Yearly Gun Expenditure

Answer to the question = $0.
Firearms are a luxury item for me at this time in my life.
I sure love firearms though, and maybe someday that will change!

While there's no end to the number of guns I want, I have more than I need. The deal I made with myself is that I'll either sell one to fund another purchase or wait until my credit card points can pay for another one. I started reloading recently, which cut my ammo costs considerably. I make it to the range 1 to 2 times a month, so my primary costs this year will be for the ammo I reload.

Between all of our bills and fixing up the house that we just bought, my budget is sadly next to nothing right now. Hopefully that will change soon, because I've been eyeballing a few new rifles and a lot of reloading supplies.

I'm just the opposite currently. With the years taking a toll on my age I have been selling part of my collection. So far I've moved nine of my 1911a1 guns to an out of town collector I've known for years. He always bring more than enough money, looks over the guns laid out on the dining room table, and peels out the big bills for the ones he wants.

I've been on a buying spree the last year or so --basically to rebuild the collection somewhat after 3 - 4 years of barely making the bills---selling off stuff to get by if I had to.

There are several fairly big purchases planned relating to guns.
1.Benelli M2 12ga
2.Colt 1911 .45
3.Either a 686 or GP100 .357 mag
4.Aimpoint Pro for one of my AR's

After that its just Glock and AR mags and ammo --when I get around to it or get the urge.

Then I start loading up the 401k and start saving for the next car---since I hate having a car payment, a substantial portion of any new vehicle will already be paid for. Over a year or so out on that goal.

My spending habits on gun related items is all over the place year to year. I think the only gun I've bought in the last year is Blackhawk .357 3 screw from 1970. May have picked up an 1851 navy in .44. Some years the $$ goes to guns. Some years it goes elsewhere, Harley, bows, truck repairs, house....last year was a $4K kayak. That cut down on my gun spending. I don't look at reloading supplies as gun related expenses, more as necessary items.

Largely as a result of remodeling the man cave I have gone through and organized all of my guns, ammunition and shooting supplies.

In doing so as Gomer Pyle says "SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!"

I have discovered that I don't have enough brass in some calibers, short on bullets for others, not near enough powder, etc. The Banic of 2013 has made the situation more difficult as most reloading supplies have not been available.

I have set aside a minimum dollar budget for each month but I will not be following it much especially for the first 8 months of this year. My plan is too fill in the gaps in my inventory as much as possible before the Presidential elections kick into high gear.

I have very little faith that the election will be a honest one with much fraud to swing it to the Democrat candidate.

1) Contribute to savings
2) pay bills
3) college fund for kids
4) fund retirement
5) spend whatever is left on whatever I want.

Sometimes #5 is guns or ammo, sometimes it is that new Guitar I just need to have, tools for some home improvement project, or maybe just a trip for the wife and myself.

Never stopped to think about it much, but 2015 was a big one for me. Bought a Citori, a Single Six convertible, and a nice old 586. That totaled about $2500. Sold a Beretta for about $700. Spend a few hundy on boolits and powder and such.

I'm usually one or two per year but there's not much I need really, I could actually get by with a 357, a 12 gauge, a .270 and a .22 pistol.

Pretty well finished buying guns, after several years of buying everything that interested me. I had liquidated a large hobby/collection of equipment and used a portion of that cash to purchase firearms, along with some inheritance money. Being in California, it's easy and mostly rational to assume if you want it and it's available, you'd better buy it. You might not have another chance. My wife has developed an interest in guns, and so I'm not having to raid my piggy bank to buy ammo. We try to make intelligent buys monthly of at least 1K more rounds than we shot the previous month, plus some extra for the guns we rarely shoot. I own a good selection of reloading equipment, but my time is better spent elsewhere at this point in my life - and I'm a bit light on supplies.

I'm hedging against the November possibility of another panic, and buying what we enjoy shooting most. If there's no panic, I'm stocked up. If there is another panic, we'll be OK for a while. If some HUA initiative or law passes that messes with ammo availability, I'll probably buy about $40k in 9mm and 45acp before it takes effect - if I can find it.

I haven't added it all up from last year. Depending on perspective it's somewhere between not enough and way too much.

So far this year I've paid off a layaway (only about $165 for a Ruger P89), purchased a BCM complete/ unassembled upper, AR-Stoner 5.56 barrel, and a rail height railed gas block. But it's only the end of January.

Actually, once I get this latest upper built, I'm done buying guns for awhile and will refocus on ammo and reloading components, then once 41F goes active, I'll pay my $200 and file my Form 1, and another $50 or so for an OD Green Magpul MOE stock once it comes back. Gotta look into engraving, but might do it myself.


I do have an itch for a .300 blackout build and a suppressor. Both will come after the SBR Form 1 is filed.

I did the gun a month thing, I now have nineteen firearms, I reload for all of them so components and powder chew up a lot of cash for seemingly little in return.

This year so far I have spent about a thousand on primers, brass, powder and projectiles for my Ruger 77/357.

Let's just hope I don't come across a .416 Rigby or the budget will be shot to hell.

All up, not including firearms, I probably spend about 4-5k a year.

You guys have me wondering how much I really do spend.

Between Firearm purchases, reloading equipment and supplies, and hunting licenses and trips, the number may be bigger than I think.

$3000 seems like a lot of money per year to me.

I purchase guns for an immediate purpose like the O/U shotgun I purchased a few months back for sporting clays this year. I also purchased a new deer rifle last month so my youngest son can use my Abolt. I really do not collect, only purchase the tool to get the job done.

The reloading spending is difficult to keep under control.

The hunting stuff really needs to be in another category. No big trips, mostly local hunting.

Could I really spend $3K-$5K per year not including hunting? I would like to. E in the gun of the month club.

savage24's four step budget plan:
1. Contribute to savings
2. Pay bills
3. Fund retirement
4. Buy guns with what's left

Click to expand...

A wise plan, but you forgot "Booze" and "Profit?"

I keep a very similar budgeting scheme (now lamely anti-gun, due to a focused savings effort toward a down payment), but I also keep an inventory of much of my 'gun stuff.' Unlike most dumb hobbies, gun stuff is quite valuable in and of itself, so keeping track of it is a good way to have a better understanding of where your actual 'wealth' is, as opposed to what is officially in the accounts. I don't plan on making money on my gun stuff (though I will, given even a few years maturation) and I certainly don't make decisions relying on it as a backstop if something goes wrong --but it is nice to know what is there if I lose an arm tomorrow and have to sell everything to staunch the bleeding

TCB

Factoring in the other enjoyable aspects of life, the outlay could be pretty wallet hitting. On one of the other forums we'd been talking about the monthly dining, coffee, alcohol, etc purchases. If one is into watches, photography, golf, home audio/theater, wood working...all these can be big $$ along with firearms. Life should have some enjoyment for as hard long we'll be working at bringing in $$.

barnbwt said:

A wise plan, but you forgot "Booze" and "Profit?"

I keep a very similar budgeting scheme (now lamely anti-gun, due to a focused savings effort toward a down payment), but I also keep an inventory of much of my 'gun stuff.' Unlike most dumb hobbies, gun stuff is quite valuable in and of itself, so keeping track of it is a good way to have a better understanding of where your actual 'wealth' is, as opposed to what is officially in the accounts. I don't plan on making money on my gun stuff (though I will, given even a few years maturation) and I certainly don't make decisions relying on it as a backstop if something goes wrong --but it is nice to know what is there if I lose an arm tomorrow and have to sell everything to staunch the bleeding

TCB

Click to expand...

Got the booze covered. At my current rate of consumption - approximately 1.5 liters per year - I have a 6-7 year supply of whiskey.
I can't say much about profit as I have only sold one gun (traded toward credit on a much nicer gun, actually). One thing I know for sure: I will get a lot more of my money back when I sell my guns than I will from selling my bicycles, camping gear, or that 35 year old scuba gear in the basement!

I never really thought about it until tonight.

I have bought the guns I wanted bad enough my whole life.
Sometimes at the risk of eating regular, or paying the rent back in the day.

At present I have 51 guns that kept my attention over the years.
All are very decent specimens of Colt, S&W, Browning, SIG, Astra, Ruger, and a few other rarities that turned out to be keepers.

Broken down by year?
1960 - 1- $40.
1962 - 1 - $20.
1964 -1 - $35.
1965 -2 - $25.
1967 - 1 - $65.
1968 - 3 -$230.
1970 - 3 -$270.
1971 - 3 - $364.
1979 - 3 - $814.
1980 - 2 - $480.
1984 - 2 - $162.
1995 - 1 - $390.
1998 - 3 - $1,073.
1999 - 2 - $1,150.
2,000 - 4 - $1,905.
2,001 - 2 - $575.
2002 - 2 - $354.

Then I got old and already had almost everything I ever lusted after so it's slowed down.

Total outlay has been $12,160.

Current conservative retail selling price is somewhere around $30,000 at auction.

And it's been fun hobby, and a terrific history learning experience all these years!!

If there is a trick to it?
Keep a wad of $100 bills in your wallet for when the Deal comes along every so often.

And don't get Target Fixation on that gun you think you just have to buy Today, no matter how much it costs.

There will be a better one come along as soon as you buy it at full retail + 20% mark-up because it's today's hot set-up!!

Rc

First quarter of 2016:
$375 for an Interarms Mark X in 30-06
$650 for a Ljungman M/ 42 B in 6.5X55
$120 (+/-) for 4 Weaver K4 scopes and mounts (Ebay)
Total: roughly $1155 through April, 2016, barring further targets of opportunity.

Normally, I have a cap of $1,000 per quarter, but... .

Well the wife and I are looking to have kids next year and we are managing to put her entire check in the bank for the last six months and we want to do that for at least a whole year before she gets pregnant.

So my gun spending is severly limited. Granted I have over two dozen guns I don't shoot, over ten k in ammo (price, not supply), and little reason to buy a new gun.

Got two ARs, a couple FALs, a couple CETMEs, a couple 1911s, more than a few Glocks, a few Sig handguns, more than a few snub nose revolvers. You get the idea.

Still, I want a 625, a 627 Pro, and a Glock 43. It's nice to dream.