Contemplating severe downsizing...

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wickedsprint

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So...would I be crazy if I wanted to offload all of my guns down to 1 handgun?

I know I enjoyed shooting the most when I was in college and only had one 1911 to feed and clean. That 1 gun was for self defense, truck duty..and woods and range plinker. I could shoot it pretty well and 1911s to this day remain the only guns I am totally comfortable taking down to EVERY small part.


I have a lot of cool guns right now but they are starting to feel more like a pain in the neck..with having to keep them all clean and stored securely and whatnot.

Luckily if I decide to go this route everything I have would sell pretty quickly.

The main argument I come up with against downsizing are any future bans might make it hard to replace it if need be.

Also, say you have a gun you really like and are placed in the crappy situation to have to use it, don't they get taken away for awhile during the investigation?

This is not a closet attempt to pilfer my guns here, I'm deployed right now so even it was, it wouldn't work :)
 
Why do you have to go to such an extreme? Just pack the guns in preserving grease, store them in the attic and forget about them until you actually need one. It will be such a pleasant surprise to one day, years later, dig out a firearm you had almost forgotten about entirely. It's not like you are not into guns anymore... right?
 
I guess I would look at your situation differently. I consider each of my guns, friends. Good friends are hard to come by. Just get rid of the ones that you dont consider friends:D



Thank you for your service.
 
From one deployed to another, I wouldn't make any such decision while being wherever it is you are. Things change, and feelings change. I know the things that feel like a burden to me I'd like to do away with. I want those things when I get out of here though. So I keep them, even though I'm here worrying about them, I'll appreciate them when I get home. Thats just me, and I'm a firm believe in "To each their own"
 
I appreciate the replies, I know lugging around and cleaning guns almost constantly here has definitely lessened my enthusiasm for owning a bunch of my own hahaha.

Even if I make the decision while here, I can't execute it until I get back, they'e locked up in a safe at home with the roomies. So it's not like I'm gonna do anything extreme.

I don't believe in excess , ie if I'm not using something at least every few days..I probably don't need it, and I definitely don't need multiples of it.
 
I personally like the idea of having one of each for whatever situation may arise. I'm not foolish enough to expect something to arise, I'm just a believer in its better to have and not need than to need and not have. You're right on the multiples though. Good luck, man.
 
if I'm not using something at least every few days..I probably don't need it, and I definitely don't need multiples of it.
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Basically, no one can decide for you. People have different values, and you can't let someone else's define yours. For example, some people want things pristine, clean, like new - their cars, their motorcycle, their guns. Others don't care, it's a tool, and they'd rather spend their time reading, hiking, or whatever buy not cleaning "gear" or having money tied up in it. So do what gives you peace of mind.

But seriously, the only caution is if you have any really collectible things, like genuine Colt pre-'80 1911s, Klackamas Kimbers, pre-lock S&Ws, pre-AE Winchester 1894s, a real Colt AR-15, etc., etc. These things will be expensive or hard to replace in the future. More pedestrian guns, no matter how nice, like production Sigs, Glocks, or current Kimbers, etc., are not going to be hard or expensive to replace.

My system the last few years is to buy a gun every month or two, try them, then sell the ones I don't really "love" or have a use for. I totally believe that if you don't really, really like the gun, no matter what others say, sure - unload it/them.

Also, say you have a gun you really like and are placed in the crappy situation to have to use it, don't they get taken away for awhile during the investigation?
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Yes, that's a reasonable expectation. I hate to say it, but I was going somewhere today where I felt the need to "go heavy" as Tony S. would say. I actually looked at the Colt in my hand, put it back in the drawer and went and got a Norinco out for that very reason. I do the same thing with revolvers - I have some nice tight, pretty blue ones that I love, and then for carry I'll take the same gun but not as nice a one in stainless with me.

I think it's wise to have at least two handguns, and stored separately. Then, if something happens - theft, loss, seizure, whatever, you aren't in the situation of having to rush out to replace it. I also like the idea of keeping a gun off-property in a good friend or family member's safe.
 
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You have to make the call for how it fits you personally.

