Would you sell all you had to....

[Daryl]

BlueTrain said:

You'd have to have a truckload of pennies these days. Elmer Keith spoke of some of his friends that only had one gun, some of which were on the unusual side, too, like a copper-plated Colt SAA. Even Skeeter Skelton mentioned doing the same thing twice, selling or trading "most" of his guns.

Please understand that I recieved my first gun as a gift from my father when I was a kid. That was in 1976. Since then I've tuned, and re-tuned my collection to meet my needs and desires.

And I'm a shooter, not a collector. Trading off even one of my firearms at this point would leave a gap in my needs or wants that I'd later have to fill once again.

I went through the phase of trading off one or more guns for another many years ago, but pretty much got over that by the end of the 1980's. I've sold or traded few firearms that I didn't someday regret.

I have nowhere near the number of firearms that some collectors have, but the ones I have fit my needs very well, and fill my wants pretty completely. If there's just something I want, then I'll save for it.

Daryl

 

[SteelChickenShooter]

I did sell off in a similar way to the post. I had multiple snubbie models and sold them all. Then bought a single different model that replaced them all.

 

[Ricky]

Sell all of them?

I might sell/trade/buy a bit but there is no one gun made that could replace all of my guns. I can't imagine one gun that I could carry somewhat discreetly, defend from possible grizzly bear attack, kill ducks and pheasants as well as big game at 300 yards. Do they have the Star Trek phazer working yet?

 

[old bear]

Blue Train, for you it make perfect sense to thin out the collection, so you can have the one "perfect" handgun for you.
As I have gotten older the old saw, "quality wins over quantity every time" really rings true.

 

[gak]

Old Bear has it down. There've been a number of times I've felt "if someone made it easy(er) by just coming by and offering X,...in exchange for a few custom guns that are 'just so'.". Ultimately I've been saved by being lazy and I've just kept that an imagined scenario I admit just one is tough. But, yes, I can imagine it at some point...and Blue Train, it seems you've reached that point.

 

[KMAX]

I have been giving thought to this issue myself. My wife and daughters are not gun people and have no idea of the value of my guns. I fear that if I died they would sell off my guns for much less than what they are worth, not that they are anything really special. I have more than three, but I have thought about narrowing it down to two rifles and two handguns, one of each being .22 cal. I may do this in a few years. I am 55 now and hope to have a few more years of shooting ahead, but I have thought about it. I would say if the guns you have have no special meaning for you get yourself something special while you can enjoy it, you don't live forever.

 

[Cheapshooter]

Would you sell all you had to....

HaHaHa!!! Now that's funny, I don't care who you are!!!
......................................

..............................

 

[JohnKSa]

I'd be willing to sell SOME, maybe even most of them, but certainly not all. My first gun and the three guns my wife has given me as gifts over the years would stay. There are also a few guns that fill various "utility niches" that would be hard to get rid of.

 

[1-UP]

My first gun was a Ruger Mark III. I can't see myself ever parting with it. I have several others, but it's such a quality gun and I enjoy shooting it so much that it will only leave my possession when I'm in the ground or I give it to one of my children.

The others? I could see it. But not that one, so never all.

 

[Hal]

Nope - not all.
Some have too much sentimental attachment.

All the the others are fair game though.

Life's just too short to hang onto something I have no use for just to say, "I have__".

I sold a cherry model 19 Smith to a co worker last Summer & took the money and blew it on a day trip to The Meadows to play slot machines.
That was my last "real vacation" before I retired.
I'll have fond memories of a good time for the rest of my life instead of a gun sitting in the safe doing nothing.

 

[KMAX]

When I was younger I drank and smoked (?). I no longer do this, but I have some memories of good times when I did. I used to ride motorcyles. I no longer do that, but have fond memories from that time. I have fond memories of past girlfriends and friends I no longer see. Point is life moves on. Guns are a lifetime thing for some and a phase for some. I will probably always have at least one gun in the house, probably a handgun, but chances are that if I live to be very old I will try to dispose of most of my guns before I am too old to do it properly (ill or senile) so they won't be something my wife or daughters have to mess with when I am gone. Some people say I am morbid for thinking about stuff like this, but I think it is realistic. I am not saying Bluetrain is going to kick the bucket anytime soon, but you never know. My dad always said he was going to get a camper and travel. He died at 59 and never went anywhere. If you really want that special gun get it.

 

[B.N.Real]

Bluetrain,I know exactly where you are coming from.

I've recently got rid of several guns that I kind of wished I had'nt but I was paring down calibers and guns to a simple few that I could afford to keep shooting and guns that I positively would not get rid of.

I'm down to just 38 special +P and 22lr now.

