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View Full Version : To shoot or not to shoot this new 1911



pretzelxx
08-27-2014, 11:59 AM
Well, here it is! After waiting three years it finally is in my hands!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/27/cfef11de1879eb87bdce96ff080190f1.jpg
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/27/51d7f7103db5f366b3c12dc0012099e1.jpg
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/27/11b00ea0401e381aaee0019bccd2620e.jpg
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/27/bdada5cbf88cf388f83135d66b999367.jpg

I fell in love with this thing at first sight.

So the question is, should i shoot this piece like a normal firearm, or just a first few shots and then clean it up and box it for show? It came with a display case, but what's a gun if you just stare at it all the time? Then again, why get such a gorgeous firearm dirty?!

Hickory
08-27-2014, 12:07 PM
If you married one of the most beautiful women you have ever seen, would you want to keep her a virgin?

DougGuy
08-27-2014, 12:13 PM
If it's collectible, you shoot half it's value out the muzzle the first time you pull the trigger. Unfired, in the box, with papers, will always be worth MORE. There are millions of 1911's in the world, find a shooter and enjoy it. Box your commemorative up and keep it that way.

crowbuster
08-27-2014, 12:14 PM
wow what a beaut. Im from the leave no gun unshot school but my have to think about that one. Naaa, id shoot it.

xs11jack
08-27-2014, 12:23 PM
I'm with DougGuy, if money is no object, shoot it and don't worry about the money you just lost. Otherwise leave it unfired and it may even appreciate in value over the years.
Ole Jack

Menner
08-27-2014, 12:34 PM
First off I don't own a firearm that has not been shot ( of course I don't own any collector guns )and I normally would agree if you don't shoot it why own it, now in the same breath That is a Beautiful firearm and I would agree with dougguy there are millions of 1911's out there show it off and pass it down the line the the next family member that would take care of it and appreciate it.
just my 2 cents
Tony

Freightman
08-27-2014, 01:10 PM
I don't know it is beautiful, but if you hang it on the wall be sure it goes in your safe every time you aren't there as it will draw thieves. I don't know I have a RIA paid $300 for shoots POA and never hiccups with anything, keep that one NIB as an investment buy a RIA and have fun.

Firebricker
08-27-2014, 01:10 PM
99% of the time I am a shoot it or why have it but you have fine pistol in the 1%. I would be surely tempted but would not shoot that one. And btw congratulations on getting it that must have felt like forever. FB

montana_charlie
08-27-2014, 01:16 PM
To answer your question, think back to the reason you bought it in the first place.

Did you buy it because you fell in love with the looks, and wanted to have one?
Or, did you fall in love with the idea of being armed with such an artistic pistol?

If you bought it to look at ... look at it.
If you bought it to use ... use it.
If you can't make up your mind ... get rid of it.

CM

searcher4851
08-27-2014, 01:29 PM
Sounds to me like Charlie hit the nail on the head, except for that last part.

If you can't make up your mind.......send it to me. I'll figure it out, and you won't have to stress over it any more.

bubba.50
08-27-2014, 01:41 PM
Hickory & Montana Charlie gave the best responses in my opinion. if ya didn't buy it for an "investment" shoot it & let whoever buys it at yer estate auction worry about it's "lost value".

my opinion & yer welcome to it. luck & have a good'en, bubba.

starmac
08-27-2014, 02:03 PM
I don't have much use for a gun that I never plan on shooting, that said I have plain old guns that have been shot, but not since I've owned them for one reason or other. I would probably let the kids or grandkids deal with that decision on that particular one.

bangerjim
08-27-2014, 02:23 PM
Do NOT shoot it! Worth more in pristine mint condition...........collector's limited edition item. I have items that are just too perrrrrrrty to use and their value just keeps going up because they are in perfect unused condition.

But that gun is like a new car......drive it off the lot and the value is almost 1/2. Same with things like that. Once shot it can never be cleaned enough to pass for

unfired.