I really, really want to get rid of about 40 or 50 rifles (don't bother PMing me about them). I have a gun cleaning rotation. Each week I HAVE TO clean about 25 to 30 guns just to get to all of them before the red rust.

I never meant for gun cleaning to become a part time job.

I don't mind handguns. They are relatively small and I can get 10 or 20 in a box and carry it out to the workshop, but rifles mean two, or maybe only one, gun per trip. Just moving them around is a major pain.

The last time I moved it took three hours just to load the rifles onto the truck.

I would welcome the opportunity to scale back, but I still want to keep all my .45 ACPs and collectible handguns and all my black rifles, my hunting rifles, my shotguns...

Aw crap!

I'll still have a lot of guns to clean!

I'm glad Hoppe's and Break Free sell that stuff by the gallon...
 
I see no problem with selling guns that you don't want, guns that you don't enjoy, guns that serve no practical purpose, or guns that you generally just don't get excited about when you handle or shoot them.

That said, I can hardly think of a gun that would fit any of those descriptors if it were in my collection.

Here's what I do:

Figure out what you really like. You seem to have done that. For me, its 1911s, practical carry guns, .22LR rifles and pistols, old S&W revolvers, modern military-styled carbines, and nice shotguns.

When I go to the range, I usually limit myself to two, MAYBE three guns; a .22, a 1911, and a carry gun.

Shoot them all, but shoot the .22 the most because I'm poor, and I have the most fun with it anyway. When I get home, I clean the carry gun, because I might have to depend on it. If I feel like it, I'll clean the other one or two. If not, I can clean them tomorrow. Or next week. As long as the guns aren't wet or filled with corrosive junk, they're fine. Nothing will happen if I leave them for a few days.

Most of the time, however, I'll take a carry gun and a .22 rifle. I'll put 500 rounds through the rifle, not touch my carry gun, have a wonderful time, and call it a day.

Cleaning guns doesn't have to take up a lot of your time. The trick is just don't get a dozen of them dirty every time you go to the range!
 
I think about downsizing sometimes. I'd get a room at a very nice hotel with a good restaurant and travel a bit more.

The downside to selling all of the firearms, ammo, furniture and whatnot is that it would be too much work. I moved my parents to assisted living/nursing 2 years ago and had to clean out their house and then sell it - too, much, work. They'd been married 63 years and had a lot of stuff.

John
 
I appreciate the replies guys. I'm down to <10 guns..but still enough that I need a safe for when I travel or am at work to feel comfortable. That safe is a 550lb monster that I have to move ever few years as well. If I just had one gun, chances are I could hide it very well when at work or out of the country without the need for a safe. I could probably free up a few grand if I offloaded the majority.

Ideal for me in a drawn down mode would be 1 basic USGI style 1911, either Colt series 80/70/O1918 etc. They're durable, reliable..and if your only gun..cheap to shoot :) Plus they are not evil in very many places law wise, so when I go to California or the like on TDYs I can easily bring it along for some shooting.

I don't own anything collectable...and the only hard one to replace cheaply would be the BHP since they have almost doubled in price if you can even find one...but I certainly don't shoot it much..so why keep it?

I do have a lot of ammo I'd have to pawn off, but that'd prolly also be easy since I'm not looking to gouge anyone when I sell stuff. I'm happy if I get close to what I have in something.

I have a few months to decide.
 
Wickedsprint, we (the better half and I) did a major downsizing a few years ago. It was the best thing we ever did!!!

We both got rid of a ton of "stuff" that was a burden to have anymore. Exsess furniture, and lots of old clothes, and stuff that would have just been a burden to our kids to clean out and get rid of if something happens to us. She sold off her doll collection she'd had since she was a little girl, her silver anitigue silverware collection, and a ton of other stuff, and I got rid of most of my guns and power tools and fishing gear. We each kept two handguns and two rifles for target shooting. We've been very active shooters for all our lives, and we even met on a pistol range 39 years ago. She kept her Smith and Wesson K22 that she had been shooting that day, also it was a gift from her dad who is no longer with us. He gave it to her for her 18th birthday. She also kept one other revolver for range and house gun duty. Of course I kept the .22 I had been shooting that day as well.

