Great thread idea
It is really the depreciation issue that sets my gun hobby apart from my other hobbies. If I buy a new set of skis, whether I use them or not, in a couple of years thay are outdated and essentially worthless. If I buy a car with the intent of modifying it, every go fast goody that goes on it comes right off the resale value, whether I get to use it much or not.
But if I buy a gun, and don't have time to shoot it as much as I would like, it is worth the same amount, give or take, when I get it back out of the safe. I would never buy a gun with the idea of making a profit. I have paid more than I should have for guns that I wanted, and have gotten some good deals.
All hobbies are expensive if you do them a lot. Lift passes are expensive, and I try to reduce that cost by grabbing pre-season deals. Ammo is expensive, and I try to reduce that cost by reloading, and shooting more .22lr. Rafting and kayaking are exensive, but I try to reduce that cost by making plenty of sandwiches to take along, and drinking Pabst. Soprts cars and rockcrawlers are just plain expensive, I reduce that cost by not having those as a hobby any more...
But of all of those, my gun hobby is the only one where the major equipment investment does not depreciate. So, in that sense, where most sports equipment is a sunk cost, the cost of firearms can generally be recovered.
At least that is what I tell my significant other