anyone here downsize their collection out of choice?

[chute2thrill]

I would love to be in the spot where some of you are. I've traded one gun so far but I dont think I could sell any! ps I'm only at 3 right now..

 

[crazy4milsurps]

I downsized due to the economy and the elections but not because I had to. I basically sold off my foreign / imported chambered stuff. Common domestic calibers ie. 30.06 and .38 are cheap, plentiful as are the components to load them. with the proceeds, I bough a chit load of ammo and reloading material.... I'm good for a while!

I learned my lesson last time when 7.62x39 disappeared and when it did trickle it it came with a 100% mark up. To me, there is no reason to own a gun that you can't shoot as often as you want.

I do indeed miss my SKS, Enfields and Mosin but people are already being subjected to price increases and back orders. Thank goodness I can avoid that stress this time around.

 

[RhinoDefense]

.22 rifle
.223 rifle
9mm handgun
10mm handgun
45 ACP handgun
20ga shotgun

That's what I got down to when I decided to downsize a ~200 gun collection down to my favorites. Covers everything, though I could get rid of the 9mm and 45 ACP and do everything I need with the 10mm.

 

[wrs840]

I just get rid of the ones I decide just don't perform as I had hoped, in my hands anyway...

I usually buy used, and tend to buy a little more than I sell, so the inventory slowly grows rather than shrinks.

Same goes for guitars, tractors, and raggedy old trucks. My bride of 28 years doesn't complain, she understands the attraction, and recognizes that what I sell usually brings as much or more than I paid for it.

 

[22-rimfire]

Thinning the herd has crossed my mind from time to time. But the pile keeps getting larger, even this year. Eventually I will force myself to sell off some stuff.

I got rid of most of the stuff I didn't really want or want to shoot already. But the bottom line is the herd keeps growing.

 

[Wildbillz]

I have been working on a list of what to keep and what to get rid of for the last year. I figured while I am overseas I will try to make up my mind on what I want to hang onto and what I no longer need. So come Aug or Sep wach for some good adds.

I actuly start this prior to my deployment. I started selling off some of my exess stuff cause I couldn't find somthing I know I have in the gun room somewere. To many boxs of parts, mags and accesorys.

My plan is to try and keep the quality ones that I like and sell off most anything I have doubles on. I have done it before and will most likly do it again and agin. Sold everything but my Colt Goverment model and the handmedowns from Dad when I bought my first house. Built it back up from there.


WB

 

[kimberkid]

Yep ... In 2000 I used GunBroker to sell my HK 91, 93, 94, SP-89 and USP Match to start a collage fund for my newborn daughter ... Unfortunately, for the last several years the value of those 5 guns is worth more than collage fund

In 2007 I used GunBroker again and sold 30 guns to buy a sports car ... It was my first and only brand new car ... $27K ... and i really wanted it. Now, 5 years old with 14K miles on it, its worth about $10K less. I knew the car would depreciate but I have, and still am enjoying the heck out of it.



I've been thinking about thinning the hurd again, but looking at the economy I think my guns will keep up with inflation better than cash ... So I may just buy a bigger, or another safe.

 

[glassman]

Over the years, I have sold a few guns and have sellers remorse over only one of them. Recently, I sold off several guns that I didn't shoot to finance the purchase of a new trap gun. I still have a couple of safe queens but have pared my collection down to 'quality over quanity'.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

yeah, but mostly for spiritual reasons.
I don't need a pile of guns around just taking up space and providing something for me to be attached.
I simplified and got rid of a bunch of stuff.
The message in the community and in the gun rags is to have as much stuff as possible. I went the other way.

 

[joed]

I downsized by about 2/3 of what I had. Don't miss a thing either as I find I'm happier with less. I had more S&W revolvers then you could count, not anymore. Just kept enough to enjoy. Rifles, had plenty in different cartridges and calibers. Simplified things by getting rid of 1/2 of them.

To be honest I could downsize more yet, there are guns I never shoot in the safe. For instance, a Ruger Red Label All Weather O/U. Beautiful shotgun, only Ruger I ever liked. Bought it for trap shooting, something I don't do anymore. I'm not a fan of shotguns with long barrels. This will be the next gun that leaves if I can get what I paid for it back.

I'll sell my collection not give it away.

 

[texgunner]

I sold 11 guns out of my collection last summer. I may sell a few more this summer. I did an inventory of my collection and thought, "this is ridiculous! " So I pared it down.

 

[dragon813gt]

Every time I sell a centerfire I end up with a new rimfire in .22lr. Collection hasn't shrunk it's easier to manage ammo.


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[valnar]

I think we're missing the most important point of this thread.

