Serious question ... How many is too many?

Move.

Then you will figure out how many is too many and that yes virginia there is such a thing as too much ammo.....but I digress.

As long as you are happy, can pay your bills and can safely and responsibly store them then as many as you like......

Until you have to move.

16 AR-15's is a lot. why so many of the same gun?

That answer is solely dependent upon the individual.

I would say have as many guns and as much ammo as you can afford. If you find yourself not really getting more use out of some of your guns, then by all means thin the herd a bit and possibly move on to something else that interests you more.

Wait until the next panic and then sell the ones you don't shoot for top $$$.

javjacob said:

16 AR-15's is a lot. why so many of the same gun?

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That is a really good, cool question waiting for a rational answer.

16! And you're beautiful and you're mine! Good song!

It's like having cats: 20 on the farm are just enough to keep down the mice in the grainery. 20 in the apartment makes you the crazy cat lady. Collecting and Hoarding are close relatives, collecting is fun but there's a point at which things are no longer sane.

"Too many" is when it impacts your life adversely, causes you financial distress, causes social isolation, causes you to give up your own living space for storage, and has other adverse impacts on you as a whole person.

Otherwise, it's just collecting.


Willie

(the guy with 200 Model 98 Mausers, which aren't enough...)

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If you felt driven to post the question, "Do I have too many?" then you probably do.

Its up to the individual. If you have your bills all taken care of, dont have any debt and collecting guns is your hobby then good on you. I think everyone should have the minimum for defense. Beyond that to me, things do start to be extra.

I can justify about 10 or so as a minimum for me.

Carry pistol
Home defense pistol
Carbine
Shotgun
22 rifle
Major caliber rifle
Throw in a few more an you get to 10 quickly.

Willie Sutton summed it up perfectly.

Like others have said, if you pay your bills, aren't short for cash and have room to store them then there is no problem. They've become a collection. Some collect cars, some homes, some coins and yours is guns.

I'd look at it as an investment for your retirement or to be let for your heirs. If your heirs have no interest in guns then a day will come when you should be the one to decide where they go. If they will enjoy them, keep them and think of you when they use them then you have something to pass down thru the ages after you are gone.

It seems like the hunt/build was the passion for you. Sell off some and build some more or turn the cash into the highly collectible guns that will only appreciate over time. In the end, you can set yourself up for life, if you already aren't, and you will be surrounded by American history in the mean time.

Sounds like you're never going to get like me. I can always justify another gun, find another niche in my battery unfilled. Then I bought a lady smith, and another. I'm not talking about the 38 Special from a few years back marketed to women, but the 1902 to 1920 M frame. It will chamber a modern hi-speed .22, but the modern ammunition will damage the forcing cone. Why do these diminutive little revolvers appeal to me? I'm not likely to pull one of them out of my backpack and pot a squirrel with one and thus save the day. Maybe I like to set them next to an N frame and just look. Maybe worse, if an attractive young women comes to the house and I show her a few guns, and she picks out the lady smith as the one that is cute, I shake my head sadly and recall the hoary old story(untrue) that D.B. Wesson had these little revolvers taken off the market because of their appeal to the ladies of the evening. Ruins the date, but I can't resist.

If you love them, you can't have too many. If you find one you don't love, it is trading fodder for your new love. The only thing you can do in your situation that actually qualifies as immoral would be to sell some of your guns and spend the money on actual food, gas, house payments, etc.

Too many bills----now that's a problem.
Too many firearms around you----Many wish they had this problem to deal with.

Very few individuals complain about having too much money either.

If you think you have too many, you've answered your own question.
Even museums pare down the collection when they start to have redundancy.

Get rid of some duplicates and add something unique to the collection. Quality vs. quantity perhaps?

I forget the author whose advice was to never own more than you can carry in your two hands at a dead run.

Sounds like Heinlein, but I'm not sure.

Terry, 230RN

If your bills are paid and everything's squared away.... 'Merica.

That said, if I had that many ARs, I'd sell a few, buy a huge amount of ammo, let close friends/relatives shoot them a ton, and sell the guns they fall in love with at a discount to them. Then I would buy more ammo and repeat. Once I was down to whatever I deemed I needed, I would shoot them as often as I possibly could, with all my newly armed friends and family as well.

And if you don't own or have access to some sort of private range, do that.

16 of the same gun doesn't make much sense to me, especially with a platform that's as modular as the AR. Why not just keep one and the accessories to make it into 16 configurations (or whatever minimum number works)?

You mentioned you haven't shot some of the guns in a few years. In my collection, that's grounds for selling them. I don't believe in safe queens (for me) and would rather invest or spend that money on something I can use.

I realize everyone is different, but I have multiple guns because they are different, not because they are the same. I don't see how someone can get more enjoyment out of two guns that are the same just because the barrel/color/grips, etc. are different.

Having said all that, only you can decide what is enough for you.

kimberkid said:

The thing is, I have no real reason to thin the herd and I don't know where to start, because I like them all.

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I think you answered your own question right there. If there's no reason to do something…why do it? Action without reason is simply randomness.

The exception I would make would be for hoarders…defined as people who have a legitimate mental issue that compels them to collect and keep things they simply don't need. If you have this collection because you have a hoarding issue then this is the wrong forum for your post.

No such thing as too many guns. I would rather have a little more variety in there, but.

For OP: I don't think that's something anyone can answer for another. If it is in some way harming your lifestyle, by all means sell, but it sounds like that is not the case.

There is a point of diminishing returns. The exact point will vary depending on your interests and needs. And, to an extent, the capabilities of your guns. It will also depend somewhat on what gives you personal satisfaction. You shouldn't hold onto everything just because, but you likewise shouldn't just sell stuff off for no real gain.

Sounds like Heinlein, but I'm not sure.

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It was Heinlein.

Who, incidentally, owned a house. I'd have liked to see him run with it...

Dude kimber kid that is awesome I say you can have as many as your wallet will allow now as to 16 ar's I like the design but I like all guns so I'd sell a couple to find other guns

No such thing as "too many" if you have the space and the money.

I've got some guns that I love and won't part with, and some that have absolutely no emotional attachment whatsoever and I'd sell with a half-decent offer (to put the money towards a different gun).

I am not the guy to ask. I have 31 with 5 projects waiting in the wings (three AR's, two Stens). They are not all the same firearm and I am a shooter/collector so I have things like a Star Model B Nazi contract gun that I don't shoot, Garands that are unfired and some more surplus. Then I got into building zero and 80 percent receivers, so I had to add a few more

If you don't need the money they will bring and didn't neglect basic necessities of life or go into debt to buy them, why does it matter? How many is "too many" is entirely your call and no one else's.

I've been seriously considering "thinning the herd" as it seems like I have several doubles and in some cases triples ... sort of. The thing is, I have no real reason to thin the herd and I don't know where to start, because I like them all.

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Then don't.