The United Nations Arms Trade Treaty is a proposed treaty to regulate the international exportation of firearms. The proposed treaty has been in negotiation for months and negotiations are expected to resume in March of 2013.

There has been a great deal of speculation on how signing and ratifying this treaty would affect U.S. citizens. But let us look at the specific ways in which the treaty would affect gun collectors.

• Supply
  For at least one segment of collectors, the treaty could be very crippling. It is already difficult to find the high quality Soviet Bloc weapons that are sought after by collectors. For example, SKS’s were very hard to come by until quite recently. And now, Mosin Nagants are going up in price as they become scarcer. In addition, collectors of American World War II weapons are even finding that their sources are beginning to dry up. The primary reason for this scarcity is that these guns often come from countries that have already bought into the treaty and will therefore not be sending these so called “weapons of war” to other countries.
  Then there are the U.S. military weapons that are usually only available from foreign sources now. These are guns that have either been given to other countries by the United States or guns that have been confiscated by foreign forces during times of war. The M1 rifle is one example of such a weapon. These days, the M1s that come into the U.S. are those that have been discovered in hidden storage areas overseas. It has been difficult enough to get these weapons back into the U.S. and the proposed UN treaty will make it even harder.
  

• Value
  As the sources dry up, though, a collector who currently has guns like this in his collection will find himself in the enviable position of owning increasingly valuable and collectible weapons. While most collectors aren’t in it for the money, a hefty selling price might make it worth it to part with a gun or two. Of course, on the flip side of this is the collector who is just starting out. With supplies decreasing and demand increasing, it will be much more difficult and expensive to get a collection underway.

So what can a collector do? If there are some specific guns missing from your collection that could be impacted by this treaty, you might want to get them now while you have the chance. Be sure to also purchase ammunition for these guns but be aware that ammo prices may already be inflated. Alternatively, you could consider ammo reloading. It’s a fun pastime and can dramatically improve accuracy. It may also save you a buck or two in the long-run. Unfortunately, it is a very time consuming practice and you may find that the meager savings just aren’t worth it.

Beyond adding to your collection and stocking up on ammunition, there isn’t a whole lot to be done. Keep your chin up, though, because some of this may blow over in time. Until then, be prepared for higher prices and lower availability. It might be a great time to expand your collection of domestic guns or even begin collecting weapons with fewer regulations like knives or swords.

As negotiations for the UN Arms Trade Treaty get underway, I will update this page with additional information as it becomes available.