A common statement made by potential arms collectors is that “this is a rich man’s hobby” or “only old men can afford to collect guns, swords, etc.” Of course, this is mistaken thinking, for it is indeed possible for any potential beginner, unencumbered by a surfeit of available funds, to enjoy building a decent collection.

For Instance, a man of my acquaintance began collecting guns at a fairly late stage in his life. Married with grown-up children who had already long flown the nest, his interest was piqued when he picked up an old cap and ball pocket revolver. Not a Colt nor a Remington, but one of the lesser (for want of a better term) second-string gun makers from up north. Ultimately, this man built up a fine collection of similar firearms, a collection that won an award or two when displayed.

The point of this quick preamble is that the collection was based on a core of relatively inexpensive antique pistols, both cap and ball and cartridge firing. With the guns came a need and a desire to research the maker of his firearms and others of similar weapons. Thus was born in that collector the essential activity of locating relevant books, or whatever other literature was out there, necessary to expand his knowledge. He also joined a couple of collector clubs and talked to as many knowledgeable people as possible, and found a fellowship that embraces all those with similar interests.

So for not too many dollars, and as much time as he could spare in learning about old firearms, including those that interested him, he became a Gun Collector and in later years, something of a “knowledgeable person” himself. One who was happy to share his collecting experiences and to pass on what he had learned to others just entering the brotherhood. His philosophy became that to be a true collector, one must never stop learning, is morally obliged to share their collections with others, and to remind other collectors that they all had to start somewhere. 

And he finds it most acceptable to let the neophytes know that, like him, they can begin their collections from even the humblest of beginnings. 

We trust that you have enjoyed reading this second volume of Arms Heritage Magazine, and that within its pages there has been something new for you to discover. If not, we are not doing our job very well, but we won’t know unless you tell us. So please keep those emails to the editor coming.

Further Thoughts On Making A Start 

When I posted my comments on an inexpensive way to make an entry into the world of the firearms collector, I drew from the story of a gentleman who made his beginning by starting with the guns of one of the less prolific than the front-line manufacturers such as Colt, Smith & Wesson, Winchester or Remington, and whose products were of somewhat less than the same high quality. 

This set me to thinking how the beginning collector could begin to pull together a decent collection of, say, Colt or S&W firearms on a somewhat limited budget, and this ties in pretty well with the statement I made in Volume 1, “[t]he field of interests addressed by Arms Heritage is vast and varied, and the possibilities for suitable content are boundless.” 

Hopefully, the following comments offer some viable suggestions for the neophyte collector. Some people like guns that could tell a story if they weren’t so darned inanimate; such weapons falling into the category of “well used” – maybe even “abused”. By definition, these tend to be severely lacking in any kind of “condition”, the holy grail of “advanced” collectors, and may even have broken mechanisms or missing parts. In my opinion, this is an honest way to enter the fray, and it can still be fun and is most definitely educational. 

Not far removed from this entry point is that of relics – rusty dug-ups such as those found elsewhere in this month’s edition – or the so-called attic or barn guns, which tend to have surface rust, good woodwork which has lost its luster over the years, and spiders hiding down the spout. These long lost and long forgotten treasures will tell less of a story – unless you find a dug-up from some ancient battlefield loaded and cocked, or with a legible inscription – and they can fetch prices ranging from the quite modest to the most extraordinary.

If condition is a priority for a beginner, then perhaps the early 20th century offerings of such as Colt, Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Remington may be a solution. A review of the several online bulletin boards and forums for collectors of such firearms will provide clues as to which firearms are considered desirable and collectible. A follow-up search of some of the appropriate online auction or retail sites will then let you know which of these will fit your budget. 

Other fields that have piqued the interest of many collectors include hammer shotguns, gallery guns, pre-civil war weapons, WW1, WW2, cartridges, .22RF boxes (I kid you not), tools and accessories, single shot rifles, the so-called Saturday night specials, the pistols of Hopkins & Allen, Manhattan Firearms, Thomas K. Bacon, Merwin Hulbert (though these may be on the expensive side) and others, knives, swords, bayonets, and of course the old favorite, the category of “whatever gun takes my fancy” – the list is truly endless. 

The beginning collector may not even be aware that he has started a collection; my own experience was that I attended my first Texas Gun Collectors Association show with a collection of one pistol (I didn’t regard it as such at the time), and found upon returning home that I had increased my collection by 100% – UPS having left a package on my doorstep all weekend. I think it was at that point that I was bitten by the bug hard, and I began to think of myself as a gun collector. 

And I have been having fun building upon those early experiences ever since.