It felt like I had been set free. With only two handguns and two rifles each to worry about, the gun safe was sold off, and the guns hidden in safe places. If we travel, the guns are where no burgler will ever look, and we each take one handgun with us.

Since I gave up hunting 25 years ago, I had no need of those center fire rifles that were expensive to shoot. They all went. A .22 target rifle punches a hole just as well as a .308. I kept a basic fishing kit like I had when I was a kid, and I still catch my share.

Posessions can get to the point where they weight you down like a ball and chain. Our house is no more sparely furnished, and I don't have any trouble finding anything anymore. I don't have to make any choices of what to shoot that day. In fact, since we've got rid of most of our guns, our shooting has gotten better. No more taking 4 different handguns to the range. if I were you, I'd get rid of everything but the .45, and buy a .22 conversion for it. That will cover all your bases. Maybe have a second gun as a backup, but thats it. One of your guns shold be a .22 or have a conversion kit for your center fire.

Looking back on the past 40 something years years of buying guns I didn't really need exept for ego stroking, I regret buying most of them. I enjoy shooting now morebthan ever, with only those two handguns anf two rifles. The only upside was, that I did make money on some of them. But some T-bills would have done that as well, considering the amount of decades I had some of those guns.

Oh, the money we got for the stuff? We tossed the camping gear in the car and took a month long road trip counter clockwise around the country, going to all the places we'd put off seeing because money was a little tight raising three kids. Now as empty nesters, we had the time and money for the wifey and me to have a second honeymoon. We went to Badlands, Custer National park, Yellowstone, Brice, Grand Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, and had the time of our lives.

As for the guns I sold off? I don't miss them at all. I'm not a young man anymore, and I don't need to have the bragging rights. Nor do I read any of those gun magazines that fuel a artificially driven market. I have a couple of great guns to shoot, thats enough to keep this old fart happy. And since we're retired, we shoot twice a week, and go through a 550 round bulk box of Federals a range trip.

Go ahead and downsize. You'll feel great later. Somehow our grandfathers got by with one, soometimes two guns. It's only been in the last 25 years the latest generation with more disposable income that their parents ever had, have been so materailistic that they bury themselves with stuff they don't need.
 
Thanks for that. Sometimes I feel guilty when people thank me though since I have not sacrificed nearly as much as many I see. I have it pretty cush over here..as evidenced by my freetime to post messages :)

Mr. Levitian, you make perfect sense. I even remember when I was in college and I picked up a second 1911,I felt bogged down then too hahaha. I think simple is the way to go.
 
Carl Levitian, THAT was a great post. I've been trying to get up the nerve to do that myself. I wouldn't go to the extreme you did but I've often thought it would be nice to get down to about 10 or so guns.
Of course, if I did, I would have to stop going to these gun forums because everytime there was a thread hyping the virtues of this or that gun, I would miss mine.
One of my biggest problems is I expect to get what something is worth. If I can't sell something for close to what I paid, (assuming I got a good deal in the first place) I would just as soon let it sit on the shelf in case I might need it one day.
 
be gentle. Some guns don't take breakups very well, and will keep calling, and when you don't answer, they will come to your house to "make sure you are still alive". If any of them start exhibiting erratic behavior, be sure to notify someone immediately..

wait a minute, am I talking about guns still?

:neener:

but really, if you just like one thing then heck. do it. keep the cash in case you just have to buy a couple friends for the one, and lots of ammo.
 
Wickedsprint, we (the better half and I) did a major downsizing a few years ago. It was the best thing we ever did!!!

We both got rid of a ton of "stuff" that was a burden to have anymore. Exsess furniture, and lots of old clothes, and stuff that would have just been a burden to our kids to clean out and get rid of if something happens to us. She sold off her doll collection she'd had since she was a little girl, her silver anitigue silverware collection, and a ton of other stuff, and I got rid of most of my guns and power tools and fishing gear. We each kept two handguns and two rifles for target shooting. We've been very active shooters for all our lives, and we even met on a pistol range 39 years ago. She kept her Smith and Wesson K22 that she had been shooting that day, also it was a gift from her dad who is no longer with us. He gave it to her for her 18th birthday. She also kept one other revolver for range and house gun duty. Of course I kept the .22 I had been shooting that day as well.

