When is "enough?"

Redcoat3340

Redcoat3340

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How do you folks consider this issue: When is "enough?"

I love seeking out good guns and getting a deal, or even paying a fair price....it's a lot of fun. But I'm running out of things to look for, caught between the pleasure of buying and the common financial sense of asking, "Do I really need this and could I just buy more ammo, or new grips, or night sights."

I'm not bragging or anything but I seem to have accumulated a bunch of pistols: 4 for carry (Shield, Walther P5, Sig 320, and P6), 3 for Home Defense (Sig SP2022 and S&W 5906 and .357 model 19) and a bunch I just like (4 Berettas, BHP and Browing BDM, Colt Gov't 9mm, a P38/P1 and a few more Smiths and Sigs.)

There isn't a category I don't have covered in essentially quality guns -- Carry, Home Defense, Range/Plinking, and semi-collectibles) and frankly, there's only one gun on my wish list right now, a Walther P4, the 4" version of the P1. When I consider Ruger or Taurus or Springfield, I think I've got anything they could offer in really quality stuff....and I have no interest in them. And I don't have the income for true collectibles such as Colt, S&W or things like Sig 210s or P88s. And I simply don't shoot .45.

I accumulated most of these by buying "good" guns, like first and second generation Smiths, and selling them for a bit (or a bunch) more than I paid for them, always trading up in terms of quality. I ain't saying I've not invested a bunch of money in our hobby....but it was money I could afford without short-changing anyone in the family.

So now I'm trying to figure out what's next. I've got good long guns, all milsurps, that I did the same thing with. My Swiss rifles, Swedish Mausers, Enfields and, yes, one evil black assault rifle (a S&W). Wondering if there's something new to collect. Rolex watches? Jaguars? Depression glass? Quilts? Debt?

How do you folks handle this?
 
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When you run out of safe space and run out of space to put a new safe then you have enough.

You can always collect first editions, but that might cut into your ammo storage space. YOu can also collect old VWs, they are relatively cheap, relatively easy to locate and you can store them outdoors without feeling bad.
 
Redcoat3340 said:
How do you folks consider this issue: When is "enough?"

I love seeking out good guns and getting a deal, or even paying a fair price....it's a lot of fun. But I'm running out of things to look for, caught between the pleasure of buying and the common financial sense of asking, "Do I really need this and could I just buy more ammo, or new grips, or night sights."

I'm not bragging or anything but I seem to have accumulated a bunch of pistols: 4 for carry (Shield, Walther P5, Sig 320, and P6), 3 for Home Defense (Sig SP2022 and S&W 5906 and .357 model 19) and a bunch I just like (4 Berettas, BHP and Browing BDM, Colt Gov't 9mm, a P38/P1 and a few more Smiths and Sigs.)

There isn't a category I don't have covered in essentially quality guns -- Carry, Home Defense, Range/Plinking, and semi-collectibles) and frankly, there's only one gun on my wish list right now, a Walther P4, the 4" version of the P1. When I consider Ruger or Taurus or Springfield, I think I've got anything they could offer in really quality stuff....and I have no interest in them. And I don't have the income for true collectibles such as Colt, S&W or things like Sig 210s or P88s. And I simply don't shoot .45.

I accumulated most of these by buying "good" guns, like first and second generation Smiths, and selling them for a bit (or a bunch) more than I paid for them, always trading up in terms of quality. I ain't saying I've not invested a bunch of money in our hobby....but it was money I could afford without short-changing anyone in the family.

So now I'm trying to figure out what's next. I've got good long guns, all milsurps, that I did the same thing with. My Swiss rifles, Swedish Mausers, Enfields and, yes, one evil black assault rifle (a S&W). Wondering if there's something new to collect. Rolex watches? Jaguars? Depression glass? Quilts? Debt?

How do you folks handle this?
Click to expand...

Based on what you wrote you could start a ammo collection.

So many possibles there that it would keep you very busy! Best part compared to guns and some other things it would not require as much storage space. Heck many ammo collection hang on walls.:D
 
Obviously enough is an individual choice. I tend to get rid of things that I clean more than I shoot. But I have no rule about it.
 
Many people concentrate/focus on a particular collecting niche after too much "accumulating", and that takes care of a lot of extra guns that don't fit the desired collection. You may not be someone who can or wants to do this...don't ask me how I know :).
 
I am pretty much in the same boat you're in, Redcoat. I always tell myself I have enough guns, especially revolvers in .38/.357 (I have 7 of them right now). But what do I do? I still look---for the screaming bargains, even in .38. I always find myself browsing GB all the time, but screaming bargains are hard to find there. I can't afford the high-dollar Smiths I lust after (a 3" 24-3, a 3" 696 or a 3-1/2" model 27 are just guns that I will never own), so I resort to looking, admittedly, for older Taurus guns or Rugers that for me are more affordable. I'm concentrating on 3" 441's or 3" 431's in .44 special right now but haven't hit the right price point. Then there's the stainless Ruger P95 that I wish I never sold back in 2003. Someday if I find one at the right price I'll buy another. Do I need any of these, no, but the thrill of the quest is always cool.
 
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As of the first of the year I started selling anything I hadn't shot or carried. It was a attempt to just clean out my safe. My goal was to get down to my EDC plus one 22 to fool around with at the range. Some how after selling them all and reaching my goal I'm somehow back up to 6. I'm not quite sure how that happened. :o
 
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It is a great time to be a gun collector. Lots of used police firearms on the market, new pistols and rifles are cheaper than ever, firearms from all over the world make it to our shores, and there are tons of aftermarket **** to buy for just about everything. The only negative is that classic S&W revolvers are getting pricier, but they are available.
 
When you have an accumulation of guns you can always upgrade to the finest quality instead of quantity.
 
Redcoat3340 said:
How do you folks consider this issue: When is "enough?"

I love seeking out good guns and getting a deal, or even paying a fair price....it's a lot of fun. But I'm running out of things to look for, caught between the pleasure of buying and the common financial sense of asking, "Do I really need this and could I just buy more ammo, or new grips, or night sights."
I'm not bragging or anything but I seem to have accumulated a bunch of pistols:
So now I'm trying to figure out what's next.
How do you folks handle this?
Click to expand...

Not trying to be rude but methinks that you have no idea
what a bunch of pistols is :-) A friend, now gone, was fond
of 1911 .45s. Some years before he died he told me he had
well over 100 of them. I'm sure that many of us on here
who like S&W revolvers and aren't real collectors, just
accumulators, have at least 50 of them :-) You're trying to
figure out what's next? Anything. A female friend told me
some years ago that she liked dolls. At that time she had
over 200, now ??? A friend showing me around his new
house took me down to the basement and showed me the
racks he had for his collection of ball caps. I wouldn't have
wanted to have to count them. What's next? Anything you
want it to be.
 
For me, each purchase was made with a specific purpose in mind: Carry, home defense, and a few just because I like them. The total tops out at 10....and won't be going any higher.

A friend has 125 handguns, and his wife finally said - ENOUGH!!!

So I guess the answer to your question is "when the wife says so!" :)
 
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