[Jlandis003]

Went to the gun show with my son in Cedar Rapids, Iowa tonight... and I kept seeing guns I "used to have" (guns I had purchased and later sold because they didn't fit me, didn't meet my expectations, I lost interest in them or were sold to fund a future purchase)

So... I went home and dug out a list of all the guns I've bought and later sold... Wow... I was astonished at how many I've gone through!

While I'm very happy with the ones I have now... I was surprised at how many I had to buy/sell in order to get this point. I guess that was part of the learning journey.

Anyone else have that experience?

Ps- didn't buy a gun at the gun show, but found the bi-pod I was looking for... Whew... So many guns, so little time left on this earth

 

[DCD327]

I really have no regrets on ones Ive sold. Im all about accuracy. And If a gun is a good shooting tack driver, I keep it.

It it throws lead all over. BYE BYE.

 

[mauser9]

What shocked me was seeing the current prices of a couple handguns I used to own back in the 70s. A S&W 39 and a Model 19. Paid $125 and $180 Respectively and now used in good shape often selling for plenty more than that. Yep some I should have kept. Makin sure I keep my CS-9 as prices keep creepin up.

 

[ExArmy11b]

I view guns like car guys view cars........How many of us know motorheads that see a car at a car show, like "Yeah I had an MGB for like 3 months back in the early 90's".......car guys don't still own every car they've ever bought, most gun guys don't own every single gun they've ever bought.

I am happy, that I have finally pared down my collection to stuff I'm going to keep and shoot. Maybe 1 or 2 can go, but I have a solid stable of revolvers, and a few solid auto chuckers, and my "go to" carry guns. I may add some stuff but right now I don't "need" anything.

 

[msp3903]

Yeah, I don't NEED anything either............except to thin the herd by about 50. I can't shoot half what I have. Some haven't been fired in 20 years

 

[ExArmy11b]

Thinning the herd can be satisfying, as long as you get fair prices for your stuff.

I know the feeling of a collection growing out of control, I took some revolvers out today to shoot, that I bought 5-6 years ago and had up to now maybe put a "test cylinder" through them in the backyard and then put them away.......

I kept buying, buying, buying and then they would just sit. I bought every "good deal" I saw on any Ruger .38 or .357 revolver, and most became dust collectors.

Now I'm settling on having a stable of good shooters and controlling my impulse buying, and I am actually working toward not being perpetually broke from constantly buying more guns......

I'm proud of myself, I resisted the urge to buy a stainless fixed sight .38 4" GP100........I already have the EXACT same gun in blue, as well as the EXACT same gun in DAO.....as well as numerous "similiar" guns. In the past I would have just bought the stainless .38 GP100.......

It became that, my gun safe was turning into a pile of "shooter grade" revolvers and I was losing the chance to add new and interesting stuff.

 

[Bonk]

I know what you mean but I look at it this way. I've had the opportunity to own/shoot a lot of different guns over the years even though I didn't keep most of them more than a year or two. As a result my firearms knowledge base is founded on actual experience rather than something I read in a magazine. For example, I know what it's like to struggle putting a Mark II back together because I used to own one. I can comment on the differences between a Sig, a Walther and a Glock 9mm because I've owned all three at one time or another.

It's also been useful to help narrow down my gun interests. Because I've owned lots of different firearms I have a better sense of what I really enjoy as opposed to something that just catches my eye. I've become much more selective in my firearms purchases over the last couple of years. I've learned what is a legitimate addition to my collection and what is just a passing interest. I'll still buy a passing interest every once in a while but for the most part I stay focused on the genres I really enjoy.

I don't have any regrets except for a Savage model 24 I had when I was a kid. I'm still looking to replace that one. It was a 22mag over 20ga if anyone has one they want to sell.

 

[ExArmy11b]

I can say I owned and fired a 1941 Johnson, but it was too impractical and had to go

I could never replace it for what I paid for it 10+ years ago.

 

[gunna1day]

I recently sold a couple of rifles i wasn't using and bought my 2 ruger revolvers. The rifles were a 80's Marlin 1895 45/70 lever action and the other a mint polish m44 7.62x54r. They were great rifles but I made good profit on what I payed for them, so no regrets. And lovin my rugers as well. Cheers gunna.

 

[msp3903]

It gets out of hand at times.......I like heavy barrel varmint or target type rifles and have been buying them for 30 years. Then one day you assess what you have and it's "wth" am I doing with all this stuff.

Just centerfire heavy barrel rifles I have a .17, .204 Ruger, 22Hornet, 22 K-Hornet, 218 Bee, 219 Donaldson Wasp, 221 Fireball, 222, 222Mag, 223, 223 WSSM, 22/250, 220 Swift, 243, 243AI, 243 WSSM, 6mm, 6mmAI, 6mmBR, 6mmDasher, 6x47 Lapua, 6.5x284, 6.5 Creedmoor, 270 WSM, 25-06, 7mm Mag, 7mm Ultra Mag, 300 Mag, 300 H&H, 300 RUM, 300 WSM and a 338 Edge. Plus I have multiples of several cartridges (4) 6MMs, (2) Swifts, (3) 222s, and the list goes on. About as many rifles with sporter weight barrels, that I NEVER shoot. Plus ALL these rifles are scoped. Then, as most others, I have several rimfires, lever guns, shotguns, AR, SKS, AK............Then the pistols....... It's ridiculous. Can't possibly shoot all this stuff. I would have to retire and shoot all day every day. I reload every caliber I have, so if I COULD shoot them, I couldn't keep them fed...............Time for a MAJOR cull.

 

[Hunter49]

I becoming more selective in my gun buying also. It's mostly a budget issue for me. Let's face it, shooting is expensive and addictive. My wife and I have had a couple go arounds about it so I'm at the point of selling an existing gun to fund another. I don't need a safe full of guns I don't shoot. I already have more than enough. I haven't shot my Mini 14 in 2 years. I won't sell it, but I'm not buying another rifle. Have the $500 AR sales tempted me? Heck yeah, but I've tried to learn to stop impulse buying.
I know my buddy has become addicted to the point of financial instability. We used to lust over owning M1a's. He's now got 3 of them that I know of. There's no way he can afford those guns and I've never once seen him shoot them. Are they cool? Heck yeah, but not cool enough to have a $10,000 credit card bill for guns and accessories.

 

[BuckJM53]

My buying habits on many thing have changed/improved over the years. While I've never been an "impulse" buyer, as a younger man it didn't take me nearly as long to convince myself that I needed/deserved a particular item (cars, guns, instruments, etc.) as it does today . Keeping this firearm focused, I've culled the heard significantly over the last 10 years, with intention to rid myself of guns that "seemed like a good idea at the time" as well as calibers that I just no longer enjoy shooting. The result has been a collection that satisfies my needs and simplifies my life (and ammo storage area). There isn't a single gun in my current collection that I haven't shot in the past 6 months with almost all spending range time during the last 60 days or so (I generally shoot twice per week).

 

[greencobra]

with the severe restrictions we deal with in Massachusetts, I think all the time of the ones I let get away from me over the last 40 years. I hold onto everything now.

 

[GreyWolf1]

Since my firearms budget has always been tight there have been times I've thought of selling the very first revolver I bought in order to purchase something more "modern". It's a late '60s Colt Python and man am I glad I didn't.

 

[Spiff]

I've sold a whole lot more than I own. I'm down to five firearms. My LCR 22 WMR that I carry. My SP101 3" that lives next to the bed and goes hiking from time to time. My 77/357 that services dual purpose of hunting rifle and varmint rifle. My 870 that sometimes goes hiking and gets used for shooting clays from time to time. And a Ruger American rimfire that is for plinking and eventually teaching my daughter to shoot (I like the modular stock system). I don't live in bear country (western KY), so that is really all the needs I have.

I've sold something like four revolvers, four pistols, eight rifles, and two shotguns. Everything I keep has a purpose. If my wife ends up not learning to shoot the LCR 22 WMR (she has yet to fire a gun), it will get replaced with an LCR 357. I may eventually get a 22 LR handgun for teaching/practice purposes. I keep debating on replacing the SP 3" with a 4" or waiting for the (hopefully) LCRx 3" 357.

 

[P89WB]

We've all been there and done that! However, one does stand out in my mind that I should never have let go. It was a first generation .45c, black powder frame Colt SAA 4 3/4", all matching. Even though it was a patina finish and the grips were quite worn, I should have held onto that one. WB

 

[patkelly4370]

I have never sold a firearm.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[RRHShooter]

Own 'em; shoot 'em; keep 'em! If you don't, someday you'll wish you had!

 

[rmichael63]

I guess I'm in the minority here, I've never sold a piece. Thoughht about it but have always been able to talk myself out of it.

 

[patkelly4370]

I decide that I want another firearm, then research.
When I buy one, it's the one I want.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk