Seeking advice on starting semi-auto collection

[Warg]

I would be remiss not to ask the obvious as well:

What resources should I seek to better understand the historical significance, quality, quantity and manufacture for commencing such a collection?

[RetroRevolver77]

I would be remiss not to ask the obvious as well:

What resources should I seek to better understand the historical significance, quality, quantity and manufacture for commencing such a collection?

Such a collection usually runs in the six figures plus just to get to a basic level. It's also a pain in the ass to maintain, service because many of the weapons would require skilled gunsmiths to work on the items- pre-ban era HK's for example. Worse many of the original components are drying up- FAL's especially are hit with this. Sure you can scrounge together a nice collection but then it's just creating a logistical nightmare dividing up bins of various magazines, parts that you have to keep on hand just in case all while stocking up on ammo that some of which is proprietary for certain specific rifles. I would completely advise against it. Stick with only current manufactured modern stuff that is widely circulated and outfit it with modern accessories. Far less of a headache and you don't feel like your collection is a museum.


7n6

[Doc Safari]

Such a collection usually runs in the six figures plus just to get to a basic level. It's also a pain in the ass to maintain, service because many of the weapons would require skilled gunsmiths to work on the items- pre-ban era HK's for example. Worse many of the original components are drying up- FAL's especially are hit with this. Sure you can scrounge together a nice collection but then it's just creating a logistical nightmare dividing up bins of various magazines, parts that you have to keep on hand just in case all while stocking up on ammo that some of which is proprietary for certain specific rifles. I would completely advise against it. Stick with only current manufactured modern stuff that is widely circulated and outfit it with modern accessories. Far less of a headache and you don't feel like your collection is a museum.


7n6

I concur.

Collecting is fun but you become a slave to it.

If it were me, I'd spend a hefty amount on top-of-the-line modern weapons: M4's, Glocks, Berettas, SIG's, Benelli's--tuned to your preferences and only the highest quality M4's (Colt, BCM) by the way.

Then I'd spend a reasonable sum on mags, ammo, spare parts, optics, accessories as needed.

THEN, I'd spend some money on TRAINING. It's not enough to own a carbine that shoots rapidly and accurately. You also have to be able to USE the weapon rapidly and accurately

We live in a dangerous world, and just knowing you can probably outshoot a home invader is worth a heckuva lot more than knowing you have the last M1 Garand that was deployed to the Pacific Theater in WW2 or something.

Just MHO.

[Warg]

I have no expectations of building a collection rivaling "proper" collectors, rather one or two examples or so of some well regarded semi-autos that I can enjoy shooting from time to time with friends and family. I can go deep into the six figures, if necessary. but I'd rather keep the bulk my investments where they are in having a expected rate of return. From what I gather, it's quite difficult to make money on firearm collections, so this would be purely for personal enjoyment. A more modern collection, might serve well too and may make more sense from a reliability and serviceability perspective.

Got the quality M4, Glock, ammo and training part covered and I reload. No Bushmasters in my safes, but I do have a several Aero Precision builds I use for varmint and hog hunting.

[Arik]

Such a collection usually runs in the six figures plus just to get to a basic level. It's also a pain in the ass to maintain, service because many of the weapons would require skilled gunsmiths to work on the items- pre-ban era HK's for example. Worse many of the original components are drying up- FAL's especially are hit with this. Sure you can scrounge together a nice collection but then it's just creating a logistical nightmare dividing up bins of various magazines, parts that you have to keep on hand just in case all while stocking up on ammo that some of which is proprietary for certain specific rifles. I would completely advise against it. Stick with only current manufactured modern stuff that is widely circulated and outfit it with modern accessories. Far less of a headache and you don't feel like your collection is a museum.


7n6

Somewhat agree. Depends on how often and how much you shoot them. Either you use them a lot or like me, enjoy the history and occasionally shoot.

I don't have any big collections and some I've sold off but personally I never shot them much so I never bothered with bins of spare parts or large amount of mags. Those I shot it would be between 20 and 200 rounds a year. Just occasionally something different.

On the other hand if you plan on using it them a lot then definitely what 7N6 said

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[JoshNC]

I would put that $50k into transferable machineguns. Fleming, Qualified, or S&H HK sear or registered HK trigger frame and some hosts. Add a M16, Thompson, mp40, AUG, or something else. Voila....around $50k and far more enjoyable than any number of semiautos.

[artoter]

Doc Glockster had some good advice in his post. You really got to be careful when starting a collection like that. Do your homework is the main thing....you can get taken to the cleaners pretty quick otherwise.

[Warg]

Doc Glockster had some good advice in his post. You really got to be careful when starting a collection like that. Do your homework is the main thing....you can get taken to the cleaners pretty quick otherwise.

Indeed he does. Make no mistake, I'm not wanting to plop down $50K+ all at once, rather acquire one piece at a time after employing a lot of research and patience. I would like to allocate the assets though. Ultimately, I guess the overall investment is a personal choice in terms of how deep I want to go into the rabbit hole.

[Bubba FAL]

I'd second what's been said. FN49, FAL, SVT40, Hakim, M1, M1 Carbine, etc. Yep, got em all, but I started 30 years ago and I had an FFL back then. As has been mentioned, care and feeding of such a collection can be a burden.

[RetroRevolver77]

I say if you are going to collect, go with ultra modern stuff, new designs from the 2000's on up.


7n6