Like said above........if you just MUST shoot a 1911 because it is just laying there, buy a $500 one at a local gun store and plink away. Keep that one for braggin' rights!

I personally would NEVER shoot that piece of art!!!!!!!

I just do not understand the thought process above that if you own something you have to use it! Used carp is one thing............mint condition limited edition ANYTHING is another.

banger

Firebricker
08-27-2014, 02:28 PM
bubba.50 got me back on the shoot it side if you plan to keep it till death load it up. But if you can ever see your self selling make a nice display case. FB

BrassMagnet
08-27-2014, 02:47 PM
Well, here it is! After waiting three years it finally is in my hands!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/27/cfef11de1879eb87bdce96ff080190f1.jpg
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/27/51d7f7103db5f366b3c12dc0012099e1.jpg
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/27/11b00ea0401e381aaee0019bccd2620e.jpg
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/08/27/bdada5cbf88cf388f83135d66b999367.jpg

I fell in love with this thing at first sight.

So the question is, should i shoot this piece like a normal firearm, or just a first few shots and then clean it up and box it for show? It came with a display case, but what's a gun if you just stare at it all the time? Then again, why get such a gorgeous firearm dirty?!

I am going to tell you what I told my Officer in Charge (OIC), but I will clean up the language a bit!

THAT IS EFFING DUMB!

Now I will add what I said when I had to explain myself!

An E-6 doesn't talk that way to an O-5! Unless, of course, you are totally lacking in tact like me!

When you un-tie wrap the cylinder (His' was a commemorative revolver) you will lower the value by about 10 % and when you pull the trigger the first time you will lower the value to about $50 more than the value of a used plain jane model of the same gun.
Buy a plain jane model, holsters, accessories, and reloading equipment/supplies and practice a lot with the plain jane pistol. If the fate of the free world ever depends on one more gun then you will have everything necessary to use the fancy one.

SharpsShooter
08-27-2014, 02:49 PM
I can understand your concerns. Why, it would be some embarrassing to show up at a range with all the terrible scratch marks all over it and funny looking finish. Do you think it will polish out? I would start with some 80 grit cause some of that stuff looks awful deep. If it will polish out, then I might take it shooting.


SS

:popcorn:

DeanWinchester
08-27-2014, 02:50 PM
If you're not a dire hard collector or expect to resell it for profit, what good is it if you don't shoot it?
To me, a gun I can't shoot is good for nothing.

JonB_in_Glencoe
08-27-2014, 02:53 PM
That thar is fur lookin at !

Hardcast416taylor
08-27-2014, 02:57 PM
Just like buying a new car and then just driving it around the block. Try to sell it back now to that dealer as a new car. Same with this .45. Any dry cycling marks or even firing a single clip of ammo thru it and you have now got just a used gun with a markedly less collector value. I feel if you have the scratch to buy this pistol then you really don`t care whether it`s virgin or broken in.Robert

silverado
08-27-2014, 03:14 PM
If you want something to look at, get a replica, if you want something to gain value, buy land, and if you want something to shoot, buy a gun.

MBTcustom
08-27-2014, 03:53 PM
To answer your question, think back to the reason you bought it in the first place.

Did you buy it because you fell in love with the looks, and wanted to have one?
Or, did you fall in love with the idea of being armed with such an artistic pistol?

If you bought it to look at ... look at it.
If you bought it to use ... use it.
If you can't make up your mind ... get rid of it.

CM

Really, this advice cant be topped. MC nailed it.

skeettx
08-27-2014, 04:06 PM
Well, to me it isn't a gun if you can't shoot it.
So if it is a collector piece, then OK
But if it is a gun, shoot it.

Why did you buy it? Collector, special reason, memories, or as a gun?

Your item, your call,
Good Winds, good sailing

Can you tell I went fishing today and SCORED!!

