You must have really deep pockets. May I ask "What's the hurry?"
I used to go to a lot of gun shows and make the rounds of all the local gun shops and would buy any gun that interested me if I considered it to be a good deal. But my word, I never bought 12 guns in 7 months.
Again, "What's the hurry?" You have a whole lifetime to buy guns, and shopping can be a large part of the fun.
My answer to "what's the hurry" is, why wait when you find what you want and can afford it? In 2016 I had one S&W handgun. By 2020 I had nine. Maybe not as prolific a purchaser as the guy you're questioning, but it's more firearms than I'd bought in the previous 25 years. I'm getting older, retired, and have a certain amount of disposable income, and finally reached a point where I could afford to satisfy a long-time desire to have a nice gun collection. I didn't always buy the first gun I saw, and you'll agree I have a nice little collection if you've seen the ones I've posted here.
You sometimes come across something you've been wanting in the strangest ways. I bought a 7" Ruger MkIII Hunter a year or so ago, I've always admired them and while I was specifically looking for a MkIV (because they take down so much easier than earlier ones), I found a MkII Target. The slab-sided barrel isn't as aesthetically pleasing to me as the fluted Hunter barrel and I told the seller so in conversation, but I was prepared to pay what he wanted for the Target. He said "wait a second", went over to a large case under the table and came back with a Hunter exactly like what I was looking for except it was a MkIII. He said "Will this one do, it's my personal gun but you can have it for the same price as the Target model". I looked it over carefully, the action cycled smoothly and he had two magazines for it, no box or papers. The original wood panel grips were in excellent condition, but it was obviously a shooter, it needed a good cleaning. I mean, it's stainless, you can't hurt the darn things, so I took it. I haven't regretted it at all, it shoots very well and has made a great companion at the range for my S&W M41.
The other "strange" find was discovering my Grail Gun in a display of Bowie knives and sheaths. The guy was in a corner, had one half of a table with another guy selling leather goods. I just glanced at his glass top case and started to walk on (not looking for a knife or sheath) and noticed a blued revolver. I did double take when I saw it, turned back to him and said "Can I see the revolver?" He said I could look at it through the glass but if I wasn't interested in buying it he wasn't going to take it put of the case. I looked him straight in the eye and said : "That's a S&W Model 520, only 3000 made in 1980 for the NYSP who cancelled the order after they were in production."
He laughed out loud and said, "Well, I guess you can look at it then, you know your S&W's" and took it out and handed it to me. It was spotless, no turn line (ever so slight but you had to have the light hit it just right to see it), and I immediately asked what he wanted for it.
He said he hadn't expected to see anybody who knew what it was, and had put it in the case more as a curiosity. He quoted me a price, which I knew to be a fair one considering its rarity and condition, but said he had all the rest of the stuff (box and tools/paperwork) at his home. It turned out he lived about 5 miles from me; he said if I wanted it, we could get together at his house and complete the deal. I offered to give him something to hold it, but he declined and said it was mine if I wanted it. We met later that evening at his house and I got the whole package. He has another half dozen S&W revolvers he said he'd sell, I'd have taken a couple more if I'd had the cash; one was a M65-1 and there was a nickel M36 that was really nice. But I was thrilled to get the M520. Got a nice gun and made a friend all in the same day.
...Ben
