What did you abandon and find again?

[NFrameFred]

A comment in another thread got me to remembering and thinking . . .

At various times as my interests and needs have evolved and changed I have jumped into and back out of some not-so-mainstream calibers/cartridges. For the most part, I had my little "fling" and decided I didn't want or need it and moved on. I've always been one to keep my reloading dies and such even for obscure calibers since you never know when the ability to manufacture some tough to find ammo may come in handy. But when I dumped a caliber I usually let the brass accumulated go with the gun as part of the deal, as well as any slugs that didn't do double duty with something else, thinking that if someone wanted a box or two they wouldn't mind buying the components if I had the dies to load it.

I flirted with the 38 Super, the 10mm, 38/40, 41 magnum and 32H&R magnum and wound up selling the guns and brass off eventually as stated above.

The only one I've been "pulled back into" was the 41 magnum, when a decent trade on a nice model 58 came my way. So, back to scounging for 41 brass and slugs again to feed the thing.

SO . . . . let's hear your tales of woe about what you sold/traded off, thinking you'd never have any use for it only to have to go back and re-outfit the provisions when that unexpected temptation came along that changed your mind.

I can't be the only one . . . .

 

[deanodog]

When I was young and dumb (now i'm old and dumb) I traded my Colt new service in 45 colt for a cheap air compressor. I no longer had any use for 45 colt "stuff". Now I have two rugers in 45 colt and have been buying "stuff" back to reload for them.The air compressor is long gone and I wish I had my new service back.

 

[Alpo]

While I have enough trouble with the concept of selling a gun, the idea of selling off brass, dies and components is just - weird.

That would be like getting rid of ammo that you don't have a gun for. Why? Just stick it in an ammo can and put it in the corner. Don't take up much room, don't go bad, isn't costing you anything. And selling off used dies or used brass surely don't make you any money.

 

[Maximumbob54]

This will sound really bad, but I lost my honor a long time ago and I try each time now to get it back any way I can. It was a slippery slope that I didn't see I was on. I don't know exactly how or why I did some of the things I did, but they are locked in the past now. I still make little screw ups from time to time but I’m trying to be a better human being at all times now. But to be honest I don’t know if lost honor is something that can really be forgiven. There are days it sure doesn’t feel like it.

I know that isn't the reason for this thread, but it just hit me and I spewed this out. I guess I bailed on my original Sigma years ago and now I have a new one and think it's a much better gun. There, that's closer to the reason for this thread.

 

[M29since14]

My main shooting migration was involuntary. I used to enjoy learning about and shooting big rifles, but have given it up because of an eye injury that worries me more than it does my eye doctor. (Hey, it's not his vision I could be jeopardizing.) So I have abandoned the big boomers as a matter of precaution, but I still love to see them now and then and watch others shoot them.

I have every handgun caliber that I have ever had, except .454 Casull. I have nothing against the round - just never found a gun chambered for it that I liked enough to keep. Still have brass for it - just in case.

Edit - I meant to address the "58 issue" and forgot. When those things came out, they couldn't give them away and I thought they were the silliest gun Smith ever made. Of course I still have the one I picked up more than a few years ago...

 

[NFrameFred]

My main shooting migration was involuntary. I used to enjoy learning about and shooting big rifles, but have given it up because of an eye injury that worries me more than it does my eye doctor. (Hey, it's not his vision I could be jeopardizing.) So I have abandoned the big boomers as a matter of precaution, but I still love to see them now and then and watch others shoot them.

I didn't have an injury, but during an eye examination I was warned that shooting the big boomers could detach a retina as I got into my older years. So I let my .458 go, along with the brass. Kept the dies and used the slugs in my 45-70 (hey, can't give them all up ). Gave up on getting the .375H&H but kept the 35 Whelen. Compromised. But to be practical, the 458 was never more than a toy anyway. When I first brought it home, the wife looked it over and said, "well, whatcha gonna do with that, Bwana ?" Not too many elephants in the woods around here . . .

 

[Frank237]

Bullet Casting

I started casting pistol bullets in my early 20's as that was simpply the only way to shoot economically at the time. Lead was dirt cheap or FREE and the propane to run my plumbers pot was cheap as well.

I had a collection of 4 to 10 cavity moulds in all the popular pistol designs as well as a Lyman sizer and half a dozen sizing dies. H&G. Lachmiller, Lymans. All good moulds.

Fast forward twenty five years and I find a commercial caster who sells QUALITY cast slugs for under $40 per THOUSAND. I was buying 148 gr .358" wadcutterrs for $29 per K!
Factoring in my time, etc...NOT worth my time to cast anymore. I sell off most of my moulds, the sizer and simply BUY my slugs. GIVE AWAY probably 1000 pounds of wheelweights too.

Several years later...lead prices and shipping prices go crazy and BUYING is no longer quite the reasonable deal it used to be. Currently I am back at the same spot I was forty years ago...casting my slugs again.

I WISH I had NEVER...EVER sold the moulds as all of the 4 , 6 and TEN cavity H&G moulds I sold are now collectors items...and priced.... when available...accordingly. OUCH.

Otherwise..I always keep dies and components..even for years and years. I doubt if I will ever pick up on Sharps rifles again, but still have most of that stuff. Doubt if I will shoot my .375 H&H very much again...but still have a .50 ammo can FULL of Nosler Partitions, Swift A-Frames and a few hundred other various bullets.

Components require little space, or care. Always keep them.

FN in MT

 

[M29since14]

I didn't have an injury, but during an eye examination I was warned that shooting the big boomers could detach a retina...

Not too many elephants in the woods around here . . .

Oh, don't say the d-word! Big rifles are fun, but they are expensive too. You're right. If we just had a marauding elephant here or there to deal with, that would be one thing. But you never see 'em in Indiana, either. (I wouldn't shoot one anyway. )

 

[gizamo]

45-90 and 45-110

 

[brucev]

After graduating seminary my wife and I went to our first pastoral assignment. It was a tough adjustment as we took a 20% paycut from what I made in the shipyard. I was about to die to be able to do some shooting. I was able to work a deal at the local Ace Hardware and swap for a new S&W M-18. I loved that thing! About 4 years later I was in a bigger church... everyone shot center-fire pistols/rifles, I was able to again shoot my 28-2 and my little 18 just sat in the drawer. It later got sold off. Later after my daughters were older, I missed that little pistol. But for one reason or another I was not able to replace it. Then in 2005 I was at a gun-show. A friend was selling his 18-2... and I bought it. Immediately left the show and drove out to a church-member's house where I went to shooting my new pistol. I was thrilled... 12 shots into 2 inches at 25 yds.! It was wonderful. I still have that little revolver. I don't anticipate it will ever be let go.

 

[Erich]

God.

But He found me.

 

[teezer]

30+ years ago i bought the then current 8 3/8 models starting with a model 29 in nickel, then a model 57 in nickel, then a model 27 in nickel, all with tt and w/o rr

then bought the model 14, model 18, and a model 48 in blue and sent them all back to smith for nickeling, tt, and w/o rr

what a beautiful set and housed in an old victorian dental cabinet, which is the only thing i have left

if i remember right the model 48 was in the smith factory fire but not hurt

the other one i wish i would have kept was a colt national match serial #nm00009x that had been armaloyed

 

[Stu1205]

In 1979 I went to buy my first gun. The store owner asked what I wanted to use it for. I told him, home security and target shooting. He had a 4" 28-2 there and said it would fit my needs, and that I could shoot both .357 magnums and also .38 specials. I bought the gun. About 10 years later, I was in another gun shop and saw a 6" 686-1 with target stocks for $300.00. It called out to me. I had to have it. Not only did it look great, but I believed that the stainless steel would hold up better here in South Florida with all the humidity. I bought the gun, but had to sell the 28-2 to pay for it. Over the years I realized what I had and sold, and regretted it ever since. I have since acquired two 6" 28-2, that that 4" one still eludes me.
I also had two 442 IL that I bought from aisle walkers at the gun show in 2007. I always wanted a Charter Arms Bulldog 44 Special. I traded one of them to a gun dealer I know for a brand new Bulldog. These were both before I joined the forum. Now I am wondering if I made the right decision trading one of the 442s for the Bulldog. All I can say is that since I joined the Forum, I have learned so much about the guns I have, and I know I am not going to sell or trade any of them in the near future.

Stu

 

[dcxplant]

Cool stories everybody, and great thread

When my first wife "fell in love" with one of her co-workers (gee, it didn't turn out?? Too bad...) I bought a Suzuki V-Strom 1000 and took off on a 2500 mile two week ride all over the west.

