Simply utilitarian, or a theme or direction to your gun buying?

.308 Norma said:

I'll vouch for that! My folks gave me an 1100 for my 16th birthday. I still have it (I'm 69 now) but 10 or 12 years ago I decided I just had to have the "American icon of shotguns" - an 870. Come Sharptail grouse season that year, a friend and I went hunting. A covey of 6 or 8 Sharps got up right in front of me. I dropped one of them, and swung on another. You guessed it - no matter how hard I squeezed the trigger on that new 870, it wouldn't go off!
I sold it shortly thereafter. I didn't go back to my 1100 because I have an old Browning Auto-Five "Light 12" that I like better. But I learned my lesson - if you've been shooting a semi-auto shotgun for close to a half century, it's not that easy to switch to a pump.

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The auto 5 is a magnificent machine. Especially the older ones.

My gun "collection" can best be summed up as, "ADD... Squirrel!" I have and like a little bit of everything, from a mid-century .22 single-shot rifle to modern polymer pistols that hold half a box of ammo in a single magazine. Manually cycled, self-loading, single-action, trigger cocking, however, I'm probably game and might even know how to operate it already.

The only thing not well represented is shotguns, primarily because I'm not much of a wing shooter. Way too much time spent with a rifle or pistol trying to make the sights stop when the trigger breaks has proven hard for me to overcome. Which is a shame, as I really like the Benelli Ultralight 28ga. I could see following a good pointer with one of those on frosty mornings.

Simply utilitarian. Each has a specific use/place.

I have a preference for modern military pistols, maybe it's the efficiency. Much of
my rifle buying is purpose driven, filling different needs. Hard to say the collection
has a specific direction.

Though it'll probably get me branded as a heretic by many here, for the most part fancy wood, high polish blue and other high end do very little for me. I far prefer matte finishes and more utilitarian guns. The exception to this general rule might be some elegant yet tasteful guns with history such as a Colt Peacemaker, a Sharps or something similar. Do not own either and doubt I ever will unless I hit the lotto big. I DO own a Freedom Arms M83 Premier .475 Linebaugh I got through trading, but it's mostly a safe queen.

Stone the above, my arms while of excellent quality and several of which are significantly expensive, strongly trend towards "utilitarian". My expectations for my arms are mostly defensive, with "fun" target shooting to gain & maintain proficiency. I also have some very few arms for hunting
and more formal type target shooting such as CMP and hopefully soon, maybe F-Class.

Mine didn't start this way but it did go towards a theme,,,
Matching rimfire/centerfire pistols, revolvers, and a few rifles.

I think my first one was a Bersa Thunder 22 and Thunder 380 pair,,,
Then I got a S&W Model 18 and Model 15 pair,,,
Then a S&W Model 34 and Model 36 pair,,,
I have 13 matched pairs all in all.

I have a few pairs in rifles,,,
Such as an H&R Sportster in .22 matched up with a, H&R Handi-Rifle in .357 Magnum.

With rifles it's more difficult as not many were made identically between rimfire and centerfire,,,
So pairs like my 8mm K98 Mauser is paired with a Mauser ES340b 22 single-shot,,,
I simply wouldn't spend what the true German military trainers were going for.

I have a Polish WZ-48 military rimfire trainer,,,
I really want to match it up with a Polish Nagant someday.

Then there are my grown-up/child sets,,,
Henry Acu-Bolt matched up with a Henry Mini-Bolt,,,
Also a nice Savage Mk-IIF matched up with a Cricket "My First Rifle".

One of my favorite "sets" is a case full of Beretta NEOS fieryarms,,,
I have a 4.5" pistol, a 6" pistol, and a 3rd permanently configured as the Carbine kit,,,
This set will be complete if I can ever find one of the very elusive pistols with the 7.5" barrel.

I guess I just like assembling "sets" of firearms,,,
Perhaps my favorite of them all is a set I call "The Harem"

Jezebel, N-frame Model 629 in .44 Magnum,,,
Brighid, L-frame Model 686 in .357 Magnum,,,
Morgana, K-frame Model 67 in .38 Special,,,
Lilith, J-frame Model 63 in .22 LR

My most recent is not a perfect match because of the sights and different barrel lengths,,,
But I still think the 3" Model 36 and the 4" Model 34 go very well together.


So yeah, there is a theme to the majority of my purchases.

Aarond

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One half, pre-lock mostly p&r S&W revolvers, the other half a mix of modern pistols rifles and shotguns. Joe

I only buy guns I like.

When I was a young man, it was strictly hunting rifles. It took me awhile to figure out that i only needed a few. this was after I bought several, but only hunted with a few. I narrowed it down to:
Small Game- Winchester 9422M
Coyotes- Ruger 77 .22/250
Deer and Antelope- Ruger 77 25/06
Bear and Lion with my hounds- S&W 66 .357 magnum
Birds- Remington 870 12 ga.
When I got a little older and richer, I started shooting squirrels or Pdogs so i had to add a few fat barrels to the safe:
Remington 700s in .220 Swift, .223, .222, 6br, .243
Those are my hunting guns
Now I am an old man and I get to enjoy guns just because I like them. Winchester levers in obscure calibers, S&W revolvers, T/C Contenders. My latest is a 1885 Winchester in 35/55. I always wanted a Sharps, so maybe that will be next. I like old guns, octagon barrels, Synthetic stocks on my fat barrels, but wood on everything else. I go to a gun shop and pass right by those racks of ARs and plastic pistols. I like sniffing around to see if they have an old Winchester or two more than anything.

I used to have 60-70 guns. Anything that struck my fancy, but typically wood and steel.

I'm fortunate that at 67 I can still move well and still hunt. I've whittled the number by probably 75%. Some self defense pistols, hunting and target AR's. Bolt target rifles.

I've got a Browning BPCR in .45-90 that's never been fired. It's pretty valuable and should probably go away.