Perhaps you’re jumping in the deep end because it’s easy to do in the US and Tennessee in particular. Could it be that ownership was so difficult before coming here that you never thought you could ?
Gun accumulation, collection and addiction…
- Thread starter Model29-26.5
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StrawHat
Member
I have my own definitions. I do have an accumulation of firearms. Some were priced too low to pass. Some came in trades along with what I really wanted. Some were gifts. My accumulated firearms are bought and sold to finance my collections. My accumulated firearms are merely temporary guests in my house.
My collections are special. I only have one collection at a time. I specialize and I study. I try to learn everything I can about what I am collecting. I seek out each piece with care. Sometimes I find a particular piece and it takes years to acquire it.
So far, I have built collections of
Committee of Safety Muskets
Civil War Carbines
Baker Shotguns
And my current one, S&W ACP revolvers.
Each one has allowed me to expand my horizons and expand my knowledge.
At some point, something else takes center stage, I lose interest in what I have spent years collecting and sell.
I wonder what my next collection will be?
Kevin
My collections are special. I only have one collection at a time. I specialize and I study. I try to learn everything I can about what I am collecting. I seek out each piece with care. Sometimes I find a particular piece and it takes years to acquire it.
So far, I have built collections of
Committee of Safety Muskets
Civil War Carbines
Baker Shotguns
And my current one, S&W ACP revolvers.
Each one has allowed me to expand my horizons and expand my knowledge.
At some point, something else takes center stage, I lose interest in what I have spent years collecting and sell.
I wonder what my next collection will be?
Kevin
Been there done that. That's the beauty of what we do, our horizons are unlimited.
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OP
That could be part of it, but I don’t think it really is.
This is a collector gene I didn’t know I had.
Gotta have a full set of this and a full set of that.
Completing a set like it’s a goal.
I have achieved this goal with 44 mags.
I have a 4, 6.5, 8 3/8 in 29-2 in blue and nickel and 629 ND in 4, 6 and 8 3/8.
So now I have half the 25s I want.. And none of the 57’s..
The fact that they look almost identical, but are different is part of the draw.
OP
I don’t see myself trading or selling.
These will be my wife’s to sell when I am gone, or maybe if I see the end, I’ll give a few away to folks that would appreciate them and sell the others To pay for my funeral lol.
These will be my wife’s to sell when I am gone, or maybe if I see the end, I’ll give a few away to folks that would appreciate them and sell the others To pay for my funeral lol.
It's not an addiction. It's an obsession. Barely a difference, though.
Ivan the Butcher
Member
I used to be a completest - I had to collect everything and complete the collection. For me, the chase is more fun than the catch.
I'm younger than you, but after a while, at least, for me, it got kind of old - especially when I took inventory and I realized I accumulated so much stuff, I started to wonder if I owned the collection or if it owns me.
I'm younger than you, but after a while, at least, for me, it got kind of old - especially when I took inventory and I realized I accumulated so much stuff, I started to wonder if I owned the collection or if it owns me.
Ματθιας;142133742 said:
Why worry about it ,enjoy the ride.
A distinction without a difference?
I'm NOT a collector. I've never focused on collecting ANY specific thing. I'm more of a value-proposition accumulator.
If I see a gun in a caliber I am interested in (one I reload for) at a lower than market value price, I'm inclined to buy it.
My accumulation of firearms is made up of approximately 50% S&W handguns (3/4 are revolvers and the other 1/4 are semi-autos) - because S&W revolvers are what I really like the most.
The other half of my accumulation is a mix of revolvers and semi-autos from a pretty wide variety of manufacturers. Most of them were purchased because I didn't already have something similar, and they were being offered for sale at 20% (or more) below their market value.
Right now I have 5 revolvers I've accumulated that I haven't even had a chance to take to the range yet. A 3" M10-6, a 3" M60, a 2-1/2" M66-2, a 5" Uberti 357 SA, and a 4.5" Chiappa SA 22LR.
But that doesn't stop me from making my weekly rounds of the local gun shops. I'm always looking for the next bargain I just can't pass up.
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WHAT! No snubnose revolvers? what's wrong with you (and me.. and the rest of us..lol)
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Think it's bad now? Wait until you find out they make barrels shorter than 6"!
I feel like it’s the “thrill of the race” that sometimes gets you hooked. Even when you’re broke (like I am now), I’m still on the hunt, even if I can only afford the “low-hanging fruit” at the moment.
AJ
US Veteran
Grayfox
US Veteran
Wait until you reach the point that your wish list is pretty short and everything on it is very hard to find and very expensive.
Only then can you consider that you just might have a problem.
Yeah, I BTDT long ago.
Only then can you consider that you just might have a problem.
Yeah, I BTDT long ago.
Wait until you reach the point that your wish list is pretty short and everything on it is very hard to find and very expensive.
Only then can you consider that you just might have a problem.
Yeah, I BTDT long ago.
Mid-year I looked at my “wish list” and thought “maybe I won’t have a storage problem after all.” There are only a few holes in my collection of Colt Officers Model double actions, and I filled a key slot with a really neat example. But Then I learned about K-38s… and K-22s… and Outdoorsmen and 38/44 Heavy duty revolvers. A year ago I only had “Sako Finnbear” on my list. Now I own a Sako A III carbine with full length Mannlicher stock (the deal was too good to refuse and it’s a lovely rifle) and “need” an L61R Deluxe, preferably in .270.
I’m beginning to think a full blown gun room might be the only logical conclusion …
Modified
Member
Hah.
OP
Hah.
Thank you! I need this kind of inspiration, encouragement enabling. I can feel normal in my obsession.
The almost un-nerving thing is how very quickly it happened.
It was like walking in front of an Airbus jet engine and getting sucked in that fast…
Modified
Member
Yup.
That accumulation has winnowed down significantly since getting married and having kids. The bulk of that collection was accumulated when I was making about $40k a year. I made better money the last year of my collecting, but bought a lot fewer (better guns). Then I parlayed my accumulation into better and better guns. It got smaller but became a collection.
Figure out what you really like, do an exercise like this:
What is your Favorite Gun?
Not *quite* your favorite
Sort out which guns make you the happiest in all dimensions. Form, function, history, how it generally makes you feel.
Make sure you know what a good price is for what you are looking at and just walk away from guns you want but shouldn't buy because the are too much. The only guns you ever pay "too much" for are forever guns; i.e. a gun that is unique or hard enough to get ahold of that it's effectively unique and that you are in a place where you know you *love* it and will be buried with it viking funeral style.
The process can build you a collection you just love more and more as time rolls on. And if you have bought right as you go it will always get better and more valuable.
At this point I almost never buy a gun, but I'm remarkably content with my collection. When I do add a piece it is immensely pleasing to me in a way a new gun couldn't be without having gone through this process. No reason not to do the same thing at your age.
You clearly have a proper appreciation of the good stuff. At some point (if you haven't found one yet) I suggest getting a nice shooter grade (but original finish) .38/44 Heavy Duty and/or a K-22 Outdoorsman. Living with one or both of those guns for a while will tell you if your N-Serial guns need to make way for Pre-War stuff, which (for me at least) kicked the "obsession" bit of S&W collecting into super high gear.
But the great thing about S&W collecting is that there's so many places you can go with a collection that whatever your cup of tea is...you can fill it up.
Have fun, don't get excited and over pay, don't second guess your own taste just because of what someone else says. And most importantly; don't get excited about buying a gun just because its "rare" if you aren't excited about it *as a gun*.
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