Hi Pete,
With Cali's law change in 2002, I haven't bought a handgun in a few years, so I've only lurked here occassionally. I pick up a holster now and then.
I've been studying up on G43 rifles. What good did it do? At Reno last month, I picked up a nice $1,800 mismatched AC44 with a sanded stock for the low price of $3,000.
Oh well. You have to learn somehow. Having the gun will at least give me something to refer to for the next purchase and I won't make that mistake again.
I don't know who made it to Reno last show, but we ended up going spur of the moment. I wanted to cancel due to the snow and all but we went anyway in the end.
I still think about getting my C&R license to get back into Luger collecting. But I'm pretty happy with my humble collection and am looking to get a couple of G/K 43's before they too go out of sight financially. Some of the sniper scopes on original mounts are going for over $3,000 alone WITHOUT THE RIFLE.
I think prices are insane right now and I'm starting to wonder if I should not save my money and wait for a correction. Then again, a correction may never come and I may just have to spend that much more for a Luger or K43 in the future. Who's to say?