If you knew then what you know now...

General silencer discussion. If you want to talk about a specific silenced rifle or pistol, it is best to do that in the rifle or pistol section for that brand.

All NFA laws apply.

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dan9591
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If you knew then what you know now...

Post by dan9591 »

So I’m looking through the safe and notice a few guns and cans gathering dust in a corner that just don’t get used as much as I thought they would when I bought them.

It got me thinking… if you knew “then” what you know “now” are there any purchases or sales you would have made differently?

I, for one, would not have bought a 30 caliber can for my 308 because I pretty much use my integral 308 exclusively. I also regret selling my PWS T3 rifle.

And for this conversation, those machine guns you passed on at $800 don’t count… we ALL regret letting those slip by!

Hopefully some of these answers may help new buyers make some good decisions…
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doubloon
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by doubloon »

I might have bought Kahr instead of KelTec for pocket pistols.

Although for as cheap as they were the run once they're tweaked so maybe not.

Would have bought a Dillon press instead of a Lee press but it's not necessarily too late to fix that.

Would never have sold that Mark II back in '91 for $50 more than I paid for it back in '86.
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ncorry
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by ncorry »

I would've passed on the bargain stainless HEAVY duty 308 thread on suppressor for $400 back several years ago and waited and saved a couple of more months and bought a 308 can that didn't weigh 34 ounces. It is built to last, but s--t, I could frame a house with it. It never gets taken into the field anymore. A recent purchase of a TBAC Ultra 7 (at 11 ounces in direct thread) means its days of actually getting out of the safe are numbered.

Would have listened and never bought a Remington 7400.

Would not have let my dad double charge a Dan Wesson 38 or 357 and blow it the hell apart.

Would have gotten an AR form 1ed and SBR'ed sooner.
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TROOPER
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by TROOPER »

With only two NFA items, each the "best-at-that-time", I don't have much regret there. Except maybe I would advise new folks to purchase first for the host that they shoot the most. In my case, I should've probably purchased a rimfire suppressor before a 9mm... but then again, once I was accustomed to the 9mm, the 22 seemed truly, truly quiet.

In firearms, I've rectified the three major errors, but a bolt-gun in 204 Ruger... fast, fun-to-shoot, very low recoil... and only shot about 20-25 rounds before being sold at a loss.

Marlin, 44 Mag, Stainless steel... beautiful. I kinda' always wanted one, but it was always further down on the 'to-buy' list of guns. One day I go to check online for it and find out that Marlin quit making them. Suddenly, I wanted it. It was at that critical point where no new ones were being made, but some stores still had it in stock, so I bought it at just under $700... loved on it for a while... then sold it recently for $1,100. I don't regret selling it... I don't regret buying it... but that could've been a very, very different scenario if I had sold it at a loss.

Final bought-and-sold error: a beautiful Beretta 84 Nickel in 380. It had dimensions that were just slightly larger than a GLOCK 19, but chambered in a slightly more anemic round that actually cost more to shoot. Gun was beautiful and shot well, but would not conceal. I bought it without trying hard enough to determine it's external dimensions. I had planned on it being a CC piece, but I bought with my eyes instead of my head. I got out of it clean... minus cost of shipping. I got some enjoyment out of it, so in a way, it's like I rented it for a very long time for $25.

Image

Final regrets: I bought some loading equipment without running the numbers... for my light-weight shooting schedule, it was a terrible idea. I've sold most all of the equipment at a loss.

I bought a Rock Island Armory 22 TCM / 9mm combo. It's fun to shoot... low recoil, massive blast, seems unusually accurate. It's also completely impractical, and a little difficult to feed. That said, the Cabela's right next to me carries 22 TCM on-the-shelf, so that's nice. Now if it were a little less expensive I wouldn't feel so bad about shooting an outrageous and pointless gun. Part of that is my own fault, because when it comes to shooting paper, this round is an enormous waste of power. 2,060 fps at the muzzle with a 22 caliber spritzer does the exact same thing as a 22 LR, except it manages to be insanely more expensive. If I were shooting it at a target that mattered, an animal, a can, a milk-jug, then perhaps it would be worthwhile.... but I'm not. I plan to sell this one sooner than later.

I also have a 17 HMR that I can't tell if I like or not. It's fantastic. But I haven't shot it in years. It can do things that a 22 LR can't do, but since I never take advantage of those capabilities, it's all downside. I think I'll regret selling it, but I won't know for sure until I do it.

