Developing balance in your collection?

[10-Ring]

Do you buy guns to shape your collection? You know, maybe a wheelgun here & there or a 45 acp to even out your semi auto pistols, or maybe a polygun because you already have a steel & aluminum framed pistol?
I aske because I notice I'm looking to round out my HK's w/ another 9mm of some kind to even things out a bit or maybe another long gun since I'm so handgun heavy.....

 

[tbtrout]

I wanted to go from - light guns to teach on, medium guns to have fun with and get the most use ,to heavy, costs more to shoot, hurts more to shoot but manly. Once I got that, it is whatever I get an itch for. Right now I am looking into a Ruger Blackhawk. The big decision is, what caliber? And I want a .223 bolt action, but first I have to sell the 9mm.

 

[Valkman]

Not me, I buy what I feel like at the time and it's worked out pretty well. Saying I need more plastic guns because I have 1 XD and 6 1911's would not work as I'd wind up with guns I don't want and don't shoot.

 

[Cuda]

Not I.. I get what seems like a good fit and good buy..

C

 

[crashm1]

Ooh -Oh look a shiny thing

That seem's to be my approach for the most part although I'm starting to get more selective of late. I need another AR after foolishly selling the one I had and a 30-30 just because everyone should have a lever gun and I do need to get rid of a rifle or two. The revolvers I buy end up being my wifes for some reason which is really pretty okay with me 'cause I'm more a semi kinda guy. I just got a Browning Buckmark today and am trying to decide whether or not to buy a prewar High Power, I have no idea what I would do with it because I think modifying it into a SD pistol could get me shot and I'm not much for safe queens. So no not much balance but I do have some guns I shoot well and enjoy.

 

[MikeWSC]

Well couple of standard jokes between my buddy (he's passed away ) and I was "I'll buy one if you buy one" and if it came home, "Well... it was in my hands" .
Got a bunch of different guns on those occasions!!! Love em all.

Mike

 

[MrDig]

Are we talking Functional or Collecting for the sake of Collecting? For me a functional gun collection would be significantly smaller than an Educational / Historical collection.
A well rounded funtional collection would have a 9mm and a .45 ACP Pistol,
a .22, .357, 44mag Revolver. rifles in .22, 308, 30-06, and one carbine to go with one of the Revolver, and one of the Pistol calibers. Last but not least 1 12ga. Pump Shotgun.
A historical collection would start a bag of worms I don't want to get into.

 

[HPJeep]

I agree with MDig. I have everything from large caliber rifles and handguns to small calibers of both. A friend borrowed my .243 bolt gun and I was asked at the last minute to go deer hunting. Had to resort to the .45 Colt lever gun. Deer went down just fine with the pistol caliber gun. Round out the collection for every possible use! Just like one vehicle will not be the best at everything. Same thing with guns. That is why I have three vehicles and numerous guns!

 

[Werewolf]

Hmmm... Collection? I've got 17 firearms and though some might call that a collection - I wouldn't. Seems to me a collection should ought'a be based around a theme - can there be balance in a themed collection? Define balance.

Me - I just buy what ever strikes my fancy when ever my fancy gets struck. So far my fancy has been pretty well stuck in contemporary times so my collection has pistols, revolvers, rifles and a shotgun from various manufacturers and in various calibers. I suppose it's a bit balanced - maybe.

Lately though I've had a hanker'n for a civil war replica rifle - not the real thing mind you; I don't want to pay the high dollar price attached to such. A functional replica that I can load up with black powder, a minie ball, blast away and enjoy all the smoke would do me just fine. If I get one of them will I have to start a new collection or will that just throw my current one all out'a whack?

 

[svtruth]

I generally

buy guns I think will be fun to shoot.
A lever action in .357
A 45-70
A .45 revolver
are all on the "to get" list.

 

[10 Ring Tao]

Its all about filling niches for me. Each is bought for a purpose, some kind of shooting I enjoy or a job that needs an appropriate tool.

-.22 rifles and pistols for cheap plinking and teaching newbies
-his and hers nice semiauto clays guns
-carry guns - hicap midsize 9mm for trips to detroit, small 9mm single stack for summer IWB, .380 mousegun for pocket
-Sport Ultility Rifle in midrange and large calibers, ie. 7.62x39 and .308
-HD pump shotty
-Long range scoped rifle

The joy of this system is that a new purchase is only a single justification of a new niche away.

 

[ZeSpectre]

My gun "collection" is pretty much defined by.

-Cowboy Action Shooting (Fun/challenge)
-Hunting (if I chose to go hunting or suddenly needed to)
-Self defense (trying to have a few appropriate options on hand)
And finally the "Wow I really like the way this shoots" award going to a CZ-52 which I have absolutely no practical reason to own but dearly loved from the first round I sent downrange.

