Purchase regrets?

Unfortunately shooting sports are expensive. I made a rash of purchases a couple years ago I really regret. As I look at the items I realize the amount wasted is daunting. I had next to zero knowledge about guns and was buying before Hillary was elected.

I regret:

1. The rifle optic because I have astigmatism and didn't know red dots are bad for that. This is the biggest because I thought I did plenty of research before buying. Also the 3x magnifier that goes with it. Another highly reviewed product online that just stinks. Eye relief is terrible. I think some of the reviews are falsified advertisements.

2. Range bag as it just didn't hold everything I bring. Used it about 2 dozen times.

3. Bi-pod. Got a relatively inexpensive one and hate hate hate it. Doesn't attach quickly and adjusting it is cumbersome.

4. Carry gun. P938. I can't CC. It was another pre-election fear purchase. Sits in the safe and don't really enjoy shooting it at the range.

5. A couple different hearing muffs that are incompatible with shooting glasses.

6. Different sets of glasses. None are comfortable however.

I could go on. Anyone else do this to themselves and have you sold stuff to get money back? Where is the best place to try and sell items? Ebay?

The only purchases I regret are the ones I never made. You learned something from each purchase you made. If you want to move on why not try the classifieds here.

pilot25 said:

Unfortunately shooting sports are expensive. I made a rash of purchases a couple years ago I really regret. As I look at the items I realize the amount wasted is daunting. I had next to zero knowledge about guns and was buying before Hillary was elected.

I regret:

1. The rifle optic because I have astigmatism and didn't know red dots are bad for that. This is the biggest because I thought I did plenty of research before buying. Also the 3x magnifier that goes with it. Another highly reviewed product online that just stinks. Eye relief is terrible. I think some of the reviews are falsified advertisements.

2. Range bag as it just didn't hold everything I bring. Used it about 2 dozen times.

3. Bi-pod. Got a relatively inexpensive one and hate hate hate it. Doesn't attach quickly and adjusting it is cumbersome.

4. Carry gun. P938. I can't CC. It was another pre-election fear purchase. Sits in the safe and don't really enjoy shooting it at the range.

5. A couple different hearing muffs that are incompatible with shooting glasses.

6. Different sets of glasses. None are comfortable however.

I could go on. Anyone else do this to themselves and have you sold stuff to get money back? Where is the best place to try and sell items? Ebay?

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Many of our IPs will accept guns on consignment, or as trade-ins for something you're buying from them. I've never sold anything outright to a stranger, maybe since I have no way to vet them. I have sold stuff to other MDS members, and there is a classified section on the forum just for stuff like that.

I have no Regerts.

FInding gear that fits is half the fun / battle.

Only purchase regret I have is buying a single stack 9mm Kahr as it stings my palms to shoot it. Poor fit for me.

Only other regret is not having space to shoot often.

Holsters pile up until you figure out what's comfortable and how you like to carry.

Slings, mag carriers, accessories I will never really use. Like holsters, all the old slings you bought are useless once you figure out the configuration you like for the kind of shooting you do.

Optics... yeah, most of us have wasted hundreds of dollars on items we don't like or don't meet our ergos. Don't write red dots off, they have a purpose but they don't meet all purposes.

Electronic ear muffs. Used em once, do not like.

If you're getting a smearing red dot because of an astigmatism, try the Vortex Spitfire. Its reticle is etched, and though I get a very smeary dot on other optics, that one is crystal clear for me. Many people report the same good results. Check it out.

Springfield xds in 45. Not fun to shoot and just cant trust my life to it after the recall and not getting 100% reliability after I got it back. The grip safety is another can of worms I'm not a fan of.

sgt23preston said:

I only wish I had bought an M1A before there were banned...

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Yeah, I'm the same. The bigger regrets are what I've missed.

If I find that a gun no longer does it for me, or that I've gotten over a phase of excitement for a subclass of firearms, I'll sell things. The possessions don't own me. I've sold both a 5.7 handgun and a late 1960s production Colt Python revolver. Both were in terrific condition, but not a good fit for me, and of less and less interest to take out of the safe to use.

If I take a little loss, I consider it the price of a lease to try something out, to have fun. I do think that firearms comprise an unusual market as many retain value well, so the depreciation is slow.

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Ragrets? I did go nuts in '13 - BUT NOT NUTS ENOUGH. Shoulda gotten a Vepr Uzi.
That's about it, I got mags galore and the AK Polytech Double Underfolder which cost more than my mortgage.
Bad ass.

Regrets... not wiping Sunny's Surplus inventory out when I turned 18..... that and a few wives.

The one great thing i’ve found with firearms is that they are completely different from cars or most other products. We see Colt AR15’s from 10-20 years ago, used, going for the same price as new AR15’s today. Firearms really don’t seem to lose much value at all. This is likely due to the slower advancement in designs and new products compared to technology which is constantly evolving at rediculous rates.

