Gun accumulation, collection and addiction…

[Model29-26.5]

I'm still trying to figure out exactly why after so much time had passed between me having a couple of replicas and eventually wanting and getting the 29-2 in 6.5, and the 19-3 4".. two classics I knew about but didn't own until decades later.. also a 17 for cheap 22 lr shooting… how did it become an almost obsessive thing this late in life? (53 y/o)
I figured it would be just those three… but then I found out about N frame 357 mag and then the model 25 in both colt and ACP
Then different barrel lengths and finishes…
How did I go from passing interest as a kid who appreciated the 29 and 19 blue aesthetic, so a guy that wants to collect all calibers in all barrel lengths and finishes??
To wanting N and S series numbers… wants to get into reloading… cases… refinishing stocks, re felting cases… flocking kits, spare parts, target triggers and hammers laying around… ejector rods, cleaning gear, a tool case specifically for the purpose of all things SW revolver…
I am in neck deep and am going to have to budget my purchases before it gets even more out of hand..
I have been having a blast with this. Learned stuff I never thought I'd be in the least bit interested in, but am now fascinated.

These things have been breeding like rabbits…

 

[LoadedRound]

You're fine. It's perfectly normal

 

[444 Magnum]

I hate to tell you this, but you're only ankle deep. It get's MUCH deeper...

Edit: I called myself quitting last year. Since 'quitting', I've picked up more pistols this year than you have pictured!


.

 

[Xfuzz]

Based on age (72) I posted here either earlier
this year or late last year I was going to pass on N frames
and concentrate on K frames and maybe a few colts.

Sitting on 8 N frames bought since that post.

 

[huthike]

It is interesting how it goes from a few to many. Buy the Standard Catalog, learn about other variations, getting into light smithing, then semi autos, too…

I'm an accumulator who collects or a collector who accumulates. An enthusiast? A gun nut? A Smith & Wesson - aholic?

Loads of fun.

" A hobby is something you go crazy over to keep from going nuts."

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I've sold a couple of S&W's, so I'm down to 16. But in a dream just last night, I bought 5 more!

Ivan

 

[Cities n Dust]

I've said I would quit after the last purchase,
"but then again nobody likes a quitter"

 

[Model29-26.5]

But it's this:
I need a 44 and a 45? Because 1/100 of an inch diameter means I have to spend another 1200 bucks On another model? The answer is yes, but why?
Why does it matter so much?
38 or 357 magnum? Same bullet, but a slightly more powerful… I can't see a 38 going through the air, So why do I need a 357??
And why do I have model 27–2 In 5 inch, 6 inch, and 6.5 inch?
And a nickel in 6 inch.. And actively seeking a nickel in 5 inch? And looking at 4 inch.. Knowing that once I get that 5 inch I want a nickel 4 inch and a blue 4 inch…
Not to mention the fact that I don't have a pre-29 of any kind.. Nothing with Coke bottles yet.. No 57's at all.. no 586, no 686… Well, there's six guns right there.. Stainless, nickel, and blue in both 4 inch and 6 inch that I don't have… It is endless.
I have 25-5 in 8 and 4" blue.. and and 6" Nickel.. This means that half the 25–5 collection is missing.
I'm not even going to start collecting snubs. They are not my thing. 4 inch and above.
No 10's, no 13's, no 15's
Only one 53… need a 4"..
I see how it gets way deeper, And now I get it, some people have literally hundreds of guns.
In the old days (Before I shot my first round last December), there was me thinking that these guys were saving for the apocalypse, but of course not.. It's just a collection like baseball cards, and you want whatever you don't have.

 

[alwslate]

Looks like you're off to a good start.

 

[CH4]

Op, that's a wonderful start.

 

[GypsmJim]

I never wanted an assault rifle, then Bill said they were bad so now I needed one.

I never wanted an AR until Joey said they were evil, so now I needed one.

I came across a pre- S&W and you guys said I did good, so now I need more.

You guys talked about Registered Magnums, and now wholly mackerel, the wife is gonna kill me. Haha. The good news is that her horses cost more than my guns.....

