How fast did your collection grow?

My collection shot up pretty fast at first, but then I realized I would rather have a cherry pie tomorrow than a cow pie today. I have a couple that I just bought because they were good deals (Beretta 92s and Swiss K31), but I've pretty much been using my gun money to customize the ones I have to how I want them.
 
once the addiction hit-- the buying never stopped. My wife wants to know when it does-- " when I am dead" is the answer. Of course she neve r complains about the choices I have made for us. She shoots all of them and enjoys most of them.

They call me from the case @my lgs-- the owner is friend and is very "in tune" with what I want. I am very specific about my bucket list. BUT being an addict, I can be swayed by an unexpected " great deal" on something I was considering anyway---oh the shame!!!! NOw I have gone over to the "dark side" bought a Wilson combat 1911-- I hear they multiply lie rabbits--we will see!!!--LOL

enjoy your toys!! I sure do!
 
to make things (worse for her) better for me-- my lgs opened up a range. So I see all the eye candy every time we shoot. Now that my wife has seen how my addiction has taken over--she is resigned tot eh facts-- new toys will come home when the right moment presents itself--like the Ruger gp100 match champion that KNEW my name the other day--it call me-- I grabbed it--one mor e off the bucket list for 2015!! HOORAY!
 
How Fast?
Good question but hard to answer. The problem when I first started out was that I was stupid. Sold some things that I shouldn’t have (5 inch S&W 27) and bought some things that I shouldn’t have (Luger non matching SN’s and a badly pitted barrel that couldn’t clear a magazine). And don’t even get me started on the HK rifles I owned and let go.
I started working part time at a local gun shop and started learning about buying and selling and started buying “good” guns. That was when my collection really started. To me the collection is those guns you won’t let go. I started with N frame S&W’s. I picked up a Charter arms bull dog and became infatuated with the 44 special round. My collection has more N frames than anything else and most are 44 specials.
Then I purchased a Grand from another gun shop owner from Indy that stopped by. And that started me on buying military long arms.
Then the BP craze bit me and Colt reproductions are a hard thing to stop buying.
My suggestion is to think about where you want your collection to be in 10 to 20 years. People talk about how expensive guns like a S&W 24, 25 or 29’s are right now. True, but think how expensive they will be in another 20 years.
Best suggestion, read, read, and read more on firearms and learn everything you can.
 
30+ years, I did not plan to end up with the collection I have, it just happened. My collection spans from the Civil War to present day.
 
When I first started buying firearms again I averaged about one per month. Now I've sold off much of what I had and would sell most of the rest if it wasn't for the fact that they keep going up in value.
 
Despite increases in permit applications, the anti-gun propagandists have long tried to write off booming sales by saying it's just the guys in this thread. :rolleyes:

Whether collecting cool pieces of history, beautiful works of modern machinery, varied means of protection, different tools for hunting, or the next edge for competition; we are the enthusiasts. What else would you expect on a gun forum?

I grew up with guns and used to shoot on weekends with my grandfather. I inherited a couple of his guns when he passed. I bought one or two when I came of age. Just over the last seven or eight years, I've bought one every Christmas. Otherwise, anything new coming in has bumped something else out in trade.
 
I also look at it this way.
I am now in my 50's, Kids are out, House about paid.
Just making up for all the Guns the wife made me sell when we needed diapers and payday was a week away.

My turn....:D
Safer any way than a Red Head and a new Mustang. :eek:
 
LOL All of us are afflicted by the sickness! There is no cure!:eek:

As my wife got near retirement, I knew it was time to get rid of a lot of my "long-guns". We wee hoping to do some traveling, etc. and after all, I didn't shoot most of them. So, I consigned and sold off my long-guns. That's where I went wrong. With the money I got from them, I made the mistake of looking at what the gun shop had "on line" that was disposing of my rifles, etc. So . . I purchased a new-fangled 1910 Colt Army Special. From there "it went downhill". That Colt lead to some vintage Smiths, then Rugers . . . it just became an addiction! sIs had shot black powder for 50 years and once I got the first Colt - I started re-loading. That's a whole other "addiction" unto its own not to mention casting and bullet molds!

But . . . it's a hobby. Now, I'm looking at thinning my hand-gun "herd" and just concentrating on a couple SA revolvers and the several CCWs that I carry.

If you "can stop at just one" . . . I have all the respect in the world for you. . . but hand-guns are a lot like potato chips . . . after the first one, you can't stop. :)
 
If you "can stop at just one" . . . I have all the respect in the world for you. . . but hand-guns are a lot like potato chips . . . after the first one, you can't stop.
Click to expand...
A truer statement was never opined!;)
 
Bought my 1st December 2013 after not having a gun of my own in 20 years. Looks like I am averaging one gun every 2-3 months. I have nearly all the ones I want, just 2 more (yeah right). Next up..... Motorcycles
 
Five years ago when I got my CHL I had five handguns. Now I have thirty five!
I've also added a few rifles and shotguns to the mix, you know, for home defense. lol
And still looking for good deals on handguns. :D
 
I got my first handgun a little over 11 years ago (dang it doesn't seem like it's been that long) and I'm now up to 22. The rate of growth, however, has not been steady as it's depended on what I'm interested in and how much disposable income I have at the time. The most rapid growth has been in the last two years because I graduated college and got a much higher paying job (I've added 9 in two years :eek:).
 
I was born loving to shoot and hunt.Then came a great job and becoming friends with like-minded people.Then came constant hunting trips and shooting activities.All the while,buying more and more specialized guns.Being fortunate to live a relatively healthy life led to my collection. :D
 
In September 2013 I bought my first gun for self defense, a beretta 92fs centurion. Not two years later, I now have 16. I plan on buying a ksg, a pocket pistol and a scoped rifle, and maybe a sa revolver to fill in the gaps and then stop for awhile.. See how long that lasts lol
 
My collection grew in fits and starts, I think the only limitation I placed on it's rate of growth was availability of discretionary funds, my desire to own a particular specimen, and the quality of the guns offered.

30 years active purchasing, over 150 guns.

It's not a bad thing to have limited funds. Could be looking at a new wing of the house, or some such thing.

The rate we acquire doesn't really matter, time is the key. Valuable collections are built over decades by knowledgeable collectors spending significant sums. That could be $300 or $3000 each time, persistence is what gets you there. Just two nice pieces a year for 25 years is fifty guns.
 
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