my thoughts on gun collection then and now ! have you changed ?

[Honu]

OK this is not about my actual collection I have but how I have changed my thinking over the years

I used to have a very diverse group of stuff back in the early 80s

so lets say you can have 40 guns ?

I used to like the idea of 40 fun dif guns all dif kinds this was 20 years ago I thought this :) maybe one or two alike but all dif radically dif types !!!



these days I think I would rather have 10 M4 types 5 LMT and 5 Noveske 5 two of each in SBR
308 maybe 4 FAL types or battle rifles as they get called :)
2 very long range types your cal choice ? 50 cal ? 338 lapua but both setups the same make model etc...
10 9MM same company make etc.. say M&P 9mm 5 compact 5 regular
5 45 autos
4 ruger 10/22
5 nice WWII type collectibles


if I could have say only ten
4 M4 types 2 noveske 2 LMT
4 9mm 2 compacts 2 regular say M&P 9mm
1 10/22
1 nice WWII collectible


these days I would rather have a few types and get to know them very well than a bunch of stuff

anyone else radically change their thinking ?
I know I have and chances are will change it again !!!

[markm]

I have no use for diversity in my firearms. It's too hard to stockpile mags and ammo if you're highly diversified. I stay on the beaten path.

[ra2bach]

if gun confiscation ever does get going, I'd be worried about my "old school" rapid firing assault rifle - a Model 99 lever-action Savage firing "armor piercing" .300Savage ammo...



;)

[JBnTX]

....
these days I would rather have a few types and get to know them very well than a bunch of stuff .....


I agree completely.

I've settled on Colt AR-15's for rifles.
For pistols it's Colt 1911s, Glocks, SIG 226 and Beretta M9.
Other pistols are neither wanted or needed.

I've done the same with calibers. I've limited myself to the 9mm, 45acp and
5.56mm. Thirty years ago, I wanted every caliber under the sun.

Quality vs Quantity.
Quality wins.

[Blinking Dog]

What's that old saying, "beware the man with one gun"...?

I guess you could infer from Jeff Cooper that you should have one of each of "the five":
1 Rifle (full size cartridge)
2 Carbine
3 Pistol
4 Shotgun
5 Submachine gun

(Inferred from To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth)

[militarymoron]

What's that old saying, "beware the man with one gun"...?


LOL - i know what the author is trying to convey, but most people i know who own only one gun aren't that much into shooting, nor do they know how to handle the one gun they own.

i like variety - and also knowing how to operate and shoot different weapons. owning many weapons doesn't mean that your skills have to suffer with your 'chosen few'.

[dtibbals]

I have been going through this over the last couple of years and did the final "cleaning" out of my collection this last summer. I now only have pistols in 9mm and 45acp and one revolver in 357 mag. I have limited my pistols to Glock's in 9mm, Springfield XDm 9mm and HK's in 45acp with the exception of a S&W 22 pistol. In rifles I have gone to two calibers and two models. I have all M4 style rifles in 5.56 and M14 style rifles in 308 Nato. Shotguns are all 12 gauge and if they are for hunting or defense they are all pumps now and all Remington 870 or Mossberg 500 series . Sporting shotguns I still have some auto's but mostly shoot my Krieghoff K80 but all are 12 gauge. I want to add a bolt action but will be sticking with the 308 caliber. I used to have pistols in the same caliber but a lot of different models which took a lot of different mags and holsters. So to become better with a specific weapon, cut back on the number of different mags I needed to keep in stock as well as all of the different holsters and such I consolidated to just a couple of models and a couple of calibers. So now I have 30 plus high cap mags for each model of pistol and 80 plus pmags and m14 mags which fit many different weapons even though they are configured differently. Made sense back then and I am glad I did it, with the looming AWB keeping a large enough supply of mags to get through a 10 plus year ban or most likely permanent ban is much easier now. Probably the biggest gain I made was I am becoming better in my skill level with different pistols and rifles because I am more focused on the same platforms.

[bigshooter]

I have no use for diversity in my firearms. It's too hard to stockpile mags and ammo if you're highly diversified. I stay on the beaten path.

I try to follow this thought as well.

.22lr
.40
5.56/.223
.308 (don't have a true 7.62x51 yet)
12ga.


I do own and reload for my .300 RUM (wish I could afford a Barret .50 or a 20mm Vulcan mag fed bolt gun)


these days I think I would rather have 10 M4 types 5 LMT and 5 Noveske 5 two of each in SBR
308 maybe 4 FAL types or battle rifles as they get called
2 very long range types your cal choice ? 50 cal ? 338 lapua but both setups the same make model etc...
10 9MM same company make etc.. say M&P 9mm 5 compact 5 regular
5 45 autos
4 ruger 10/22


sounds solid, I personally would add a couple .308 bolt guns to the list though.

[Honu]

I try to follow this thought as well.

.22lr
.40
5.56/.223
.308 (don't have a true 7.62x51 yet)
12ga.


I do own and reload for my .300 RUM (wish I could afford a Barret .50 or a 20mm Vulcan mag fed bolt gun)



sounds solid, I personally would add a couple .308 bolt guns to the list though.

true a few nice 700s would be good :)

[Blinking Dog]

LOL - i know what the author is trying to convey, but most people i know who own only one gun aren't that much into shooting, nor do they know how to handle the one gun they own.

I hear you. But if you owned one of each of the 5 categories I listed, maybe that works.

