How has your collection of guns progressed by type,quality & use over the years

G

Garycw

New member
Just wondering how others collections have grown, changed, use , reloading and modifying.
I started out like some with BB guns. There seemed to always more times than not one in my hand starting around age 6. The old stand by Red Ryder, which I wore out after around 5000 rounds. Progressed to the trusty model 94 lever action which could load 10 from the resivior with slide mag for years. Then the pump 22 Remington and 20 ga. Ithaca for rabbits and squirrels. Many years later started collecting through trades various shotguns and pistols. Bought my first new Ruger security Six for $179 at LGS. Later picked up a Jennings j22 $65.
Then nothing for 30 years ?
In the last 10 I've gotten re interested and started buying again. First it was pocket guns, them full size pistols, then semi auto rifles. Cheaper the better. I was looking for quantity over quality. This was good because I like to tinker and change things. Then it was pump and semi auto shot guns. I wanted better quality but cheaper the better was the rule. I then went into the military surplus route and more modern high capacity rifles. Now it's the 1911's that have been calling. I used to think $200 -$300 was a good price to pay for Any gun even within the last few years. Now it seems $1000 is a bargain if its what you're looking for. I don't really hunt too much anymore but love to target shoot. I rarely ever sell guns, but love to buy them. It is an addiction.
How has your collection started, changed, evolved and used???
 
Having never been either a collector or an accumulator, I've only acquired the ones necessary for a particular purpose.
For me, they're more like tools than objects of beauty.
And that has kept the numbers down but still at a useful level.
If one doesn't get used at all, and it's not likely be be, out it goes.
Rarely has it been missed.
If it's not presently being used, but might be, keeping it or not depends on whether another one would be a suitable substitute.
At times, it's been tempting to buy guns that are of no real use, just because they're neat.
But then I remember they need to be cared for, no matter how little use they get.
And that cools the ardor.
Next??
 
I suppose the biggest change for me is that I very seldom get rid of a gun anymore. Some of that is motivated by regulatory concern and some simply by economics. Initially when I wanted a new gun I had to sell the existing gun to raise the funds, but thankfully that is no longer the case.

Although I do own some hunting rifles I no longer hunt, so most of my recent purchases have fallen into the area of CCW or home defense. Also, I have found myself getting more nostalgic recently, so I may end up focusing on revolvers and 1911s in the near future. However, I don’t really have any plan or set style, so I could end up with something totally off the wall next.
 
Having never been either a collector or an accumulator, I've only acquired the ones necessary for a particular purpose.
Click to expand...

So, that's what I am. I've never considered myself a collector. I am an accumulator. :D

Let me go tell my wife I've been diagnosed.
 
My first gun was a Red Ryder, still have one, not my first tho. Then I got into single action revolvers & lever action rifles. Then big game rifles, had to have some of them. For the last 10 years, it has been shotguns. I still have most of those gun except for a theft along the way. I don't sell. Over 60 years of shootin' adds up to a lot of guns.:D
 
I think this household falls under accumulators.

=D

I havn't really changed focus much. I don't have the cash to spend on my personal wishlist and most of my basics and stuff that's just plan cool are covered already.
Dad's gone through various phases, but overall has stuck to modern miltary style designs and HD/SD since the get go.

The last big go round (which we've pretty much covered) was what we call the Russian collection. It's an easy one to collect when funds are tight and all that's left to be checked of the list is real for poops and giggles stuff.

I think the real evolution has been that it's rare for Dad to come home with a new gun, shoot it and go "oh, this is crap" then turn around and sell it. Between the advent of the internet, making it easier for him to research what he wants, and the fact that he's pretty much BTDT, he's gotten very good at knowing what he'll like before he brings it home.

I think Dads gotten kind of burned out on selling stuff and later regreting it, so he's gotten a little more relaxed on seeing something and wanting it so bad he sells something he shouldn't, which is good, because I still hold a grudge over the HK 91.
 
When i was young I could only dream of guns I wanted to own ... Glad to report my dreams are coming true in spite of some of my wish list being banned from further import. I paid more than their worth but did so just the same and am content.

I started with a red rider, then a Remington field master .22, a .410 shotgun, a m1 carbine and scores of rifles, handguns, shotguns, etc.

Never took to reloading but did become a pretty good smith and builder for a lawyer anyway.

I still dream every time RIA auctions send me a brochure of guns up for auction....
 
Generally, more specific as to some niche to fill and, generally, of better quality. That's not to say all my earlier firearms were junk, but the average quality has gotten better.
 