Mike

castalott
08-27-2014, 04:16 PM
No...Don't shoot it. There's only 99 others like it. If you're married to this, find a mistress....You'll be happy on all counts....

silverado
08-27-2014, 04:20 PM
I betcha that gun can't hit keep 1/2 the shots in a 4 inch circle offhand at 25 yards.... prove me wrong :popcorn:

fatelk
08-27-2014, 04:46 PM
My father in law has a saw blade hanging in his house, with a beautiful mural painted on it. I should ask him when he plans on taking it down and trying it out in his saw. It is a saw blade after all.

silverado
08-27-2014, 04:48 PM
I betcha that saw blade wont make it the first 2 inches of soft pine before it dulls :popcorn:

My father in law has a saw blade hanging in his house, with a beautiful mural painted on it. I should ask him when he plans on taking it down and trying it out in his saw. It is a saw blade after all.

shooter93
08-27-2014, 05:53 PM
I don't buy Commemorative guns but I do have a number of engraved ones and I fire them all quite a bit and hunt with them also. A Commemorative is different though assuming it escalates in price....some do and some don't.

Plate plinker
08-27-2014, 06:11 PM
That's a collectors gun I wouldn't buy it because I'm dumb enough to shoot it.

Dan Cash
08-27-2014, 06:24 PM
A very hadsome piece or ordnance. If you want to shoot it, go ahead. If it shoots well, carry it and damn the future vallue. If it is really collectable, you will make the other 99 that much more valualble. You always see old Winchester 1 of 1000 rifles on display in museums; most of them have been shot and shot a bumch, carried in a saddle scabbard and sometimes rusted up a bit. If it were mine, I would shoot it. My Belleau Wood Colt commemorative got shot within 30 seconds of coming out of the box at the house and no regrets. Not as much blue on it as once was but it is mine and my cherished treasure.

BrassMagnet
08-27-2014, 06:26 PM
I betcha that gun can't hit keep 1/2 the shots in a 4 inch circle offhand at 25 yards.... prove me wrong :popcorn:

I have been told that when production Colts fail inspection they tend to engrave them. I don't know if it is true, but you could be right!

daniel lawecki
08-27-2014, 06:35 PM
Keep as a collector there are people that would buy that down the road unfired. 1911's are like having Hanes underwear but and unfired 1911 collector numbered is another story.

silverado
08-27-2014, 06:41 PM
One thing to consider, I bet that pistol has a factory fired case in a nifty sealed envelope... so you might as well shoot it, not like it is unfired...

Handloader109
08-27-2014, 06:44 PM
Don't expect to ever own a gun as purty as that one, but if it 'twere me, I would shoot the heck out of it. Not a gun if it won't shoot. Only a piece of really purty engraved art otherwise. BTW, If ya shoot it, I'll give you half of what you paid for it :) I think this is silly. if every one of the 100 was shot, would the same figure hold true? NO

Riverpigusmc
08-27-2014, 07:57 PM
I shoot and carry a 3000 dollar Wilson every range trip. However, if I were you, I'd put that in the safe and shoot a 400.00 RIA

KYCaster
08-27-2014, 08:21 PM
QUIT WAFFLIN' AND SHOOT THE DANG THING!

It's a Colt, so it won't run worth a darn. You'll have to take your Dremel tool and polish the feed ramp....get some valve grinding compound and lap in the rails....do a trigger job.....

And for crissake, get rid of that plated front sight and put one on there you can actually see.

You may be able to make a shooter out of it.......or maybe not???

Jerry

nvbirdman
08-27-2014, 10:50 PM
Commemorative guns are not made to be shot.
If you want to shoot that one you should use a different frame, a different slide, and a different barrel.

fatelk
08-27-2014, 11:59 PM
Beautiful gun- what a work of art!

Shoot it if you want to, of course, but to me it just seems a little like taking a rare 150 year old brilliant uncirculated silver dollar out of its protective case and letting it jingle in your pocket. Just seems too nice to put any wear on, to me.

On the other hand, it's your gun not mine. Shoot it if you want to. I wouldn't do it myself but I sure wouldn't blame you either. :)

MtGun44
08-28-2014, 01:52 AM
Like the rock candy in Outlaw Josie Wales - "not for eatin', just for looking through."

