I keep hearing the tired old line that we are a dying breed, and the next generation of shooters will have zero interest in double shotguns. If this was true, then actual selling prices would not have increased as much as they have over time. I just don't see doubles selling for less than they did 10 or 20 years ago, and that includes lowly American made field grade 12 gauge guns. I watch trends in Syracuse Lefevers more intently than most other guns. Actual selling prices keep going up, and on auction sites like GunBroker, there are just as many bidders as in the past, if not more. In addition, the screen names of bidders is not the same old guys who were competing to buy years ago. Interest is absolutely continuing and evolving. I expected to see some cheap plums coming out of closets in the aftermath of the 2008 Great Recession, and instead, most gun prices kept rising. I keep waiting for the prices to collapse because the Chicken Little's have been crying for so long that the sky is falling, and it has not happened. Look at the prices in a 20 or 25 year old Gun List or Shotgun News, and you will wish you had a time machine.
And anyone who thinks the only real interest in guns these days is in semi-auto handguns and high capacity semi-auto rifles with plastic stocks simply hasn't been paying attention to how much prices have increased over the past decade or so for old lever action rifles and revolvers. Dirt cheap single shots for wildcat conversions and barrels full of cheap military rifles that were used for sporterizing are a thing of the past too. Guns that languish on dealers racks for years due to totally unrealistic asking prices prove only that the dealer paid too much, or is hoping a sucker with more money than brains comes in to his store.
Of course, some of that increase over time is simply due to overall price inflation. And there certainly are exceptions and market fluctuations. Guns are not likely to be as good an investment over time as the S&P 500. But like any investment, you have to buy and sell intelligently. It would be tough to make consistently great returns on stocks, precious metals, or real estate if you bought at market peaks and paid 25% commissions on both the front and back end. But gun guys do that quite often, and then say they are happy to know they will likely take a loss when they sell or trade. That's just dumb. Guys who paid full blown retail for many English doubles when the market for them was red hot would see a loss if they sold now. But that seems to be largely due to large numbers of English shooters dumping their guns due to anti-gun regulations and lead shot bans. Supply and demand still matters.
The same could happen here if some U.S. gun owners don't pull their heads out of their asses, and keep on voting for anti-gun Democrats. Guys who stab us in the back by voting against our interests and our 2nd Amendment Rights are no help to us or the long term value of our guns.