Over the past 40+ years, I have been fortunate enough to have aquired at least one example of every gun I have ever been seriously interested in (and a number of ones I was only mildly interested in:D)

The only thing that has changed for me is that I'm not really interested in much of the "new" stuff. Nothing new that I know about offers me any real (or percieved) advantage over the things I already have.
 
Odd progression

I distinctly remember walking through a gun show to buy my first gun. I wanted a semiautomatic rifle with a protruding magazine and a pistol grip. I walked past all the milsurp bolt guns thinking 'who would want one of those antiques?' A decade later, turns out I wanted one of those. Once I had the modern firearms, I then wanted the antiques.

In order I bought a 1) Romanian SAR1 2) Walthier PK380 3) a single barrel 12 ga. break-action made by Kmart 3) Taurus TCP 380 (something I could carry in a speedo) 4) a US Repeating Arms Winchester Model 70 in 300 WinMag (the one with the cheap plastic stock) 5) Finnish Mosin Nagant M39 6) A Confederate Pietta 1851 Navy in .44 which I don't plan on shooting.

You get the idea with all the add-ons; extra mags, improved peep sights to replace the blade, bandoliers and such. There was an article on Yahoo a few months ago about a guy with a collection that would make Charleton Heston drool. I see what I'm turning into and I don't like it, for a collection is never complete. Next thing I know, I'll be looking at flintlocks just because I DON'T have one.:confused:

I guess this is what a drug addiction is like. One gun used to be enough to entertain myself sitting on the couch. Then I get bored and buy another one and that feeling of 'this thing is soooo cool' comes back briefly.
 
I feel your pain Lt. Maybe we need to form AA meeting. ( armorers anonymous ). Picked up a ultra compact 9mm today off armslist. (The junkie site). I really need to delete it from my fav's. I just put a Sig 1911 in layaway two days ago because it'll take me 90 days to scrape up the $. Guess I better get a big pot of beans going and some Oscar Meyer Kentucky round steak ready. :) I already had five 9mm's and five 1911's... So why wouldn't I get them? I really did need & want them. It's like quiting smoking. This is the last pack, I'm going to quit after this.
Just say No!
Ps.. I hate selling guns, so I don't.
 
My grandad gave me an old 22pump in the early 50's, later I bought a new ruger single six 22 and a used remington pump 12 ga. In 1960 I traded a horse for double barrel 10ga. that the front trigger would fire when you pulled the back one. I bought a old german mouser at a bazzar and they gave me a raffel ticket that won me a new winchester mod. 94 in the raffel. The old remington pump22 fireing pin wore out so my brother, buddy and I made a deal for 3 ruger 10 22's $75 each consecutive serial numbers which over the years I accumlated. I bought a smith and wesson 12 ga. pump at a pawn shop for $80, (I loved that gun). Since then I have inheareted and bought almost anything I wanted and only sold two, the single six and the smith and wesson 12 ga. and I regret both.
I guess you would say I accumulate firearms.
 
Another accumulator here!! It started out with a .264 hunting rifle that was given to me, followed by a .22 revolver that I found. Over the years, the worn out junky .22 was replaced by a S&W 19 that I still carry, and other guns have been added to meet my hunting and self protection needs. Some were aquired from family members and have sentamental value. Lately, my hunting needs have become less and a few the guns have been sold. Some have been given to my children so they are still in the family and a new generation of accumulators is formed!!!
 
My collection has really grown in the last 2 years, I decided the following since I started shooting in 2009

1. I don't like 40 S&W (purchased and sold a P226)
2. I DO like Sigs (purchased a P226 and P229 in 9MM)
3. I DO like 45 ACP Pistols
4. I do not like Commander length 1911's (purchased and sold one)
5. I DO like high-cap 45's (picking up an XDM 45 tomorrow)
6. I would rather have fewer high quality firearms than many "low" quality guns
7. I do not like glocks
8. That does not mean I do not like striker fired pistols (own an XDM 45 and PPQ)
9. Rifles rock
10. Rifles really rock but can be expensive to feed.
11. Be paitent and a good deal for exactly what you want will come along (P226 W. German triple serial, CPO for $600.00)
 
Starting when the gun bug bit in '07 (age 52), it went from the MN 91/30 and 44, to the old Mini 14/30, SKS, Enfields FR8s, then M-1 Garand.

The MNs are gone, but being the last good value in full-power ammo, reconsidering. The Minis are gone. Did not like the thick front sights.

The SKS is used more than anything else except the Romanian M-69 Trainers.
 
Unlike other hobbies or interests that have waxed and then faded in my life (RC airplanes, photography, audiophile equipment), guns have held my interest for 50 years.

