Any watersheds in your gun collecting personal history?

[susieqz]

all my handgun purchases were watersheds.
my 22/45 was my first handgun.
my single 10 was my first revolver.
my 15-4 was my first s&w.
so, it's not a collection, but i'm having tons of fun.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Finding an exact copy of the revolver my grandmother taught me to shoot when I was seven: a flat latch Model 31 snubbie from around the middle of 1958. As a result of that buy I found this forum. I'm a retired Air Force chief, and you all introduced me to the various models in the Chiefs Special serial number range: a birth year ('52) baby J, 36, 37, and 38 (still in the hunt for a 49). One of these days I'll do a collage of the chief's Chiefs, all blue.

 

[Brianbasic]

First gun ever shot Marlin Model 60(18rd 22in bbl). Started it all.
First gun 1938 Mosin Nagant 91/30 "Katie"
First Smith & Wesson SD9VE "Lauren"
First revolver Smith & Wesson Model 64-5 "Sierra"
Yes I name my guns. I also name cars/trucks, motorcycles and any other machines that have a personality or mean something to me.

 

[Drm50]

1st gun for 5th birthday, Marlin 1897 22lr
1st shotgun 6th birthday, Stevens 94 12g
1st deer rifle 12yr old, Rem 8 35cal
1st S&W, 14yr old, M17... Made me loose interest in other makes
and started liquidating others to replace with S&Ws.
Mine are for shooting, no for looking. I often wish I had written
down each gun that I have owned. Other times I'm glad I didn't
because it would make me sick, what they would be worth today.

 

[Whitwabit]

The first pistol and auto that I have kept and will not sell is a Tanfoglio TZ 75 Series 88 .. The pistol popularized by the great Jeff Cooper who founded the American Pistol Institute .. I bought it from a couple that shot competitively and it had been set up as her new competition gun .. but she decided she didn't like it for some reason after he had done all the work on it .. sold it to me for his cost about 100 less then I could buy one for .. He had smithed it and polished everything to a luster shine .. trigger runs between 2 and 2.3 pounds according to the scale measuring it .. its light enough you think if you touch the trigger it fires .. Double and even triple taps are easily done on target in a second or less .. Trigger is slick as a baby's butt with a crisp break with no loading .. short trigger reset of about 1/8 th inch .. is a joy to shoot .. but strictly used at the range and wouldn't carry with that light of a trigger !! Its in 9 and .41 .. yes chambered for both in a kit with 2 barrels and magazines ..

More accurate then any gun I've ever shot including the Sig Legion I have or my S&W Compact in 40 which I have shot under 2 inch groups at 7 yards .. The TZ-75 will produce 1 inch groups at 7 yds if I do my part ..

Several wheel guns were bought and sold before that but I didn't seem to form any attachment to them .. A couple of Rugers I had in Alaska .. was easier to sell then bring them back with the shipping laws at the time and any way a friend there wanted to buy them at a good price..

 

[BigBoy99]

My biggest "watershed" was when I realized that no one in the family wanted anything from my over 50 years of collecting. So I started selling my firearms. It has been bitter-sweet as I know I will never own again the gun I'm selling. I'd rather sell them now and a get a decent amount for them instead of leaving them for my wife to get rid of them. I'm sure they would be sold for 10 cents on the dollar as she is not aware of their value and wouldn't want to be bothered with selling them individually. The first "buy it all" offer would probably be accepted.

 

[Faulkner]

My biggest "watershed" was when I realized that no one in the family wanted anything from my over 50 years of collecting. So I started selling my firearms. It has been bitter-sweet as I know I will never own again the gun I'm selling. I'd rather sell them now and a get a decent amount for them instead of leaving them for my wife to get rid of them. I'm sure they would be sold for 10 cents on the dollar as she is not aware of their value and wouldn't want to be bothered with selling them individually. The first "buy it all" offer would probably be accepted.

I can kind of relate from a different perspective. My father in law was an avid golfer most of his life but quit golfing about 5 years before he died. He had a lot of expensive golf equipment that he never would part with and none of the children or grandchildren ever took up an interest in golf. As a result, about a year after he passed on my mother in law tasked me with getting rid of all that equipment. I'm no golfer . . . I don't even like golf. I ended up getting rid of it at pennies on the dollar. I sold one club for $10 that was allegedly worth hundreds. I guess I could have studied up on golf and golf equipment to find out what all that stuff was worth, but I just had no interest in doing so. I just wanted it all gone.

Moral of the story, I think your doing the right thing by not leaving your collection for your wife to dispose of.