I was looking at this thread and was impressed with the collectibility of some of the early Desert Eagle guns. Is this giant 500 S&W Magnum handgun a good likely collectible if I bought one and just put it away, new in the box for future sale, say 20 years from now?
Would you pretty much have to pay retail to get a gun like this?
What say the SDMB gun mavens?
You would probably be better off putting the money in a decent mutual fund.
I don’t have anything against collecting guns, I just think collections are a poor investment, as opposed to a hobby.
I doubled my money in 4 years when I bought a few (sealed) copies of Madonna’s aluminum bound “Sex” and sold them for over twice what I paid . Oddly it was Australians that were nuts for them. I just kinda-sorta wondered if this offered the same flip opportunity. I’m not a real gun enthusiast, although I do like, and appreciate, fine mechanical objects.
The problem is that it is very difficult to predict what will be collectible in 20 years. Any stock Smith & Wesson revolver is by definition a mass-market item, so it is unlikely to be rare in the future. Smith & Wesson sold a bunch of .44 Magnum revolvers after the “Dirty Harry” movies were released. Most of them were shot a few times and then stashed away or sold used at a loss.
If I wanted something that was collectible, I would look at getting something from their custom shop.
Without a doubt, “collectabilty” is a weak investment prospect-unless you are an expert in the specific area(arena??). If guns are a personal love, buy/invest purely on personal interest-don’t expect to make money.
On the other hand, it’s unlikely you’ll lose any money if you decide to purchase the gun and sock it away. Because of their intrinsic value, most guns - and particularly high-quality specimens – tend to “keep their value.” It will have an even higher value if it remains new/unshot.
So even if it doesn’t go way up in value, there’s still a good chance IMO that you’d be able to get at least 90% of your investment back.
My friend has this very gun. He’s sent it to S&W twice now due to pitting in certain areas. Definitley a nice looking gun, feels nice too.
…actually he has the 10 1/2" model.
I doubt if it would keep up with inflation. In the short term it’s not a new gun even in pristine condition and would have less value than you paid for it. It’s not not unusually rare as it’s a regular production model and even the value of custom shop models and even those aren’t particularly rare as a whole because there are so many of them.
The only firearms that consistently rise in value are machine guns because the registry was closed in 1986. There are about 177,000 registered machine guns available for civilian purchase in the US and that’s all there will ever be unless the law is changed. Prices are in the range of ten times what normal market value would be. H&K MP5s, even sear guns, sell for up to $20K where police departments pay less than $2k for a new one and even bottom of the barrel MACs are over $2,500. The limit hasn’t been reached but the pool of buyers will be much smaller as prices rise further.
In the last half of this article, veteran gun freak and novelist John Ross gives his opinion of the S&W .500:
http://www.john-ross.net/betrayal.htm
It would appear he loves it.
Check out a pic of the .44 vs. the .500:
http://www.john-ross.net/photogallery/500S&W.jpg
Wow. :eek:
The real problem with the SW 500 is that everyone that had more money than brains bought one. You kinda have market saturation with that gun. The gun is still being made, and you and I can go buy one today at the local store if need be. Keep in mind that I view gun collecting as a hobby and not an investment.
I disagree. What if a person just wants to shoot a big handgun? What’s wrong with that?
A few months ago I bought a .50 BMG rifle. Everyone thought I was nuts… “Too big!” “Too impractical.” So what?! I like it!! It’s a big gun, it takes a big cartridge, and it makes a big noise. What’s not to like? 
Cost of ammunition?
Not bad; I purchase professionally loaded .50 BMG rounds as follows:
.50 BMG API $1.00 / round
.50 BMG APIT $1.20 / round
.50 BMG S/T $1.20 / round
.50 BMG AP $1.15 / round
Cheaper to shoot than a Lahti. Keep it in perspective. Unless you own an M2 you probably won’t ever want to burn though 50 rounds of .50 BMG in a session.
Crafter_Man I’m chartruese with envy, which rifle did you you get?
If it’s not you buying the ammunition, what concern is it to you?
It’s been a few years since the last time the ammunition fairy left a case of ammunition under my pillow.
Wasn’t it hard to sleep with a case under your pillow?
I have a Serbu BFG-50 and 5.5-22 x 56 NXS Nightforce scope. On this page you’ll find a pic of a buddy of mine shooting it in our backyard.
And Padeye, the envy is all from me. Not to sound patronizing, but if I knew just 10% of what you know about firearms I’d feel like an expert.
