i have a few guns i would call safe queens. one is my springfield armory TRP. i really like shooting it. however, its stuck in my head that its " too pretty" to haul around for rugged use. im not sure why that is. its stainless, and very pretty. its also been 100% reliable. unfortunately, its also heavy.  i look at the handguns i have, and if shtf ever did come about. the TRP, would be one of the last to come out. the glocks, or sig sauers would come out first for sure. im my head, they are just more of a " work" gun. especially the glocks.

if i were to start over, 90% of my guns would be ar-15's, and glocks.  

i am also not extremly comfortable with very expensive weapons. its a huge investment to have one, such as a lwrc repr. i did have one and had to sell it in my divorce. honestly, i was never really comfortable with it. if i left it in my truck to go into a store, i was always afraid it would be gone when i came back. etc. almost TOO NICE, to own. at least for me.

dont get me wrong, i love nice guns. i will just probably never own any more ...... such as a browning bar. very nice gun, but scratch the finish and you want to cry.

my time in service i guess has conditioned me to expect a ar-15, or service pistol to be scratched up, and be dinged. lol

anyway. i found a good trade for my TRP. im in process to trade it for a more usable shtf weapon. and while i do not consider a rock river to be cheap, its not something i will baby, and will definately use first. i have had quite a few of them, and they have always been great guns.

i have a profound hatred of trading guns to a gunshop, as you ALWAYS get raped. well i managed to find what i consider a fair trade for my trp. im trading my trp, with a few wilson mags, for a Rock River Arms operator 2, with three pmags and $200.00 cash .   its a pretty fair trade financially. and i know i would grab the rock river way before the trp.  and if i need a handgun, my go to handguns, are sig p226's, or my glock 20, 10mm. .......... i love sig p226's, they are extremly user friendly. although they are not cheap either. if i did it again, id have gotten all glock 17's, and used the extra money on ammo, or optics.

anyway. im replacing my TRP, with this.

the ONLY changes i will make, will probably be a vortex flash hider, replace the folding front sight with a fixed standard sight with bayo lug ( i love the bulletproof standard sights, and i also love a nice bayonet ) , add a aimpoint, and a magpul single point sling mount. other than that, im not changing anything.

its possible i might mount a scope to this rifle though. its supposed to be guaranteed to 1 moa, and its not a bad host for a precision rifle, so if the scope happens ill keep the front folding sight.  

If the time comes, I care not how nice the gun looks, they will all be "working" guns.

I have no guns that I do not trust. If I did not trust them, no matter how pretty, I would either make them trustworthy, or sell them.

I have a similar line of thinking as far as safe queens go.  However, I don't get out to shoot much anymore so basically my entire collection, with the exception of a few carry pieces, might be considered safe queens.  

However, while my go to guns are the standard calibers (9mm/5.56/.22lr), my C&R guns and other guns in my collection have their place in a SHTF/Combat situation.  The vast majority would be for "handouts".  In order for a gun to be of use it's got to function well, be accurate, have plenty of ammo, and a way to carry it.  So for rifles a sling and for pistols a holster.  99% of my guns fall into this category.  The only one (specific to my collection) that don't are the hi-point c9, .38 Astra, and my .50BMG rifle.  Now even without a holster the 9mm and .38 can still be stuffed in a waistband....whereas the .50BMG is 30lbs+ so it's more of a strategic piece rather than a hand-out.  

So after all that rambling....

My point is that, if you want to consolidate guns/calibers, cool.  But just because a gun is not of a popular type/caliber doesn't make it useless for SHTF in my opinion.  That's what has stopped me from consolidating.  I want to have as many ways to throw lead as possible!! So I could have easily traded a pair of CZ-82's for a Glock.  But I have enough Glocks and I'd rather have two ways to throw lead instead of one.  

YMMV

-Emt1581

true...... i agree. everything i have works, and is 100% reliable, that springfield trp is 100% reliable, and a damn fine gun.  but i would take my glock 10mm to the woods first everytime. because i dont care if it gets a scratch or a ding, which means i will probably train and use it more. ......

im just leaning more towards removing the few remaining  ( IMHO), overly expensive weapons, and replacing them with high quality, less expensive weapons, and using the extra money for other things i need in the prep debt.

