Beater versus cabinet guns

[Mossy88]

You ever buy two of the same exact gun because you know youre going to bang one up and you want a show model too?
Ive done it. lol. My wife thinks Im nuts, but Ive got Berettas that havent been fired because I bought two of them just so I could keep one in mint condition.
Do I have a disorder? :mrgreen:

[farmerjim]

I am not and never be a collector. All my guns are used. A scratch or a ding are a badge of honor. I am good enough to be used.

[Finster101]

I only have one gun that I would consider a beater. That is my KelTec P32. It has seen so much rain and sweat from being carried in my pocket that it sure ain't purty but it still goes bang every time. I even make a point of not cleaning it before going to the range just to prove it's reliability. Then it gets cleaned well and fresh ammo in the mag only to go back in my pocket for maybe another six months.

[Butzbach]

Not a disorder really. We are all just trying to find a way to cheat the worms and the rust. Ah but the beaters are the most fun. I bought a S&W model 13 off of GB that had definitely seen better days. Soooooo popping off the side plate and doing my first trigger job was no trauma. I sweat so much that keeping it in my chest rig causes speckles the cheap reblue job it came with. But so far with its new mainspring it goes “bang” every time.

[GARD72977]

I bought a 98-99% 1884 Springfield Trap Door. I couldnt make my self shoot it so I bought another really nice gun with no cartouche on the stock. Still havent shot that one......

[444ttd]

whats a cabinet gun?:lol:


every one of them has scratches and dents that i, along with some others, have done. when i buy the rifle, it knows it must be shot many times.

[racepres]

whats a cabinet gun?:lol:


every one of them has scratches and dents that i, along with some others, have done. when i buy the rifle, it knows it must be shot many times.

And if too Nice... let the kids borrow it for a season... Back to a "Using Tool"!!!

[contender1]

Long ago, I chose to buy a shooter to accompany my collector pieces. I do enjoy collecting, and displaying. But I also enjoy shooting,,, so I try & get (2) of certain ones for sure.

[Pete44mag]

If I own it I will shoot it as often as possible. No collector guns here.

[Gtrubicon]

Guns are tools, I use tools.

[Mk42gunner]

I've never personally understood the keep it in unfired condition mentality. If it is unfired, just how sure are you that it will work if needed?

Maybe it would be different if I had a closet full of $3,000.00 Korths, but I doubt it.

Robert

[Markopolo]

Guns are tools, I use tools.

Well said!!!! [smilie=s:

and my tools are fun!!!

[brewer12345]

We chase jackrabbits in a place tat is sagebrush prairie. A few scraggly trees on 5000 acres are the only vegetation above waist high, and the sand and grit that blows around the property on windy days is so bad that I keep a pair of ski goggles handy to protect my eyes are we walk around. Jacks are tough animals and often need a finishing shot after you tag them with the 12 gauge. None of us want to have a fancy sidearm in that mess. I really appreciate my Bulgarian Makarov, but it is in far too nice a shape to bang around there. A few years ago I picked up a "cosmetically challenged" CZ82 from J&G Sales for like $200. Mechanically in great shape and like all Eastern Bloc guns is shoots in whatever conditions you ask of it. But it has chipped grips, a crappy finish that is partially worn off, etc. I like the pistol real well and it is handy for the intended purpose. Sometimes I think about getting a nice set of wood grips, having it custom cerakoted, etc. Then I realize that a couple of days being sandblasted in my holster would probably undo all of that.

[rbuck351]

I collect guns but not for resale. I collect them to shoot not just to look at. If I get a new to me gun in a caliber I don't have, I get a mold or two and a bunch of brass and take it out and shoot it as soon as possible. I rarely buy new guns as used ones are usually cheaper and I don't have to worry about a ding or scratch.

[2A-Jay]

All of my guns are display pieces and shooters. Some of my display pieces are more fun to shoot that others.

[kevin c]

I have no firearms that could be called collectible, but I do have pistols that are BNIB. That's because Glock pistols are not expensive so owning a couple of a model doesn't break the bank, and being tough, reliable service pistols, I can shoot one in practice and competition 50 to 75 thousand rounds before it gets retired and the backup is broken out.

Like it was said above, tools.

[dverna]

I have mostly tools, and toys and a few collector pieces.

Many "redundant" tools, but not to keep one pristine. A NIB tool has no attraction for me expect as a spare...but I want to be sure the spare works so it will get tested. I want 2 or 4 of the same guns for SHTF so we all use the same mags and cartridges. I do not need four AR toys until I NEED four AR tools. I have a similar affliction with the .357, 9mm, .308, 30/30 and 12 ga platforms. If I HAVE to have it, I need more than one.