Import rifles are good buys. You never know when they will cease to be imported. One rifle comes to mind, a Century AES-10B. Price was $650-800 new within the last decade, they stopped importing, now the price is $1300+. Same thing with AK mags, same thinf with more or less all ak products. Once the surplus runs dry or they stop manufacturing, prices skyrocket.

Bear with me, with all this in mind I don’t regret buying any firearms. I know that if I don’t like a firearm, or get tired of it, I can sell it and get nearly all of my money back. They will always have some value. You never know when our ability to purchase them might become even more difficult, or what laws may be created, or whether or not an AWB would happen again. Point is, buy what you can, while you can. You never know when that luxury will end.

Life is short, and if spending money on firearms makes me happy than I will continue to do so. What good is money if you never use it?

pilot25 said:

4. Carry gun. P938. I can't CC. It was another pre-election fear purchase. Sits in the safe and don't really enjoy shooting it at the range.

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Karma? In!

J/k. I have a P938 and love it. I exercise it and my Utah carry permit several times a year when I drive to the midwest to visit family. For me it's by far the most accurate of the small carry guns I have.


Which brings me back to topic... the only gun purchase I regret is an LC9. I loved it when I bought it, but I'm not very accurate with it. Single stack like the 938, but too slim in the center of the grip. Stiff trigger pull, and magazines like to jump out when you fire it . Apparently a common problem... I need to contact Ruger about getting a new mag release, and maybe an aftermarket trigger.


Or find someone who wants to trade their P938 for it + $$...

Regrets? I've had a few lately but, not many recently. It's funny how when I stopped patronizing a certain IP last year and started going elsewhere, my regrets stopped almost immediately.

Nightforce makes outstanding optics but, their SHV line ain't nowhere in the same league as the NX's. Not even close. I had an SHV 4-14x56 mounted on a CZ 550 Varmint that couldn't hold a zero if its life depended on it. It was dim. I hated the reticle. I thought it was the rifle, at first, when my zero would change (with the same ammo) every session but, it was definitely the scope. Replaced it with a Leupold V3x and had no further issues with maintaining a consistent 100 yard zero.

STI Lawman 5.0 1911. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that thing was a factory refurb sold to me as BNIB. There were so many problems with it I couldn't get rid of it fast enough. I've owned many 1911's but never one that bad.

New 6" S&W Model 629. Again, if I didn't know any better (and I don't), I'd almost bet the farm it was another factory refurb sold to me as BNIB. The cylinder would bind and completely lock-up with .44 Magnum ammo so tight that I had to use a rubber mallet to release the cylinder. Three trips to S&W for warranty repairs and it coming back with the same issue every time forced me to 'surrender' and sell it (with full disclosure) for about a 60% loss.

S&W Model 586 No Dash. It was one of the least accurate .357 S&W revolvers I've ever owned, bar none. When I found out a week later that I paid $100 more than what two other members of MDS had been quoted, I got rid of it and just stopped doing business with that IP. Again, I find it more than a coincidence that as soon as I started buying elsewhere, I stopped having problems and stopped having regrets.

This hobby has a distinct measure of risk that goes along with it. Shoddy manufacturing, gun shops looking to rip you off every chance they get and imbeciles at the range handling guns unsafely are just a few of the risks you've gotta accept unless you're an FFL and you have your own personal range.

Bullfrog said:

Karma? In!

J/k. I have a P938 and love it. I exercise it and my Utah carry permit several times a year when I drive to the midwest to visit family. For me it's by far the most accurate of the small carry guns I have.


Which brings me back to topic... the only gun purchase I regret is an LC9. I loved it when I bought it, but I'm not very accurate with it. Single stack like the 938, but too slim in the center of the grip. Stiff trigger pull, and magazines like to jump out when you fire it . Apparently a common problem... I need to contact Ruger about getting a new mag release, and maybe an aftermarket trigger.


Or find someone who wants to trade their P938 for it + $$...

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Is it a great handgun but I realized I don't have the ability to use the safety properly. DA/SA fits my brain way better. In a tense situation I'll will definitely
forget to flip the thing off and it'll be all over. Many times, at the range, I'll practice with a timer and 25% of the time I'll forget the safety. On the positive side, I learned how much I would flinch and anticipate recoil. I became much more accurate on the first trigger pull with my other handgun.

I have only one regret, a recent purchase. Its a plastic piece of crap and I hate it. Not nearly as accurate as it should be either. I am not going to name names, but I will put in on consignment after I get back from vacation. I am going to buy the thing I should have in the first place. I probably will also put one of my 2013 O'Mao purchases on sale since I never shoot it. Or I may keep it because its fun. I just never shoot it, I have other guns that are also fun. I can't decide.

I have many firearms I don't shoot anymore, though it's always nice to have the option of shooting them when I may feel like it. That's not regret.

I do have regrets about accessories though. One that comes to mine is a shotgun tube extension for my Rem 870. The integrated sling mount is oriented for the port side; I wish that I'd gotten the one that is vertical instead

I regret a lot of the holster purchases. Buy once cry once would have saved me a lot of money.

I don't regret any of the guns I've purchased, only that I can't keep them all.