Thread: "Too pretty to use"

We quite often hear this, or see these words in a gun classified. It's a common phrase, one that I heard someone use just this weekend.

There are many of us who have been there done that with this phenomenon. We buy the 'dream rifle' that we have lusted after for so long, but for one reason or another 6 months, a year or two years later, it get sold and the main reason we claim is that is 'too nice to get banged up'. I was one of those once. I remember the first custom stock I built, it was for a BRNO 601 that I bought off my then girlfriends father. It was also my first custom rifle and wildcat - Nelson Collie fitted a new MAB barrel and chambered it for the 6x45. Suffice to say, many hours were spent on that thing, and it was my pride and joy. As much as I loved it, it only lasted about a year or so, before it was found a new home. At that time of my life I couldn't make peace with the idea of this beautiful rifle I had built 'degrading' in the process of me using it for what it was built to do.

It's a funny concept when you break it down. Its like people that don't drive their cars to protect the resale value. I guess I've grown a lot since then, but as a stock maker, I'd far sooner see a rifle that had a few dings and scratches, and one where the bluing was starting to wear thin from the hours it had been carried, than one that had hardly seen the light of day. One of the guys at my workplace has a Rigby Highland Stalker .275, which cost him $26,000. He regularly takes it bush, and has even loaned it to newbies to get their first deer. It has a couple of marks on it, and the satin blue is stating to gloss up in a few places for him carrying it, but you know what, I think it looks better because of it. He has expensive taste, and loves a high grade rifle, but he bought it to hunt deer with, so that's what he does. I'm hopefully only a couple of weeks away from finishing a very nice stock, and once its sold, I dearly hope that it ends up doing the job that I made it to do - dings, scratches, wear and all!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not about the abuse that some people dole out to their gear. I say look after it as well as you can, but be comfortable with the fact that marks and scratches are part of the game. What I think is a worse crime, is stocks that have been refinished many times (badly) and have had their lines and dimensions sanded off in order to remove some harmless scratches. Ultimately a worse scenario than just leaving them be.

Perhaps its not really about the worry over damaging a nice rifle, but more about the itch to try something new. Maybe the idea that it's 'too pretty to use' is the reasoning we settle on to justify to ourselves that we need to sell it and get something else. If I'm being honest with myself, I can tell you that this was the case for me. I wasn't one for settling on a rifle cartridge combo, and I guess I knew it, because I was always trying to keep it in mind condition to retain its resale value. My first 'real' centre-fire was a brand new Ruger M77 MK11 Wood/blued in 6.5x55, and I wish I still had it. I really feel that I'm missing something, by not having that well used Ruger still bearing its physical reminders of all the adventures we had together.

I've got some very nice walnut lined up in my safe now, but they all missing the mana that a bit of wear and tear brings. So now, I'm making up for lost time.....

I'm 100% in line with your thinking.

It's like not sleeping with your girlfriend so she'll be in perfect condition for the next guy....why?

If you want an investment, then treat it as an investment, but otherwise, use it and smile.

It's even worse when you are looking at buying vintage rifles and you ask the vendor about bore condition ?
And they reply " it's a collectors piece. You can't shoot it " and " the bore is immaterial "
My reply is " it's a rifle and that's what they are for ! "

My Blaser K95 has grade 5 wood and show the scars of many many alpine hunts.
That's what it's for

Exactly; use a rifle for what its designed for. A hunting rifle should show the after-effects of use, if it gets used often enough, even if you're one (like me) who looks after them. You cant help bad luck and shouldn't worry to much about that
Plenty of so called "hunters" will be eager to tell you about the number of pristine rifles they own, and that they're often undecided which one to take on their annual hunting trip

Originally Posted by akaroa1

It's even worse when you are looking at buying vintage rifles and you ask the vendor about bore condition ?
And they reply " it's a collectors piece. You can't shoot it " and " the bore is immaterial "
My reply is " it's a rifle and that's what they are for ! "

My Blaser K95 has grade 5 wood and show the scars of many many alpine hunts.
That's what it's for

No good owning if you can’t bang it

Originally Posted by akaroa1

It's even worse when you are looking at buying vintage rifles and you ask the vendor about bore condition ?
And they reply " it's a collectors piece. You can't shoot it " and " the bore is immaterial "
My reply is " it's a rifle and that's what they are for ! "

My Blaser K95 has grade 5 wood and show the scars of many many alpine hunts.
That's what it's for

It's called "history". I don't see the point of collecting mint battle rifles showing only some glorious store room history.

Originally Posted by Cordite

It's called "history". I don't see the point of collecting mint battle rifles showing only some glorious store room history.

