Mint condition guns

[PaulR]

What are peoples feelings on older guns in mint condition.

I like to use all of mine which means they don't remain mint for long.

Some years ago I bought a mint BSA Merlin from here but could not bring myself to use it which seemed a waste so I sold it on.

Today, on the air pistol thread, the discussion was Crossman American Classic pump up pistols. This reminded me I have a boxed one from the l970s. It is in it's original cellophane within the box and has all of the original stickers on it. I fired it about 5 times when I bought it and once more today and I don't think it was ever used before I got it.

Again I think I really should use it but cannot bring myself to spoil the mintyness and don't want to get rid of it. Logic tells me I am being daft.

How do others feel about the subject?

[splosh!]

use them and look after them for the next keeper. I love mint and love using them

[greasemonkey]

i have a webley premier, the blued version which is as new ,supposedly unfired.i dont use it but only because i have simular used webley pistols in my collection.if i didnt i would certainly use it..

[Muskett]

Its your property do as you like.

Mint rifles have their very own appeal and people are willing to pay a premium for it. When many mass produced rifles do not wear well in use then mint examples are even more desirable. Mint examples from times past are getting increasingly rare. For collecting then condition has always been the deciding factor on price realised.
The start of Air Gun World 1978 saw a renewed interest in air rifles. This is my start date for true mint in box collecting of Air Rifles.
As it is if you wish to shoot an example of a certain rifle then generally there are plenty of used examples to be had for a lot less money. That mint example will not be mint for long once used.

Finally, degradation over time even happens to unused rifles, to the point there is little gained in shooting a mint one over a used and serviced example as they are no longer factory fresh. A mint one is an object, a used one is for the use of. The desirability of collecting mint is because it is mint.

Your call.

[45flint]

I shoot the ones I have than are mint because you need to keep them in shape and lubed to protect the workings. You can keep them pretty well mint by not shooting them that much. Shooting these great examples gives you insite as to how they were in there day. Many people shoot run down examples and never know what the gun really was like.

[AC all day]

I had a brand new pistol and was over careing for it, my gunsmithing mate tossed it on his kitchen draining board and kicked it about for two weeks....when i got it back it still worked just as good and i wasn't afraid to use it....best pistol i ever had actualy.
There are made to be used...so use them, you dont buy a Porche to look pretty...or do you??

[Abasmajor]

Before I started collecting vintage air guns, all my acquisitions were owned from new and cared for to the extent that it would have been hard to distinguish them from new. My first 'collectable' air gun was a BSA Cadet Major bought as is often the case, in an attempt to recall my youth. I was however really attracted to the used but not abused appearance which only older guns can offer. Consequently, I'm not one of those collectors who would be prepared to pay a high premium for a mint gun or indeed a price commensurate with the amount of finish remaimig, much preferring an overall grey patina to either of these.

Fortunately, this means I also have no reservations about shooting them, albeit sparingly for some of the rarer ones.

Brian

[PaulR]

Interesting.

The few mint examples I have (had) were all obtained at a price "good" examples would get.

I know they are worth more because they are mint. Price, however, does not bother me as I have never looked at them as investments - rather fun toys I can now afford but couldn't when I was young.

I guess what I am saying is I have a couple that I look at and think "Nah - don't want to mark it". That said I have also had a pristine Webley Vulcan which I used constantly. It is still good but has the inevitable dinks and scratches from constant use.

I know I am not consistent.

[Muskett]

Air Rifle collecting is a poor investment in investment terms. Lucky to get your money back in real terms let alone actually make a return over interest. Their value is in ownership.
I've had at times more rifles than I could shoot in a day. Many large collections have more than could be shot in a week. One spring rifle isn't that different to another. Take several models or at least from the same stable then there isn't much difference at all. More to do with how much grease in there. Some collectors don't even shoot.

If you are a shooter first then you will want to shoot them. If you are a collector first then the shooting part is far less interesting. I'm a shooter and prefer to shoot a well sorted and fettled rifle. I'm not going to get that from a mint rifle. In fact I'm not so much a collector of rifles more actions and tac drivers. Everyone to their own.

If you have something truly mint just consider if its important to you. If not possibly you could be doing more to pass it along and get something better for you. You might make a mint collector happy. I've bought and traded a few rifles just because I couldn't bare them just being turned into "another" used and abused.

[cinedux]

Air Rifle collecting is a poor investment in investment terms. Lucky to get your money back in real terms let alone actually make a return over interest. Their value is in ownership.
I've had at times more rifles than I could shoot in a day. Many large collections have more than could be shot in a week. One spring rifle isn't that different to another. Take several models or at least from the same stable then there isn't much difference at all. More to do with how much grease in there. Some collectors don't even shoot.

If you are a shooter first then you will want to shoot them. If you are a collector first then the shooting part is far less interesting. I'm a shooter and prefer to shoot a well sorted and fettled rifle. I'm not going to get that from a mint rifle. In fact I'm not so much a collector of rifles more actions and tac drivers. Everyone to their own.

If you have something truly mint just consider if its important to you. If not possibly you could be doing more to pass it along and get something better for you. You might make a mint collector happy. I've bought and traded a few rifles just because I couldn't bare them just being turned into "another" used and abused.

far more interesting than a mint item that has been bought and stored.

[Muskett]

There is that too. A gun owned by someone interesting. Or one that wears some history.

But there is something remarkable of a true mint rifle. As it came from the factory. I see the appeal, and so do others, others willing to pay a premium for them. I'm pleased there are such collectors.

[slug-gun]

I guess it all boils down to a combination of personal taste and how ambitious you are as a collector. The ultimate collectible, ANY collectible, for it to be called such, has to be as close as possible to the condition in which it came from the factory that made it.
Whilst having a airgun in this state may not excite every collector, particularly when the likely large extra premium to buy it is taken into consideration, it is what the most serious collectors will strive for.
How close they get to that will depend on how rare or difficult to find that collectible is.

If you are interested in a subject then some will want to pursue that interest to the highest level possible, and for a collector that invariably means pursuing 'mint' items.
Why would you not?
If you are a shooter who has a preference for using old and obsolete air guns then that is another matter entirely, and the relevance of whether a gun is mint or not is largely insignificant?
'Mint' therefore is where the serious money goes, and where any return on your investment is most likely to be gained in the future. It is simply a case of supply and demand - and the supply of the truly mint will always be limited.
That is why for example a M/B Dinky toy will fetch many multiples of pounds over the same toy not in a box and 'only' in excellent condition.
Same applies to airguns.

How big a differential there is will be governed by how much interest there is in airgun collecting generally. Compared to toy collecting for example, airguns are a relative minnow, but awareness of just how few of certain types of airgun were made, and therefore how hard they are to find in really good order is growing, which will lead to prices increasing for the mint, and even more so if mint and rare!
The 'shooters' will always remain affordable which is great for those that enjoy using them, as they can do so without the worry that such could bring them harm, or reduce their value.

[Gareth W-B]

.
Well said slug-gun aka Chris: on the money as usual.

[silva]

Always check "minters" over very carefully before purchasing - especially on older stuff.
Its not unusual for minters to be rifles that have been returned to the dealer with major flaws and then lanquished in the back for decades, until they become collectable.

[JACK RATT]

Always check "minters" over very carefully before purchasing - especially on older stuff.
Its not unusual for minters to be rifles that have been returned to the dealer with major flaws and then lanquished in the back for decades, until they become collectable.

I agree with your comment, but if they never get used though, does it really matter ?