I still have my first Red Ryder BB gun; that sucker would hold 750 BB's, which was about a day or two's worth of ammo hunting birds, snakes, and whatever in the fields behind my house.

Next up was a Crosman 760 pump, then a Daisy Powerline 880.
Bought a .22 rifle from the Western Auto store uptown for my first "real" gun when I turned 18. It was a "Revelation" branded tube-fed semi-auto that would occasionally burp out 2 or three rounds with one trigger pull, then jam. :eek:

First shotgun was an H&R Topper single shot 20 gauge a year later.

Then I got married, and had kids. Guns gathered dust for 20 years, as my time and money went into raising a family.

Then one day I woke up and realized I now had some discretionary income, and the bug bit hard.
Bought a Ruger 10-22 carbine.
Then a Savage .30.06.
Then a Marlin .30/30.
Then a Marlin .17 HMR.
Ruger .204.

Then the shotgun bug bit.
Browning Citori 12 ga.
Wingmaster 28 ga.
1100 16 ga.

Then, I found out about the CMP, and the M1 bug bit.
6 Garands, 3 carbines, 7 .22's later, I still fondle my M1's. What a great rifle.

Figured I should have at least one black rifle, so I built an AR-15 this year.
Then a co-worker bought a Ruger NM Blackhawk Vacquero, and got me thinking about a .45 revolver. Ended up with a Ruger Bisley Convertible .45 ACP/LC.

Along the way, I got into reloading for all the shotgun gauges and pistol/rifle calibers I own. Even tried casting my own bullets.

I think the only gun I really have a hankering for now is a GI 1911 .45 ACP.

As I've gotten older, I have sold most of the guns that weren't good quality or good shooters. I would say that my philosophy has been to keep the best, and sell the rest.
 
That sounds impressive Cobra! Hope you get your 1911 soon, but beware.... It's a BIG Bug to get bitten by. Kudos on keeping the red Ryder. Not sure what ever happens to mine, never remember getting rid of it, just wearing it out. I'm sure it's at my moms somewhere packed away.
 
First shotgun was an H&R Topper single shot 20 gauge a year later.
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I still have mine. It was a Christmas gift from the parents. I haven't shot it in forever but it does have some sentimental value so I've never thought of trading it.
 
Most of the guns that I acquired early in life were military surplus, but virtually every gun I've bought over the last 20 years has been for competition.
When I was shooting two matches a week, I literally never went to the range for any other reason, so any gun that was going to get shot, would have to be useable in USPSA, IDPA, or 3-Gun.
There has been some cross-over, as I expanded the types of competition I did so I could shoot some of the guns I'd had for years.
 
6. I would rather have fewer high quality firearms than many "low" quality guns
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I would say that's my biggest change over time. I used to buy a lot of middle of the road guns. "Bang for the buck." Not the crappy guns but the good, solid ones. Problem is... that's what most people buy. So you end up with a collection of guns where nothing really stands out. If I used to buy 4-5 middle level guns a year, now I would rather buy 2 really nice ones.

As an example... I wanted to buy a modern polymer .45 auto. This was before the Glock SF came out and the old G21 was just too big for my hands, so the Glock was out. I looked at and held the SA XD's and the S&W M&P. Both seemed like decent guns and the price was very reasonable. But then I screwed up and shot an HK45 at the range.

You are familiar with "diminishing returns?" You get a lot for your first $500. You get "more" for another $500 but not nearly as much as you did for the first bundle. You can then spend another $1000 and get even better, but the "amount" you are getting for each dollar continues to go down. You have to really want that premium level to be willing to pay for it. And you can't argue that the lower priced guns aren't actually "a better deal." But as you get older and have more disposable income, you might just decide you would rather spend the green stuff and buy the best.

That's what happened with me and the polymer .45's. I liked the competition, I would have shot them well, they were an excellent price. But the HK45 was better. It just was. Take them apart and put them out side by side. Really hard to argue that the S&W or SA XD is higher quality. But is the HK45 worth nearly twice as much money? (I think I paid about $900 for my German made one at the time.) Of course it's NOT worth the price difference if we are arguing what you get for your money. But if the HK45 really IS a better gun .... I don't care about money.... it will just disappear over time anyway. But I will own that gun forever. I'll spend the money for the better one.

And in the case of the HK45... I most certainly don't regret it. One of my favorite "new guns" of the last ten years. I put a LEM trigger in it since it just didn't work cocked and locked for me. Something about the safety placement, just couldn't hit it every time on a draw. I like LEM anyway so I went with that. And it works great.

Gregg
 
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