Would you shoot an unfired and rare SW model 625?

I just bought a new in the box SW model 625-3, 3" barrel. It's an expensive purchase but one that I have been looking for a long time. The sale person said he wouldn't shoot it. I love to take it to the range but should I?

Thats like finding the girl you've been seeking out for a long time and she's finally accepting your advances of lame pickup lines.... You finally have a chance to take home the hottest, most perfect girl in the bar! You take her home, get her on your bed, and all you do is look at her! ....What the F*#&^'s the point!?!?!?!

Of course you should take it to the range and plink at least one full cylinder.... That way you can be honest and whimper "...eeerrr....I've never shot it..." when someone asks you how she handles!
 
"Would you shoot an unfired and rare SW model 625? "


.............yes, I would

somewhere along the line somebody is gonna shoot that gun, it may as well be you
 
Shot it yesterday and I like it just as much as my 4" 625-3. They are beautiful. The 3" is now my favorite gun.
 
veggie,
You have received lots of good posts here. I'll add my comments for what they are worth, as a seasoned intern in this fun world of S&W's.

The use of rare, scarce, desireable, collectible (and others) comes up a lot in the gun world, sometimes it's even accurate. Now, your original question - to me - indicates concern over ruining either some collector value, or $$, is that correct?

As Sebago Son indicates, once fired it's going to have a financial impact - probably but not necessarily all the time. Some folks will pay more for absolutely NIB, no doubt.

But let's take a look at that particular model, IMO it's neat, highly desireable to a lot of folks and somewhat scarce (sort of), but rare - no, and from a pure collectible standpoint it's questionable if it is there - yet.

Some folks really like these guns, me included. Some folks are really into accumulating all variations of certain models, me included. Some folks are truly into collecting valuable and interesting/noteworthy guns, but while this one has some good attributes, I'd have to say it's not really collectible (yet), along with probably 90% of the guns made since ~ 1980 or so (heck, maybe even back to the 1970's).

For something to be collectible, there not only needs to be the case for calling it that (noteworthy history, small quantities made, unique circumstances around it's manufacture, wierd variation, etc.), and it also has to have - to some degree - a market, or some sort of following that is willing to pay or seek out that gun from the standpoint of it's noteworthy history, small quantities made, unique circumstances around it's manufacture, wierd variation, etc.

My opinion, like most everyone here, is to shoot it, enjoy it, take care of it and experience what you - hopefully - were looking for when you bought it.

Enjoy.
 
I have the same trouble. Why not lightly shoot? Run say 50 rounds through it on a nice range trip, then take it home and clean and oil. Then, maybe you never fire it again, or you fire it infrequently - once a year or so. Best of both worlds - you get to experience using it but you don't put enough wear on it to make it fall below "used as new" condition.
 
To shoot or not......?

Are you starting a museum? 'Nuff said.........
 
Thank you everybody, and Smithnut, for the inputs. I shot and loved the way the gun handled. Just a great looking gun. I plan to start reload so I can shoot my guns much more . I don't buy guns for financial gain, but I was just afraid of ruining this particular one. But really, I was just naive.

I read online that the production number is only over 300 for this model in 1989 What is the number in the next two years of production (if any)? You guys might see more in the past, but I only have seen this one physically.
 
1.Forget the "investment" nonsense.The dif between NIB,and ANIB is minimal.
2.Did you buy it for the clerk or yourself? Go ahead and enjoy it.Do you not watch a new tv or drive a new car?
 
If you marry a beautiful woman, would you just look at her????


No, but I did hold it (the gun) at the lane for a good 10 minutes before I shoot. Just looking and thinking about this the whole time!! And finally, I fired away!!
 
BTW veggie, you can clean a stainless revolver so it's cleaner than the day it left the factory. As long as you take good care of it and preserve all box, papers, tools etc., the gun will not lose substantial value.

Enjoy!!!
 
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