Sold an old friend today, non use will do it

Over the years I have parted with a few guns but only those I disliked or came upon at a good deal with the intent to sell when I got them. If all goes well I will be 69 in about a week so only trail the original poster by about a year or so.There are guns in the safe which I really don't shoot anymore but since I have no reason to sell them I won't sell them. The Remington 7mm Remington Magnum is a cartridge I really liked and while I still admire the cartridge I haven't shot my 7mm Rem Mag rifle in years. That sucker hurts! While my son is not as passionate about shooting as I am I have a daughter who enjoys it and the grandchildren who enjoy shooting. We are already looking forward to next summer's range days. When I check out my guns can be passed down, well a few choice ones anyway.

Anyway I just don't generally part with guns, especially any gun I am fond of. No reason to.

Ron

I can derive a lot of pleasure from one accurate .22, a roll of Necco wafers, a box of CCI SVs and a sunny morning at the range.
I can hone my shooting skills nicely a few evenings a month at an indoor range across town, with some WWB or PMC and a couple of drills to work on.
Anything beyond that is gravy. It doesn't require a great deal of hardware to be happy.

george burns said:

You realize that things have changed in the past 20-30 years, In the 70's you had a gun and maybe 1 extra for either a backup or a different caliber, unless you were a collector. Now we are all collectors, with many having dozens of handguns alone. In NYC, "where I carried for some 24-25 years" you were only allowed one gun, ,Maybe 2, after a few years. That is for a Carry Permit, you could get a separate "target License" and buy a few more. I don't know if it's still the same having left after I sold my business, and apartments around 1994-5. After you sell your business, which is how you get the gun in many cases, "carrying cash", you have to turn in your license, "at least that's the way it was then.
I sent them down to FL, to a Police Captain I knew in Jupiter. So some states it's just hard to have multiple guns, in many states, hopefully less and less
When I got down south, I was very happy to feel like I was in a much larger pool of folks who enjoyed shooting, instead of being judged for even carrying a gun, by a mostly Democratic group of gun haters. You just didn't volunteer that information to anyone who was not a good friend.

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I know many people who in the '70's had dozens of firearms. It has more to do with your increased buying power. A 20 year old in the '70's had limited buying power. That 20 year old in 1970 is now 68 years old and has and has had much greater buying power. Also firearms are cheaper across the board than they were in the '70's.

Texas10mm said:

I know many people who in the '70's had dozens of firearms. It has more to do with your increased buying power. A 20 year old in the '70's had limited buying power. That 20 year old in 1970 is now 68 years old and has and has had much greater buying power. Also firearms are cheaper across the board than they were in the '70's.

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Hey, that 20 year old in 1970 would be me and yes, I will be 69 in a few days. Also, being older over the years the guns have accumulated, additionally the responsibilities of years ago are now grown with kids of their own and the house no longer has payments. May all of the twenty something year old people of today enjoy the same in 50 years or so.

Ron

I'm old enough to have purchased a handgun from a dealer via mail without showing any form of identification; just sent the check (in other words, prior to 1968). You got to admit, all of the gun laws we have passed since then has sure curbed crimes where a firearm was involved...

If I don't shoot it, on the block it goes.

Yesterday I took all my revolvers out (all 6 of them) and looked at them all. It amazes me how much I keep them locked up in my chest. I always just shoot one throughout a year, and the others stay locked up. The ones I don't see myself having any desire to shoot anymore are the Vaquero and the Spiller & Burr, however the Vaquero I have many memories with, and the Spiller & Burr was a kit that I finished myself. So they're two that I could never sell. And I also look at the Ruger Old Army, and question why I got that one either, however it's my most recent one and it's a perfect combo of my two interests (Ruger single actions and Percussion revolvers).
I guess the main problem is, now that I live in Texas, I can't go out and shoot as much as I used to in Utah. In Texas, all the forests aren't public land , someone owns that stuff and so you have to go to a shooting range or gun club and pay to shoot. So I really only shoot when I happen to be with someone and they go to one of these ranges. I'd rather not bring my personal guns to a range where a dozen of other people are shooting and making noise, all the while they come by and ask me about my unusual guns (it's both a compliment, but also an annoyance)
I prefer the desert in Utah. It's one big playground that you can do whatever you want in.

One of the joys I have found in this hobby is buying, trading and selling guns. It's fun. I keep the guns that are useful to me or that I just like. I don't give a flip that I really don't have a collection.

I, too, have been thinning things out a little over the last few years. I gave my #1 son a .22 bolt action, a .30-06 Wby. Vanguard and my stainless Browning Buckmark Camper. #2 son got a pump shotgun, a remington .30-06 and a Ruger GP100. A buddy waxed poetically about my well worn M70 Colt 1911 Gold Cup so we swapped. The beat up Inland .30 M1 Carbine sold on GB for more than I paid for the Colt. My younger brother inherited a Browning Silver shotgun, a Colt 6" Python and my Dad's old Savage 340 in .222 Remington. I sent his boy a Ruger Hawkeye in .308 and his daughter a Ruger Compact in .243 Winchester and my Colt Officer's ACP - because she loves it and shoots it better than I do. (Her hubby is a cop and fully approved!) A buddy's daughter fell in love with an old 12 ga. Browning Auto 5 because of the scroll work on the receiver. It was a gift from a dear old friend (who passed away due to complications with MS) and I passed it along to her with the understanding that she will one day pass it along to someone else along with Russell's story. The thinning will continue....