Meh, fits the SF mindset better and if you're happy, more power to ya!

WIll it be left like that or are there changes in the works?

This , but I dont have any safe queens minus the guns I have built for my children that have not shot them yet .



 

I care more about reliability and how well I shoot a gun than the price. I actually care more about this than weight. I often think about my long gone Kimber eclipse II and how extraordinarily accurate I was with it. Confidence inspiring.

the ONLY changes i will make, will probably be a vortex flash hider, replace the folding front sight with a fixed standard sight with bayo lug ( i love the bulletproof standard sights, and i also love a nice bayonet ....) , add a aimpoint, and a magpul single point sling mount. other than that, im not changing anything.

i will also probably get a good scope in a qd mount for this one and trade off the aimpoint for scope as needed, this should make a good light precision rifle, as its guaranteed to at least 1 moa .....


also.... the most important thing to me is. the rock river 16"  MIDLENGTHS, are my absolute FAVORITE ar-15 rifle.  20" to me is too long, and i hate the m-4 style barrels that have the carbine length handguards.

my guns are geared towards my kids as well. almost all, and almost all are in sets. ( mostly to prevent bickering, everyone gets the same exact gun) this works well also, because everyones guns, all use the same parts, mags, and ammo as well. .

the TRP was one of the few that was not a matched set.   it is also the only gun i am not heavily invested in in mags, parts, holsters, ammo, etc, etc, etc.  

I understand if you have a rifle that you don't want to lug around because it is too heavy...
or if you want to sell a rifle to get something you deem more useful, or will get more use out of.

I get that.

But, I cannot wrap my head around the "If SHTF, that rifle is too nice to use" concept
-or-
"OMG, someone is breaking in the house,
crap, lemme grab the Glock, cause the Sig is too expensive - I would hate to scratch it"

As for bickering kids....
Mine know, the more you bicker, the less you get.
Grandkids are on the same page.

ETA: I have a very nice Daniel Defense carbine that I take really good care of and still looks mint - not really a scratch on it.
However, it is probably the first rifle I would grab come SHTF time.
It's a rifle.

If you ever get a hankering for an expensive gun, buy one used.  You'll save money and it'll come pre-dinged up, so it won't be too nice to use!

reliability>useability>adaptability>weight>cost

Sounds a bit too logical,
where does tacticool fit in?

I like it!

I don't consider iron sights to be bulletproof.  I've seen more messed up irons than ACOG's.  Normally its a bent front sight post after it gets caught on gear/vehicles/etc.        
 

Everything I own I have to use, I built myself a 300AAC and I used lots of higher quality parts, Larue, Sun Devil, Aimpoint. But I also built the rifle to use as a hunting gun. Guns are just objects, Yes I sure do love having them, but all they are is metal, springs, nuts and bolts. (or polymer) A firearm that you cant shoot has no point in my book I shoot everything I have and always plan on doing so.

I'm a game player, USPSA and 3 gun, and have been for a little over 30 years... about 25 of that with a 1911 platform, currently a 9mm Glock G34... my primary rifle is a Rock River 16" mid on an Armalite receiver and VietNam era A1 stock... and TA31F red chevron...it shoots 4" at 400m.... a Benelli M1S90 21" field which replaced the Rem 1100 rounds out the game guns... and I don't think they are too bad a selection for most anything else...

If I'm stuck with a 16", I'd definitely like a middy too.
Sounds like some solid upgrades. SHe shuld be a shooter!

I like the 1911 threads where the title of the thread mentions holster wear or something along those lines.



I can appreciate a nice firearm and keeping it nice in case you need to sell it.



But years back I sold several used glocks to get a nice 1911.



That sucker has been dropped and probably the worst thing for it was a 4 wheeler wreck where my belt tore, leather just tore apart somehow, and the belt and holster and gun in holster wound up in the creek for a bit.  



I am not proud of how my 1911 looks, some of its marks are from me being clumsy or like wrecking the quad it is just part of what comes from being out doing stuff.



I don't care if others choose glocks.  



I wanted something nice that I would greatly enjoy taking out shooting and owning and for me that 1911 fits the bill.

