It Really is Possible to Have Too Many Guns

[PracticalRifleman]

I once had a gun collection of over 100. I had over 40 sets of dies for reloading. What I found was that I couldn’t focus on more than a few rifles/cartridges. Besides, there was so much overlap between them that it really didn’t make sense to keep pressing forward.

Before I bought my home, I sold the majority of them. Besides spending a lot of money on my house, I also decided to “upgrade” the guns I chose to retain; suppressors, better glass, better stocks, etc.

The guns I did keep are better equipped and more enjoyable.

More or less, focus is more important than quantity.


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[OH58D]

I think I have around 64-70 firearms of all kinds, including antiques. I'm a collector, but I also have a good number in that bunch which are of a tactical nature. I also come from a middle class family which in my lifetime improved our financial situation. But I also have a mentality of keeping and holding what I have. A gun is an asset that can be exchanged into cash or some other asset. A gun is like money in the bank - you can always get something for it.

It's like an elderly couple on a fixed income. Two paid off vehicles, even older ones, are valuable, because if one breaks down, you still have something to drive. And people on fixed incomes may not have the money to buy a new or newer vehicle. Just like guns, paid off vehicles are like money in the bank.

I'm not selling anything now, because I am still in the wealth accumulation phase. Guns are an asset that may be hard to replace in the future.

[john armond]

I guess it depends on what you want and why you want it. I had over 100 myself at one time. Haven’t shot most of them in over 12 years, and they were just taking up space. Most were from WWII, and I couldn’t replace them because of how much the prices skyrocketed. When I did go to the range, all I took were modern guns, and I wanted to concentrate on something I might actually have to use. I have always loved driving my vintage corvette too, and found I was having more fun with that than the guns, so I decided to sell a bunch of the older guns. It hurt a little knowing I would never replace them, but I made a bunch of money compared to what I paid (Except one WWI 1911 that my buddy got a sweet deal on). Now I have six corvettes, one from each of the first six generations. I use them more often, and enjoy them more than the guns that were sitting in the safe. I still have some old ones left, and the debate is still raging on selling some of them or not.

The modern stuff I actually shoot has still stayed.

Of course we did have to buy a new plot of land, and are going to build a massive garage now, but it’s a plot my wife wanted anyway, so no loss there.

[BoringGuy45]

I like the idea of having a main gun and a few backup guns for various scenarios. A pistol for carry/home defense, an AR for when SHTF, a long range precision rifle for the same thing (if you know how to use it), and a few rifles and shotguns for various game if you're a hunter.. As has been mentioned on other threads, a pistol caliber carbine isn't a bad idea for home defense either.

I have no problem with collecting guns for range toys. I have a beat-to-hell Mosin-Nagant that I got for less than $100 that serves little purpose except fun on the range, and I'd love to get a few more WWII era rifles, like a Lee Enfield and a Garand, when I get the money. I'd also love an AK if they were available in my state. But I'm not one who needs every gun in every caliber in every color. THAT I don't get.

What DOES drive me nuts is when guys think number of guns owned=expertise in their use. Too many people are picturing themselves in that scene from Tremors. When I was in gun sales, I can't tell you how many times I heard, "Nobody would dare break into MY house! I have like a hundred and fifty guns!"

[grizzlyblake]

I would wager statistically more people in the past month have used guns to defend their homes/businesses from looters/rioters than people have defended their home from the "bump in the night" home invasion. If things reach Book of Eli level SHTF there will be plenty of other things to worry about like food, water, meds, etc.

Anyway. I think it's a good idea to have a good full size pistol for carrying concealed, and an AR set up for close range for the rioting type stuff. Then identical backups for both since society still exists to the extent that if you have to use either pistol or AR justifiably, they will be taken into police evidence. Then you go to your identical backups as long as you're not in jail.

After that it's just as many more backups as you think you need. I'm good with just the 2x setup.

If you're really looking at survival and think you'll be hunting I could see justifying a scoped 308 and 22. However, your AR could reasonably cover that depending on your local terrain.

[teufelhund1918]

Not possible to have too many. Time to get out and enjoy shooting and plinking is the problem for me.

[kerplode]

I have more than I can reasonable use, but I find them interesting on many levels and I've struggled with downsizing for that reason.

I tell myself that if I sell them I might not be able to replace them. However, I think it's becoming time to re-evaluate that from a more realistic point of view. Namely, if I don't sell them soon, I won't be able to extract any value from them when the inevitable ban occurs. And yes, a ban is inevitable.

These days, I mostly want to shoot my leverguns and revolvers anyway. I'm no longer drawn to generic soul-less ARs and plastic wonder-nines like I used to be. Given that, plus the large amount of time I invest in the administrative upkeep of the collection, thinning the heard is becoming more palatable.

[jpmuscle]

Quality over quantity and all that.


Like having a dozen guns but no night vision is a bad move imo.


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[grizzlyblake]

What upkeep is it that you guys refer to?

I mean I squirt some lube on my BCG after a range session but that’s it.

Buy the rifle and optic, mags, defense ammo, then it’s just lube and practice ammo going forward.

[kerplode]

What upkeep is it that you guys refer to?

I mean I squirt some lube on my BCG after a range session but that’s it.

Buy the rifle and optic, mags, defense ammo, then it’s just lube and practice ammo going forward.

I own a wider variety of things besides ARs and Glocks. Wood and metal thing, many of them much older than I am, that need to be taken out of the safe and cleaned/oiled periodically to prevent corrosion and rot. This takes non-zero time when you have more than a few...