Advice for buyers? Research your planned purchase endlessly first. To have access to the online information of today and not use it is beyond foolish. 2: know why you're buying it. If it's just for fun, then great... but go into it with a proper understanding of costs-to-shoot, where you can/will shoot it, and what you intend to shoot at. For silencers, try to buy the best, and focus on the well-rounded product. A silencer that is half-a-decibel quieter but a massive PITA to clean isn't the better overall. Focus on longevity of the product -- a sealed rimfire in this day-and-age is a blight.

Mostly, don't make impulse buys. Don't beat yourself up just because you buy an item and fall out of love with it later.
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McLarenross
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by McLarenross »

Regrets...

My biggest one so far was a missed deal on a complete Dan Wesson 357 set. In the wooden box with all 4 barrels in like new condition.....for $400!!!!!!!!!! I was only 20 though!! It was at a local pawn shop and the guy wouldn't let me even put it on layaway for the full cost of the gun cause I wasn't 21 for another month. I ran home and grabbed my Dad but in the 30 minutes I was gone someone else bought it. That still pisses me off to this day and Ive never bought anything from that SOB since.

When I was first getting into reloading I was about 14. I decided that I wanted to make some sub sonic 223 loads but didn't have a clue wtf I was doing. So I grabbed some 55gr V Maxs off the shelf and some RL7 and used about 5gr of powder. Still don't know why I wanted a sub-sonic load, I didn't have a suppressor at the time. Needless to say I ended up with a 55gr V Max about 3" past the throat in my bull barrel AR. In the process of getting the bullet out I also managed to mess up the crown and had to have a smith recrown and thread the barrel for me. Guess you never get to be old(er) and wise without being young and stupid.
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ncorry
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by ncorry »

McLarenross wrote: When I was first getting into reloading I was about 14. I decided that I wanted to make some sub sonic 223 loads but didn't have a clue wtf I was doing. So I grabbed some 55gr V Maxs off the shelf and some RL7 and used about 5gr of powder. Still don't know why I wanted a sub-sonic load, I didn't have a suppressor at the time. Needless to say I ended up with a 55gr V Max about 3" past the throat in my bull barrel AR. In the process of getting the bullet out I also managed to mess up the crown and had to have a smith recrown and thread the barrel for me. Guess you never get to be old(er) and wise without being young and stupid.
That reminds me of something I did. No, not shooting my chrony, but add that to the list. I got a Ruger MKII bull barrel pistol for HS graduation when I was 18. A year or two later, I was cleaning it and couldn't get it back together, so I had the bright idea to see how many pieces I could get it into. A couple of months later, I took it to the local Mil Surplus/ pawn shop/ gun smith and made it his problem. I was on the way out of town headed back to college and came in and picked it up a couple of months later. I think he charged me $120 about 15 years ago, and told me I was lucky that his wife wasn't in the store cause she would've shot me. Evidently, he had it on his kitchen table for about 2 weeks and worked and cussed it every night. Lesson learned. Now days, I could have just looked up a youtube video and had it done in an hour.
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T-Rex
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by T-Rex »

4" 500S&W revolver
Flames are cool :D
I cast and reload so $/rnd wasn't an issue
What an ungodly beast to shoot 1 handed
I put a hole in a buddies 350 small block :D
No loss on resale

Henry 22 survival rifle
Because it floats :?
My kids youth 22 would be a better toy
Traded

M1A EBR ChopMod stock
Because a battle rifle should weigh 16lbs
Was a great kit, though
No loss on resale

Rem 799 7.62x39 bolt
Wanted a bolt gun in that chamber
Never fired
Made custom fiberglass stock for it
Sold and made 3x what I paid :)
Made a Savage in .308x39 and love it

Pistol grip 12 gauge.....why, idk

AR pistol......meh
Good thing is its easily converted into an SBR

Not buying my buddies AN PVS 22 when he offered it to me for 5k
I didn't want to screw him, he was getting divorced
Someone else lowerballed and got it for 4k :(


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RJT
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by RJT »

Biggest non NFA regrets:
Selling the Merkel 16ga O/U I was given, that was liberated during WWII by a friend of the family.

Selling my custom varmint rifles for a loss, because I quit prairie dog shooting, and couldn't come up with a reason to keep them.

Deciding to take up reloading again, in the middle of the biggest component shortage in history. Luckily I didn't set anything up, and was able to return it for a full refund, minus shipping.

Passing up a matched set of Colt Gold Cups, because I just didn't see myself shooting .45acp.