Only thing I would add there - if you can afford it temporarily - get the replacements BEFORE selling the expensive stuff.

Life tends to go in odd directions. I wouldn't want to sell stuff off with the thought of replacing it "some day", only to have "some day" never arrive.

the end of the world as we know it, has not happened, nor has the chit hit the fan.  I like the variety and range of weapons in my safes, and see no reason to change the mix.

I don't own a safe queen Well kinda but SHTF I have no problem using it...

So, I have been buying handguns and long guns for over forty years, once I buy a gun, I can no longer let it go.  Luckily, I only have one handgun which I would simply not trust, and another one which is a bitch on the hand to shoot.  
Since I can shoot only one gun at a time, I would call all the others "safe queens" waiting for deployment.

well, i pretty much have all my bases covered several times usually. so, if im trading a rifle or a handgun, i already have someting else to fill that spot. as i mentioned im buying for my entire family, kids, and now i have grand kids. i will definately be the cool dad/ grandpa who gives guns and prepper / hunting stuff to my spawn.

plus......i absolutely hate selling things. ESPECIALLY, to gun shops. i have completely stopped that practice. if i want to sell something now, or i want to change a gun, i go to the EE to WTT. i found a guy looking for a springfield trp, and wanted to trade a rock river. ( my favorite rifle).  the cost of the trade after the wheeling and dealing, was fair, and within a few bucks of what they were selling for on gun broker, for each gun.  much better than the 50%-75% value a gunshop gives, when you buy their gun at FULL price.

all my trading in the future will be thru the ee. i will NEVER, trade or sell another gun to a gun shop again.  i could probably buy two barret .50 cal sniper rifles for the money lost trading guns to gunshops over my lifetime.

I have some "special" guns that are somewhat rare.

I have a Browning Hi-Power GP Competition is one, supposedly only 1200 were ever imported. I have two Sig P226s, one is the Lone Star version with the rosewood Texas grips, and the Gadsden version with the "Don't tread on me" theme.

I have never bought a gun I didn't plan on being shot. If I couldn't trust my life to it, I wouldn't buy it but if I did and found out later I couldn't trust my life to it, I'd get rid of it.

I want to be able to grab ANY weapon in my collection and use it for self defense, hunting, whatever the job to be done might be.

Even though I have my "favorites", I will randomly shoot every gun in the safe. I've been a little lax in that regard in that there are some I haven't shot in a couple of years (Chinese SKS, for example). Need to fix that.

That seems to be a pretty decent trade, esp if that is the rifle you really want.

Yep I've come full circle with this as well. I've spent waaaaay too much on safe queens when those funds could have been directed toward additional preps. I've about got my collection down to where I feel comfortable that my arsenal meets our family needs in the event of a SHTF.

Maturity is playing a large part in my thinking. As I've gotten older I've realized It's much smarter to have a stable of workhorses that we can train with and use than it is to have a bunch of overpriced safe queens collecting dust.

ak47...g17..



the hammer and vice grips of firearms

I forgot we were in the survival forums, its corrected



tacticoool>>>>>>>>>>all things else



 

Everyone knows it is much better to look good than to be good.

I don't have any safe-queens, they are all working gun... some may look nicer now but scratches happen... I don't baby any of them...

That being said, I don't intentionally or negligently scratch/beat them up. I put them in the safe carefully just to prevent stupidity scratches.

I'm also with your line of thinking on the SIg vs cheaper handguns. I got started on Sigs so that is what I've stuck with. But they are so danged expensive, I could sell all my Sigs used and buy brand new Glocks/XDs and come out even... I just don't like Glocks. Not because they are bad weapons, but because I just don't like the grip. I shoot them well but I find it very hard to manipulate the trigger AND mag release without shifting my grip... This is actually something I was pondering just this week as I took a week-long course that used the instructor provided Glocks. I shot very, very well, but every time I did a mag change I had to shift my grip and that took valuable time... I'm considering checking out XDs or other striker-fired weapons for a few reasons.

