More Than Enough?

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roy reali

New member
From where I am seated right now, I can see most of my guns. I might not have as many of them as some of you, but I probably have more then most. This made wonder why? Why do I have so many firearms? My wife asks the same question all the time.;)

I have several shotguns. I do a little bit of upland hunting and the occasional round of trap. One shotgun would easily serve all my needs, but why do I have more. Handguns, I have about a dozen of them. I almost always open-carry when I go exploring in the desert. Nine out of ten times I go I grab one of the rimfire handguns. Usually its a revolver. Two or three handguns would serve all my needs, then why do I have four times as many as I need.

I have many rifles. Most of them haven't been shot in years. A .22 rimfire and a deer-class centerfire rifle would serve just about all my needs. I could reduce my gun collection to no more then five or six and have all my shooting needs taken care of. The funny thing is that I still have a wish list of guns I want to buy. Why?

Who else here has way more guns then they really need? Why? What is it about guns that makes some of us irrational consumers?
 
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aarondhgraham

New member
Stop searching for a cure,,,

You might actually find it,,,
Then where would the gun companies be,,,
Out of business, and then where would we be?

My gawsh man!

You could bankrupt the entire shooting industry!
;)
 
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Drachenstein

New member
Out of 30+ guns I only ever use 5. The rest are bits of history that you can own a piece of. Want to feel respect for the older generation? Carry around a M1 Garand for a while. I always picture my father, all of 5ft 6in 130 lbs carrying it all over europe from Dday+15 to the end. They were all iron men.

I guess it can be all broken down into three catagories;
tools
toys
collectables
 
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Brian Pfleuger

Moderator Emeritus
I've often wondered the same thing. Personally, I don't do it... with guns....

Each one fills a niche and there are no duplicates.

I see all the time, though, people that have not just 6 or 8 or 20 handguns, but sometimes 5 or 10 of the EXACT same gun. That makes no sense to me at all. I can see 2. I can even see as many as you can get if the particular gun is a collectors item, but I see people with 5 or 6 (or 10) identical SW 357 revolvers that are not particularly rare. This, I do not understand.
 
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The Great Mahoo

New member
I occassionally find myself wondering the same thing. I use maybe 4 or 5 of my ~30 guns with any regularity, some not getting out of the safe at all for years at a time. But everytime I sort through the safe with the thought of selling a few off, I can't bear to part with any of them! And worse yet, I have a wish list (like all gun owners).

I guess they all have their niches in one's collection. Some are shooters, some are pieces of history, others are just oglers.


In the end, don't be so selfish!
Just think of all of those poor people who would be affected if we didn't keep buying. Less demand means less production, so all those people in the gun-production lines would be layed off, then with less merchandise being moved, gun stores would start closing, leaving countless out of work. Now they can't provide for their families, their children won't be able to go to good schools, and all of their dreams might go unrealized due to lack of oppertunity. I don't know about you, but I can't have all that on my shoulders, so I will part with a few paychecks a year to keep the universe in balance and pad my collection a bit. I'll consider it good karma to fill my safes to keep all those mouths from going hungry. So next time you start to wonder about your buying habits, just think of the children and break out the checkbook.
 
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cw_mi

New member
I actually think I'm done with gun purchases for a while. There were certain guns I wanted and I've got them now. Well ... I do want another 1911, would love to have one of those Colt Mustangs or Govt. .380's, a S&W .460 would be kind of cool, I always thought Desert Eagles were neat, since I grew up with gangster rap, I've always wanted an AK, and I would like another AR but in the desert tan color. Okay after those I think I'm done for a while. :D
 
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WoofersInc

New member
I always tell myself-- "how many coin, stamp, whatever collectors, have only one of what they are collecting?" Why should guns be any diferent?

My goal is to own over 100 guns someday. Why? Who knows. The number 100 just comes to mind. I'm getting close to the mark though. After I reach that point I'm not sure what I'll do from there.
 
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SigP6Carry

New member
Well, it's like this... right?

Why does a classic car collector own more than one car? Why do computer gurus own more than one computer? Why do gamers own more than one gaming system? Why do guitarists own more than one guitar? Because every single individual example is different than the next. And each different model works differently and fits a different niche than the last. So, why own a S&W Model 10 and a Taurus .357? Cause they're two very different guns with different purposes now. Why own a 1911 style .45 and a wonder-nine? Cause they're very different guns with similar purposes. You see?