Yes and no, I certainly enjoy taking old milsurps out shooting and doing what they are designed to do. However I do own some things that by a miracle fluke of history have escaped pretty much unscathed and at this point I will not shoot them. I would rather preserve them for whoever the next caretaker of them will be when I am old and grey. Maybe it's an irrationality but it's part of being a collector I think is wanting to preserve things.

Originally Posted by akaroa1

It's even worse when you are looking at buying vintage rifles and you ask the vendor about bore condition ?
And they reply " it's a collectors piece. You can't shoot it " and " the bore is immaterial "
My reply is " it's a rifle and that's what they are for ! "

My Blaser K95 has grade 5 wood and show the scars of many many alpine hunts.
That's what it's for

Hi Akaroa, I appreciate your view but one size doesn’t fit all. One approach doesn’t fit all. I have plenty of rifles that I wouldn’t bush bash with, and would like to keep them in the condition they came from the factory in. Part of the joy of collecting often is finding those rifles from the past unused and in box. And often their value is retained if you keep them in this condition.
I appreciate the precision and engineering and collecting value. I have plenty of rifles also in the high end quartile and use them with care. I don’t have a problem with using a $10k rifle, having the bluing thinning where you carry it, but I don’t see the point of it sliding around in the tray of your Ute or using it as a walking stick down a shingle slide.

So I take your point, but every one has a view on firearms ownership, how they are used and for what purpose they purchased them.

Look after them as best you can, but they are a tool, not an ornament.

The brits regularly sent their rifles back for refurbishment. I think it is the yanks that hold the “original” condition idea.

Originally Posted by stug

The brits regularly sent their rifles back for refurbishment. I think it is the yanks that hold the “original” condition idea.

The Brits can be shockers for babying their rifles and getting in a tizz if it gets scratched. There’s a particular UK sub-culture of occasional recreational stalkers who buy rifles primarily for their aesthetics, and can write essays on the matter. To them the very notion of stainless steel and polymer stock is sacrilege and they will take every opportunity to tell you so. They will also choose a chambering from yesteryear and scoff at anything vaguely modern.

I admit I switch off completely the minute someone starts getting a semi over their rifle’s timber and the ever so expensive engraving they had done.

The fact that they hardly ever shoot anything with these rifles is beside the point. If they do it’s probably shot from the comfort of a high seat on a managed property. If the rifle is taken out deerstalking proper, as in kind of actually hunting, then it is carried around in a rifle case. (This particular behaviour drives me nuts, gets right up my crack - I have a relative in the Midlands who does exactly this.)

Each to their own, but to meet someone who values the appearance of their rifle over its function and reliability in the field needs their head read!

Originally Posted by Flyblown

The Brits can be shockers for babying their rifles and getting in a tizz if it gets scratched. There’s a particular UK sub-culture of occasional recreational stalkers who buy rifles primarily for their aesthetics, and can write essays on the matter. To them the very notion of stainless steel and polymer stock is sacrilege and they will take every opportunity to tell you so. They will also choose a chambering from yesteryear and scoff at anything vaguely modern.

I admit I switch off completely the minute someone starts getting a semi over their rifle’s timber and the ever so expensive engraving they had done.

The fact that they hardly ever shoot anything with these rifles is beside the point. If they do it’s probably shot from the comfort of a high seat on a managed property. If the rifle is taken out deerstalking proper, as in kind of actually hunting, then it is carried around in a rifle case. (This particular behaviour drives me nuts, gets right up my crack - I have a relative in the Midlands who does exactly this.)

Each to their own, but to meet someone who values the appearance of their rifle over its function and reliability in the field needs their head read!

Have you looked on the US forum Snipershide, their MK13, M24 and M40 clone rifle builds and the degree they go to for 'authenticity' are something else...

I can happily say this doesn't apply to me at all. My first centrefire was a Ruger M77 Mk11 .270 win. I shot my first deer with it and had no reason to sell it but when my brother was selling exactly the same rifle in stainless/synthetic I brought that and a 3-9 vx1 a mate was selling and sold my rifle to my wifes uncle. Hopefully he still has it. Don't think I'll ever need another rifle because my one is a .270

I like bringing a well used rifle back to its former glory that’s has a bit of a hard past, something about it is super satisfying. Iv had the too pretty to use brand new cz527 I got in a trade that was just too nice for my type of use so I sold it, kimbers on the other hand I am just so about wearing out it’s not funny, I’ll wrap it in a coat and take it anywhere with me whether it’s on a quad or scrub hunting pigs with dogs


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Using mine but it needs a to lose a little weight
Might have to look at trimming the stock and take an inch off of the barrel.

With the move to no lead here the reloading is going well just found me some new copper pills will let you all know how they go. English made yew tree ones.