The Rohrbaugh Forum
Rohrbaugh Products and Accessories => Rohrbaugh R9 (all variations) => Topic started by: fasteddie on June 06, 2005, 06:14:13 PM
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I will get my r9 in a day or so. I had the factory do a few little things to the gun to make it diffrent. I want to shoot it but I also want to keep it for my kids, kids, kids. I want it to be worth something in the future. if I shoot it will the value drop over time. In other words in 50 years will an unshot r9 be worth much more than one that was only shot a few times?
Ed
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I've also thought about that.
It should last for many generations, assuming it is not fired like a range gun.
Meanwhile, it should be worth more unfired. But that's no fun.
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:o ;DGet two and put one away, shoot and carry the other! ::)
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i bought 2 but i am giving one as a gift. i am just wondering if the custom work they did will put it in a class of its own. thoughts
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Newt has the right idea. I would hope, however, that when the progeny of my progeny get to the point of appraising my R9s some sentimental value will result from their knowledge that "the Old Man" shot it often and well.
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Well - my #1 R9 was used for approx 300 rounds - most of which was my ammo test program ... it is tho hardly obvious it has seen much use plus - it is enriched with a new recoil spring already. Also it was carried very little, unlike the #2!!
I guess by default an unfired gun must carry a degree of extra value but I'll not worry on that score. I hope if my geriatric finances permit, that my son will have the #1 and hopefully keep that a long, long time after I am gone.
fasteddie - hope you pup does indeed arrive very soon ...... and hey - WE WILL NEED PICS!! Right!!! ;D ;D
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I had the factory do a few little things to the gun to make it diffrent.
What all are you having done?
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I won't be here in 50 years, so I don't care if my R9 will appreciate in value! I bought it to carry & shoot. My Microsoft stock surely will grow in value! Firearms are not a good investment... use 'em or lose 'em... :'(. Time is a relative thing, isn't it? Education and common sense is what I hope to pass on to my children. I'm going to spend my $$$ and inheritance. The kids are SOL if they don't pay attention now. ;D.
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I've been a visitor on this great forum for months and finally took the plunge. Carrying a Seecamp for years (bought three - two for my wife and daughter) I didn't feel I would have a desire to find an alternative carry. Then at the NRA convention in Pittsburgh last year I met the Rourbaugh men and held the R9. Since I still can't get it out of my mind - I guess I will have to join the rest of you as a owner - when I can find one. The price never bothers me when quality is involved if I can afford it. Heck - the Tony Bose pocket knive I carry is worth $1200. I never understood people who buy a beautiful hand made knife then stick it in a safe and carry a $30 Case - not that there is anything wrong with a Case knife. I agree with "glazier" - a gun is to be used and carried. A gun not used is a gun abused.
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Mountain man - welcome (should I say - at last!!) .. :)
Good to have you aboard the good ship Rohrbaugh.
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Thanks for the welcome Chris. A friend of mine finally got his R9 a few weeks ago and I went down to see it. After a "long time" holding it I can see why so many of you have gotten an attachment. He invited me back down to help him break the R9S in at the range and I think I'll take him up on the offer.
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MountainMan:
Welcome to the Forum!
I agree entirely with your comment that, "A gun not used is a gun abused." Even a couple of handguns to which I refer as my "Safe Queens" get wrung out once a year or so at the range.
Let us know your impressions from shooting the R9s for the first time. I predict that you will impressed. I surely was.
RS
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As a former antique dealer, collector and R9 owner I can tell you that the value of the Rohrbaugh is assured, particularly those who have low serial numbers.
Ironically, value is sometimes established by product failure or rejection at the market place. Case in point: Model 65 Winchester. This was a half magazine "improvement" over the mighty Model 92. It failed and they made only several thousand of them. Check out the value of a Winchester Model 65 today.
Another thing that will diminish values of contemporary guns, in the future, is the disappearance of cardboard boxes. New guns come in plastic lockable containers; a dime a dozen, whereas old guns came in boxes which, if preserved, greatly enhance the value of the pistol. (Happily, I own 6 old Colts in original boxes).
MountainMan: I am an Honorary Member of the Knifemakers Guild and I must tell you that you have great taste if you carry a Tony Bose knife.
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Thanks for the welcome RS. It is nice to participate and not just sit back like I have been doing. I use to do a lot of competiion handgun shooting so I'm looking forward to sending a few down range with my friends R9S until I can secure one of my own.
ACP - I carry a Bose pocket knife for the same reason I currently carry a Seecamp (and some day a R9S). You can use a Case knife or a Kel Tech - both will do get you were you want to go but the trip won't be as fun. The only mint Bose knife I don't carry I got from Tony at the Blade show and I plan to sell it, for not using the knife is not being fair to the knife or maker who put some of his soul into making it.
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MountainMan:
I hear you all the way and you make great sense. The dilemma of those who possess/collect valuable objects is their fear of usage.
A handgun in the original box is a paperweight, if not used, but I am guilty of doing that because of the risk to the value.
Same way with knives. I "play" with knives at $2000.00 level but I'm not taking them out to the woods to see what they will cut.
The resolution to the dilemma is simple. Buy more guns and knives, or whatever it is that makes you happy. You can shoot or cut with some and let others accrue in value.