Biggest NFA regrets:

Waiting so long to get into the game in the first place.

Buying a YHM Phantom SS. It suppresses well, but is just so damned heavy. It was my first suppressor, and it was cheaper than others. At least I didn't buy the Kestrel I looked at first. :D

Waiting so long to buy a pistol suppressor. Why I waited to make it my 7th purchase, I'll never know.
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sillycon
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by sillycon »

RJT wrote:Biggest NFA regrets:

Waiting so long to get into the game in the first place.
This. Had I gotten in at 21 when I wanted to, I'd have been SOOOO much better off. Sadly, I was young and stupid and blindly believed the rumor that you had to let ATF search your house whenever they wanted in order to own NFA...

Once I got smart enough to verify silly claims like that on my own, MG prices had gone up so much that it took me another 7 years of working and saving to be able to afford to get into the machine gun game (of course, all the while, the prices edged again just out of reach)...
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by Snake-eater 1 »

A regret:
When I returned from Vietnam in 1969, I brought back a like new condition North Korean SKS with a matching serial numbered stock and a matching serial numbered grenade launcher sight and muzzle adapter. Being in college in the early '70's, I sold the rifle because I needed some money and you couldn't get ammo for the things then anyway. I believe I sold it for $200. Last I checked (about 10-15 years ago) they were selling in the $2500 range. I just can't bear to look up current prices, although now I would never sell it. One that got away and only myself to blame :(
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chickenlips
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by chickenlips »

Regrets: every Remington I ever bought! 2 ruger elephant guns, back when I had delusions of going on safari. Regret buying dies and components for every caliber I ever bought. Buying so many 45s. Needed more self control. Same with AR-15s. I have 6. I now realize how dumb that is. I would be perfectly happy with 2. Wilson Combat and cheapo S&W are keepers. All the others need to go. I have managed to sell a lot of the guns I didn't like. I really regret selling a ruger 223 that I shot the barrel out of. At the time I didn't know about 300 blk. It had a great receiver. Me and that gun had history................... NFA regrets: My Gemtech Quicksand and all those stupid mounts. I don't know if Gemtech will ever get that thing back to me. Or if they will ever even call me back. And finally, not buying a Tirant when they were mega cheap.
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McLarenross
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by McLarenross »

Just thought of another one.

Buying a KelTec KSG because I wanted to try it for 3 gun. Wow was that a mistake!! Biggest problem was you couldn't load that gun fast to save your life. Second was that it kicked worse than any 12ga Ive ever shot. Third was that it wouldn't cycle correctly with anything but buckshot for some reason. I ended up selling it for exactly what I paid for it about 6 months after I bought it. Shame cause it looked bad ass and was a neat concept, just lacked execution (From KelTec, imagine that!)

A few my father has told me about over the years.

When he was a kid, 15-16ish, he found a NiB 1st Gen Colt SAA Buntline Special in a presentation case at a shop for next to nothing. He was young and didn't have the money and my grandfather, whos never really had an affinity for handguns, wouldn't loan him the money to buy it. Who knows what that things worth today.

Selling an original Henry brass frame 45LC lever gun cause he didn't have a use for 45LC in a rifle.

Buying a 6.8 SPC Ar-15. I don't really know why he regrets this one but he doesn't like the rifle or the round.
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urban assault
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by urban assault »

Regrets...

During a summer garage sale a few years back, I ran to the store for something cold to drink. While I was gone an old guy asked my mom if she had any guns she wanted to sell. She remembered an old .22 revolver that was in a dresser in her bedroom. She showed the gun to the guy, and he immediately offered $60, iirc. She snapped it up and away he went, smiling. I came back and she told me what she'd done.

I almost started crying.

She had just sold a near perfect 6" S&W K22 Masterpiece, made in the early 50's that had been in my family since it was bought. This was my grandfathers gun, then my dads gun, it was supposed to be my gun someday. Bluing was perfect, the gun had been rarely shot, the wood grips showed no wear or handling.

Sold for 60 bucks.

The stupid, it burns!

Love my Mom, but this one is still hard to take and forgive.

I hope the bastage that stole it from her chokes on a chicken bone or something.

Oh, I forgot the mention that the pistol resided in a vintage hand-tooled leather Western holster that was even older than the K22. The holster itself was a work of art by a craftsman who was long dead... and she threw the holster in to "sweeten" the deal.

:shock:

To her it had no value.