With few friends and less family my "collection" will be getting sold off bit by bit starting this year.
So it goes...

Shanghi:
"With few friends and less family my "collection" will be getting sold off bit by bit starting this year.
So it goes...:

Hey buddy! How you been lately?

Tinman357 said:

Shanghi:
"With few friends and less family my "collection" will be getting sold off bit by bit starting this year.
So it goes...:

Hey buddy! How you been lately?

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Grumpy,old and cold...
So, which of the choices might you be...?

'Bout the same.

I’m 64 and over the years I have bought a few guns pistols, rifles and shotguns. In the past 4 years I have had to down size my collection. I have no family that is interested in guns to leave them to and my friends are thinnin out fast. This year I decided that shooting isn’t getting any cheaper so I picked the calibers I enjoy shooting the most which is the 22 lr 38 spl and the 357 mag. Photo 1 shows what I had and photo 2 shows what I kept.

Wow. What a difference in perspective. From the point of view of a collector, non-use is a feature, not a bug. The whole idea of collecting is to keep guns as pristine as possible.

AlexanderA said:

Wow. What a difference in perspective. From the point of view of a collector, non-use is a feature, not a bug. The whole idea of collecting is to keep guns as pristine as possible.

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I look at guns as tools not art. Yes I’ve seen my fair share of bbq guns. I keep mine in a safe, not a display cabinet. Why because I’m a responsible individual who doesn’t want something to be taken from me and used for nefarious means. If something ceases being useful, it gets sold or traded for something else.

Hi...
I was reading the posts where posters lamented the fact that they had no family or friends to leave their firearms to when they pass on and it made me realize how fortunate I am to have a grown son that is (if possible) even more invested in the shooting sports than I am.

I am currently 64 years old and have had several serious health issues over the years but I am still capable of enjoying a day of hunting or spending a day shooting at the gun club.
I retired last summer at 63 and when I told my wife (at her urging) that I had decided to retire...she said, "Now maybe you will have time to spend some time at the gun club".
When I received a few dollars from a retirement fund, she said we don't need the money...buy yourself something.
I stocked up on reloading components and purchased a few new firearms to enjoy during my retirement. Her only response was to say..."You have spent your whole life taking care of your family, enjoy yourself. Now it's our turn to take care of you".

While I always managed to find some time to shoot my guns and go hunting, I have been taking that advice to heart. I am spending time at gun auctions buying things I want and need and investing a great deal of time in the reloading room preparing for the upcoming shooting season.

I have new handguns and rifles to get acquainted with and time to do it.
I haven't intention or interest in selling any firearms...in point of fact, I fully intend to continue to add to my collection.

My son will inherit the vast majority of my firearms and reloading equipment when I die. Until that day, I fully intend to continue to do my best to use them as much as possible.

Graywolf686

By the looks of things you had a very nice and well represented collection. You did an amazing job thinning the herd and I like the ones you decided to keep as your favorites.

I would be hard pressed to go with just four guns for my future use. Would probably have to add a couple more just for old times sake. My "six" would be a Colt Government .45, a Browning Hi-Power, a S&W Model 686, a Beretta Model 70S, a Colt AR15, and a Ruger 10/22.

SwampWolf said:

If I sold all the firearms I haven't used in the last few years, I'd only have a couple left! Same goes for all those many fishing lures I have that haven't gotten wet lately. Well, I'm keeping my Colts and Winchesters and I'm keeping my Rapalas and Jitterbugs 'til the check to my undertaker bounces.

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LOL, I've never sold any gun. Still have the first that my uncle gave me when I was 14, a Remington 20 gauge pump. I think I may have to cut some loose cause I don't want my wife dealing with it when I'm in the box. BTW, 14 was 58 years ago.

bannockburn said:

Graywolf686

By the looks of things you had a very nice and well represented collection. You did an amazing job thinning the herd and I like the ones you decided to keep as your favorites.

I would be hard pressed to go with just four guns for my future use. Would probably have to add a couple more just for old times sake. My "six" would be a Colt Government .45, a Browning Hi-Power, a S&W Model 686, a Beretta Model 70S, a Colt AR15, and a Ruger 10/22.

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I will as I’ve had since I bought my first gun and that what’s next. If I do ever buy another gun or two I think another Gov. 1911 45 cause they are great shooters and or a SSA 4 3/4” barrel in 357 mag. See there I go, I need to have more restraint. Lol

Ah, you don’t have to shoot them. How many candles does your wife have that haven’t provided light? Maybe stuff hung on a wall that you don’t even look at and admire.

I can’t count the times I let something go because I think I don’t need it, then need it the next day. Yeah, that keeps lots of useless stuff handy.....