He wanted a boat but he got a Ridgeline instead
****Well can't a Ridgeline be both a land and sea vehicle with some slight modifications?
Thinking outside the box here!
He wanted a boat but he got a Ridgeline instead
No way I would ever take on debt to finance a hobby... even it it was a once-in-a-lifetime unicorn find... I'm just not cut from that kind of cloth.
Dad and I did for the HMMWV. Incredibly low interest auto loan. Didn't feel too bad about that. I don't see NFA loans advertised
As much as I dislike owing money , If I had what I know now , and a time machine , I would take a loan out in 1985 to buy several machineguns , and a footlocker full of Registered Lighting Links .
If you work for someone, have the maximum amount of taxes deducted from your paycheck each pay period. At the end of the year, put your tax return in a bank account dedicated to your machine gun purchase. Depending on your income, you could buy a Thompson in 5 or 10 years.
I'm horribly allergic to debt
Why let the government hold your money for a year when you can, if you are disciplined enough, put the money into an investment account and earn +6% interest on it?
While the 1% may indeed be only a fraction of Americans, it's more folks than you might think, especially in this area. I know more than a few people that could drop the dough for a transferable machine gun without thinking. Hell, I know a few that have.
Man, Thats a whole of of pages of people who have never done it not knowing how to do it.... with a few exceptions.
I bought my first FA around 2006 or so when I was in my mid 20s. I just last week bought my 7th MG (9 purchased, 2 sold). I have a wife, a mortgage, 3 kids not yet teenagers (one with a serious medical condition that costs us a lot of money). No family money. I am an Engineer and wife is a Nurse. I would say we are slightly above average middle class, I would say especially after you consider medical expenses.
As has been noted, people will afford what they want. Excluding the rich and poor, only talking middle class. If you want 80 pistols or 100 CMP Garands, this is not going to work for you. You must really want something like this. Just like any larger purchase, you have to want it enough to save for it!
Being a VP of a MG club, I hear a LOT on this issue. For the most part, few of us in the middle class can afford a MG straight out, even a cheap one. Most of us have to sell some things off to buy a MG. This is the most common method I hear. You look at your collection and say, what do I want less than I want this MG. Everything on that list gets sold! You use your collection to fund the purchase. Hopefully you have bought things that have gone up in value and you can make a profit, but you need to be able to sell off a bit and have that ready when you find the right deal.
You have people that save a bit from every check, you have people who take out personal loans. Some people drop OT money in savings. However I find the selling off stuff as the best method and you can take advantage of inflation in gun prices with it.
Then you wait and watch and you be ready to lay out the money the moment the right deal comes.
Some examples:
A friend bought a FN FNC because he could not afford a M16. He paid $8.5K for it and sold it after shooting it for a few years for $15K. He then bought a $20K M16. This stepped approach really helps as his FNC was going up in value at an even greater rate than the M16 during that period.
I bought a MG08 for $8K with nothing more than a grainy picture. The guns were going for $12K+ and just the sideplate was worth that. At the time I had to sell off several parts kits, like a Vickers, 1910 Maxim and many other parts kits that had gone up in value. I think I also sold a PPK and a few other guns I no longer was crazy about. Lucky for me, it was a nice gun. However I sold that for $15k and bought an even better one for the same price.
Sometimes I would have been better just taking a loan. For the M16, I sold off a bunch of stuff. They were about $12K for a Colt M16 when I started. It took me well over a year to get the funds together and by that times Colts were $20K and I bought a Sendra Conversion M16 for $14.4K.
When I think of stuff I have sold... Number 1 on my list is Parts kits for MGs and other MG parts. Buy for 1 and sell for 2 and keep repeating that until you have enough for a MG. If you are a guy sitting there with 50 pistols... at a $500 average, thats $25K. Selling half will get you a long way. You NEED to be honest with yourself and decide what guns you really want. You can't have them all, you can't keep them all and own MGs as a middle class person. I have sold 2 MGs to up grade. I have sold several guns and lots of parts kits. Buy some things you know you will be able to sell off later with a little profit and enjoy them. When you have enough together, sell them off and buy a MG.
I wrote a thread on MDS about this 11 years ago. Those that took my advice now have a gun worth about $8.5K having paid about $3k for it. https://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=42103&highlight=Lage
You need to watch the market and see what is a good deal at the time.
This is just the basics. Anyone seriously interested in this topic and looking for real advice is welcome to email me at phiteshe@vt.edu and I will help! I have talked more people into MGs than most and I can help you too. What is my end... well I have a club where you can come shoot and let me have a chance on that trigger!
I know this guy and have seen some of his collection. He will not steer you wrong.