In this case - looking at.

I am the original "heck just shoot it!" guy, but there are guns I will not buy because I
WILL shoot them and a boxed S&W in mint condition, unfired from the 60s can't be
"unshot" - so I'll just pass it by.

That one is for looking.

Bill

bobthenailer
08-28-2014, 07:38 AM
if you bought it for a collector gun ? probley not
Im sure you have other 1911s to shoot

Im a shooter not a collector so i never buy new collector guns! but have somehow ended up with a few desirable guns in 99 to 100% condtion some with box & papers ect . they were all previously shot buy the previous owners but not much. I have shot them all at least one trip to the range.

C. Latch
08-28-2014, 07:51 AM
I'd shoot it. Looks like someone's already scratched it all to heck and back.

6bg6ga
08-28-2014, 07:57 AM
That one is for looking at

762 shooter
08-28-2014, 08:10 AM
I would not buy a gun to look at.

Just me.

762

Horace
08-28-2014, 08:29 AM
Not to shoot!

Horace

Love Life
08-28-2014, 09:01 AM
Shoot it or sell it.

TheDoctor
08-28-2014, 09:30 AM
Tough question. Some collectors guns are not worth the original price, 20 years later. Some are worth more. Look at what the gun commemorates, and what the potential target audience will be if you decide to sell. Biggest gun sell regret I have is a python I sold years back. Not to get into specifics, but my main regret, besides selling the gun, is that I never shot it. In this case, I would have gotten about the same amount either way. But, when you auction, you take your chances....

pretzelxx
08-28-2014, 10:37 AM
I'm not too concerned about the value of it, ill never sell it. I was more worried about me leaving an "idiot mark" on the side since it's my first 1911.

Also, I have won the "need a new gun" battle with my wife. She agrees we can get a cheap model 1911 to shoot now!

I thank you all for your opinions as each one pushed me toward shooting and not shooting, ultimately my father in law slapped me upside my head and said not to shoot it. I fully agree the case it came with will be where it lays!

Love Life
08-28-2014, 10:50 AM
Get a Colt to shoot. At the end of the day, they are cheap...and the real deal.

TheDoctor
08-28-2014, 10:52 AM
You "think" you won the "need a new gun" battle, lol! Get something worth the price you will pay for that later...

waltherboy4040
08-28-2014, 12:34 PM
You waited all that time for a wall hanger? Should have just bought a $50 dollar non shooter.







Swamp people voice choot em

fatelk
08-28-2014, 02:14 PM
To each their own on that, in my opinion. Lots of people collect stuff, with no intention of ever shooting it. What's wrong with that?

I have a friend who thinks I'm nuts because I have a bunch of guns and don't hunt. To him, if you don't hunt with it, why have it? I just like to collect old guns and shoot them at the range. What's wrong with that?

oldred
08-30-2014, 05:54 AM
It's easy for folks who won't lose the much higher unfired value to suggest shooting it, if you do shoot it you will will most likely see the day that you will greatly regret it!

Petrol & Powder
08-30-2014, 08:48 AM
That's not the type of gun one buys to shoot, that's a display piece. Will it shoot? Sure, but I don't believe you purchased that gun to shoot it. Ask yourself why you paid extra for all of that engraving plus the other bells and whistles.

pmer
08-30-2014, 09:47 AM
I'm not too concerned about the value of it, ill never sell it. I was more worried about me leaving an "idiot mark" on the side since it's my first 1911.

Also, I have won the "need a new gun" battle with my wife. She agrees we can get a cheap model 1911 to shoot now!

I thank you all for your opinions as each one pushed me toward shooting and not shooting, ultimately my father in law slapped me upside my head and said not to shoot it. I fully agree the case it came with will be where it lays!

Life is good, Win-Win!

MtGun44
08-31-2014, 11:20 PM
Perfect solution, keep the beauty in a glass case, enjoy the art.

Get a Kimber or something to shoot.

Bill