I met my little cousin, Alberta, for the first time on that trip. She was 8 at the time. Having no kids with my ex, I thought that I didn't really want kids anyway.... Well, meeting her changed my life forever. It clicked in my head that, yes, I did want to have children. The only problem was that I was broken-hearted and single

I moved from Phoenix to Washington, DC which is my home town, and moved into a really cool brownstone downtown near Logan's Circle. While living there, I met a woman going to Georgetown medical school's anesthesia department to be a nurse anesthetist. Short story: We fell in love.

One of the experiences we had while dating was going camping on the back of my Suzuki V-Strom. We had such a time!!

After we married, we had several other wonderful trips on that bike, riding in all the big National Parks of CA and camping.

We had a baby A beautiful baby boy... I'm so blessed, it's unbelievable... Thinking we would take no more camping trips I sold my beloved V-Strom for a Honda ST1300, a great sport-touring street bike. A few years go by, we move to Phoenix, and I look at all the areas to explore on dirt roads, fire roads and double track and wished I had my V-Strom back. After all, that bike was a big player in my dating my wife!

So, I'm on the throne last night and find a V-strom-same color, same year-on eBay with 6 minutes to go. At 8 seconds left, I bid AND WON IT!

I pick it up tomorrow.

 

[fyimo]

My two past sell offs were a 375 HH rifle and a model 57 no dash mint revolver and my 41 magnum reloading stuff. I probably would have really liked the 41 magnum but it seemed redundant with my 357 Magnums and 44 Magnums. I know - I know the 41 magnum is a great round and I screwed up but it is what it is.

I gave my Sako 7mm mag to my son but kept my reloading stuff for it because he will need my reloads in the future for hunting Elk. On some nights a small part of me regrets giving it to him but then I say "Hey he shot his trophy 6x6 bull with it and he may as well have it now".

 

[jkc]

Back when I was both doing enough "outdoor" writing to have "credentials", and hunting predators competitively, I bought directly from Ruger a M77/MKII Stainless/Synthetic .223 rifle. It was bright polished shiny, and had the predictably awful Ruger factory trigger. I had the finish bead-blasted to matte, and the trigger "fixed" to icicle crisp by the late Paul Timney, before he offered a drop-in trigger for this model. It was a tack-driving, predator killing machine, soon nicknamed the "Death Ray".

After I pretty much quit my predator calling competition, I concluded that I had no more mission for the rifle, and sold it. In a subsequent search for a Remington Model Seven S/S in .308 Winchester, I learned that this carbine was no longer offered in .223, but, I found one, had the trigger tuned by Accuracy Speaks, sighted it in, and have used it once or twice since --- you'd think I'd have learned ...

 

[CajunBass]

God.

But He found me.

I lost Jesus for a while, but he never lost me. He knew just when to slap me to my knees, and bring me back.

But more to the point of the question, I used to do a lot of shooting. I had a small, but growing gun collection, reloaded all my ammo, and so on.

Then I got bit by the bass fishing bug. Sold all the guns and reloading stuff, bought a bass boat and enough tackle to stock a small store, and chased little green fish for years.

Then one morning while fishing a tournament I made the comment that I'd be glad to get back to work, so I could get some rest. Then it hit me. Fishing wasn't "fun" anymore. Everytime I went it was to fish a tournament, or I was thinking about a tournament coming up. It was time to quit.

Sold the big boat, and bought myself a jon boat, and rediscovered the fun of just going fishing. My wife went with me, and she helped me learn to enjoy it all over. We took picnic lunches and tied off in the shade and took naps. We went swimming. We went when we wanted, and came home when we were ready. And we still caught a lot of fish.

Along the way I rediscovered shooting, and reloading again. Double win.

 

[NFrameFred]

Well, though I never expected this thread to take a deeper more philosophical turn, I'm surprised and pleased to see that it did. When I originally formed the question it was obviously aimed at guns but after posting it I looked at the title and wondered if anyone would venture to go beyond that.

Limited time and resources are my only excuse for most of these types of things. When I was younger and thought there would be time and opportunity to do everything I dreamed about, it seemed logical to let some things go in order to free up time or money for some new interest. Then, you reach a place where (hopefully) wisdom starts to intrude and you realize you sold something made of gold for a plastic bauble, so to speak. It can apply to many things.

Thanks for the honesty and the interesting stories and comments.

 

[walnutred]

I got away from reloading for awhile. I was in the Army shooting on a rifle team so was issued all the ammo I could carry. When I started back up I found that some of my reloading tools had been lost or broken. It took a some time to rebuild.