It felt like I had been set free. With only two handguns and two rifles each to worry about, the gun safe was sold off, and the guns hidden in safe places. If we travel, the guns are where no burgler will ever look, and we each take one handgun with us.

Since I gave up hunting 25 years ago, I had no need of those center fire rifles that were expensive to shoot. They all went. A .22 target rifle punches a hole just as well as a .308. I kept a basic fishing kit like I had when I was a kid, and I still catch my share.

Posessions can get to the point where they weight you down like a ball and chain. Our house is no more sparely furnished, and I don't have any trouble finding anything anymore. I don't have to make any choices of what to shoot that day. In fact, since we've got rid of most of our guns, our shooting has gotten better. No more taking 4 different handguns to the range. if I were you, I'd get rid of everything but the .45, and buy a .22 conversion for it. That will cover all your bases. Maybe have a second gun as a backup, but thats it. One of your guns shold be a .22 or have a conversion kit for your center fire.

Looking back on the past 40 something years years of buying guns I didn't really need exept for ego stroking, I regret buying most of them. I enjoy shooting now morebthan ever, with only those two handguns anf two rifles. The only upside was, that I did make money on some of them. But some T-bills would have done that as well, considering the amount of decades I had some of those guns.

Oh, the money we got for the stuff? We tossed the camping gear in the car and took a month long road trip counter clockwise around the country, going to all the places we'd put off seeing because money was a little tight raising three kids. Now as empty nesters, we had the time and money for the wifey and me to have a second honeymoon. We went to Badlands, Custer National park, Yellowstone, Brice, Grand Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, and had the time of our lives.

As for the guns I sold off? I don't miss them at all. I'm not a young man anymore, and I don't need to have the bragging rights. Nor do I read any of those gun magazines that fuel a artificially driven market. I have a couple of great guns to shoot, thats enough to keep this old fart happy. And since we're retired, we shoot twice a week, and go through a 550 round bulk box of Federals a range trip.

Go ahead and downsize. You'll feel great later. Somehow our grandfathers got by with one, soometimes two guns. It's only been in the last 25 years the latest generation with more disposable income that their parents ever had, have been so materailistic that they bury themselves with stuff they don't need.
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1tylerdurden.jpg
 
The risks of downsizing are:

1. You are likely to regret selling a specific gun later when you regain in an interest in that gun or the type of shooting you would need that gun to do.

2. You might not be able to replace the gun in the future due to a change in the law.

3. The gun might still be legal to buy in the future, but you might not be able to find one for sale or might not be able to afford it if the prices go up.


Personally, I would advise against downsizing that drastically unless you absolutely have to.

Now, if there is a gun that you plain don't like, sure, get rid of it. That does happen and no reason to clutter up your safe with something you just don't enjoy shooting.

But, for the rest, you'll find your tastes and interests change and something that you are bored with now may be something you'll have great interest in the future when you "rediscover" that gun or type of shooting.

Here's another thought: Instead of "downsizing" have you thought of "upgrading?"

If you were going the "quanitity over quality" route you could start buying higher end guns that fill specific niches and sell off your current lower end guns to fund the new purchases. You'd wind up with fewer guns of better quality.

I'm talking about replacing a SKS and a WASR AK with a single good AR or replacing a Maverick 88 with a Mossberg 500. That sort of thing.

Obviously, if you already have higher end guns that doesn't apply to you, but since I don't know what kind of guns you have, I thought I'd make the suggestion.

One last thought: If you do decide to go to "just one gun" you still should *two* of that gun. A spare is a *very* nice thing to have.

Guns do break or get damaged or get stolen. If you decide on just owning a 1911 I'd say get a second 1911 as a spare and make one your primary and one your spare. Leave the spare at home most of the time, but if the primary breaks, you can use the spare until it's repaired. Or if the primary is stolen from your car or something, you still have the spare.

