Is it ok to get a $2000 Luger... then shoot it often?

hansfischer007 · 02-22-2011, 12:09 PM

For years I have read time after time....some guy will pop up and say.".after looking for 8 or 10 years...finally found my.........(fill in the blank)...and Ive been wanting this pistol for so long....I carefully wiped it down....and now its going into the safe...to be my SAFE QUEEN"........Great...Go ahead and do it....something you have wanted for years...you get it....you lock it up.....10-15 years down the road....God forbid ...you drop dead of a heart attack.....after couple of weeks...safe gets opened.....and guns get handed out....some will be kept..some shot...and some just plain head to the pawn shop....My take on it is.....life is short....enjoy it.....and if you find the ultimate luger youve been wanting....shoot it..!!!...dont just let it stay locked up until you pass on......take it out...show the grand kids what was carried over 100 years ago.....show them how it works.....and I say this from experience....years ago when I lived in Memphis....worked with a guy that was a Colt .45 WW1 Collector....and all his pistols were "Safe Queens"...never shot them.....and I dont remember him ever saying he took them out.........and he had a heart attack......safe was opened....relatives fought over the guns....and within 6 months....they had all been sold...traded...or just plain lost......so think twice about your "Safe Queens".....

Edward Tinker · 02-22-2011, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hansfischer007

......... ............. .......... ................ ............. ................ ..........so think twice about your "Safe Queens".....

uh okay. I am glad that you think EVERY collector is the same.

Many folks display, study and do things with their collections.

I know several collectors who have their collections displayed or have easy access and pull them out and take pictures of items, such as Ron Wood has done on many occasions.

Ed

rjk-bw42 · 02-22-2011, 02:04 PM

Ron's response was excellent and hit all the key points to consider. As a collector, I have a set of firearms I display, study and keep safe, not only for me, but hopefully for generations to come. Then, I have my set of firearms I shoot, most are 20th-century military arms that have had some arsenal rework done, are mismatched and are safe to shoot.

nukem556 · 02-22-2011, 04:44 PM

I dunno...I can see both sides, but to me a firearm is a machine, a tool....to not use it at all is to deny its identity, its purpose for being. I wouldn't own a functional firearm I didn't personally shoot at least ONCE, otherwise it's just a lump of metal.
Conversely, I agree that irreplaceable pieces of history shouldn't be abused or fundamentally altered (if i had a 1902 Carbine, I might put a dozen rounds a year or so through it, but I wouldn't nickle-plate it!).
While we are still a ostensibly free country, you can't make other folks decisions for them though...it makes me ill that guys take P-51 Mustangs and Hawker Sea Furies and chop the wings shorter, soup up the engines and race them at Reno....but hey, they own 'em.

02-22-2011, 12:09 PM	#1
hansfischer007 User Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Sunny Tennessee Posts: 233 Thanks: 509 Thanked 96 Times in 48 Posts	"Safe Queens"... For years I have read time after time....some guy will pop up and say.".after looking for 8 or 10 years...finally found my.........(fill in the blank)...and Ive been wanting this pistol for so long....I carefully wiped it down....and now its going into the safe...to be my SAFE QUEEN"........Great...Go ahead and do it....something you have wanted for years...you get it....you lock it up.....10-15 years down the road....God forbid ...you drop dead of a heart attack.....after couple of weeks...safe gets opened.....and guns get handed out....some will be kept..some shot...and some just plain head to the pawn shop....My take on it is.....life is short....enjoy it.....and if you find the ultimate luger youve been wanting....shoot it..!!!...dont just let it stay locked up until you pass on......take it out...show the grand kids what was carried over 100 years ago.....show them how it works.....and I say this from experience....years ago when I lived in Memphis....worked with a guy that was a Colt .45 WW1 Collector....and all his pistols were "Safe Queens"...never shot them.....and I dont remember him ever saying he took them out.........and he had a heart attack......safe was opened....relatives fought over the guns....and within 6 months....they had all been sold...traded...or just plain lost......so think twice about your "Safe Queens".....

02-22-2011, 02:04 PM	#3
rjk-bw42 User Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 9 Thanks: 10 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Ron said it best Ron's response was excellent and hit all the key points to consider. As a collector, I have a set of firearms I display, study and keep safe, not only for me, but hopefully for generations to come. Then, I have my set of firearms I shoot, most are 20th-century military arms that have had some arsenal rework done, are mismatched and are safe to shoot.

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02-22-2011, 04:44 PM	#4
nukem556 User Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Irmo, SC Posts: 625 Thanks: 35 Thanked 168 Times in 107 Posts	I dunno...I can see both sides, but to me a firearm is a machine, a tool....to not use it at all is to deny its identity, its purpose for being. I wouldn't own a functional firearm I didn't personally shoot at least ONCE, otherwise it's just a lump of metal. Conversely, I agree that irreplaceable pieces of history shouldn't be abused or fundamentally altered (if i had a 1902 Carbine, I might put a dozen rounds a year or so through it, but I wouldn't nickle-plate it!). While we are still a ostensibly free country, you can't make other folks decisions for them though...it makes me ill that guys take P-51 Mustangs and Hawker Sea Furies and chop the wings shorter, soup up the engines and race them at Reno....but hey, they own 'em.