[NEKVT]

All of my guns are shooters although some infrequently especially now to stretch component supplies. Even though my safe isn't quite filled to "rated" capacity my guns have gotten more nicks and dents from being in the safe than using them. Many have steel buttplates so that didn't help. I went to buying gun socks for the unscoped ones and put socked ones in between the scoped.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

You ever buy two of the same exact gun because you know youre going to bang one up and you want a show model too?
Ive done it. lol. My wife thinks Im nuts, but Ive got Berettas that havent been fired because I bought two of them just so I could keep one in mint condition.
Do I have a disorder? :mrgreen:

Yes, I have. And what usually happens is that when I decide to keep one in pristine condition and buy another to actually use, I get the second one all cleaned up and maybe refinished, and then it's too good to subject to hard knocks. Actually, I can't imagine letting a gun get beat up voluntarily. Maybe yes, out of necessity.

DG

[BamaNapper]

I have a Steyr Model L that sat for a decade or more because I didn't want to beat it up. Double set trigger and a sweet full length mannlicher stock. It's easily the best shooting long gun I've ever owned. I even refused to put a scope on it, not that it needed one, or that it got shot enough to justify one.

I realized at some point that the engineering and workmanship is wasted if it just sits there looking pretty. I mounted a decent scope on it and it now gets hauled through the woods as my primary deer rifle. It's got some scars now and it wears them well.

[WebMonkey]

if i had the money, i'm sure i would.

i don't have the money, or at least decided i didn't want to allocate the money above other 'things'.

so i've made peace with myself that anything i buy will be used.
some used more than others certainly but no 'guns' bought for M.int I.n B.ox collecting.

that said, no grief at all with/for people who do.

:)

(my 1985 K20 truck would LOVE to have a pristine copy in the garage)

[MostlyLeverGuns]

I do have a couple 'rain/snow' rifles. Mostly they are bad weather rifles due to having receiver/iron sights, not because I worry about getting a rifle wet. I do appreciate stainless steel handguns, if you are out in bad weather for a couple days, they still function and look OK, without messing up the bluing. I do have some guns I have never shot, but that is just a matter of time rather than concern for unblemished newness.

[jonp]

Can't say I have but I've bought a few Hi Points which are the definition of beater guns. Chuck a carbine behind the truck seat, heck tie it to the bumper and no matter how much you bang it around it will still work and for the price all those scratches won't bother you at all

[sharps4590]

Interesting question....and concept. Short answer, no. I buy what I want and usually it's something collectible, old, not cheap and already has battle scars provided by some intrepid Nimrod a century ago, or more. I shoot them for fun, education and hunting. One more ding more or less isn't going to hurt or devalue them. New and shiny is really rather repulsive to me....especially those shiny Brownings....yuk. Gimme something with some character, evidence of use and care....and history.

[Mk42gunner]

I already answered about buying safe queens, but the question lingered in my mind last night.

Forty years or so ago, My best friend and I did a lot of coon hunting and trapping for fur. For those who haven't had the pleasure of following dogs at night, you will run through brush and stuff to get to the dogs when they tree that you couldn't walk through in the daylight.

Trapping along creeks also involved a lot of cold wet slick mud. Slip and falls were not uncommon.

Consequently, to save our good rifles (our first single shot .22 bolt actions, which we both still have) we would buy a .22 of about any description as long as it worked for $10-15 in the fall. Use it all fur season, then sell it after cleaning it thoroughly.

We never broke one, but it was nice to know that if we did, it wasn't something we were sentimentally attached to.

Robert

[Geezer in NH]

To the OP uh no.

[Idaho45guy]

I have rifles that I will not bring into the woods for fear of damaging them. We're talking $17k custom hunting rifles. Or a rifle with an Al Biesen stock worth $5k. My dad has gifted me a few fine firearms over the years that are simply out of my price league. I could never afford to replace them. So I leave them protected and pampered.

The guns I can afford and purchase get used. They are taken care of, but I use them.

I've never heard of anyone buying two of one model of firearm for the purpose of using one and storing the other. But, if you have that kind of money, I guess it makes sense.

[robg]

mine are for shooting .same as cars/motorbikes are for driving riding.whats the point of things if they are not used or work?

[jonp]

I've never heard of anyone buying two of one model of firearm for the purpose of using one and storing the other. But, if you have that kind of money, I guess it makes sense.

I agree with you on this but the rifles and pistols I want and can afford can stand a few scratches. If they were in the league of some of yours, then I'd be afraid to shoot them much like that guy who spends $80k on a Pick Up that never go's off pavement or see's anything in the bed. You can sure tell I've had something in mine

[Ed K]

I have rifles that I will not bring into the woods for fear of damaging them. We're talking $17k custom hunting rifles.

And I managed to snag a trophy wife but I'm saving her for the next guy :kidding:

[perotter]

And I managed to snag a trophy wife but I'm saving her for the next guy :kidding:

Now that's a good way to word it.

