I no longer own a gun I won't shoot. I just sold my last unshootable gun, a NIB MkIV Series 70 with SM Ser# prefix (less than 3000 assembled with left over frames).
That doesn't mean I shoot my collectors all the time. It also doesn't mean that I shoot them without the occasional guilt or the homer simpson "DOOOPH" when I notice a new nick or scratch. I have an S/42 1938 with 2 matching mags that I felt very guilty about shooting until a recent thread elsewhere upon this board brought me to the realization it had been rebarreled by the Germans prior to it's capture. Still collectible, but downgraded from "original" to "correct". I shot it yesterday. Put 30 rounds through it. As guns go, it's not perfect, but it is still sweet. It wasn't the only gun I brought to the range. I shoot the hell out of my 1968 vintage 1911 Govt Clark Custom and my Hammerli Olympic. The vintage S&W41 which competed, with documentation, in the Olympics in the 1950's, also got shot.
These are my toys. When I die let the future generation should wonder what the hell I was thinking, just as I wonder what the previous owner was thinking about when he swapped the stock on my otherwise perfect 1923 Springfield NM 03 or my as new k98 Turret mount byf42 with the G.I.'s name, rank and home address carved in the stock...
I'm not leaving a legacy. I'm enjoying my time and my things.
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"There are three reasons to own a gun: To protect yourself and your family, to hunt dangerous and delicious animals, and to keep the King of England out of your face." รข?? Krusty the Clown
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