Why so many shot very little?

[ISCS Yoda]

There is a world of difference between gun owners and gun shooters. Many people buy a gun, S&W or whatever, and never shoot it. A higher percentage buy a gun, shoot it, are satisfied, and rarely shoot it again.

I own a house full of guns. Some have been shot MANY times. Thousands of rounds. Most are just special use guns and shot only at certain times, e.g., hunting rifles. I have quite a few of those. My oldest personal rifle is more than 40 years old. It's the last gun I'll ever part with. But I doubt it has 1000 rounds through it. Definitely not 2000. I shoot it just enough to know what it will do (everything) and what I am able to do with it (anything I want). But it's a hunting rifle and I don't just casually take it to the range and plink away. Since it's my primary hunting rifle you can imagine, since I have quite a few other hunting rifles, they've been shot much less.

Same with my handguns. Much of my collection is just that; a collection. Only a few see the routine light of day. I don't shoot enough; I used to shoot more, I admit it. But, still, some of those guns are just there because they fit a collection or because I like knowing that I have this or that gun but I don't shoot them. Others, well, they'll be fired more because they're more important for various reasons. But if you are a shooter and own 3 guns they'll see a lot of action. If you're a shooter with dozens it's a different story.

So there you have my two cents on why so many lightly fired guns show up for us to buy.

***GRJ***

 

[A.O.]

I used to work in a LGS and I'd sell someone a gun, see them back in a month or more later, and I'd nicely ask them how they liked it and they would tell me they haven't even shot it yet..

If I buy a new gun, I'm shooting it!..

Although I will admit I bought a NAA 22mag on impulse a couple months ago I've not shot yet.

 

[scott1970]

How do you cast a range?

You got me....maybe.



I have to agree with loeman. You can thoroughly enjoy a firearm without abusing it.

Several years ago my PD issued HK USP .40 cal handguns. I cast and loaded my own .40 cal, so I bought my own HK and began to shoot it very regularly.

A little bit later our department switched to Sig P220 .45 acp handguns. At this point my personally owned HK had over 14,000 rounds through it. It looked very nice. I had never holstered it or treated it rough, although I took it to my range regularly and enjoyed it immensely. On several occasions I took it over 1K rounds between cleanings to see what it would do (it performed 100%). As soon as we transitioned to .45s I traded off my HK which looked practically brand new on the outside. My .40 cal dies got jacked up a smidge and turned into 10mm dies, and I ain't looked back. I've never been a huge fan of the .40 cal, although I've personally witnessed the very effective killing abilities of the round.

I reckon mileage on a gun is rather subjective based on the individual doing the shooting. You can easily properly maintain a firearm and shoot the mess out of it simultaneously. At least that has always been my goal.

 

[geodimeter]

I have a few revolvers that I reload for, i.e. S&W 686-4, 629-6, 10-5 and Ruger BH 45 Colt that get rotated on a regular basis. I also shoot my carry S&W Shield 40 every time I go to the range (about twice a month) doing double taps and using 50 rounds. I fired it a lot more when I first got it but now the 50 rounds are sufficient to feel comfortable with it. Usually I'll shoot 50-100 rounds through whichever revolver I bring.

 

[Tom_R]

A friend at the shop had to have Dirty Harry's gun. A loose grip and a hammer strike to the forehead put that baby back in the box.

N frame magnums are often the first choice when you're starting out due to the high macho factor. Cost and comfort often makes them safe queens.

Agreed

I shoot quite a bit with 9mm and .45acp in my Sig and Kimber, respectively. I just started getting into Smith and Wessons about a year or so ago.

.38spcl in my 28-2 is a dream. Shooting 50 rounds of .357 magnums lets you know how alive you are.

.41 magnum and .44 magnum are great rounds, but they cost a lot and are a Bear to shoot, so you just aren't going to shoot 50 or 100 rounds of them. A dozen in a session will get you were you need to be.

 

[Frank237]

Back in the 1980's a LGS would do a "package" deal on Weatherby magnum rifles with a 3-9 or 3.5-10X Leupold, mounted and bore sighted, a box of ammo and a sling. Maybe a case too. It was one of those $34.95 a week payment deals and in several months you got your Weatherby just in time for deer/elk season.

I started buying those guns off of the local Mini Nickle paper, newspaper ads, etc. EVERY one of them had the original box of ammo with MOST of a box of ammo left.

Some of it was magnum recoil, and the Price of Wby ammo. But most folks are in my opinion...gun OWNERS and not shooters.

I've gotten interested in long range rifle shooting. Several buddies shoot steel out to 1200+ yds with heavy, long barreled, very accurate bolt guns. This guns can take anywhere from a few months to well over a year to build. Much of it is initially waiting to gather parts, with barrels and actions tough to find. Then WAIT for a competent gunsmith to put it all together....another few to several months.

It is amazing to me the number of accurate, LR rifles I see on the various forums, FOR SALE. Many barely broken iin with 20-40 rds down the tube. Many UN FIRED. Imagine waiting a year to get a gun...then simply selling it...un fired.

FN in MT

 

[Engineer1911]

Many gun buyers get a 'new' gun, box of ammo, load the gun, put it in a drawer, and are now 'safe' in their homes or at least 'safe from their fears'.