Another advantage of keeping a spare is that if you decide to get a .22 conversion kit for your 1911 you could put it on the spare and leave it on, more or less, all the time. That would give you a cheap to shoot .22 that handles the same as your .45. And if your .45 breaks or is stolen, just take the .22 kit off the spare gun and use it as a .45.

Keeping, storing, and moving two guns won't be any harder really then keeping just one gun.
 
Carl Levitian, THAT was a great post.
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The wife and myself have moved three times in three years. Now in reality it was moving from a house in one city to our house in another state and then back, then forth. We have downsized because we really did not want or need to hang on to so much stuff. It does make your life alot easier to deal with when you do not have so much "stuff" to keep track of and maintain.

I have also downsized on some of my toys and yes, even on my guns. But for me downsizing was a matter of getting down to the brands and styles that I liked best.

That means I am down to only certain types of pistols, but I have multiples of each.

I have hung on to a collectable or two, but rifles are gone, have one shotgun. Each person makes his own decisions, you do what you think is best and enjoy your decision.


Remember, one is none and two is one.....


But really, who can own just one 1911? :neener:
 
"Beware of the man who owns only one rifle as he likely knows how to use it"

I've been contemplating that truism for some time now. I've been wondering what is "my rifle." What would I grab if I had to go get "my rifle" and do I even know any of them well enough to be "my rifle?"

I decided to remove all doubt and my PSL-54C has become "my rifle." I see it as a poor man's M1A but just as effective. If I had to keep just one of my rifles, that would be the one.
 
Maybe you should look at a MINOR reduction first. Say 10% of your collection. So if you have 20 guns pick the two you have not shot in yrs, don't really plan to. Put everything that is ment just for them. (i.e. if wildcat caliber/you don't have anything else that uses mags/ammo include that) Then sell those. (I hate finding ammo/accessories that were made for A gun that I forgot to include in sale)
 
So...would I be crazy if I wanted to offload all of my guns down to 1 handgun?
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Yes, yes, you would. If you get down to one gun, it should be a longgun.

BUT, getting down to one handgun, one or two rifles, and one shotgun would not be overly crazy, and in fact, I'm contemplating doing so myself, and it would unburden you as some have indicated.


As an intermediate step, I'm trying to figure out how I can pare down to the following, without undue separation anxiety:

1. One .22lr rifle - all-purpose rimfire (.22lr), highly customized: Action-turnbolt. Stock-folding w/ p-grip. Barrel: 1 in 9" twist SBR (10-12"), threaded. Suppresor attached. Optimized for Aguila SSS.
2. One magnum rimfire rifle - fun range gun in .17 HMR (although this one may have to go, too)
3. Two centerfire hunting rifles: One all-purpose Non-PC hunter in .260 rem (semi-auto for both self-defense & hunting), and one for PC Hunting & very large game (turnbolt, probably in 9.3x62mm, but possibly .30-06)
4. One "special /tactical" centerfire rifle, .338 spectre, highly customized: Action-turnbolt. Stock-folding w/p-grip. Barrel- 1 in 6.5" twist SBR (12-14"), threaded. Suppressor attached.
5. One home defense shotgun (although this one and the hunting shotgun will probably be combined into one)
6. One all-purpose hunting shotgun (a 22"-24" semi-auto 12 ga probably)
7. Two concealed carry / home defense handguns (one deep concealment, and one for OWB or IWB)
8. One precision .223 for varmints and fun range shoot / noob induction
9. One fun centerfire handgun (probably a revolver in .45 colt or .454 casull)(this may have to go, too)
10. Long-range heavy precision turnbolt, probably in 6.5mm-06, but possibly 6.5-284 norma. (and this one may also have to go, in this case before I get it)
11. One pickup truck handgun (though this may have to go, too).

This gets me down to between and 8 and 13 guns, depending on the specific choices and difficulty in separating myself from. Definitely veering toward the "fewer high quality, high-familiarity" guns philosophy as I get older. Much more manageable figure.


Good thread.
 
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