My opinion is that there are anomalies and trends in the vintage gun market, such as increased interest in small bores during a time period (32" barrels are another current trend). A few people are good at identifying these trends as they develop, and capitalizing on them over the short term. Unfortunately, there are very few established investment markets with a lower historical return than firearms. Generally, a longterm hold on a firearm is not going to perform as a very sound financial investment. Buying a gun "right" 3 years ago and finding a handsome return today is NOT indicative of the overall vintage gun market. It just means you bought a couple of guns right several years ago and then found the right buyer looking at the right time.
The S&p 500 was up 30% last year, and 13.4% in 2012. Nasdaq was up 38% in 2013 after a 16% gain in 2012. Your guns would need to double every 3 years to keep up with that pace.
The price of quality hasn't dropped, but I'm not sure you would say the rest of the vintage market (which is the vast majority) is experiencing any growth. A decrease in vintage guns is unusual because most people will just hold on them before selling at a loss, especially the 'shooters' that weren't very expensive in the first place.
