Are guns impulse buys?

[desert gator]

I am getting ready to purchase my first gun. This has been a dream of mine for years. Growing up I wanted to be able to have a gun and my parents said no. After high school I started college and did not get around to it. I got married and my wife said no to guns, than we got divorced No parents around, no wife around. I ran to my local gun shop and signed up for hunters safety, my ccw, and pistol safety classes.

As I have been talking to people I cant believe how many people have a gun, and other than when they first bought it never shoot it or do anything with it. My best friends dad tells me he has a 9mm that is up in the closet and its been a good ten years since he last got it down. I look through the local gun ads and 1/3 of the guns for sale where purchased with in the last month. People say I bought this gun two weeks ago but have decided that I dont want/need it, or I bought this gun ten years ago, shot it once and never touched it again.

The responsibilty of owning a gun, and the cost of buying one is huge, I am dumb founded that so many people appear to buy one on an impulse with out putting any though, research or study into it.

 

[shootistpd27]

Of coure they are. Most folks dont know that they can have a gun but when something bad happens to them or to someone in the papers they begin to investigate the legality of weapons ownership. They go to the gun store, buy the pretties or biggest gun on the counter that they can afford, then spend a couple of days finding out that its too much responsibilty to have to remove it when kids are around, worrying that it will be stolen, then it goes in a box or the classifieds for immediate sale at a loss.

 

[Carl]

Both times going to Cabela's I had no intention of buying anything. First time I came back with a Winchester model 94 in .30-30 made in 1951. Next time I came home with a Winchester model 12, 28" barrel full choke 12 gauge. Then the last time I went there, my girlfriend had to talk me out of buying a Winchester model 1886 in .45-70. Yeah, I like Winchester.

 

[Gamera]

Ammo is usually an impulse buy for me, that's why I have to limit my "window shopping" trips to the gun store.

 

[RP88]

one time, I saw this Mosin-Nagant, and I wanted it. The end.

 

[lechiffre]

just about all of my gun purchases are impulse buys.

 

[desert gator]

lol...sometimes its good to have a lady to keep us in check. At least you guys have experience and buy on impulse. I get the impression that allot of people have no experience or knowledge of guns, go to the cabelas grand opening even though they have never owned or have use for anything cabelas sales, then they walk out with a gun

 

[PT1911]

for many people it is... they are driving home listening to the radio and hear about someone getting robbed or assaulted or murdered.... OH NO... I NEED A GUN.. then they run into the gun shop they pass every day, buy the first thing the shop owner plops into their hand and run out the door feeling safe (having never realized that they have never held, fired, or seen a gun fired. only when they get home to they realize theydont know what a .40 caliber means. give it a week and the gun becomes less comforting to them and more or a scary thing that may be taken away and used on them.

the problem is that such people have a justified intention for purchasing a gun (personal defense) but do not give the process enough thought as to what gun would be best for them and so on.. similarly, when they get the gun, they may purchase a single box of ammo for the "just in case moment" and never take the gun out for a shoot. :banghead:

all that said, I have allowed myself to think, for at least a few days, on nearly every gun i own, I then shot it the same day if possible, no later than the following day.

 

[conw]

I didn't really buy either of my guns on impulse, but I can see how someone with cash to spend would be compelled to buy a pawn shop gun at half price, etc. Spending beyond your means, even on a great deal, is stupid...and I don't see the reason for going out and getting a bunch of similar guns that fill the same niche whether you can afford them or not, but that's a personal choice.

 

[SpecialKalltheway]

If it wasn't for my girl I'd have a lot more guns. It's like a kid asking his mom "can I?" she always replies "it's your money you can do what ever you want with it." and I'm like "hell yeah! New gun!" then the but comes "but you know we want to have children soon, a bigger house, take that trip to (where ever we are going)... and those things cost money too."

 

[hso]

I wouldn't classify them as "impulse buys" like the magazine or candy bar rack at the checkout, but most folks don't exhaustively research their purchases like we do at THR.

