would keep the Cougar. If you've shot one you will understand. I'm on my fourth, friends keep buying them out of my hands at the range. Wish I had the Beretta version.

Stu
 
I see 1980s made 686s all over the place. Unless they are some kind of unusual version I would sell those first.

In my neck of the woods there is another variable involved, whether or not they are private sale prior to the cutoff date in late 2014. People are flat out not selling those since they automatically get papered by the state via the FFL.
 
I don't know. It depends on what your interests are and how cool or collectible the semi-autos are.

As collectibles, S&W are a lot more bag for the buck than Colts. I bought my first snake gun recently - a Diamondback - and though it's in real nice shape for the price I paid, I could've easily bought a couple of nicer model 15 S&W's for that amount...and I like shooting 15's better than the Diamondback, at least with stock grips.

It might be a hard sell for the Pythons, though. Most people don't want to spend $2500 for a gun, even a very nice one. What I would probably do is sell whichever guns I won't take a loss on. Best wishes.
 
First, I'd sell those two Pythons! I've got no personal use for them, but even so, they'd generate the most money for the least number of guns you have listed. (If one of the two is the one you've had for 30 years, I'd keep it, if for no other reason than it's a good investment and you got it relatively cheap! Next, I'd add the two 686's to the sale list since they should be easy to sell and hopefully recover the money you spent for them. Don't sell a semi auto you really like, but if you are ambivalent about any of them, especially if they are easy to replace if you wished to do so, sell 'em. Hopefully these sales will allow you to keep the rest of them. For me, I'd not sell either of the three inchers, the 19 or 66 snubbies, or the 19 four incher, in that order, assuming they are all in nice condition all around.
 
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