So, I have a question. I was looking through my collection and there’s a few pistols and rifles that I haven’t shot in a very long time, and that I am unlikely to shoot in the future. I’m absolutely sure I’m not alone in that, we all have our favorites and economics kicks in hard, especially when we start talking about obscure ammunition. But within the limits of sanity and our collections, how do you look at your collection, and how do you deal with the urge to optimize, and what criteria do you have when it comes to Guns you haven’t fired in a while, or don’t carry often, or just plain don’t use much?
For me as much as I enjoy the hobby and the collectors value, at the end of the day, I try and maintain a collection that’s mostly usable in a lot of circumstances. Some of the guns that I really liked from a collector standpoint, I found were more difficult to live with as carry pieces, or duplicated another pistols role to the point where it made more sense to replace it. A perfect example was my model 19. It had a beautiful blue finish and nice custom wood grips, but those adjustable sights made it much more difficult to carry IWB, it was slower and heavier than my other pistols, and it was just too big and bulky to carry as opposed to the model 10 or 64. Eventually, I found myself tempted by a model 65, and I took the opportunity to combine my collection a little bit by selling the 19 and 64 (which I already miss because it was objectively a pretty great revolver), but intellectually I know the 65 is a fantastic and adaptable combat- proven pistol that will serve quite well and combine both roles into a platform that I am much more likely to be carrying.
Then, there’s the J frames. I have three snubnose .38s and enjoy them all, but I am tempted by a 3 inch barrel. Intellectually, I know the differences are minimal, but something like a 3 inch model 36 is still tempting. I’m not going to buy one, but it is tempting.
Adding to this, I’ve also got some sentimental firearms that I don’t want to part with (and won’t) and some semi automatics that are not currently in Vogue, but that I can very easily see myself becoming reacquainted with when wheel fever fades. Once again, I’m sure we’re all familiar with that feeling. Do you pare down or just shrug and build?
What I don’t want to do is fall victim to the no sell only buy mentality. I know I’ll lose a little money, but I don’t want my hobby to take over my man cave entirely, and at some point, I like to enjoy what I’ve collected by using it instead of having a gigantic safe full of stuff I don’t know about. Rifles like my Trapdoor fall in this area, it’s cool, but not that cool.
Tying this to carry, I’d like to get to carrying mostly the same thing most of the time, but with a consistent manual of arms being the priority.
For me as much as I enjoy the hobby and the collectors value, at the end of the day, I try and maintain a collection that’s mostly usable in a lot of circumstances. Some of the guns that I really liked from a collector standpoint, I found were more difficult to live with as carry pieces, or duplicated another pistols role to the point where it made more sense to replace it. A perfect example was my model 19. It had a beautiful blue finish and nice custom wood grips, but those adjustable sights made it much more difficult to carry IWB, it was slower and heavier than my other pistols, and it was just too big and bulky to carry as opposed to the model 10 or 64. Eventually, I found myself tempted by a model 65, and I took the opportunity to combine my collection a little bit by selling the 19 and 64 (which I already miss because it was objectively a pretty great revolver), but intellectually I know the 65 is a fantastic and adaptable combat- proven pistol that will serve quite well and combine both roles into a platform that I am much more likely to be carrying.
Then, there’s the J frames. I have three snubnose .38s and enjoy them all, but I am tempted by a 3 inch barrel. Intellectually, I know the differences are minimal, but something like a 3 inch model 36 is still tempting. I’m not going to buy one, but it is tempting.
Adding to this, I’ve also got some sentimental firearms that I don’t want to part with (and won’t) and some semi automatics that are not currently in Vogue, but that I can very easily see myself becoming reacquainted with when wheel fever fades. Once again, I’m sure we’re all familiar with that feeling. Do you pare down or just shrug and build?
What I don’t want to do is fall victim to the no sell only buy mentality. I know I’ll lose a little money, but I don’t want my hobby to take over my man cave entirely, and at some point, I like to enjoy what I’ve collected by using it instead of having a gigantic safe full of stuff I don’t know about. Rifles like my Trapdoor fall in this area, it’s cool, but not that cool.
Tying this to carry, I’d like to get to carrying mostly the same thing most of the time, but with a consistent manual of arms being the priority.
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