[Finster101]

I never bought a gun intending it to be a beater. It just happened to a couple of them because they were used so often. I don't have anything I don't shoot but some I do take more care of than others.

[Kyle M.]

I tend to buy beaters so that I don’t mess up a nice gun and so I can afford them. If it’s mechanically sound with a good bore and not totally beat up that’s usually good enough. Sometimes I’ll go out of my way to get something nice, I tend to be overly careful with new guns. I think the only guns I own that don’t have a single blemish on them are my Sig P210 and my Uberti .45 Colt SAA, and that’s because they’re brand new.

[ShooterAZ]

I'm one of those guys who buys nice rifles and then turns them into beaters. One slip on the rocks or gravel is all it takes. Just like a brand new vehicle, after the first scratch or dent, then you don't have to worry about it any more.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

My 27 year old Model Seven is my most beat up gun. Deer hunting will do that. I think it was my first center fire rifle. Pristine bore and a few scuffs and dents on the stock. But it is still a handsome piece. Got an 870 Wingmaster that I bought in 1976 that also has some wear. Some blood pitting on the barrel from a pheasant. But I wouldn't call either of them beaters though there are thousands of rounds between them. But I am not an Leo or a rancher who totes a gun daily.

[Idaho45guy]

I'm one of those guys who buys nice rifles and then turns them into beaters. One slip on the rocks or gravel is all it takes. Just like a brand new vehicle, after the first scratch or dent, then you don't have to worry about it any more.

My dad is the same way. He has beautiful custom rifles worth more than all of my guns combined, and takes them on hunts and they get scraped and scratched and get what he calls "memory marks".

I view them as works of art and could never subject them to the chance of being damaged.

He has one particular rifle that I will inherit that is worth a ton of money. It was a Jack O'Connor tribute rifle built by Al Biesen in 1971 and taken on several sheep hunts and used to take two North American Grand Slams. Just a beautiful rifle. But it has been used hard on the sheep hunts and shows a lot of memories.

282873

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[Wayne Smith]

Totally off specific topic, but I am reminded of a story I heard years ago. An official portrait of Queen Elizabeth was done and the artist smoothed out many of her wrinkles. When she saw the painting she rejected it out of hand - saying something like "I sweat blood for each and every one of these wrinkles and I'm proud of them!" Given what she has actually gone through I empathize with her remark.

Much the same could be said of some of my guns.

[brass410]

I dont collect firearms to look at, I aquire them to use and enjoy,.just as they where meant to be, sort of like a truck after a while dents and scratch mysteriously appear giving it some history and heritage. No firearm was really meant for display otherwise they would have no need of a firing pin.

[Wayne Smith]

I dont collect firearms to look at, I aquire them to use and enjoy,.just as they where meant to be, sort of like a truck after a while dents and scratch mysteriously appear giving it some history and heritage. No firearm was really meant for display otherwise they would have no need of a firing pin.

Oh no, there are some very decorated guns, historically and presently, that literally are made as art pieces. I have absolutely no interest in them.

[Mossy88]

I dont collect firearms to look at, I aquire them to use and enjoy,.just as they where meant to be, sort of like a truck after a while dents and scratch mysteriously appear giving it some history and heritage. No firearm was really meant for display otherwise they would have no need of a firing pin.

I think that is where i might differ from a lot of gun 'nuts'. lol.
I dont like shooting them as much as I do having them. A nice Beretta, well, not counting the polymer framed ones...I literally hate all polymer guns regardless...is a work of art.
I generally buy these low end guns to hunt with. Ive beaten the hell out of so many of them over the years. If they can hit the target, they dont need to be expensive.
Just have some guns that I bought one originally and end up buying a second to set back and pretty much never fire.
Mostly Berettas.

[white eagle]

You ever buy two of the same exact gun because you know youre going to bang one up and you want a show model too?
Ive done it. lol. My wife thinks Im nuts, but Ive got Berettas that havent been fired because I bought two of them just so I could keep one in mint condition.
Do I have a disorder? :mrgreen:

yep
unless you live long enough for the gun to be a collector
guns were meant to be fired and often I might ad

[Four-Sixty]

I'm gonna use mine, not just be a custodian of a gun for the next guy who owns them.

[Winger Ed.]

Mine are sort of both.

Beautiful, excellent condition, and functional cabinet guns that I'm real careful with when I transport and go shoot them.

[Bobbers]

I had a Henry Golden Boy that belonged to my father he never shot it it was just displayed. After his passing I got the gun. The gun was a great gun. For me it looked too pretty and could not bring myself to shooting the gun. So I ended up selling it for more then he paid for it. Put the money back in to a gun that I could shot the hell out. Win win.