CHICAGO TYPEWRITER said:
Do you think there will be a roof on the c3 weapons or will they just continue to go up? Do you think there will be time when the man outlaws them all together?
-All other things being equal, Class 3, select-fire, firearms will continue to go up in value until our elected officials decide to make them non-transferable. I am not suggesting that this is going to happen tomorrow. However, if the federal government decided to use the CA approach, people who would own them would continue to own them but they could not be transferred to another individual. That would drastically lower their value on the legal market.
Both markets (antique firearms and Class 3) are niche markets. In the US, there are much fewer restrictions on antique firearms and that means it is easier to get your money in or out of them. -With Class 3 stuff, the process is a waiting game while ATF and your local Chief LEO process your application. You can easily run into a Chief LEO who is not pro-gun and he may decline to approve a transfer to an individual simply because he can. He does not need cause to deny a transfer. Approvals are granted at the discretion of the Chief LEO. Lately, some people have been forming trusts or corporate entities to get around the requirement of getting a Chief LEO to sign off on the transfer. -If you don't have to sell the 1860 Army revolver, I'd recommend holding onto it.
Aside from that, the things you have to keep in mind about Class 3 guns is that the entrance fee is relatively high (thousands of dollars to purchase a transferable one) and, if you have one, it is an expensive hog to feed. -Shooting 500 or 1,000 rounds through a Thompson during a single trip to the range is fairly easy and unless you are reloading your own ammo, that's roughly between $150-$300 right there. It's not a back-breaker, but the dollars add up rapidly. Plus, you will need to buy or stockpile replacement parts since you can quickly achieve a high round count and wear out a Class 3 firearm.
