To Sell or Not to Sell (mint S&W model 28)

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Pancake81

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Hey Gang,

I have an early 1950's S&W model 28 that is in 99.9% condition. I bought it a while ago and it was unfired NIB, since my ownership of a few years I put 12 rounds of 38 special through it just to try it. It's a beautiful gun, but too nice to shoot for me. Which turns this gun into my one and only safe queen. I pull it out once in a while and play with it, but when it comes to range time I always grab my old model 10, Redhwak, and other revolvers, most with many thousands of rounds through them. I would like to buy my farther a new shotgun as a xmas present when he returns home in a few weeks, but would have to sell a firearm to fund the purchase.

The firearm is worth a pretty penny, at least I think it is, and I have not seen anything like it's condition given the model and year. The blue is fairly polished (even for a model 28 which wasn't as shiny as the 27) and there is literally not a nick anywhere and it's never seen a holster. I guess my fear is sellers remorse... I love the gun but I am not justifying it, I guess I am not a safe queen guy. But watching the prices of old S&W and Colts recently they just keep getting higher, and I will likely never find another one in its condition if I decide to add another to the stable.

Should I be a big boy and let her go, or be greedy and hold onto her for the sheer beauty and fact I might just start shooting it one day? What would you do...

 
That is a real nice looking model 28 you have there. If I were you I would do one of three things. Shoot it, sell it or put it back in the safe. This is a duty gun and it was made to shoot. If you shoot it you are probably not really going to hurt the value of it very little.

Don't take offence to this but you really do not have a real collectors gun there but rather a real nice shooter. Now if you had a model 27 then you might hurt the value by shooting it.

Remember the gun has been fired so it does not matter if it has shot 20 rounds or two hundred there is no real difference. The value will be on how it looks and works. I see them all the time priced from as low as $450.00 to $650.00. Some guys ask real big bucks but I have never seen one sell for big dollars, but I am sure someone has paid large somewhere.

Take it out and shoot it and enjoy it.

Graydog
 
Shoot it. Do it, do it.


I echo graydogs' evaluation, you're not going to get a huge premium if you go to sell, nor are you going to ruin the resale value by taking it to the range unless it's blatantly abused.
 
S&W is collectable. However, if you plan to shoot it, then whether it is collectable or not makes no difference.

Sell it and buy something nice that you would shoot.
 
It's a beautiful, beautiful gun, but it won't command a HUGE premium. I'd say 700 on the high end, though who knows about the EE.
 
trebor2880 said:
sold!
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Like I said, who knows what happens on the EE! :p There's what I think it's worth, and what somebody's willing to pay for it (the latter of course being the more important figure). I suppose my 700 evaluation was low.
That thing is mint so I really wouldn't be surprised to see somebody paying 1,000+ for it on the EE.
 
The N-frame .357 guns are designed to be shot all day every day. They are workhorses, especially the standard models.

Pancake81 said:
Should I be a big boy and let her go, or be greedy and hold onto her for the sheer beauty and fact I might just start shooting it one day? What would you do...
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Choose option 3: be a big boy and start shooting it, because it is awesome.
 
"...that is in 99.9% condition..." That is not 'mint'. It's not an 'old' S&W either.
"...it was unfired NIB..." That is. Firing it dropped its collector value by half. Isn't worth a huge pile of money anyway. 28's don't command big bucks.
 
Its a revolver you could probably put about a million rounds of .38 spec through with no problems. looks like a shooter, but an awesome shooter that you clean after EVERY session.
 
In that condition and these days I don't doubt that you could get up around $800 for it. But don't be surprised if you had to come down to around $700 in the end. It just depends on who's out there.

A gun like this can go to the range countless times and shoot thousands of rounds and still look like this. It's all in how you care for the gun and treat it when it's out for a field trip. Obviously some extra care is warranted. But just having a fairly clean mat to put it on and a nice fluffy rag to wrap around it during transport should do the trick.
 
For my two cents , I would hang onto it if I were you . I have never sold or traded a gun that i did not regret later......so do not make the same mistake as I did , I never sell guns now , I figure they have no where to go but up invalue .
 
BCRider said:
In that condition and these days I don't doubt that you could get up around $800 for it. But don't be surprised if you had to come down to around $700 in the end. It just depends on who's out there.

A gun like this can go to the range countless times and shoot thousands of rounds and still look like this. It's all in how you care for the gun and treat it when it's out for a field trip. Obviously some extra care is warranted. But just having a fairly clean mat to put it on and a nice fluffy rag to wrap around it during transport should do the trick.
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Add a rubber, wrap around Hogue grip so that you don't rub the blue off the butt and it might work. I've never been that lucky, no matter how hard I've tried.
 
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