:cry:

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speed6
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by speed6 »

I would buy top dollar silencers that are easy to maintain. I made the newb mistake of trying to save a few dollars and got louder, heavier and difficult to clean cans. They work fine but after buying top shelf suppressors I can see their shortcomings.

I regret buying an FAL kit and having red jacket put it together (I knew someone who worked for them at the time and they suggested them...had never heard of them before). Several years and 500 dollars later I had another smith fix their screwups. Having shot it a bit I am going to sell it. Too heavy for me and too expensive to shoot.

Regret buying too MANY guns. I have about 5 I regularly shoot...the rest collect dust (is it a coincidence they shoot the cheapest ammo and suppress the best?).

Regret getting into the NFA game until just a few years ago. Now that I have silencers and SBRs they are pretty much all I shoot.

Regret letting my stockpile of 22 LR dwindle. I should have kept it up and wouldn't have to try to rebuild it at 60 dollars a brick.
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by Chuck88 »

Not really.
I like to keep the collection lean 'n mean.
There's a Taurus .357 I'm not too fond of, but that's about it.
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by jreinke »

I'd have bought that 44 Automag, that I had on layaway in 1977. :(
I'd have bought a FN FAL when I was stationed in Germany in the early 1980's. :(
I'd have bought a Vector Uzi when they came out in 1999. :(
I'd have scraped together $10K to buy a Sterling SMG rather than put a new porch on the house in 2006. :(

But as my sister is fond of saying if "if ands and buts, where candies and nut, every day'd be Christmas". :mrgreen:
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muellerdeal
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by muellerdeal »

speed6 wrote:
Regret letting my stockpile of 22 LR dwindle. I should have kept it up and wouldn't have to try to rebuild it at 60 dollars a brick.

yeah....................... :(
Str8shooter
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by Str8shooter »

Only regrets are selling a mint 1903 Springfield and not getting the 308 version of the YHM Titanium Phantom instead of 223.
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by eastern_hunter »

I regret not having bought a dozen registered HK sear packs for $1k in 1984. The Hughes Amendment caused me to get my first NFA stamp ... would sure like to see it stuck down!

Went cheap with the first cans (22 LR). Learned my lesson!

Non NFA regrets:

Wish I could have found a Remington 7600 instead of the 7400 that has been a PITA. Have been disappointed with a Rem 870. Mossberg just works.
Str8shooter
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by Str8shooter »

eastern_hunter wrote:I regret not having bought a dozen registered HK sear packs for $1k in 1984. The Hughes Amendment caused me to get my first NFA stamp ... would sure like to see it stuck down!

Went cheap with the first cans (22 LR). Learned my lesson!

Non NFA regrets:

Wish I could have found a Remington 7600 instead of the 7400 that has been a PITA. Have been disappointed with a Rem 870. Mossberg just works.
LOL just sold one
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Baffled
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by Baffled »

Oh wow, this one is way too easy.

There was an ad in a gun magazine that had M1 carbines for $99. "It served your father... it'll serve you as well." This wasn't THAT long ago. The little carbines could be found by the dozen in any pawn store for less than a hundred bucks. And these were originals, NOT re-imports.

Now, everyone realized these are cool little rifles and a lot of fun to shoot. Plus, they have become collectables.

I bought two, kept one, sold the other for $500 a few years later.

ANYTHING from WW2 is now collectable, and priced accordingly.

s--t, in the aviation world of the 50's and 60's, Uncle Sam couldn't get rid of all their P-51 Mustangs for $15K. Now, a flying example is at least a million $$.
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Garrett
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by Garrett »

I'd have bought a few more of the lowly MAC-family machine guns before they went over $1000.
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Re: If you knew then what you know now...

Post by hardcase »

+1 on so many of these. Especially the YH tent peg pounder. Along with it my Rock River AR10, bought for hunting and looking cool. Maybe practical when I was younger and stronger with the suppressor and scope but way to heavy now to carry on hunts. I no longeer look cool with my face blue and tongue hanging out like a labrador.

Having to grin-and-bear-it with my mom and my guns while I was in college. She got her hands on one of those vibrating in-graving tools and in-graved her SS number into the stocks of all my guns so they could be traced :shock:.

Selling my Ruger M-77 in 25-06. Selling my Colt Python in .357 mag. Come to think of it, most of my regrets come from selling guns :D

I had to add one more since I just reloaded some 9 mms. Regret buying 2,000 Federal primers in the sideways boxes. They are a real pain to get loaded properly in my primer flip tray. Why they are in there sideways, one inquiring mind wants to know???
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