 

[Model29-26.5]

Op, that's a wonderful start.

Just a sampling of my purchases this year!!
I am definitely slowing down this coming year, and budgeting to one gun every two months.. maybe every six weeks??
We shall see, but there is a list.
There used to be a list, But then the list grew.. Now I have a bigger list, But the fact is The list will expand. I just have to keep a lid on the parameters. About four or five months ago, I wanted an automatic…a Colt 1911 45ACP, But now I have decided no.
That is now…

 

[pmanton]

I'll be 87 next Spring. I'm still getting stuff. Most recent was a 1911A1.

 

[Muddyboot]

A year ago, I had no Colt SAA's, now I have four, I get it. Also, you need some snubby's in that collection.

 

[AJ]

Things happen. I have two rooms of stuff and five gun safes now!

 

[kraynky]

Yeah, S&W left that warning out of the manual, and almost everyone that has bought one learned real fast that it's a problem. I'm not even certain that anyone is even looking for a cure yet.

I'm of the mind that the disease is with you until death ........... Sorry.....

 

[Model29-26.5]

Things happen. I have two rooms of stuff and five gun safes now!

Your guns have been breeding like mine.
I said 15 max.. then I said 20… certainly no more than 25 tops.
I'm at 29 with a current "list" of 18 that I want.
I can say with honesty (at this point) that I really can't see me with more than 50….. that'd be 50.
I'm sticking pretty rigidly to Smith's with the classic partial rod shroud look.
Of course, I don't have a model 24 yet… But I'm mostly looking for P & R as well as N frame 45's.
You get the general gist.

 

[AJ]

Your guns have been breeding like mine.
I said 15 max.. then I said 20… certainly no more than 25 tops.
I'm at 29 with a current "list" of 18 that I want.
I can say with honesty (at this point) that I really can't see me with more than 50….. that'd be 50.
I'm sticking pretty rigidly to Smith's with the classic partial rod shroud look.
Of course, I don't have a model 24 yet… But I'm mostly looking for P & R as well as N frame 45's.
You get the general gist.

I have a couple of friends with more that 300+ "Toys"!

 

[Model29-26.5]

I have a couple of friends with more that 300+ "Toys"!

I would never have understood that unless I had got into it myself.
I understand perfectly well, now.
Sarah Guns up in WI was selling a collection earlier this year of a Louisiana Businessman who had passed on. The "Howard Trotter"? Collection. Guy had over 2000 guns, mostly S&W and had collected his whole life.
Now his collection is being passed to the next generation as ours will. We are custodians for a while.
I was finger Fritzing the 8" 29-2 Nickel I picked up. It has come up beautifully… I'll do my best to keep them all in good shape for the next owners, but they will all be "exercised" from time to time.

 

[Golddollar]

I figured it would be just those three… but then I found out about N frame 357 mag and then the model 25 in both colt and ACP
Then different barrel lengths and finishes…
How did I go from passing interest as a kid who appreciated the 29 and 19 blue aesthetic, so a guy that wants to collect all calibers in all barrel lengths and finishes??

The same way I started with 2 High Standard .22 target pistols customized by John Giles that I was satisfied with for a while, to 11 High Standard .22 pistols after finding another John Giles gun, finding another gun with a set of Herrett grips that just wouldn't let go, different models, different barrel lengths, different factories, and another one that had a Simmons red dot sight rivalling the Holland Tunnel.

 

[Bald1]

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 ?

 

[StrawHat]

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

 

[Muddyboot]

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

Been there done that. That's the beauty of what we do, our horizons are unlimited.

 

[Model29-26.5]

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 ?

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.

 

[Model29-26.5]

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.

 

[pasound]

It's not an addiction. It's an obsession. Barely a difference, though.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

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. /QUOTE]

I am pleased to inform you of the 2017 629-10 2 5/8" PC I picked up awhile back. There are still lots of NIB examples around.

Ivan

 

[Ματθιας]

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.

 

[Muddyboot]

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.

Why worry about it ,enjoy the ride.

 

[BC38]

It's not an addiction. It's an obsession. Barely a difference, though.

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.