It's not that we're obsessed with guns, it's that we're still seeking the "perfect gun" and in trying to find it we accrue a collection.
 
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sixgun67

New member
I have an insatiable appetite for wood and blued steel. If it goes bang, I want it! I can give no reasons for that:confused:. I could probably use the 'each one is different' excuse, as it is very true, and I'll use whatever logic I can think of to get that 'next one':p. No quantity is too many, but any quantity can be not enough;).
 
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FEG

New member
In my area, there is a practical reason:

Want to shoot an obscure make/model just to try it? Guess what? You're going to have to buy one.
 
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stickhauler

New member
Why ask why? There are mysteries in this world we can't answer, and probably shouldn't even try to answer. Just look at yourself as a kind and caring person, who gives shelter to poor orphaned guns, who would likely be on the streets being abused by God knows what kind of monster if not for your intervention. God Bless you for caring enough to care!
 
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FrankenMauser

New member
I'm like Peetzakilla - Every one of them fills a niche. ... A niche that only IT can fill.

One of my handguns has a bit of sentimental value, and is an extremely common pistol. But... it has logged more rounds than any of pistol of its type, that I've seen. It is deforming itself, and still going strong. (The deformation will be addressed when it becomes a safety concern.)

The other handguns... Tools. They serve as backup weapons, while hunting, and SD weapons at other times. Other than one of them being my first pistol, I'm tied to them in no way. But I keep them, because they fill a niche for me.

My rifles are a different story.
Many times, I've wondered if I could be a "One Rifle Man" or "Two Rifle Man", but then I get to thinking about why I bought each of them, in the first place. It's that niche they fill.

Most of my rifles overlap functions with other rifles. But, each one does a couple things very well - better than the others.
One is a dedicated 'scrub oak' carbine, for close range Elk/Moose.

Another is a dedicated Varmint rifle (it's long, heavy, a pain to haul around, and creates wonderful displays of Red Mist - but can't do much else very well).

The only semi-auto centerfire rifle I own is an SKS. Though most people associate that with massive quantities of wasted lead, and mall ninja bragging... Mine is kept around as an all-weather Deer/Elk carbine. (I can't afford to shoot it like most people do.) My philosophy with Elk is whack 'em while the whackin' is good, and keep whackin' 'em til they're down (aimed fire, of course - not just popping rounds off at the brown mass with legs). All it takes is a carefully selected load. The SKS fits the bill perfectly... for me.

One of my newer rifles ('06) has not drawn blood yet, but is intended to be a long range (ethical) Elk/Moose rifle; and anything else that may require a scope, decent accuracy, and heavier bullets (heavier than my other cartridges).

The list goes on... every one of them serves a very specific purpose, but occasionally comes out for a little play time - doing one of the other rifles' jobs.

If it really came down to it, the most important rifles are:
My .270 - It was the first center fire rifle I bought, and can be loaded to do anything my other rifles do. It's fantastic for Antelope and Deer, adequate for Elk and Moose, and can sling 100gr HPs for varmints. It just doesn't do some of those jobs nearly as well as other rifles. I prefer to use the rifles dedicated to those tasks.

My Rossi 62SA Gallery - I have personally experienced the flaws of some of the older Rossi 62s, but this one has been golden since new. I can't remember a single malfunction (or being told about one). It's a tiny little .22 S/L/LR carbine, that will do anything, go anywhere, and is more accurate than I am ... even with a 16.5" barrel.


Everything has its place. No matter how often I consider "thinning the herd", I always end up thinking about why I bought them. It's those damn niches. There's always another one to fill.

Speaking of which... I have a snubby .357 revolver and bolt action .22 LR niche to fill. Damn niches...
 
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kimberclassic

New member
Thank God I live in a country where I can indulge in a hobby/sport/etc. that I don't need a justification for collecting and/or owning all sorts of things just because I want to!!
 
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curt.45

New member
after years of pondering this, I have come to this conclusion


1. I enjoy guns, and collecting them.

2. I will never understand women.
 
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kraigwy

New member
Jene Hill once wrote he only met one person with TOO MANY GUNS. The guy used a Rolls Royce to pattern his purdeys.

Seriously,

Too many guns is like Too Much Money, Too Pretty Wives, Too much Fried Chicken, too much time Fly Fishing,

They just dont exist.
 
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gun nut

New member
I also have acquired a number of guns. Its easy to buy them I have a hard time parting with them. If you don't shoot them does that mean you should sell them? If so I've got three old nib colt handguns I need to sell.
 
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