Anyone here stick with just one handgun?

I am 23 and in the process of starting a family. I have one rifle(.270 WIN bolt action), one handgun(Para Ordnance 1911), one shotgun(Winchester Model 1200 12 Gauge Pump), and hope to get an AR(5.56) in the next couple years to round out my collection. If I were to have more money there are all kinds of things I would like to have but the key to everything is balance.

I don't need, nor would it be very responsible of me, at this point in my life to have a vault of firearms. If I were to get involved in a SD/HD situation, zombies come, or the government collapses I have what I need to feel comfortable. Once I acquire the AR that is.
 
Kahr PM9 is my constant companion.
Buckmark goes to the range on every trip, always warm up with 22lr.
I have two handguns I'll never trade or sell, one for emotions(father gave it to me 40yrs ago) another because it's the best deal I'll every get on it.
Two shotguns and two 22lr rifles will never leave.
The rest are just guns.
 
Only 1 handgun? :eek::( That is just crazy talk.

The two handguns I shoot the most both have the same exact grip and similar triggers which is nice although the weight, balance, and recoil are night and day different.

I think as long as you use a particular gun enough, you should still be able to be proficient with it.
 
Have to say I checked this thread just to see what percentage might have only one. Higher than I expected since I thought it would be zero.

Just pared WAY down to 7 handguns, 3 shotguns and 4 rifles. Decided to sell everything I didn't shoot which was a lot more than I thought once I started checking them out. Of course it didn't work quite as planned as 2 of those rifles and one pistol where purchased with the proceeds. All 3 where guns over $1000 which I probably would never have purchased without thinning the herd for the extra $$ and they have become 3 of my favorites.
 
There was a time, in my younger years, when I only kept one handgun. It changed from time to time, say every few years, but was almost always a .357 mag.

One was a NM Blackhawk, another a GP-100. Swapped the GP-100 for a stainless 4" S&W 686, and so on.

I shot each of them fairly well, and maybe even better than I shoot the various ones I have now, but I also shot a lot more ammo in those days.

When all's said and done, I still hit what I shoot at and that's what counts. I feel no need to thin them down at all.

Daryl
 
I'm still working on the concept but I'm not making much progress. But I do have goals, sort of.

I may have mentioned already what I'm looking for in a new pistol and it may have changed since I posted that. Aside from the cost (always a consideration) of the basic pistol, there is the cost of replacing all the accessories you generally accumulate for a particular gun. Things like holsters, magazine pouches, spare magazines and sometimes even spare parts. If you foolish pick a different caliber, there's the element of both building up a stock of the new caliber and disposing of the old, but my present stock is one of the limiting factors in deciding, not that it is much of a limitation. I mean, I have plenty of 9mm, .45 ACP and .38 Special. What else is there?

Ultimately, the thing that probably holds me back the most at the moment is the fact that any new gun is only going to be a marginal improvement (if any) over what I already have. I already have pretty much decided that it ought to work the same way, although that was as much a result of elimination as anything else. In other words, once you eliminate all the things you can't afford in the first place, then choosing from what you can becomes a little easier. In the meantime, you continually experiment and investigate other options, most of which come to nothing for any of a number of reasons.

The hardest element, frankly, is keeping the practical aspects in front. I am, admittedly, a gun nut and the simple novelty of many guns is attractive and sometimes irresistable. I will also admit to being swayed somewhat by the last movie I happened to watch, which could even have been made in 1947, after which I have a strong desire to own another Colt Police Positive Special, never carried in a holster, just thrust in a pocket. But I doubt anyone else here is ever influenced by the movies.
 
I did sell 4 of my 5 handguns. I carry and do all my practice and competition with my Springfield XD.40, Much the same with my rifles. I have 1 AR15 .223 bull barrel, 1 bolt gun in .308, and 1 shotgun auto loader 12Ga.. And can't forget a tube fed .22LR. (sold 5 rifles, 4 hand guns and 2 shotguns.)
I may not be a large guy at 6 foot 210 pounds, but can conceal the XD fairly well. I did enjoy shooting all of them, but not so much trying to keep a stock of ammo for everything to include all the powder, brass, primers, bullets and recipes. When I do (and will) buy another hand gun, it will match the one I have now.
 
