I am fortunate to have access to an indoor range only a couple of miles from my home. As a member I can come and go as I wish, 24 hours per day, and my usual range time is about 4:00AM so I seldom see anyone else there.
Prior to the current ammunition shortage I usually went to the range about once per week, shooting 50 to 100 rounds per visit. I have cut back to about once per month as I have watched my reloading supplies drop while prices have been grossly inflated and availability has been a challenge.
Being a life-long reloader, it is much easier for me to shoot regularly than for many people. I cast my own bullets using salvaged lead, and most common handgun calibers can be produced for about $3.00 per box (50 rounds) when primers and powder are available at "normal" prices. Many people are limited to factory ammo and were accustomed to spending $15 to $20 per box prior to the current situation, and now face prices hovering around $1 per round. That will make many people think twice about casual trips to the shooting range.
Over the years I have seen a lot of firearms come and go. Many have seen very little actual use. I think what happens is that people purchase a gun with intentions of use (hunting, plinking, target shooting, whatever), use it a time or two, then it ends up in a closet or drawer for years. Sometimes people decide to get into an activity (hunting, skeet, trap, etc), buy the gear, try it out for a while, then move on to other interests. Sometimes when money is tight around the house the "toys" are the first thing to be sold off. Sometimes a gun might pass to a family member upon someone's death, and the recipient doesn't want or need it so it gets sold.
Personally, I have owned at least 200 guns over the years, but seldom more than a dozen at a time. I have developed an interest in a particular type of firearm, or in a specific caliber, so I try it for a while. Sometimes they "stick" with me, sometimes they do not. For many years while raising kids and making house payments there was very little money for toys, so I had to do away with one or two in order to make another one happen.
Most of my acquisitions have been used firearms. I only have a couple that I purchased in new condition and kept for the long term. My favorite rifle for deer and elk hunting was bought new in 1976, has put dozens of critters in the freezer for us, and has still never been fired with factory ammunition.
I think my most recent firearm is at least 15 years old. I also have several that are more than 100 years old. They all fill a niche.
Well, it’s the right audience for this discussion of course, but folks like us are certainly not the reason that so many guns get bought and then barely used.
