My dwindling arsenal.

[therifleman556]

Who else is at the same point in their life where time and more importantly, funds, limits the hobby we share in common?
I can't help but notice reading through threads here that there is a LOT of time and money tied up into some people's rifles. I imagine some of these sticks with custom barrels, stocks and optics can easily exceed $3000, $4000, or more. This isn't a criticism of any sort. If anything, it's heartening to know there are plenty more rifle loonys in the world.
What I would like to know is after there any other members here that can count their firearms on one hand? When I graduated high school I had an appetite for anything that burned powder, surplus rifles, 22s, pistols, you name it. As life went on though I found myself with a family and limited time to enjoy the hobby and less money to work with. My big collection has been sold, bartered, and traded down to two centerfires, a switch barrel rimfire, a shotgun, and a flintlock rifle. The one thing I've tried to accomplish through this though, is an increase in the quality of my rifles, instead of a handful of rifles I don't get to use I've got two that I my self am proud to take out of the safe. The first is my M70 Featherweight in 7mm-08. It wears a Leupold VX-2 3-9 gloss finished in dual dovetail bases. It's not the most accurate rifle I've owned but it reminds me of the rifles I've seen when I was a kid that caught my attention, pretty wood and blue steel. The second one hasn't arrived yet, it was the subject of my last thread "help me pick a new rifle".

I'm going to cut this rant short (I know, too late), I just wanted to know if there's other gun nuts in the same boat.

 

[tbrice23]

No l can not count my rifles on both hands.

Several years ago I lost my fiance and my father within a years time. Within a year or two I was consumed by grief, hopelessness and whiskey. I woke up one day and decided I did not want to go on that way (it wouldn't have been long).
I decided to pick back up the hobby my father and I had when I was a boy, reloading, hunting and shooting. This hobby has kept me busy and kept my from destroying myself.

Thank the Lord you have a beautiful family to fill your time and funds on this earth.
That should absolutely take precedence over a simple hobby.

You are the lucky one.

 

[desertcj]

I'm thinking of making some changes. I could thin the heard a bit, but there's a few I'd still like to add as well so?

 

[midnightmalloy]

"Beware of the man with one gun"

I don't have one but I think "purpose built" is very important. I have 4 rifles: 7mm blaser, 6.5 creedmoor, 223 rem and 22lr.
Two shotguns: beretta sporting clays 12ga 30" barrel and a beretta 686 Ultra Light 12ga 28" barrel.

If it doesn't fill a void I either:
1) Have a ton of money and don't care
2) sell a lesser option and purchase a better one
3) get divorced

I would say "everyone has a total gun budget" so determine this budget, determine your goals and choose your options accordingly!

 

[therifleman556]

Purpose built is a good description of this new "build", if I'm allowed to call it that. Something light enough to carry but still able to work the steel gongs out to 5-600 yards. Fifteen years ago I would've had a dozen rifles of various styles worth about $3000 all total.
Now I'll be down to two "nice" rifles, worth about the same together.

 

[wbm]

My own history of firearms acquisition is like a few who posted here...looks like a bell curve. Starting at 34, peaking at about age 68 and then dropping sharply. Have four now.

 

[gohring3006]

I had 11 rifles last year.
I decided to sell some and put together four rifles with better optics. I thought it was better to have four rifles with good equipment, than 11 with entry level equipment. So.... I put together two Savages a TC Venture and a Colt 20" AR.
I also started upgrading my reloading equipment too.
I guess I could have shortened this up by saying, I switched from quantity to quality..

 

[nmbarta]

I'd need a few hands I suppose, I haven't counted them in a while.
It does take up a lot of time, but lucky for me, my family loves guns (and more importably, shooting them) Everthing from my two boys shooting in skeet, trap, sporting clays, and rimfire pistol competitions, to long range rifle shooting with my wife and daughter.
Most people have way more money tied up in camper, boats, 4 wheelers, that don't get used but a couple times a year.
I'm a pretty lucky guy.

 

[dmoon]

I too am in the process of trying to decide how to "thin the herd". I honestly started thinning years ago when I stopped shooting any type of competition and got rid of anything I considered bench rest style. All of that money has gone back into higher end hunting rifles and glass. I still have 3 varmint rifles, 2 whitetail rifles, a 300 WM (most of which would have been in the heavy varmint class in bench rest), with a 30/30 and a couple 22LR sitting in the safe as well. I'm wanting to thin down to one varmint, a "stand" style whitetail rifle and a lighter weight big game/whitetail rifle that I could still shoot longer ranges (comfortably to 800). All of which would have top of the line components and glass. Just hard to decide who has to go.

 

[dmoon]

I had 11 rifles last year.
I decided to sell some and put together four rifles with better optics. I thought it was better to have four rifles with good equipment, than 11 with entry level equipment. So.... I put together two Savages a TC Venture and a Colt 20" AR.
I also started upgrading my reloading equipment too.
I guess I could have shortened this up by saying, I switched from quantity to quality..

Well put gohring switching to quantity to quality myself I guess

 

[therifleman556]

I decided to sell some and put together four rifles with better optics.

Same here basically. I never would've guessed when I was stockpiling surplus rifles and Walmart sporters that good glass can make or break the rifle and the shooting experience in general. Back then I would've taken a second hand BDL and threw a Simmons on it and rock on.

Then I learned how to shoot more than 100 yards.

Up till now, it's been about experiencing as many different guns as I could. Now it's suddenly seeing what I want in a rifle coalesce into a good quality piece with good quality glass.

 

[gohring3006]

One of things that helped me decide is, I was running out of components to feed all of them. I had probably 8 or 10 rifles getting low on bullets, brass and powder. Started doing the math, and quickly decided to downsize.

 

[mjkten]

My collection is a real hodgepodge of weapons that are useful, fun, just something I always wanted. I have an old Browning Auto 22 that's just nice to hold. The front sight is so thin I have a bit of trouble using it, but it's still fun to shoot. An old Swedish Mauser that has wonderful metalwork in the action and rear sight. A S&W model 25 in 45 Colt that's really pretty. Ruger 10/22 LVT that's way more accurate than I can hold, but it's an Appleseed gamer rifle for sure. And so on...I feel the need to thin out the gun safe every now and then, but it's easier to pull them out, wipe em down and put them back. They don't all need to be in use or serve a continued purpose. And I expect to hand them down to grand kids one day, or maybe younger friends.

 

[therifleman556]

I was running out of components to feed all of them. I had probably 8 or 10 rifles getting low on bullets, brass and powder.

This is going to sound nuts but my first rifle is Featherweight M70 in 7mm-08. The second one is going to be a Model 70 Extreme Weather in (ready for this?)

7mm-08.
There's your shared components!

Two rifles, same make, same caliber. I was going to go 6.5 in the EW but they won't be available till next year. The shop owner asked why two 7mm-08s, my excuse was "cuz I got two kids".
Maybe we need another kid, I need an excuse for a .243