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How big is big enough (without being too big) or how small is small enough (without being too small) is another subject altogether. However, mine have never been that different in size. I notice the weight differences a lot more.
 
I simply couldn't imagine going down to one gun. I LOVE all of my revolvers, they bring joy when shooting them. Then I have the guns that serve a purpose like my Glock 33 or LCP, shotgun, 22 rifle and 308 rifle. At the very least, I'd never want to go without my guns that serve a purpose. Even then... I'd have to find some kind of purpose for each of my revolvers. LOL
 
How big is big enough (without being too big) or how small is small enough (without being too small) is another subject altogether. However, mine have never been that different in size. I notice the weight differences a lot more.
Click to expand...

Good point on "size". I'd be sorta lost without a handgun in .22 LR, and another in .45 Colt. Of course, then there's the "in between" calibers that keep life interesting, too.

As I said above, when I only kept one handgun, it was almost always a .357 mag. Pretty versatile with the varioius .38 special and .357 mag ammo available, and I also handloaded for it.

These days I don't even own a .357 mag, but my "needs" have been refined in order to accomodate more handguns. Now an "all purpose" handgun isn't as important, since I can choose for the specific use.

If I were to go back to one handgun (perish the thought!), it woult almost certainly be a 4" revolver in .357 mag...

and I hate that cartridge for the muzzle blast alone.

Daryl
 
Originally quoted by BlayGlock:
"Anyone here stick with just one handgun?
I have several handguns and like them all and shoot them all pretty well. However, I have found myself wondering if I should not just "marry" one of my handguns for say 6 months or a year.

Has anyone here ever taken the time to do this? I mean picked one of your handguns and used only that one for a length of time? Did you measure your performance and if so how much did it improve?"

I have just begun this very process right now. I have 5 handguns, all .45 auto, all limited production - semi custom 1911 configuration:
1) A Les Baer Premier II, early '90's production, standard 3" 50 yard gun. Probably about 8K rounds through the gun
2) Springfield Trophy Match, early '90's production, I believe that the original guarantee was 2" @ 25 yards. Probably about 8K rounds through the gun.
3) Custom Jim Hoag 6" longslide, fully loaded. I purchased about mid '90's in virtually unfired condition. Probably less than 1k rounds through tie gun.
4) Wilson Combat 5" Classic Super Grade, late '10 production. I bought new in Feb 2011. Fully loaded Cali version. Maybe 100 rounds through the gun.
5) Ed Brown Executive Target, I bought new in March 2011. Loaded Cali version. maybe 50 rounds through the gun.
I was in the practice of taking my favorite 3 (Jim Hoag longslide, WC Classic SG, & EB ET) to the range with me and shooting the three. Not so much my accuracy, but my precision fell off noticeably.
The LB PII is currently my monthly shooter for about 30 rounds every range visit, about 3 visits a week, until I have exhausted my current reloading cycle of 350 rounds.
In this timeframe, I will clean the gun prior to starting, see if and how it goes through the 350 round count without any failures. I will re-spring and adjust my standard target load of 3.4 gr of B/E pushing a 185 gr LSWC to improve not only my precision and accuracy, but the guns performance also.
My sincerest apologies in advance for the long and probably boring post.
HTH
 
I have acquired a number of handguns over the years, and like to shoot them all. I have carried some of them, until I got a Ruger KP90DC. It has been my constant companion since I first got it. For some reason it just fit me, and was what I had been looking for. I have carried if for a long time, and will continue to carry it, until I get to where I can't shoot it.
 
I think the one gun I had the longest was a Browning Hi-Power, which I bought when I was in college, although it was neither my first handgun nor my first Hi-Power. The one I've had the longest now is a S&W Model 13. I don't own a .22 and I never seemed to shoot the ones I had all that much, except for the rifles.

But I no longer shoot recreationally, which tends to put more of a realistic spin on things.
 
Yeah, that's madness...1 gun? Always? Then why waste money on buying any other gun. Maybe the people that only own one and just want to own that one need to respond to this thread. I know someone personally that can only have one handgun at a time :confused:
 
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