Wrapped Enfield (Before and After)

[SpikeDD]

Age old argument to unwrap or not....

I personally feel it's up to the individual but what continues to amaze me.... is the ignorance towards why someone would want to keep one in the wrap. As a "collector", I can still comprehend why someone would want to unwrap and fire a virtually brand new rifle... what is so difficult in comprehending the aspects of "collecting" one and not unwrapping it? Why would someone presume the purchase of a wrapped No.4 is for a return on investment??? Couldn't it be just to fill in a slot of the "collection"? I'm quite sure there have been a percentage of people who have bought rifles thinking.."wow... I'll make a lot on that some day" but I can assure you, a "collector" doesn't even come close to thinking in those terms.

How do you determine if you are a "collector" or a "shooter"?

The probably two most ignorant statements I have heard in regards to collecting are.. " who are you saving it for " and " It's a rifle, it was made to be fired so you should fire it " If either one of those statements makes any sense to you, you are as far from a collector as it gets and haven't a clue, and that's fine, but it doesn't change the fact that there are other aspects to this game and not being able to wrap your mind around that isn't going to change it.

Perhaps some simple examples will help pave the way to a better understanding...

If we apply the logic of " It's a rifle, it was made to shoot so you should shoot it " to a friend of mine who collects and restores Tanks... what should he be doing with them ? Thank God the shells can't reach my neighborhood!

Applied to the stamp collector... I have news for ya, if you have a 2cent stamp worth 5k... the Post Office still says it's worth 2cent, but you go right ahead and mail that electric bill with it because, after all, that's what stamps were made for.

Applied to the matchbook collector... well hey, either take up smoking or go get lost in the woods and use them to start a massive signal fire I guess.

Applied to the coin collector... Lets see, a 1793 Liberty Cap large cent is maybe worth 25k? I guess no one should collect coins as they were minted to be spent on goods and services... not sitting in a collection someplace.

Applied to the poor ol' salt and pepper shaker collector.... I guess it would be nice to have 100 sets of salt and pepper shakers loaded and ready to dispense at any given time. You never know when you're going to be in the upstairs john, sitting on the bowl with a ham sandwich and in need of some pepper.

Could go on forever... the bottom line is, EVERYTHING humanly manufactured has had a specific "purpose" to it's manufacturing... If any one of those things happens to be collectible, that does not translate to having to use the said collectible as it was manufactured to be used in order to collect it and I'm afraid rifles are no different than anything else.

"Who are you saving it for?" How about... No one. As a collector, I get as much enjoyment out of owning the rifle as a shooter gets out of shooting a rifle... it's that simple. What the people I appoint to take care of them do with them after I die is irrelevant, I'll be dead.

How hard is it to actually sit on the fence and see both sides? Apparently, those with one dimensional thinking will always struggle, I imagine.

[krinko]

"...a friend of mine who collects and restores Tanks... what should he be doing with them ? Thank God the shells can't reach my neighborhood!"

He could just drive over, you know.
-----krinko

[Peter Laidler]

Just as a matter of interest Krinko, what sorts does he have? I have a Centurion but alas, not a gun variety, just a recovery variant. I think you yanks call them 'hercules'