How many does it take to be a "collection"?

[vito]

When does owning guns change from "I need one for ....." to "I am a collector"? I started by owning a Model 19 to use for home defense after a burglary of my home in the mid '80's. Later I added a 22 (Browning Buckmark) for target practice at the range. Then I added a 45acp because it just seemed that I "needed" a gun with greater than a capacity of 6 rounds. Years later I started buying guns for concealed carry, which seems to be a never ending quest for the "perfect" gun. Others were added along the way. I don't own a lot of guns, certainly not compared to what some others here have stated or implied, but I wonder where or if I have crossed the line from just a gun owner to a handgun collector. I know I don't "need" any more, but that doesn't seem to matter much compared to what I "want". Oh well.........

 

[Bozz10mm]

A "collection" is probably 10 or so. But to the media, an "arsenal" begins at 3.

 

[Muss Muggins]

It's not a threshold number to me. Solely in my humble opinion, once you purchase a firearm that you would never, under any circumstances, fire, you have crossed the line from owner to collector. I'm not talking about inheriting Grampa's shotgun or Great Grampa's war trophy from the Pacific, I'm talking about safe queens and glass display case guns. My analogy is coin and stamp collecting. I'm not a collector of either, but plenty of coins and stamps have passed through my possession over the years. I'm not a collector yet, and don't intend to be, but I'm going to keep buying firearms. . .

 

[sipowicz]

Not sure about guns. With marbles it's 16. Serial killers, if they keep the bodies or parts, it 4.

 

[G-Mac]

You're a collector when you have one more than SaxonPig...because he's NOT a collector (or so he says).

 

[rburg]

if they keep the bodies or parts, it 4.

Cool! I didn't know that. Any idea which parts they'd keep? Do they have shows like gun shows, except they display the parts for others to see?

 

[Grayfox]

I'm not a collector. I'm an accumulator.

 

[gregintenn]

I'm not a collector. I'm an accumulator.

I think a lot of us fall into that category. I buy what I like at the time. It doesn't need to fill a certain void, and I have no general direction in amassing guns. That makes me an accumulator.

 

[wyccad915]

Call it what you want. They all serve different purposes.

 

[cballman]

I am not a collector. I have bought guns that I have wanted to own and shoot since I was a kid a couple years ago.

 

[seagill]

More than I own I would guess.

 

[Vulcan Bob]

Well Sir, it all starts with one. It's all downhill from there!

 

[dereksfl]

When you get caught sneaking one more new one in and you swear up and down they have seen that one before and that you had just cleaned it up a little and was bringing it back into the house. They all look alike you know, you must be mistaken! Then U R collecting.

 

[G-Mac]

When you get caught sneaking one more new one in and you swear up and down they have seen that one before and that you had just cleaned it up a little and was bringing it back into the house. They all look alike you know, you must be mistaken! Then U R collecting.

I think this also applies to Fender Stratocasters, Telecasters, Precision and Jazz basses, various Gibsons, and guitar and bass amplifiers.

 

[skrazo]

I'm a collector, only have one, a 642-2, But I WANT MORE!

 

[DR505]

Cool! I didn't know that. Any idea which parts they'd keep? Do they have shows like gun shows, except they display the parts for others to see?

I helped out on a case where a Civil War buff carried around the head of a Buffalo Soldier he dug up out of an old Army fort (Fort Craig) and showed it off at gatherings. The head was the center piece of his "collection." Not cool. Not a serial killer though.

 

[peterdeb]

Well Sir, it all starts with one. It's all downhill from there!

Yupper!! All it takes is ONE....and ONE is the loneliest number.

 

[Evil Dog]

According to most media, the pleural of gun is "arsenal".... by their standards I must be my own terrorist organization.

 

[Bozz10mm]

Is collecting different than hoarding? I am collecting ammo.

 

[arjay]

I called myself a collector after half a dozen or so.The only other shooter in my extended family is my son,so I had to come up with something [emoji4]