Thoughts on letting go...

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James Fonteneaux

James Fonteneaux

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Hello all. I was going through the armory the other day and came to the realization that I had a few things that could be moved to fund new projects, etc. I am interested in the group's thoughts on what I would call "churn", especially given the political landscape these days. Btw, nothing I would be moving is collectible, rare, etc.. Mainly things I started with and have replaced with better. Thanks in advance, and have a good day!
 
I have done it a couple time. Over the past couple of years I got rid of all my .30 caliber rifles, including my go-to hunting rifle of 20+ years. Used the proceeds to fund a couple of new purchases that I am quite happy with, including some new reloading equipment and tools. Since I am not a dedicated collector, "churn" as you call it (good word) is pretty typical for me.

When I decide to buy or sell something, it is motivated by what I want/don't want and NOT by current political thinking. The only exception I have made to this was when I bought a "2nd Amendment" rifle (a pre-ban AR) during the original AWB. That was a political statement.
 
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Legionnaire said:
I have done it a couple time. Over the past couple of years I got rid of all my .30 caliber rifles, including my go-to hunting rifle of 20+ years. Used the proceeds to fund a couple of new purchases that I am quite happy with, including some new reloading equipment and tools. Since I am not a dedicated collector, "churn" as you call it (good word) is pretty typical for me.

When I decide to buy or sell something, it is motivated by what I want/don't want and NOT by current political thinking. The only exception I have made to this was when I bought a "2nd Amendment" rifle during the original AWB. That was a political statement.
Click to expand...

Amen to this post.
 
Some stuff I don’t care about other stuff I would never let go. I don’t get rid of things I might think I’ll use in the future but I also know folks that throw things away and buy new ones if they ever need them again.
 
I do it very often. What can I say, I get bored.

I've only regretted it one time, but generally I always fine tune my "collection" to what I want as I learn and experience various platforms.

I've even traded off sentimental pieces that I wasn't shooting for something I would.

I believe guns are tools, they need to be used.
 
JeeperCreeper said:
I believe guns are tools, they need to be used.
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I believe that too, JeeperCreeper - except for a special few that I'm sentimentally attached to. Unfortunately, I'm a bit of a hoarder, and admittedly have a few guns that I no longer use and am not sentimentally attached to.
On the other hand, it's not hurting anything for me to hang onto the guns I don't use. My wife and I are comfortably retired, we don't need the money right now, and if I sold the guns I'm not using, I know myself - I'd just replace them with other guns I probably wouldn't use either.:)
 
I never had that problem--my kids did & have done a good job getting rid of " things I don't need" or they needed more than I did.
 
theotherwaldo said:
I've regretted every firearm that I've sold or otherwise been parted from except those that I passed to another family member.
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I feel the same, EXCEPT:

A few years ago I came under the conviction that possibly i loved my guns more than I loved God. So, I picked out five of the best, took them down to my LGS, put them on consignment, and as they sold (and all at a very good price BTW), donated the proceeds to the mission organization that I assigned to each at the time that I picked them out.

Very liberating, and not a single regret.
 
I've sold three in the past year. One to a member here and two to a couple guys that I know.No regrets...
I'd sell a couple more to the right people since I'm not using them and can't/won't/don't have anyone to pass them on to.
 
I do it from time to time with my safe queens only if I'm replacing it with a gun I want more. I regret selling off most of my guns 25 years ago when I first got married, but since getting back into shooting a few years ago I haven't regretted it.
 
I don't love any of my possessions. I appreciate their usefulness, their beauty, their history, their potential value in times of emergency, and the skills that I learned in their use.
I would regret their loss if they disappeared tomorrow, just as I regretted the loss of almost everything that I owned thirty or so times during my life to this point.
That said, I would just carry on, gather what I need and perhaps what I want and then keep going.
 
I have guns I don't really use, but keep because I enjoy owning them. My collection of M37 Winchesters comes to mind. Unfortunately, I also like to trade guns rather than sell them and as such I tend to keep a few extras around for "trade stock". But I have regretted selling a few through the years. My FF Grade LC Smith Hammer 10 gauge two barrel set is one I still regret to this day. Same for my Shiloh Sharps 50-140, and I custom ordered it! A Mannlicher-Shoenauer 6.5x54 also suffered the same fate, though that was more due to ammunition availability than anything else. In your situation I would likely cull the ones out that didn't "speak" to me, and use the proceeds toward some that did. Just my opinion.

Mac
 
I should add, it's a stage of life thing, too. Retirement is on the horizon if still a few years off. I expect between now and then to further cull my modest collection to focus on fewer firearms that I will use regularly. But were I still a young buck, I'd probably still be in acquisition mode.
 
Sistema1927 said:
I feel the same, EXCEPT:

A few years ago I came under the conviction that possibly i loved my guns more than I loved God. So, I picked out five of the best, took them down to my LGS, put them on consignment, and as they sold (and all at a very good price BTW), donated the proceeds to the mission organization that I assigned to each at the time that I picked them out.

Very liberating, and not a single regret.
Click to expand...
 
My LE no. 5 “Jungle” is so unique and my only classic rifle.

Despite no longer being used, it’s very hard to want to sell it.
But what makes the idea possible is that nobody else ever looks at it.
No other gun people visit our home.

My only gun buddy moved away weeks ago.
 
Some guns I will never part with. Others are negotiable. Sometimes I want something new, and the only way I can afford it is through selling something I feel I can part with. Occasionally, there are regrets (that old model Vaquero, still kicking myself about it), but that's life. Ultimately, they're yours; do what you feel is right for you.
 
I had an Ithaca Featherlite 12ga and an M-1 Carbine in the early 70's. I was lusting after an Ithaca XL 900 Semi auto 20ga. It also came with a deer slayer barrel. Being rather young, stupid and having no money, I traded the 2 aforementioned for the XL. I'm glad I got the XL as I had many deer camps in southern Michigan with that fine shotgun as well as 3 pheasant hunts in SD. (I also had my 12ga Browning Gold Hunter with me in SD) I have always regretted the deal though. I should have put a couple bucks on the XL and got a part time job. The Featherlite was the first shotgun I bought as a kid from money I saved peddling newspapers, maybe 1956 or so. It cost me $65.00. The Carbine I got from the NRA when I was in LE. It cost me 1 year's membership in 1965 or 66 iirc and $20.00. The Carbine was NIB.

So if you have duplicates, maybe off load some. But consider how you might feel about selling something in a few years.
 
The only guns I’ve ever sold for cash were Glocks 17, 22, and 31. Traded a Ruger tang safety Model 77 for a Remington 700 BDL, both .270’s. The Remington has a Leupold vxIII where the Ruger had a Bushnell.
Once I’m gone, I don’t care what happens to any of my belongings.
 
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