MIgunguy, whatcha got for sale?

 

[Fishslayer]

...and not out of necessity? Along of the lines of "less is more" and "keep the best, sell the rest" I'm thinking of selling off at least 2/3's of my collection. Anyone here do the same and care to share their thoughts? Any regrets?

If you're going to offload some now is the time to do it.

I did decide to sell a 9mm recently. Unfortunately the shop had an unissued Polish M44 MoNag for about what I was gonna get for the pistol, soooo....

 

[SimplyChad]

Nope still young and stupid. Ill help yall clean up yalls collections tho

 

[Shoobee]

About 12 years ago, I downsized everything to nothing, in order to get into scuba diving, which then took up all my free time for the next 10 years. Then I got rid of all my scuba gear, and with the proceeds have been rebuilding my gun inventory again.

First purchase, a new gunsafe, the Liberty Centurion, their smallest.

Next purchase, a Mossberg model 590, no sport plug.

Then a Remington model 700 in .300 RUM for hunting anywhere in North America.

Then a Smith & Wesson model 29 as a backup.

Then a CZ 97B 45ACP as a back up to the shotgun.

Next I will likely get a .22LR revolver and rifle, for small game. The revolver would be for backpack trips, and the rifle for non-backpacking hunting trips.

I cannot imagine needing anything else.

 

[Elkins45]

One thing I have been doing is systematically replacing my right handed rifles with ones in left hand. Life's too short to put up with guns not designed to fit me. Of course that doesn't apply to guns that belonged tomy dad. Those are the only ones I'm absolutely committed to keeping.

 

[Fishslayer]

I cannot imagine needing anything else.

Give it time....

 

[AFDavis11]

I did this year too. I discovered I could trade in two guns I no longer wanted for ANY single new shiny cool gun I wanted. Its been exciting!

 

[Flash!]

in the last year, I sold several guns that I no longer shoot just to get money to get new guns...

But now I'm thinking about selling more guns I don't shoot just to use the money for other hobbies..... its interesting how priorities change as life progresses.....

 

[Carl Levitian]

There was one other factor I had thought of as I sold of guns. If I had to evacuate for sone reason, I'd have needed a spare truck for just the guns. It had got to a ridiculous point. Now I can fit everything in one large duffle bag. No sense having more guns than I ca run with.

Carl.

 

[Ryanxia]

I think it's the circle of life for us collectors, I'm sure one day I'll probably do the same, but for now I'm still growing the collection.

 

[gym]

When my uncle told me 20 years ago he was selling off most all of his guns, I should have picked up then that he was ill. Being a gunsmith and cometitor you just don't wake up one day and decide t sell guns that you spent years on. But since then he passed from altzimers, he knew he was at the on set. Anyway with a bad back and the limited mobility, I subconsiouslly more than conciouslly have reduced mine to 5 hand guns and a rifle. I'll stay at this level, as long as I can still get around as well as a normal guy, just more pain.But unless you have kids or grandkids who shoot there isn't much else you can do with them when you can't enjoy them. In my family there are no other shooters, more anti gun people than anything else.Very old,- 90's and the younger ones, step son and step daughter live in states that you can't carry and don't like guns have girls, and would never accept a gun in their house. So I may as well keep the ones I have while I can still use them. My shooting buddies are long gun guys for the most part. they believe a pistol is just a means to get to a rifle.

 

[minutemen1776]

About a year and a half ago, I had about a dozen fairly nice WW2 rifles representing the arms of nine different nations. Though I enjoyed building the collection, I eventually did very little with them. One night, I pulled them all out of the gun safe, and I then realized that many of them were becoming rusty while not being used. I knew I'd either have to devote the time to keeping up my collection, or else I'd need to part with it. I have since sold all but three of those rifles, and I don't regret doing so. I've also consolidated a few other areas of my overall collection and have used the proceeds to buy a couple of firearms that I really wanted. I enjoy what I have more now, and I can actually navigate through the gun safe due to the extra space that's there.

 

[Old krow]

...and not out of necessity? Along of the lines of "less is more" and "keep the best, sell the rest" I'm thinking of selling off at least 2/3's of my collection. Anyone here do the same and care to share their thoughts? Any regrets?

I suppose it would depend on how big the collection was. 2/3rds of 9 isn't a lot of guns. 2/3rds or 300 is a lot of guns.

It doesn't bother me to do it with handguns. I've already sold some and I will probably sell even more. I don't own any hand guns with any sentimental attachments, so I've never really sold one that I regretted. There's a number that I have in my head that I feel pretty comfortable with and that's about where I'll try and get to. So far it hasn't bothered me any and I've been selling and rearranging for a couple years now.