I should ask Breda to post the same question. She gets better foot traffic and people love her. Unlike me, who lives on the blog equivalent of a dead-end dirt road with a washed out bridge slowing traffic, and people throw garbage at me to drive me away. (note to person who threw the pork chop bones: THANKS! There was still a bit of meat on a few of those! Maybe someone DOES love me.)
But Comments wasn’t my only input. I asked around the secret cabal of target shooters at work, and some of the Romero guys I could talk to had opinions.
So, the vote had a ratio of 3 to 1 against getting rid of a gun to get another. Despite my desire to get rid of one ammo type in the inventory (.380) and add another on (.40) as part of at least standing pat on my ammo-inventory philosophy. The best argument was this: In 15 years are you going to wish you still had the Colt, or in 5 years are you going to look at the Sig and say “Gee, I wish I had bought this 3 months sooner…”
The 1903 Colt pistol is still more practical than the Springfield 03 rifle, and I’d never dream of getting rid of that. For both sentimental and historical reasons. And it doesn’t fit in with the simplified ammo inventory philosophy.
And I was enamored with the 1903 less than a YEAR ago. I should give it a chance to grow on me. The reasons I got it are just as valued to me now. It’s still a great gun, designed by Browning, and would be the gun to grab now, if I had CCW, and was leaving the house in a wardrobe that prevented other options. In other words, a few times a year, tops. And in that role it would be just fine. If I MUST sell it, I should let it appreciate in value, at any rate.
[update: So now, thanks to Breda the consensus is in. Overwhelmingly so. Keep the Colt, even if impractical. And, Earl? I live in Maryland. They only give regular people a CCW here if you have powder burns to show the cop because some miscreant missed you that first time.]
27 comments:
ask and ye shall receive...
My friend, I can't think of one single firearm that I sold, traded, or gave away that I haven't wished I still had. Not a one.
And thats a LOT of them! Never claimed to be bright.
Go with your gut, you don't need that antiquated old thing.
Name your price, sell it to me, and go buy that soulless, uber-practical boomer :P
Hint, They ain't making anymore 1903 Colts....
The Colt is so classic, so thin, so dependable and so paid for.
Look in the current American Rifleman for the Trench Cleaner article. They are talking about .32 ACP Colts, you have the much more powerful .380 ACP.
I agree with never trading off once you have it.
Can't see either your urge for the SIG or for anything in .40 Short & Weak.
Buckshot
Keep the Colt, save for the SIG.
They're making new 229s every day at Exeter, but they're not making any more 1903s. One you can get in NIB condition three months down the road. The other, not so much.
Completely agree that you are more likely to regret selling the Colt than the extra time before you get the SIG.
I'm with the don't trade it crowd.
1. It's a classic, and it's beautiful.
2. For a Sig? Really?
3. You'll regret it. Seriously. I've been there, and I'm telling you don't do it.
Sigs are great and if you're looking for a CCW or HD gun I highly recommend them.
That said, every gun I've ever sold or traded away I've regretted.
If you want the Sig save up or buy it outright but keep the Colt.
While I loved shooting the borrowed P229, I wouldn't part with any of my old guns for anything. I'm going to save for one.
You must be young, but since Breda said we should help, her millions are on the way. If you have something that you think you should trade to get something you think you would like better - then, trade and get what you want - that is the American way. If you really want to know if you would be thought a fool for submitting to the temptation of a newer, better, badder pistol that you still don't have a CCW for (and what does that say about you and where your head is? and what state?) - that would depend on the terrible unkind people, or the tough love kinds out there. Breda wouldn't send those.
You have something that works, is a fine small pistol of use. You still don't have a Concealed Carry Permit (priority?) and the Sig may get better and more expensive next year and how many times have you personally fired one? You don't need to trade up at this time, you shouldn't, you should fix that Concealed Carry deal sooner, and on a very personal note --
are you shooting that rifle in the blog title? Don't you hate the twenty round magazine getting in the way? And you say you have an Springfield '03, are you shooting it in competition?
That colt is a classic. I'd have a hard time getting rid of it.
Then again, I can't imagine ever selling any of my guns.
The resident wizard of odd/collectible gun values in this corner of teh intarw3b is Tam. I would ask her about the ins and outs of holding something valuable, versus selling something you aren't interested in anymore.
Another one that Breda sent,(She speaks, we obey).
Don't, Do Not Ever sell one gun to buy another!!!
I have regretted every gun I have ever had to sell.
My choice was easier, Use them to steal diapers and baby food or sell them for the same things.
I would still sell them for that, but it doesn't mean I don't regret thier loss to me.
Never sell one for another.
Man we are talking guns here not a used car.
Dennis
When I was younger and needing some money for school I sold a Colt Python, simply because the person offered me WAY more than it was worth.
Mistake, Mistake Mistake.
I'm partial to the Colts, you all know that. I'd keep it.
Never get rid of a gun. You'll just regret it. (Unless you have multiples of that same model, in which case it MIGHT be acceptable.)
Just buy the new one.
This opinion is purely subjective because I shot the gun he is considering trading.
I still think he should trade it for a couple reasons.
- I think he paid too much for it.
- It is not a mint, not close.
- It jammed on me once per mag.
If any of those three were not true, my opinion would be different.
Came from Breda. Beaut of an M1A in front. I luv it.
Nothing not already said in my comment just want to weigh in.
I've regretted most of the few guns I sold. Keep it and buy the other pistol in a few months. Somebody quicker pointed out that Colt ain't making them anymore. I'm at a point in my life that unless I'm just completely broke or the gun is a dog I just don't plan to sell it. Don't mind giving good guns to deserving friends or family and have never regretted giving a gun away.(no folks that ain't an invitation)
If that 1903 won't shoot well or jams, correct it and use it. It was a classic and is good for more generations of concealed carry. The caliber is not the best but the size is and a gun in the waistband beats one in the car or good intentions a heckuva lot. Just my ramblings. Guy
Don't sell it. And don't start using the 1903 for CC either. if you ever had to use it, it would be taken as evidence, and stored poorly. You might never get it back.
If you must have the Sig, save for it, buy it on credit, sell your computer, etc.
Here's my take:
I do not and will never own a safe queen. Everything I have must go "bang" at least a couple of times a year, and go through some cleaning cycles. A seasoned bore doesn't rust, and oxidation doesn't happen as fast when the gun gets a carbonization, a coating of Hoppe's, and some oil. The only exception is my old SMLE that is in need of a rear sight assembly.
If you have absolutely no use for the weapon--even target shooting--then get rid of it. This leads me to the question of why you bought it in the first place. Was it an impulse buy? Do you plan to sell it to a collector? The latter point is important, because if you trade it at a dealership, you're going to lose money on it. I would monitor the market and sell the Colt when it's advantageous to do so, not based on the availability of the Sig.
The market for used guns goes in cycles. I've watched as guns fluctuated by as much as $200 in the last few years. I buy low. Right now pre-war Colts are all over the place. As long as it's not a 1911 or a Python, it's cheap. That's in the Northeast. Patience is required. (I will assume that you already own a personal defense weapon that is not mentioned, so your next purchase is not pressing.)
Finally, since you are obviously not a one-gun type of shottist, I believe you should consider something other than a brand new P229. I know that many folks consider the Sig to be much improved since the 80s, but I just wouldn't be able to drop a grand on a new one and feel good about the purchase. Considering the Sig's reputation for reliability, wouldn't a used one fit the bill?
Also: I disagree that a .30-06 is in impractical gun. If you hand load, the .30-06 does pretty much everything that is required of any rifle, with exception of reliably taking a short list of large game species not often found in most parts of the continent. Most rifle cartridges exist because of boredom or brand name competition.
Keep the Colt, find original magazines (that's another treasure hunt), shoot the Colt - have fun.
You have there one of the premier pocket pistols and in a desireable, effective caliber. Either keep it, or sell it to Tam!
Seriously, lookit that thing: easy to hang onto but lacking in sharp corners and projections. Two effective mechanical safeties. And it's a darn nice-looking gun.
In the world of fine hand tools for woodworking, there are "gent's saws" and "gent's planes," slightly smaller than a workingman's version, very nicely built, effective tools intended for the high-end gentleman hobbyist who did serious work. What you have there is a gent's self-defense pistol.
I'm with the don't sell crowd. It's a JMB. It's a classic. It's purty.
Save for a few months for the Sig.
I concur. Don't sell the Colt, it's a classic. You can get mags. through Numrich.
Read some James Carlos Blake and you'll probably pick up some enthusiasm for it(and the '03)
Yep, I'm from Breda
Don't sell guns except in a real crisis. Wanting to upgrade to a new, still manufactured gun is not a crisis. My personal story follows:
I was thinking of someday going to Africa to hunt. I had a .375 H&H customized M70 Winchester ("The Rifleman's Rifle") but I had convinced myself that to hunt the way I wanted I needed a rifle with bullets starting at .4+. I sold that M70 to a friend of a friend, told him to take good care of it as it had taken many elk and boar. Took the $600, put it down on a new custom M70 to be built in .458 Lott. New rifle is sensational, hunt is successful years later, all is well.
Except all is NOT well. I could never get that .375 out of my head. Set up just the way I wanted it, shot like a house afire. Began begging friend of a friend to see if he would sell it back to me. 3 years later, I bought a brand new M70, sent it to one of the best gunsmiths in the country to have him duplicate what was done on the original, and then traded THAT to the friend of a friend to get "my" rifle back.
Sold for $600
Re-acquired for $1600
Value of having "my" rifle back? Priceless!
I was lucky. I knew where "my" rifle was, and was able to get it back with just dollars. I have no idea where my first handgun went (Colt pre-Trooper, .357) and no way to ever get it back. Same with my first rifle. Makes me wish I had a time machine to go back and beat the snot out of the idiot kid who sold those guns.
Formerflyer, also sent by Breda
Couldn't you just sell a kidney? :)
Like many others have said, don't sell it.
I've sold or traded off too many firearms. I regret selling all of them but one (my Kel-Tec P11). If I kept them all, I'd have a decent collection by now.
Well, with all the opinions coming in, I guess my $0.02 is now worth next to nothing, but here goes: I think you should keep the Colt. Such guns do not come along every day, but you can buy a new-in-the-box Sig any time.
And another thing-move to Fairfax County, VA and get yourself a carry permit. You'll be closer to the NRA range that way:-)
Regards,
PolyKahr
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