Who are these people who love firearms?

Part Six  This is the sixth in a series of posts informing folks about what is so much in the press, how to deter the mass murders we have been experiencing in the U.S.  It is not an argument for or against gun control; just explanations of terms we hear in the press that are not clearly defined.

Collectors
For those who are not familiar with firearms, it is had to describe how different they all are in their size, weight, color, design, handling, recoil, trigger pull and the list of physical features that intrigue collectors go on and on.

Collectors collect in various ways.

Competition firearms

In the first post on why people love firearms we talked about competitive shooting.  I am a collector in that classification.  I have different firearms for different types of competitions, shotguns, rifles (carbine), handguns for IDPA and 22's for the Saturday morning friendly competitions at Larry's.  When participants go to the range for competitions, they bring an extra firearm in the event that the chosen one goes bad.

Investments
Firearms hold their value and even go up in price over the years.  Many collectors invest in firearms like other folks invest in fine art, cars, or other investments that are an alternative to stocks, savings accounts and retirement.  They are as very safe investment for those that know their firearms.

Even on a small scale, purchasing a firearm is a way of saving money.  They are easily traded or sold.  Even an armature collector can make small investments work for them.  Just be in a gun shop before Christmas and watch collectors cash in a couple firearms.

Historical and story value.  Firearms come with a story that can even alter history.  Many collectors are attracted to those firearms that have a historical significance.  Often it is the technology of firearms that can sway the outcome of a war, has historical value or just is an interesting design and art work.

If you are skeptical  then you just don't know enough about firearms.  As a science educator, I love to clean my firearms and look at how the mechanisms work.  Anytime I see a new firearm, I want to look how the mechanics function, the design of holding the gun and the ammo it shoots.  Change the ammo mixture and you can change how the firearm works.

Bottom line, firearms are fascinating.  This fascination has nothing to do with killing or the power feeling some folks get when they are armed, this fascination is in the engineering, design and history.  The fact that firearms hold value makes them an excellent investment and less risky than gold or commodities.   Unlike the stock market and other investments you can also be a small investor and make or save money.

Think how many times you visit a monument, historical site, museum or other informal educational institute and see firearms.  They are usually the most visited and discussed part of the day.