Regarding the AR15's, there are some things on an AR15 that I consider to be "functional improvements". A better trigger, better optics, accessory rails, Gunfighter (or similar) charging handle etc are all functional improvements and worth the added expense. However, billet receivers, expensive stocks, expensive match-triggers, expensive BCG etc are all aesthetic improvements in my mind. People buy those because they want to look cool.

The best thing you can do IMHO is buy a budget AR15 from a reputable manufacturer with a good basic stock on it. Pay a little extra to have a basic quad-rail if you plan to attach accessories and then do the "$10 trigger job" using the JP Rifles lightened springs and knock the tail of the hammer off a grinder and lightly polish the sear surfaces. What I did with a basic DPMS LPK trigger/hammer for $10 has amazed many people on the range. When they shoot my rifle the first thing they ask is what match-trigger I have; then I break the news that it's not a match trigger, it was $10 on aftermarket springs and an hour with the grinder and polishing wheel. Their face gets all because they spent $100+ on a trigger that could have only been $10 and a little work...

OP is definately overthinking a non-issue.  Buy more water for storage.

This.

I try to keep all my tools nice for as long as I can, but when the job requires they get a little used and warn..... well that's what I bought them for!

Well put. I concur

I dunno guys, I can't necessarily go along w/ the group think here.  I guess it depends on what we're talking about.



For modern stuff?  Sure, I'm going to use them all or upgrade/swap.  



But there's something about the craftsmanship and quality of stuff like the 1940-50's Winchesters, the old 40X sporters, etc. that I think is worth preserving and not beating up.  I wouldn't trade my Dad's 52B sporter for a barrel full of rock rivers.  That stuff is just irreplaceable and will always have a place in my life if I can afford it, whether I use it all the time or not.  I don't gear my entire life towards preparedness, though -- try to leave some time and place for the finer things in life where you can...



My $.02

dupe

I think this decision is being made way to complicated...

Safe queens just not my style scratches and gouges just part of the game.

Exactly.

Seems I am alreadys reading about consolodating calibers, etc. for SHTF.

and while that all sounds good in theory,
I have several firearms that I hope to pass to my kids or grandkids that are collectibles or came to me from my grandfather.

I have a matching luger chambered in .30 luger,
and while only useful as a last ditch weapon,
I am not trading/selling it based on some idea of a future SHTF event that might not occur.

You guys have fancy guns?

I think because I have built all of the firearms currently have (minus the handguns) that I have a frankenstien family of ugly guns.  

Probably will try building a 80% 1911 next to add another ugly gun to the list.

All my weapon are durable and none ore safe queens. Some are still new because I haven't had the time to shoot them lately.

I have some that would be considered "safe queens", however, if the SHTF, they are all going into service if needed.

Your life > worrying about scratching your prized baby.

Effective...



 

Hard to beat a good AR and Glock.
I stick to 5.56, 9mm, 22lr and 12ga.
AR15's, G19's. I've got 1 Middy AR that will never leave and 2 G19's, a .22lr henry and a Mossberg 500  that will always be around. Everything else is nice to have. I have some 7.62's, .308's, 410's and all kinds of other rifles and pistols, but the ones listed are the shtf/ forever guns.
I think you made a good trade and you'll be happy in the long run. Makes it a lot easier to stock up on mags, ammo, parts if you are not spread all over the spectrum.

good one, now we can debate ballistics



 

A gun that gets sold or traded away because it just isn't doing anything for you anymore is one thing.

But there is more to life than prepping. Not everything has to be justified as a "prep". In fact, doing so is probably unhealthy.

Most of us likely already have WAY more than the 1or 2 firearms that we MIGHT need in an already improbable SHTF situation. No reason we can't own others purely for fun, sentimental, historical or other non-preparedness reasons.

The only guns I have that I don't shoot are antiques.

Agree

I like this, and thought to myself....

The only guns I don't shoot are the ones that I don't own yet.

I don't own a gun that I baby. A gun, to me, is just another tool. It has a use.

Don't get me wrong- I'm not gonna just toss my bolt gun in the bed of a truck scope first, but I don't lose any sleep over nicks and scratches on them.

This is my stance.  But most of my collection is VERY well thought out.  I research and buy very carefully.  Some of my friends have "collections". I have a stable.  All of my guns were bought with a very intended purpose and they do them very well.