A Smith Model 10 for home defense and a Taurus Model 85 for concealed pocket carry right now that will get a friend when I get a Smith 642 no lock ( smaller gun) to take it's place.

I would be very careful what I got rid of since you said your love of the shooting is still very strong and you made refence to what others around did as far as not shooting.

Your shooting is important to you.

If you can,I'd find a shooting club like the Izaak Walton League or some NRA shooting events or something esle that has people that enjoy shooting like you do

Or just take some of your guns and decide you deserve the two or three hours of range time and go and shoot your guns.

That love of shooting never goes away.

Take the guns you are thinking of getting rid of,

You might just change your mind.

One last thing-forget about one perfect gun-THAT I can definetely tell you -DOES NOT EXIST.

(kmax-beautiful post there-like you said,if bluetrain feels the need to get that gun,life is short,it's just choosing what guns goes that's the bxxxxx)

 

[jaughtman]

All - no. Several - yes.

I too, believe it is better to have a few guns that are outstanding and have sentimental attachment to than dozens of "just pieces" lying around. I could (and one day probably will) get by with one deer rifle, a couple shotguns, a .22 plinker pistol, a full size range/carry/home defense pistol, and a smallish CC pistol. I currently have several models of all of those categories. And some of them don't mean a hoot to me sentimentality-wise. They were simply "good deals" at the time I bought them.

J

 

[Willie Lowman]

I would sell a few of my guns to get one of the ones that I have wanted. The thing is, aside from a Sig 226x5 (I'm starting to think they are an internet myth). Most of the guns that I want for my collection cost $2500 and up. The ones I really want, like a transferable M16 or Galil, I would have to get top dollar for every gun I own and then, I would have sold my entire collection to have one gun... I can't do that.

 

[mrt949]

Down that road right now in life .Don't hunt or shoot competion any more. Making life easier for the wife. Getting rid of all the junk .Oh by the way .BUY CHEAP GET CHEAP BUY ONCE CRY ONCE

 

[surveyor]

Dad has lost interest in his collection as well, and has given me parts of it..

I take him to the range pay his fees, provide the guns, ammo..

he still enjoys shooting, but is ready to leave after an hour or so..

last time we were there on the plate range, and had mom's (which he gave me last year) john giles conversion high standard, he said after cleaning all the plates in 6 shots "I forgot how nice this was to shoot" and brought back a smile...

same for his 25-2 smith.. he enjoyed my cz as well.. and a 1911 llama 9mm..


so I can understand.. back in the 60's both mom and dad were bulls eye shooters and reloaded alot..

she is no longer with us, and I never got to shoot with her..
but I do enjoy shooting with dad..(just started in the last 2 years or so)

like he said, "we are all just custodians of this stuff"..

so get what you like, and enjoy it. that's what life is about.

 

[Ozzieman]

When I first read this I thought it was a silly question,,,, then once I thought about it brought back memories of STUPID things I did like (Please don’t kick me off of TFL for this) trading a almost new S&W 5 inch M27 with the box for a piece of crap Luger that was not matching and pitted barrel.
My only defense is that I had not worked in a gun store yet and was very new at guns.
So I have to answer yes,,, painfully I have.
Today on the other hand there are guns in my collection that I wouldn’t let go for 4 times their actual worth, maybe even more.
I fault no one for going over board by get the gun you really want,,, just be careful, guns can be like cars. I always wanted another 66 mustang like I had when I was in high school. All I had was fond memories of the car,,,,, until I drove one last year, rode like a truck, handled like a truck with flat tires but it sure looked good. I’ll keep my 70 Chevelle.

 

[Onward Allusion]

BlueTrain
Would you sell all you had to....
Would you sell all you had (your guns, that is) to buy something really special (another gun, that is)? This is sort of a pearl of great value thread.

LOL! I think you're underestimating the sheer number of firearms some people have. Would someone sell 200 guns to get 1? How about 100:1? 50:1?

I think a better question would be - Would you consolidate your collection into ONLY high quality pieces? My answer would be NO FN WAY! The reason is that different guns serve different purposes. You have "truck guns", "kit guns", "nightstand guns", "concealed carry guns", "hideaway guns", "backup guns", "collectible guns", "heirloom guns", "buy-back program guns", "project guns"....and the list goes on and on and on...

 

[JohnKSa]

then once I thought about it brought back memories of STUPID things I did like (Please don’t kick me off of TFL for this) trading a almost new S&W 5 inch M27 with the box for a piece of crap Luger...

You're OUTTA here mister!!!

Just kidding--but you'd better hope Mike Irwin doesn't see your post!!!

 

[pelo801]

there is no way i would ever sell all, maybe a couple, or a few, or if even really desperate some. but never all.