I have purchased two of those guns and immediately fired 100 to 200 rounds through them. I got good buys on 'like new used' guns.

 

[George_in_SD]

. . . and others buy for that peace of mind a sock drawer gun offers.

Russ

If you don't get peace of mind from your sock drawer gun, you don't have a big enough gun. I had to leapfrog a few spots up to get my warm and fuzzy feelings properly rustled; a 624 3" Lew Horton.

 

[Dave T]

Lots of people aren't shooters, just accumulators.

Not that it matters but I'm not like that. What I own I shoot.

YMMV,
Dave

 

[Rpg]

Why do I see so many unfired or shot very little s&w revolvers?

I have N frame Magnums that appear to be shot very little if fired at all. There in 99.99% condition.

I wish you hadn't told everyone about this.

Now the cat's out of the bag and competition for used S&Ws goes up.

This is why I only buy used.

 

[JohnSW]

Many gun buyers get a 'new' gun, box of ammo, load the gun, put it in a drawer, and are now 'safe' in their homes or at least 'safe from their fears'.

Agreed.

Pew Research asked "Why do you own a gun?"
48% protection
07% target / sport shooting

Why Own a Gun? Protection Is Now Top Reason | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press

 

[loeman]

This is why I only buy used.[/QUOTE]


Me too Rpg! I haven't bought a new gun since 1998. I doubt that I ever will. As we have been discussing in this thread, there are a lot of really nice, lightly used or ANIB guns that do show up for sale. Often at very good prices. And IMHO they are more desirable than what I see in the NEW display case.

 

[22 Short]

I grew up in Western Pennsylvania and everybody and their dog had guns. I started shooting at 7 years old and went gangbusters for a number of years. However our family was not rich so buying a gun was a big purchase. And most of my guns were purchased with hunting in mind. A couple were more for the range or the local dump for plinking but that was definitely a luxury.

As someone else mentioned hunting guns were often sighted and then not shot unless something with legs walked by. Most of my .22s were shot constantly but I always had a couple of favorites. My .22 revolvers were shot once in w hill as not many folks had revolvers or at least shot them much as I remember. Most folks I knew were not real comfortable with revolvers and you were not allowed to carry one until you were 21 so you just kind of got comfortable with long guns.

I think many in my community considered handguns as self defense guns and as you said put them in the sock drawer or bedside table and rarely used.

I also think that cleaning plays a big part of this. Let's face it having to clean 6 cylinders and the barrel took some time and I don't think a lot of folks enjoyed this so yet they didn't want to put a dirty gun back in the drawer.

I'm guilty of not shooting my K-22 that often and it is like new. I've always picked up my single action Colt and now my Browning 1911-22. So lots of reasons we see nearly new or new looking handguns out there.

I'm just glad I never took a hammer of a model 29 to the forehead, Ouch!

 

[younggun22]

I buy with the intent of shooting all of them, it just takes me a while to get to it and sometimes I find guns I forget I have and I still need to shoot them.

Part of the sickness I guess.

I could spend my money on worse habits that's for sure.

 

[MrTrolleyguy]

I am retired but early in my gun buying and shooting career. Having friends that are avid shooters has upped my range time by a factor of 3 or 4.

Just as important as shooting is carrying for me. Don't get far from the bed w/o a gun.

Thanks for this thread.

 

[S&WIowegan]

I grew up on a working family farm with dairy cows, feeder cattle, hogs and chickens plus cats and at least one dog. Protecting your animals was an important reason for gun ownership. My dad was never a shooter and only owned a single-shot 12 gauge and a .22LR pump rifle. I only remember him shooting the shotgun when we walked the fields for pheasants.

When I was old enough I took over the .22 and shot it as much as I could earn money for ammo. Handguns were never considered...besides everyone knew you couldn't hit anything with one. We knew the local cops carried but never shot their handguns.

I believe most people who bought really nice S&Ws and Colts did so because of magazine ads and television and movies. In relative terms, centerfire ammo was extremely expensive in the 50s, 60s and 70s. I can remember buying a used Colt 1903 .32 ACP and being shocked at the cost of a box of ammo.

Many of the big Smiths and Pythons were bought handled, fondled, played with and dry fired, but rarely, if ever, fired in any serious shooting exercise. My collection has benefitted greatly from this!

 

[raljr1]

For me the last 12 years the closest place to shoot was an hour away so, since I had a little more money i bought more guns. most didn't get shot. now that I'm back in PA and have a place to shoot that is easily accessible I shoot more often.

 

[05CarbonDRZ]

I believe most people who bought really nice S&Ws and Colts did so because of magazine ads and television and movies. In relative terms, centerfire ammo was extremely expensive in the 50s, 60s and 70s. I can remember buying a used Colt 1903 .32 ACP and being shocked at the cost of a box of ammo.

Not much has changed....

 

[cass]

For many years, I rotated my guns so that each one had some "working time" at the ranch. Then I discovered the 45 Colt. It (and a Model 18), are now constant companions, the others just get cleaned. I don't shoot much - a box of ammo will last a long time with me.