My friend is a pretty hard core collector and can't believe that I plan on one or two more guns and that's pretty much it

 

[tinygnat219]

My collection is centered around shiny things.

 

[ZeSpectre]

TinyGnat lies! I know, I've seen his collection. It centers around COSMOLINE...lots and LOTS of cosmoline!!!!

 

[woolfam]

I buy / don't buy based mostly on what I need. I have a Buckmark for targets and trigger time, and a Taurus for carry. I have a 9mm Ruger semi-auto and a Remington 870 (plain w/ 18" bbl) for HD. And I have a Hi-Point carbine w/ and ATI stock for fun. The only thing I don't have is a hunting rifle, but then again, I don't hunt.

I've thought about getting something else, but I always come back to... what do I need that I don't have? The money I could spend on another gun always seems to be better spent on ammo and range time.

There are other things that might be fun to have, but anything else would seem to be redundant. I remind myself that what I enjoy is shooting / cleaning / reloading. While getting new guns is fun, I believe there is a danger in always wanting to have more / something else.

 

[tinygnat219]

Cosmoline is great for the skin.

 

[CannibalCrowley]

My collection naturally rounds itself out through my preference for having a little bit of everything.

 

[03Shadowbob]

I find myself buying guns that fill niche needs. I now need a 22/45, 10/22, Saiga or SKS .223, sXs 12 ga, a .45 I will shoot and carry, etc..
I first got back into guns for deer hunting so got a 30/06 and 30-30. Then got a bird gun, then a HD 870, then got into handguns again. I'd like to add a couple guns for shooting fun like the SKS.

 

[Majic]

I collect what appeals to me. I see no need in buying something just because I don't have something like it.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

Not me. For me it's mostly handguns. I did buy the AR15 because the SAR-48 looked lonely, though.

And I do think I need more 9 and 10mm.

 

[Geno]

Defense & Sporting

For me, there are four catergories regarding utility:

1 & 2: defense pistol and defense rifle
3 & 4: sport rilfe and sport pistol

I sought out cartriedges and formats of firearms that are readily available, and never anything exotic or even moderately uncommon.

My major collection contains 9MM, .45 ACP, .380 ACP, .22LR, 5.56, 7.62, .300 Win. Mag, and 12 gauge. My basics formats of firearms are 1911s, Glocks, BHP, AR, 870 and a Mark V. Of course I have the orther odds and ends such as a muzzleload, but I have sought out very utilitarian firearms. No safe queens in this house. And for what it is worth, I now have every firearm that I could possibly ever "need". There are about 3 or possibly 4 that I would like.

However, at this point, I feel no burning compulsion to deny my family's needs to fulfill my personal trivial desires.

Great thread! Thanks!

Doc2005

 

[mrmeval]

If my collection is unbalanced I'd buy another gun until it was balanced. They should make them in standard weights cause I have so many my balance scale needs to be bigger.

 

[Ala Dan]

The balancing act of a firearms inventory is a very tricky business~!

You see pieces that you need all the time; but whether or not they are
the right pieces too the firearms puzzle remains to be seen~?

 

[HammerBite]

I seem to be interested in the historical and evolutional aspects of how firearms function. One thread in my accumulation can be summarized as follows:

• Walther PP, ca. 1929. First commercially viable DA/SA semi-auto. Anticipates need to decock with a decocking safety.
• Mauser HSc, ca. 1937. Same idea, different implementation. Looks sexier than the PP.
• Walther P38, ca. 1938. First military adoption of DA/SA semi-auto. Breech locking system a precursor to Beretta 92.
• Smith & Wesson 39, ca. 1955. DA/SA semi-auto comes to the United States.
• Smith & Wesson 59, ca. 1970. Same thing with double-column magazine.
• SIG-Sauer P220, ca. 1970. Decocks to hammer safety notch instead of relying on firing-pin isolation. Eliminates redundant safety feature with spring-return decocker.

I don't claim to have put together an authoratative timeline of firearms development, but I have had fun with what I've done, and that is enough.

Other threads in my accumulation are: target pistols that I have competed with; defense pistols that I practice with a lot; comparison of Smith & Wesson, Colt and Ruger revolver designs; mouseguns and paperweights; and guns that are just plain pretty to look at.

Notice that I have avoided the use of the word "collection." Collections are put together by scholars. I'm just having fun goofing off.

 

[wizard of oz]

i think balance means owning at least one of each of the following:

shotgun, .22 handgun, centrefire handgun, .22 rifle, centrefire rifle.

after that, you can throw balance out the window.