Do you have to 'justify' your gun purchases?

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swopjan

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So we all like guns, obviously, but we own them for different reasons. I buy what I like and want, and any suitability for hunting, defense, etc. is secondary to the 'I want it and I can afford it' aspect.

So I'm curious, what motivates you to buy or not buy? Ammo availability? Utility? Specific or unspecific collecting goals? Have your criteria affected your hobby in other ways (i.e. I like milsurps but I also want to be able to shoot them, which led to an interest in reloading)?
 
Everyone is a critic.

I have more guns than I probably need and less than I want.

Some purchases are just for fun.

It's my money, I'll spent it however I wish.
 
swopjan said:
So we all like guns, obviously, but we own them for different reasons. I buy what I like and want, and any suitability for hunting, defense, etc. is secondary to the 'I want it and I can afford it' aspect.

So I'm curious, what motivates you to buy or not buy? Ammo availability? Utility? Specific or unspecific collecting goals? Have your criteria affected your hobby in other ways (i.e. I like milsurps but I also want to be able to shoot them, which led to an interest in reloading)?
Click to expand...

No, I do not have to justify my gun purchases. I live in SC, not NC.

;)

I buy based on what I like and what I have a need for.

For example, I bought additional .22 LR rifles so that each of my family could shoot at the range without "waiting for their turn".

I bought my Colt SAA because I've always wanted a Colt SAA in .45 Colt caliber, 5.5 inch barrel, color case hardened.

Most all the guns I've bought were because I wanted the gun for some personal reason. That's about it.
 
If you are married, there is likely some sort of accord you and your wife need to make regarding each of your hobbies, discretionary spending. Otherwise, you can get what you want. Some firearms serve a purpose. Others were just because. I've stopped second guessing folks or providing negative criticism on a purchase they have made. I just congratulate,them on what they've got.
 
If I have surplus funds from a source with no specific destination, I may decide to indulge my taste for classic revolvers...if I see one that has features that I desire. I don't want safe queens, I want nicely worn but excellent mechanical specimens that I can shoot all I want without fear of decreasing the value.

Who would I justify anything to, other than myself?
 
No, I don't feel the need to justify my gun or gun accessories purchases. Like others here I buy what I want or else it's something I need.
 
Only to myself, but I've become a much harsher critic of myself when I make dumb decisions. Because as fun and interesting as guns are, there are many other demands on my resources and only so much that I can reasonably devote to this particular interest.

So as cool as it may be to own one of everything, or have a Barret .50 BMG, any reasonable measure of need or rationality tells me it's a poor allocation of those limited resources.
 
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My wife and I have a system whereby at the end of the month we split the money left in the joint checking account after all bills are paid and near term obligations are provided for. We're equal partners regardless of who makes how much money. Once [auto] deposited into the joint account, it's all "ours" equally.

She has her money, I have mine and neither of us questions what the other buys. If something is a "house" item, the house pays before the split. And from time to time each helps the other. The process is symbiotic and has worked well for many years.

So no, in our system, no justification is needed.
 
Dr.Rob said:
Everyone is a critic.

I have more guns than I probably need and less than I want.

Some purchases are just for fun.

It's my money, I'll spent it however I wish.
Click to expand...

Within the limits of available finances, this pretty much sums it up for me.
 
I've evolved over the years. I used to be a prolific gun trader. I bought, sold, and traded on a regular basis. Many times just to try something I'd never owned before. I primarily dealt with used guns and usually lost little or no money on trades, occasionally coming out ahead. After time I got better at figuring out how to not lose money than I did when I was younger.

I'm 57 now and have pretty well narrowed down what I really like and what works best for me. Over the last 10 years or so I've sold off a bunch and used the funds to upgrade the rifles I actually used with better stocks and optics. I've given a few to my adult kids too.

Most of what I currently own serves a purpose, or was passed down to me by family.
 
Always. Not to anyone else, but certainly to myself.

I have limited finances with many needs and wants. When I think about getting a new gun, I ask myself "Should I spend this money on a gun or X?" Or "If I spend this money on a gun, will I be 'better off' than if I put it towards a need?"

May it's just me, but to me, that's justifying a purchase.

(please note that when I say 'better off' my philosophy is that spending on wants makes life worth living so I may be better off because I'm happier, etc...)
 
Dr. Rob nailed it,,,

I have more guns than I probably need and less than I want.

Some purchases are just for fun.

It's my money, I'll spent it however I wish.
Click to expand...

I am a bachelor so I only have to justify it to myself (and my cats),,,
If I want it and have the disposable cash for it,,,
Then I buy it.

Aarond

.
 
I've bought and

resold guns for around 50 years. Some I have kept for one reason or the other. At one time I had around 70 rifles consisting of everything from a Model 88 German Commission Rifle up to a half dozen AR-15's. I used to do quite a bit of gunsmithing and reloading for friends and relatives but gave that up when I sold the farm which included a machine shop and moved to town. I still have around 15 rifles, 9 handguns and an old Mossberg .410. A friend of mine recently remarked that I'll probably die with a gun in my hands.
 
To no one but myself. If I really WANT it I will get it. Sometimes I do not want to pay the price a certain gun is going for. So I will wait, and hope for a deal elsewhere. Sometimes if I have some extra 'fun money', I will go ahead and splurge. Sometimes I buy on impulse.
There are many guns that might be fun, but I just cannot justify to myself the expense. Like anything in the realm of full auto, or Fifty BMG, or suppressed.
But I recently spent $500 on a nice Henry Golden Boy, simply because "I wanted it!". Nuff said. Most expensive twentytwo rifle I own, including several heavy barreled target rifles!
 
Luckily I do not have to justify my purchases. My wife and I are in a good place financially, so as long as I don't go crazy buying guns, or my financial situation doesn't change for the worse, I'm good to go. My wife is also an avid shooter. For her 31st birthday all she wanted was a new Kimber Solo and a Sparrow suppressor (obviously not for the Kimber). How can I say no to that?
 
Yes, mostly to myself. My wife and I share finances and large purchases need to be joint decisions. However, we also both have "fun money" to use for whatever we want, no questions asked.

That leaves justifying a purchase to myself. For me I don't buy something unless I'm sure I'm going to use it. When it comes to guns, it has to be something I will shoot on a regular basis. If it doesn't get used, it gets sold. I'm not a collector who owns items just to own them.
 
Nope, I just save up and buy what I want. Usually change my mind a few times in the process.
 
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