But for the record, I don't own just one of each category so I haven't exactly followed that advice. But it seems like a good idea. Actually, I do pretty much stick with one pistol...a 1911.

[CMFG]

I've paired everything down to the following 3 categories:

-1911 frame .45 ACP (0-25m, home defense / tactical)

-AR-15/M-4 style 5.56mm NATO (10-200m, tactical)

-Remington 700 action .308 WIN. (100-1000m, hunt for dinner / "stay off my land")

I have multiple guns falling into each of those categories and only have to stockpile 3 calibers and 2 types of mags. I've never been a shotgun guy, but if I was, there'd also be a 12 gauge 870 on that list.

[KeepTheChange]

A Colt M4 (illegal in my state), but my 6920 will do. On a desert Island I'd call her Ginger.
A dressed carry 1911 in stainless, mine is a Springfield. I'd call her Marry Ann.
Colt Python, mine has a 2.5" barrel -blued. This is my old broad, but she's as sexy as she ever was.
Henry Big Boy .44mag lever action. It's an elegant beauty.
Thompson 1927A-1 -with drum mags and the violin case. I mean come on, it's a .45. And it's a Thompson.
Ruger Super BlackHawk .44mag - 10.5" Barrel - When I whip it out I feel like the Joker, and when the custom handloads rip it sounds like the Guns of Navarone.

That rounds out the list of my fun guns. Now I just need to score a nice M14. And maybe a Browning A-Bolt in 7mm Rem Mag. Wouldn't mind a Luger also. Oh, and I'd like to have the Colt Delta Elite 10mm I sold some years back.

Interestingly enough, I have no interest in modern high capacity hand guns.

[Kevin]

I have no use for diversity in my firearms. It's too hard to stockpile mags and ammo if you're highly diversified. I stay on the beaten path.


I agree, diversity is highly overrated. In the last few years I've standardized to a large extent, for much the same reasons.

I still have a few oddballs, but standardizing makes training and stockpiling much more simple.

[MarshallDodge]

I have guns for all kinds of purposes but have four that I would keep if times got hard. My favorite pistol, carbine, rifle, and shotgun would be the last that I would let go.

Even though I despise safe queens, I have a few guns that only get out a couple times a year.

[carbinero]

I have definitely standardized caliber, dropping 3 within the last 2 years, however I will likely expand soon to include 6.8spc.

[seb5]

Like many others I've simplified as well.

A couple of .22's, rifle and pistol
AR series, several
Glock 23, several
2 S&W Airweight Centennials
1 .308 precision rifle.

If I start deer hunting again it will be with either an AR or the .308.

[alvincullumyork]

Part of the reason I love firearms is the mechanical aspect of them, as I'm sure it is for many of you, and that is why I would like to diversify(young poor college student) otherwise I would have many more. Another reason I collect is for the history of it all, for that reason alone my 100 dollar Mosin is a really close second behind 1200 dollar AR. I love my guns and would like to have many different kinds if for nothing more than experience of holding them. I once heard a quote, "Guns are like children their expensive, their destructive, and they can get quite dirty and hard to clean but you love them for life." except for that berretta i got rid of:rolleyes:
1911-kimber
870 20 gauge
benilli nova 12 gauge
bushmaster 20 inch heavy barrel
Mosin nagant m91/30
10/22

[Army Chief]

I guess you could infer from Jeff Cooper that you should have one of each of "the five":

1 Rifle (full size cartridge)
2 Carbine
3 Pistol
4 Shotgun
5 Submachine gun


Notwithstanding the fact that Cooper almost certainly penned this pre-1986, when #5 was a more realistic possibility, I find wisdom in his words, and have essentially proceeded along those lines. I'm not pursuing diversity or quantity, but without going into too much detail, I invest in high quality pairs (i.e. M1/M1A, 6920/N4, WC Classic/WC Stealth, two 1897 Winchesters inherited from my own grandfathers, etc ...).

Why pairs? Simply because I have two sons, and I happen to believe that arms are among the most significant heirlooms that a man can ever hope to pass on to his progeny. Don't think only of yourselves, gentlemen ... do it for the children. LOL

AC

[sff70]

I used to have 1 or 2 of each of the major service grade pistols from the major makers (Beretta, Sig, Glock, Smith, Colt) but then pared back to mostly Glock 19s and 1911s.

Commonality of mags, holsters, spare parts, and ammo is a good thing.

This is part of the reason I haven't bought a M&P. I don't want to embark on buying more holsters, mags, and spare parts, etc for another handgun type when I could just buy more of what I already have (and which works for me).

That's another reason why I'm staying with DI ARs. Sure the piston guns are "kewl" but the parts commonality and simplicity of this legacy system works for me, especially when you get into maintaining multiple firearms.

Just my 2 cents.

[Jay Cunningham]

My gun "collection" (I don't collect anything) is getting smaller and less diverse. My magazine stack is getting larger and less diverse. I used to be into Kalashnikovs - it's easy to get wrapped up in all the "collector" type stuff with those things, but I broke myself of that.

[Gutshot John]

This is a great thread as I've been going through much the same thing over the past year.

Slowly I've been consolidating my collection, stressing commonality and getting at least two of everything. Glock 17, 1911, AR and FAL. I also think there is a lot to be said for choosing platforms that are somewhat ubiquitous in a society.

About the only things I'll hold onto are a WWII Garand and my dad's 1903.

Like TK said it's easy to break yourself.