Keeping in the vein of firearms, I found a S&W Model 41 on GunBroker last week advertised as NIB for just over $900. While that is a lot of money, especially if you convert it to possible lenses, retail on these go for upwards of $1600 - if you can find them. They are quite rare, and used ones usually fetch the price this guy was asking, so I snatched it up. For the uninitiated, the Model 41 is a .22 caliber target pistol. It's one of those things I always wanted but couldn't justify the cost when raising a family. Since I can enjoy shooting this and still recoup the price should I (of more likely my heirs) ever decide to sell it, it's a no brainer for me. That is one aspect of firearms lots of people over look, the investment side. There are many guns, in all ranges of pistols to rifles to shotguns, that make excellent investments. To maximize the investment, it's best not to fire them and leek them in new condition inside their boxes, but there are many that if kept long enough and taken care of, will still retain or even appreciate in value. I know of one individual who has several safes in his basement full of firearms. They are his 401K and in light of recent stock market activities, it looks like a wise investment. Anyway, the Model 41 should be in my hands tomorrow. My only regret is the current cost of .22 match ammo, and the fact that .22 is the one round you can't reload yourself.
Reloading is another aspect of firearms. People say they do it to save money and that's a lie. No one I know saves a dime reloading, after the cost of the equipment and components are added in. The return in investment is you can shoot a lot more though and you can tailor ammo to your specific needs. For example, I load several hand gun calibers at reduced loads for target shooting. I can shoot them all day and not experience the fatigue and soreness full house factory loads would produce. Here's an old picture of my reloading room, which has gotten more cluttered with equipment since this was taken years ago: