How many is too many . . . .

[geetar]

I have several different hammers in my garage- a very large maul, several claw hammers( I inherited a few) a large ball peen, a couple of dead blows, a few rubber mallets…

I really could use a brass hammer for special work.

We pulled out all of our firearms a few weeks ago and listed the serial numbers as well as a rough valuation.
My wife had nearly as many as me because of inheritance. This is just her pistol collection.
Kitchen pistol
Purse pistol
Plinking pistol,
inherited plinking pistol
Inherited plinking revolver
Inherited purse .22
A rejected purse gun that I spent $$ on but she decided she liked a more expensive one better.

I may have forgot one but it is good to have options.

No shower gun?

 

[TN2shot07]

Guitars, how many is too many….

If you heard my couple of lessons you’d say one is too many

 

[marksjeep]

Are you a violent felon, or a threat to yourself or others?

Yes - 1 firearm is too many for you.

No - None of my business.

 

[TN2shot07]

Are you a violent felon, or a threat to yourself or others?

Yes - 1 firearm is too many for you.

No - None of my business.

We could solve a lot of problems if more people took that general stance in life.

 

[howl]

Ammo is more liquid than gold. Arms would be without government. Everyone really ought to have some even if they stay NIB until liquidation.

 

[VikingsGuy]

A few thoughts:

Why post this (and "crap" like this)? Simply, I am genuinely curious about all kinds of topics, and what others are thinking. I have lived all over the country, travelled all over the world. Had to provide for my family while a member of our whole stratum of economic classes from time to time. Have been a day laborer and a knowledge worker; punched a time card and been the boss; and just about everything in between. At each stop along my journey I have learned about the thoughts, likes, dislikes and biases of others. I will never stop seeking to learn the perspectives of others - from favorite type of cheese to most hated politician.

Trigger warning - I guess I should have given one. A few folks (fairly consistently) react to any form of curiosity or discussion as a threat. I encourage those folks to take a deep breath.

How many? Personally, I like having different firearms for different "jobs" - like golf clubs. I like having a few backups for various preferred firearms. After that I tend to cull just to keep the safe clutter down. Other than "heirlooms", of which I sadly only have two, I sell when a gun would no longer be the tool of choice for any given job I have interest in nor be the back up for such a job. At that point I know it will just collect dust until I die and I might as well make space for something I would be inclined to use. No time rule, as I may not need a particular tool for a particular job for a while.

Hoarding - there is a point where a person is a hoarder - and that is not healthy. No particular number makes one a hoarder or not - more about the mentality. Hoarders are usually anxious, can be depressed or paranoid, often retreat from human relationships and replace them with OCD-level fixation on chosen objects. Ya, so "crazy" Kidding aside, if this seems familiar seek help - whether it be guns or commemorative dinner plates.

Excess in general - I wonder if the tendency of "any number isn't enough" is unique to firearms and the state of our culture around them. I know a guy who has 25+ non-working lawn mowers that "some day" he will get around to fixing. We all call him crazy. Are guns the one place irrational hoarding cannot be judged? Seems silly.

Ammo - I will not cross post - but my thoughts would be similar.

 

[noharleyyet]

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[Green n' White Troll]

Answered poll question with how many I have now. Always looking to add more but finances (bills) inhibit my ability. Just looked at a potential new purchase yesterday at the family farm and home. Stevens model 334 in 243. Nice gun at a price I can handle.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Answered poll question with how many I have now. Always looking to add more but finances (bills) inhibit my ability. Just looked at a potential new purchase yesterday at the family farm and home. Stevens model 334 in 243. Nice gun at a price I can handle.

If your poll answer was 300+ please post your address so we can help you carry the load

 

[Steiny77]

Growing up my dad, uncles and grandpa just about all had a few, typically; one rifle, a shotgun, a .22 rifle and maybe a pistol and maybe an extra .22 rifle or shotgun for a kid to use. That was pretty much the norm and I was on the same track till about 21 years old. Then and avid gun nut neighbor moved in, we became good friends, started going to gun shows and gun shops all the time. When he moved away four years later I had about 40 guns and have added quite a few since.

In the past, hardly anyone had any interest in multiple handguns, tactical shotguns, AR's, etc. These make up a huge percentage of guns purchased and are largely being purchased due to fear of crime & unlawfulness, and fear of the government.

 

[Hammsolo]

@VikingsGuy , thanks for the provocative post. You did a great job of getting people thinking, and pulling them together in the end.

I tend to be more utilitarian, but that’s due to my upbringing. Half the time I wish I could loosen up and just enjoy. I feel guilty when I own just about anything I don’t use. This has bit me in the ass in the past.

A huge problem I’ve ran into is looking for something “perfect.” My Dad was always looking for just the right car or whatever. It took me time to learn that all trucks, guns, or whatever will have some flaw.

Moral people, leading lives that better their/others worlds should be left alone. What a waste of money to legislate the respectful citizen?

Do we think we will heal, guide, and stop the crazy by putting a number on gun ownership? Does putting a number on cat ownership cure the crazy cat lady?

 

[Green n' White Troll]

If your poll answer was 300+ please post your address so we can help you carry the load

1 single shot 12 guage. Heirloom, fathers gun.
1 single shot 12 guage my first gun.
2 Remington 16 guage pumps.(upland birds)
2 12 guage pumps, Remington (ducks), Winchester (turkey)
1 mossberg 22lr bolt
1 Ruger 357gp100
1 350 legend Savage axis (kids) for deer
1 3006 Remington pump
1 Remington 280 bolt
1 Thompson center encore with 280, 7mm and 50cal muzzleloader barrels
1 Thompson center 50cal renegade muzzleloader.
1 Winchester 32spl lever, grandfathers gun.
My inventory, 10-24, answer to poll. Too much, too little??

 

[Keep on]

I feel someone can be bat shit crazy with one gun, zero or 300.
Too many guns is where it becomes detrimental to your families lifestyle in order to finance your collection.
Most of us in this day and age suffer from a lot of free time and extra money, if you feel like using it on more guns, my answer is enjoy.

 

[VikingsGuy]

1 single shot 12 guage. Heirloom, fathers gun.
1 single shot 12 guage my first gun.
2 Remington 16 guage pumps.(upland birds)
2 12 guage pumps, Remington (ducks), Winchester (turkey)
1 mossberg 22lr bolt
1 Ruger 357gp100
1 350 legend Savage axis (kids) for deer
1 3006 Remington pump
1 Remington 280 bolt
1 Thompson center encore with 280, 7mm and 50cal muzzleloader barrels
1 Thompson center 50cal renegade muzzleloader.
1 Winchester 32spl lever, grandfathers gun.
My inventory, 10-24, answer to poll. Too much, too little??

I have so many good ideas to get you to 40, but your list will certainly do.

 

[BrentD]

I often hunt with one gun in the morning, another in the afternoon. My wife says I have guns for every day of the week. That's true, but I have a lot more than that also. But in the end, I don't really have that many. I'm neither a collector nor an accumulator. Just a guy that likes nicely made things. Certainly, I am far short of 100, and they never interfere with my buying tags. Tags, or the lack thereof, interferes with my buying tags - but y'all heard that from me before. I think I have only one rifle that has not killed something yet and is not a dedicated target gun. That would be a scoped .30-40 Krag, which is really too modern to waste a hard won tag. I've got some pistols that have only killed tin cans, however.

Buying guns as a significant part of a retirement plan is just short of being dumber than a box of rocks. But I know a few that have used that as an excuse. Nevertheless, some guns keep their value better than other sporting goods toys like race cars, golf clubs, bar tabs at the local watering holes, season tickets to sporting events, etc. I remind my wife of this occasionally.

Beyond that, I also remind anyone that might feign horror at my owning an "arsenal" that I can only shoot one at a time, maybe two, if I am not trying to hit anything. After that, the number of guns is moot. Ditto for ammo.

Lock, Load, Aim, and Fire away.

 

[Visiting Hunter]

Buying guns as a significant part of a retirement plan is just short of being dumber than a box of rocks. But I know a few that have used that as an excuse. Nevertheless, some guns keep their value better than other sporting goods toys like race cars, golf clubs, bar tabs at the local watering holes, season tickets to sporting events, etc. I remind my wife of this occasionally.

My grandfather retired off old guns... lol he does alright but I wouldn't recommend it either lol

 

[SAJ-99]

@VikingsGuy , thanks for the provocative post. You did a great job of getting people thinking, and pulling them together in the end.

I tend to be more utilitarian, but that’s due to my upbringing. Half the time I wish I could loosen up and just enjoy. I feel guilty when I own just about anything I don’t use. This has bit me in the ass in the past.

A huge problem I’ve ran into is looking for something “perfect.” My Dad was always looking for just the right car or whatever. It took me time to learn that all trucks, guns, or whatever will have some flaw.

Moral people, leading lives that better their/others worlds should be left alone. What a waste of money to legislate the respectful citizen?

Do we think we will heal, guide, and stop the crazy by putting a number on gun ownership? Does putting a number on cat ownership cure the crazy cat lady?