 

[testify4]

I think about what I want to buy for a good while before I purchase it. I do get a little giddy sometimes when I see a new pistol or rifle I have always wanted, but slowly back away from the counter to think about it. I spend way too much time checking prices, reviews and range reports before I start the paperwork.

I can see how it's completely different for collectors, though. (I collect guitars. I can only play one at a time, but it seems like a great idea to have more and more! I have to turn my head away when I pass by music store windows.)

 

[RX-178]

I would impulse buy any gun costing less than a week's paycheck if I didn't have a... *drum roll* A SYSTEM!

I'm constantly surfing thehighroad, gunbroker, budsgunshop, midwayusa, and all the other great places. When I find something interesting that I would want, I put it on... *drum roll* THE LIST!

It's just a notepad file where I list my gun-related priorities in order from most important, to least important. The items do get shuffled around periodically, and the current demand and low supply for certain weapons has made the list less of an effective tool than in the past. (Lord knows I wish I bought my AR-15 lower for the 5.7mm upper more than 5 months ago)

But still, it keeps me from stocking up on Hi Points, Nagants, NEFs and Mavericks, and helped me save up for things like my XCR.

And DEFINITELY helped me keep my focus on certain accessories. If I hadn't had my list, my HD pistol probably would still lack that TLR-2 light/laser. And I might not even have an IWB holster yet.

All I do is, when I find something I know I'm going to want to buy, I put it down on the list. Assign a category prefix. Put the listed price on the website I found it on (if applicable), and copy the URL down on the entry as well. Then I give it a place in the priorities list.

My current priority is a couple hundred .45 ACP 230gr JHP bullets.

 

[Carl]

My CCW piece will definitely not be a spontaneous purchase. Right now my biggest interest is in a Ruger GP-100. I'm an old fashion guy however, so maybe my semi-auto choice might be an old Walther, perhaps a P38 or a PPK variant. I like guns with a history.

 

[jnyork]

I ran to my local gun shop and signed up for hunters safety, my ccw, and pistol safety classes

Good for you, I wish all new (and some not-so-new) gunowners would do the same thing, at our range I see too many people with guns that have never had even 30 seconds of training. Mighty scary.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. In the majority of cases by most people, no. In my case, often yes - unfortunately, since it throws me off track from my specific written list.

 

[DHJenkins]

I only buy on impulse if it's a real steal, otherwise I'm usually looking for something specific.

 

[Deanimator]

It can be. My High Standard Citation was an impulse buy, and one the smartest purchases I ever made. Probably paid $100 too much for it, but it got me to Master in the local league and is probably the most accurate handgun I own.

 

[CoRoMo]

The answer here is the same with most questions...

Sometimes.


I think some of my buys could be considered made on impulse. I found what I was looking and saving for sooner than I had expected. I found it in a place I didn't intend to find it and at a price that was shockingly pleasant. On that impulse, I bought it.

 

[Zach S]

These were.

 

[Ed4032]

My wife left me at Gander Mountain once for too long. I told her that the Kimber I came home with was one that I needed. She won't let me go to the store with out supervision now.

 

[f4t9r]

I have done it that way before. Some regrets but to few to mention.

 

[ambush]

Walked in to buy some .22LR last friday night. Walked out with 1600 rds and an SKS (yugo, very good condition, $150). I'd been looking for another on for some time and got lucky, so I wouldn't call that impulse. I'd call it lucky that I had some extra cash on me.

 

[Bill2e]

Yes & no, I would not say impluse, but I have walked into a gun store to buy a boax of ammo and wlak out with a Firearm I did not intend to buy that day. However the gun was one the was "on the List" well researched and at about half the price of the other one that I was looking at (Same Model, different store)

So I guess you could say it was a well researched impluse.

 

[Claude Clay]

i'll research just about all of them and about 1/2 are ones that i did not know i needed till i saw them.