How Many Guns Are Enough ?

I'll know when I get there, and I'm still alive and earning, so when one of those two ends, I may be there.

I really only "need" 2-3. One handgun for carry, one rifle for hunting and one shotgun for hunting.

The fact that I have many, many many more than that is a pure "want" and not a "need". I am fortunate that money is not really an issue for me. That doesn't mean I have a bunch of high dollar guns but I can buy pretty much whatever I want/need.

Talking only about "enough", not how many one may want, I would say for home defense, maybe one to three; for carry, maybe one. For fun shooting, at least three, maybe five or six. For collecting, there is no limit. (How many albums of stamps are "enough" for a stamp collector?)

Jim

My next one will be enough. At least that is what I tell my wife....

Really this is only some think you can decide for yourself. I have enough guns to keep me happy. To keep my wife happy. And have enough to give to my children without taking any from me or my wife. And then there are a few we bought just in case we are not happy tomorrow.

<Deleted>

money and a place to stack them at the ready !

Interesting topic. I'm 69 years old, and have been collecting guns since I was about 20. I came to realize about 5 years ago that I had more guns than I needed, and that many of them had not been fired for several years. I have been trying to scale down my collection, and have reduced it by about 30%. I just have to be careful, because some I have sold only to have seller's remorse later. I don't have a large collection compared to others, but I definitely have more than I truly need. All I can say to you younger shooters is, buy them like there is no tomorrow, because tomorrow will come sooner than you think!

saitek said:

money and a place to stack them at the ready !

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Pretty much. Once the safe is overflowing, it's time for me to stop for a while. Maybe a looooong while. :

Gun Master said:

That's a good question that we all should ask ourselves, from time to time.

Although I have seen many claims by others (younger, richer, & possibly less honest - living out a dream), in which their amount of guns are up to five times the amount that I own, how many is enough ?

I believe it all depends on the following (but not limited to) : money, physical & mental ability, and enthusiasm.

Being an older guy, I am now evaluating my stash. I find it somewhat stressful providing proper maintenance and accountability for my collection.

What are your thoughts ? How many guns are enough ?

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Eight is all anyone should ever need. One can get by with six if they can live w/o .22lr handgun and .22 rifle.

I,and I alone am capable of deciding how many guns,cars,knives,fishing rods,boats,and other items I want. I happen to own many more than a few people think I need. I say bull! If you are content with two ,three,eight,or eighty,good for you.I believe variety is the spice of life. I buy guns that interest me for different reasons when I can afford them. I need another safe,not less guns. I have four sons and I know when I'm gone,they will each add my guns to their collections. It's always a personal choice,but at this point in my life,I don't have enough guns.

PabloJ said:

Eight is all anyone should ever need. One can get by with six if they can live w/o .22lr handgun and .22 rifle.

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Pray tell, what are the 8 that are "all anyone should ever need?"

I've had a chance to collect my thoughts a little more. You know there are guns that #1 you shoot regularly and enjoy. And then there are guns that #2 you don't shoot often, but you enjoy owning them, handling them, and looking at them, doesn't mean that you enjoy them any less. I guess everyone has to determine what that magic total number to own is on their own.

I hope that all of you younger shooters get to enjoy reasonably good health long enough to have to struggle with the decision as to what to keep and what to let go.

1 long range target gun , 1 short range brush gun, 1 mid to long range hunting gun for big game and 1 for small game , 1 hunting handgun, 1 defense handgun 1 shot gun 1 combo gun , 1 bolt gun, 1 lever gun, 1 pump action , 1 brake action , 1 air gun for in town , at least 1 military gun for historical reason and one back up for each , and a small pile of 22LR's . so at least 28 plus the pile of 22LR's

Well, reading some of ya'll's responses, it sounds as if some of y'all are getting ready to cash in your chips!

I'm pretty well along in age too, but still need the ones I have, if for nothing else just to refresh my memory on how such and such a gun shoots.

While retirement provides good hours, the pay is scant, so I did scale back my shooting program some. So I aim on keeping the guns I've got, though I'm currently hunting for a Colt New Frontier in .45 Colt. I am in the process of swapping out my double action revolvers for Single Action revolvers.

The fun of popping caps is still there!

Bob Wright

I just need one more.....then one more... then one more...

When you don't get that "new gun buy high" any more, you've got enough.

Depends. "Enough" may change for you over time. That happened to me...

I'm talking from a recreational standpoint, by the way. I think most people feel that for defense (home and/or self) you only "need" a fraction of what you might have recreationally.



Your willingness to sell/trade will have an impact. So will your storage and security options. A spouse may have some input as well.

2.380acp
1 .45acp
1 .45Colt
1 9mm
4 carry guns, 1 hunting gun, that's all I have and all the centerfire handguns I want/need.

Two more.

I have 53, and I['m not close to being done!

For me, the question is whether I shoot what I own. That doesn't mean I have to shoot every gun every trip to the range (for example, my pump-action shotgun is used for duck hunting), but I do want to shoot each a few times a year. I own one rifle, two shotguns, and five handguns, all of which I've shot in the past year.

I definitely don't want to become my friend who owns over 600 (as of last March) firearms and occasionally forgets what he owns. He likes owning that many; I don't have a desire to duplicate that.

As many as you want and can afford is my vote. I'm probably older than most, I do make a decent living, and I'm pretty enthusiastic.

I don't actually go out looking for new guns any more, but if I see something I really like I buy it. Currently I think I have:

BHP's -4
Browning 1971 -2
Browning 1922
Browning 1910 -2
XDm's -3
Witness Elite Match -2
Bersa .380 -2
CZ 75
S&W 1911 SC
S&W Bodyguard .380
S&W 642 Custom Shop
Sig X6 Scandic
Walther PK380
KT P32
Beretta's in .22 and .25 -3
Colt Pocket .25
Ruger Super Blackhawk
4 or 5 other .22 semiautos
Savage 1907 and 1915 in .32
4 or 5 other pre-WWII semiautos

It doesn't seem too many to me, although I suppose you could argue it is since many of them don't get shot in a given year. But since my wife won't let me spend money on wine, women and loud happy songs what's a guy to do?

But, I only have 5 shotguns so that makes up for the pistols.

I don't even want to talk about the rifles.

I try to have a gun for every occasion, fancy barbeque - check, night out in a tux with a cummerbund holster - check, night on the town with a shoulder holster - check, ankle holster backup - check, everyday carry gun - check, backups and spares - check, guns for friends - check, invited to a 3 gun event - check, 3 gun heavy metal class - check, cowboy shooting- check (although I've never actually been to one I am prepared), deer/quail/cape buff/pig hunting - check. And that seems pretty reasonable to me.

Im not there yet. Still a number of older guns that interest me that I'd love to add to the collection, being a single-income household, however, I have to take it one at a time.

wproct said:

Interesting topic. I'm 69 years old, and have been collecting guns since I was about 20. I came to realize about 5 years ago that I had more guns than I needed, and that many of them had not been fired for several years. I have been trying to scale down my collection, and have reduced it by about 30%. I just have to be careful, because some I have sold only to have seller's remorse later. I don't have a large collection compared to others, but I definitely have more than I truly need. All I can say to you younger shooters is, buy them like there is no tomorrow, because tomorrow will come sooner than you think!

Click to expand...

I was thinking this....I figured by the time I had "enough", I'd probably have too many! LOL,

I do know that I've sold about a dozen guns in my life, and I regret selling almost every one of them...