You did the right thing. The value of owning most guns comes from shooting it, not holding it for someone else to enjoy shooting later on. There are a few guns around that are honest investments, but not many. A Remington R1 is a fantastic gun to shoot, but is really lacking in investment potential. I appreciate the idea of taking care of something to maintain it's worth, but to fail to use it at all seems silly. If your buddy does not take your advice, he will have spent his money to buy someone elses gun for them, hold it for them for however long and then give it to them while taking a 10 to 20 pct hit.
It's rare that I make money on any gun I buy and then later sell. Most of the time, I lose money in the deal but I'm always happy in the end because for the money lost, I had a ball with that gun. I look at any money lost as a rental fee of sorts. If I buy a gun for $700, run 1000 rounds of ammo through it over the course of 18 months and then sell it for $550, it's no different than if I went to a shop and they offered to rent a brand new gun to me for 18 months, with unlimited use, for $150. . The only way to lose on that deal is to not shoot it during your time of having it. If you hand them back an unfired gun at 18 months, you lose.
Your buddy needs to shoot the thing to the limit of his budget. If he does that for a number of years, the gun will have gained so much value to him, he would have a hard time even thinking of selling it to someone else.
It's rare that I make money on any gun I buy and then later sell. Most of the time, I lose money in the deal but I'm always happy in the end because for the money lost, I had a ball with that gun. I look at any money lost as a rental fee of sorts. If I buy a gun for $700, run 1000 rounds of ammo through it over the course of 18 months and then sell it for $550, it's no different than if I went to a shop and they offered to rent a brand new gun to me for 18 months, with unlimited use, for $150. . The only way to lose on that deal is to not shoot it during your time of having it. If you hand them back an unfired gun at 18 months, you lose.
Your buddy needs to shoot the thing to the limit of his budget. If he does that for a number of years, the gun will have gained so much value to him, he would have a hard time even thinking of selling it to someone else.