I don’t think there is a number. Some people collect art some might collect firearms. I thought about it and realized I viewed the question as “when can you be classified as a hoarder?” I have some experience with people like this. I think it probably came from them growing up in the depression. They saved everything. I have memories of not being able to get in my aunt’s garage because of all the newspapers stacked up. Consequently I don’t “collect” anything. Not stamps, coins, guns, whatever. The entire concept makes no sense to me. So I’m very utilitarian and like to say “It’s just stuff”.

Firearms might be a problem when you combine the hoarding mentality with the “government is coming to get me” mindset.

 

[Hammsolo]

I don’t think there is a number. Some people collect art some might collect firearms. I thought about it and realized I viewed the question as “when can you be classified as a hoarder?” I have some experience with people like this. I think it probably came from them growing up in the depression. They saved everything. I have memories of not being able to get in my aunt’s garage because of all the newspapers stacked up. Consequently I don’t “collect” anything. Not stamps, coins, guns, whatever. The entire concept makes no sense to me. So I’m very utilitarian and like to say “It’s just stuff”.

Firearms might be a problem when you combine the hoarding mentality with the “government is coming to get me” mindset.

My Mom has some tendencies. She’s 78. My grandfather busted his ass during the depression and bought a bankrupt dairy farm in Winona, MN. He then expanded it into a pig ranch. Next he started the first waste management company in the Twin Cities. He fed the trash to the pigs. My Mom and plethora of siblings picked through the garbage. She still has safety deposit boxes filled with silver coins and true silverware.

One of my favorite experiences was chopping wood in our basement in Anaconda. Part of the basement is dirt. I kicked something and saw a white cloth bag… I was like WTF. I pulled out a bag of silver dollars the size of a loaf of bread. I went upstairs to my Mom and she told me to go right back down and bury it. I refused and left it on the work bench. She’s the only one that knows there that bag is now. I told her she better write the shiz down somewhere.

 

[seeth07]

My grandfather retired off old guns... lol he does alright but I wouldn't recommend it either lol

It's typically a very safe investment and not many firearms will depreciate. Sort of like investing in bonds.

I've been in a long process trying to legally get a fully automatic weapon. Rather than a number of guns, does something like that make me "crazy"? My motivations are basically two fold - one my great grandpa used a browning bar in ww2 that he kept and at some time eventually had the chamber/receiver slashed to destroy it. I want to restore it with a new original chamber/receiver. Two, it's a very good investment. These weapons are substantially increasing in price due to their limited ability and constant destruction making them harder and harder to find. Value for example of what I'm buying has almost doubled in the last 10 years.

So perhaps my reasoning doesn't make me crazy? Or am i

 

[Visiting Hunter]

It's typically a very safe investment and not many firearms will depreciate. Sort of like investing in bonds.

I've been in a long process trying to legally get a fully automatic weapon. Rather than a number of guns, does something like that make me "crazy"? My motivations are basically two fold - one my great grandpa used a browning bar in ww2 that he kept and at some time eventually had the chamber/receiver slashed to destroy it. I want to restore it with a new original chamber/receiver. Two, it's a very good investment. These weapons are substantially increasing in price due to their limited ability and constant destruction making them harder and harder to find. Value for example of what I'm buying has almost doubled in the last 10 years.

So perhaps my reasoning doesn't make me crazy? Or am i

No I don't find people who own a certain amount or don't wanna sell crazy. Or if you want a fully auto. It doesnt make you crazy...

Being crazy is just that.. usually if we question our sanity we aren't crazy quite yet lol

He does just fine off It. I consider alot of old guns collectors as well. And have seen value grow in most cases. It was just a different time for him.. He collected a majority of them were when I would consider them cheap... his collection started in the 50s but mainly acquired alot threw the 60s, 70s and 80s into the 90s. He doesn't really buy now unless it's one with potential to bring back to life.

I was more or less saying it's gonna be rougher now to try it then it was years ago. If you were to say, go out and buy his whole collection most if those rifles are going to average 2 3k now. Just the cost have gone substantially up. grabbing 2-3 hundred guns in a collection like his now is gonna cost way more, unless they are handed down.. thats really all I ment when I was referring to as not recommending it. At a investment point of view, you don't buy high unless you have too. You buy low and sell high. And rifles I'd consider in the collectors circle as being mainly high priced.. fair in the matter of what it is... but like you said everything goes up. So to me it's a little late to play the retire off guns game. That's just me. It can be done I'm sure. It's just gonna be a bigger investment then some other things I would say. Then you risk keeping them safe for another 50-60 years as well. But I'm sure 50-60 years from now it will be worth much more.