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ACP - I know where you are coming from and I respect it for most of my "knife friends" collect custom knives as you do, and I once did. In fact many also collect quality guns. I built a house two years ago in a century plus old forest with many trees nine foot around and over a half mile to the road. So I sold all of my unused collecting knives for $20,000 and bought a Bobcat which I use to pick up logs, plow and etc. All of the custom knives I still have I now carry and use. In fact Tony Bose and his son Reese are thrilled when they find someone who actually uses their knives. Of course if you lose one ....... Take care and happy collecting - maybe if you go to the Blade Show next year we can get together.
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MountainMan: The guys whose knives I have collected agree with Tony and Reese; they love to see their knives carried. I have collected Don Hanson III, Warren Osborne, Joe Kious and Joel Chamblin. Slipjoints are my favorites although I do confess a weakness for automatics too.
My toy collection has to pay for itself. I have sold a lot of guns and knives in order to change direction,trade up, etc.
My firearm sales have been money makers whereas the return on knives is at or near what I paid for them.
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ACP - I'm a slipjoint guy also and I use and carry them all - what I carry depends on my mood of the day (Bose boys, Chamblin, Shadley, Rogers, Cover, Tomes). I guess this quest for quality handmade items is what has drawn me to the Seecamp I now carry and the R9S I hope to carry since they are as close as you can get to handmade in handguns right from the factory.
Since this thread is on collecting value it is hard sometimes to put a value on something handmade. I have 13 handmade black powder rifles and pistols - handmade down to the screws. All made by my father-in-law who has passed away - he was a real craftsman. I plan on keeping several of the traditional styles and selling the ones made for competition - most of which are unfired or only fired once. The question is how do you put a reasonable value on an item that could have taken a year to make during hundreds of hours.
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[size=13]The question is how do you put a reasonable value on an item that could have taken a year to make during hundreds of hours.[/size]
MM - I think here - sharing your thinking on the huge input of work - I'd only offer such items at very (sensibly) high prices - reflecting the labor and skill involved. True - not many would bite but, instance the knife connoiseur, there are folks who know what is good and what matters, and are prepared to pay good prices.
Last thing you can do is ''give'' them away - I put great store by folk's labors - having done this myself with stuff I have made. My thinking is - there is part of as man's life in object ''x'' - it has a value - a high value.
Hope you can get the return those firearms should merit - even if a longer process and requiring some patience. Of course - take good pics and show them off - plus, add your own form of provinence too.
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Thanks for the advice Chris - the man who made those guns was a perfectionist and had a walking handicapp - so he took great pride in the guns he made - they are just collecting dust and I hope they will find a home with someone who will use them - a blackpowder gun he made for someone has won national competitions - it is harder to place a value on something made by a family member but I'm not in a rush.
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MountainMan:
Ditto what has been said as to the fact that these rifles were made by a family member. However, the collectibles arena is cold and there is an expression "you can't sell sentiment". In other words, if you decide to sell any of the rifles, their value will have to stand on the merits of their workmanship.
The only manner in which the value and sentiment may be retained is if you decide to keep them as heirlooms. That's the way it works. I personally would not wish to part with them and if you sell any of them, go to a reputable source as there are lot of vultures out there
Could you post pictures of them? I do not have an interest in purchasing any of them but I have a great appreciation of hand made items and I really enjoy your story.
Thank you.
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Thanks ACP for the feedback. Since her dad was the maker it is my wife's decision to only keep the traditional and not the ones that look like olympic competition rifles and pistols except they are flintlock or percussion - maybe she will change her mind since needing money isn't a pressing need. Don't have a digital camera yet - plan to get one for my trip to Alaska in several months. Maybe by then a R9S will somehow find its was into my hands for a posting. Take care.
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Dave: Trip to Alaska? You have all the right moves. I'm from the northeast where gun laws are strict with population density instead of wide open spaces. Instead of having to conform to strict gun laws, to and from the shooting range, my fantasy is to be able to shoot (safely) in the big country.
I have many west coast business trips to my credit and when I fly over Colorado, Utah and eastern California dessert, I end up drooling on myself fantasizing about the ability to shoot outdoors without State Police haluing you off to jail
My favorite trip was to Salt lake City in which I managed to get some free time in the Wasatch Mountains. It was stunning but all my guns were 2000 miles away.
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ACP I could go outside my door and shoot away with no problem. I own enough property in a heavily wooded forest area that there is no problem. To bad everyone can't do this. I'm looking forward to seeing Alaska. Some of my best wilderness memories are canoe trips to northern Canada. Talk about "Value over time"!! You put your canoe on a train and pull the rope when you want it to stop or drive 200 miles on a old logging path with a four wheel drive to where you want to start on the water. Then you either make it back or you don't. Laying in the sleeping bag with the northern lights overhead - eating fish caught from artic fed rivers and lakes - it makes you rethink what is really of value in life. Then there was the time the huge bear decided to take a shit in the middle of the night two feet from my head. I think that knife I had in the sleeping bag with me must have my fingerprints imbedded in the handle from griping it so hard.
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Sorry ACP meant to say the bear decided "to take a shit in the middle of the night two feet from my head" -- not "take a nuts .."
So in conclusion this thread is on "Value over time" and as you get older you realize the best Value over time is time itself to experience life.
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I think I was typing it right and it keeps saying nuts so there must be a filter - so instead of "nuts" put in "poop"
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MountainMan: It finally makes sense. Nuts is a euphemism for what the bear did. The forum disallows your initial word.
Your outdoor experiences sound great. For me, the great outdoors means vacation. Where I live, if shopping malls were bears, I'd be in trouble of having one nuts on me.