Does every gun you own have a reason to justify its purchase?

Hokkmike said:
I would think the ideal compliment for a "minimalist" shooter would consists of a hunting rifle, home defense gun, shotgun, cc weapon, and a .22 of some kind. That is just about where I am. I
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You are correct, however you should add a gun for the following subcategories of your list.

Hunting Rifle
Varmint rifle
Deer rifle​
Home Defense
HD handgun
HD rifle​
Shotgun
Skeet/Hunting shooting
Tactical HD shotgun​
Concealed carry
Sub compact for casual
Compact for everyday​
22LR
Rifle
Pistol
​
Range toys
AR rifle
AR Pistol
AK Rifle
AK Pistol
Full-size Pistol
Revolver 357 mag/38 special
Lever action 22lr/30-30
Mosin Nagant
​
see how easy the collection grows from 5 guns to over 15 guns but you are right, at the bare minimum everyone should 5 guns. My 5 pics

Bolt action in 308
Semiauto in 556/7.62x39
12ga shotgun
9mm Handgun
And 22rl rifle/pistol
 
I will freely admit that I hate spending money on anything except reading materials.

That said, as long as my financial obligations are met first, the only justification I need is "I want it."

If I had to justify every gun I bought, I wouldn't be able to justify more than half a dozen. And half a dozen is four more than I'm realistically able to have in my possession at any given time.
 
Most of mine are "I wanted them". Some will only leave after I do, others will go away. I have 3 levels of ownership. Ones I love, ones I really like, and ones I don't care about anymore for whatever reason. Those go away if I get any decent offer, or I need quick cash. I'm at the point financially where I'm probably not going to need to sell any of them because I need money. I'm about a year from being out of debt completely, if I can control myself.
 
Hokkmike said:
A lot of people say that firearms are like tools. I kind of agree. I am not rich enough to have guns just to have guns.

If, after time, I see one that is not getting use or seem to have a purpose then I think about trading or selling it. I will admit that this is probably not a good trait.

I would think the ideal compliment for a "minimalist" shooter would consists of a hunting rifle, home defense gun, shotgun, cc weapon, and a .22 of some kind. That is just about where I am....
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This is just about where I am. I don't have enough disposable income to go out and buy guns just to have guns. I don't have a huge collection, though I suspect that in some areas, what I do have would be considered an arsenal. :D With that said, the overwhelming majority of what I do own was acquired (sometimes purchased, sometimes some good, old-fashioned horse-trading) was done with a specific purpose in mind. Sometimes that specific purpose might seem frivolous, like "I want a good plinker," but that was (obviously) good enough for me. I do own a handful of guns that I got just because I wanted them, but they're the exception rather than the rule.

In addition to the expense, I frankly don't want a bunch of guns I don't shoot. I'd rather have a few guns that I enjoy shooting and shoot a lot than a whole lot of them that just sit in the safe. I enjoy shooting. I'm a terrible collector.

jmr40 said:
....My kids are grown now and they each got a Smith revolver, a 1911, a Marlin 336, a Remington 870, a Glock, and a Ruger 10/22 when they bought their own home and were no longer renting.....
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That strikes me as an almost-perfect 'starter stable.' It has at least one good gun for almost every possible need. :thumbup:
 
sarduy said:
see how easy the collection grows from 5 guns to over 15 guns
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Absolutely, and as I said - my wife likes guns, hunting and shooting as much as I do, and she carries. So our "collection" easily grew to over 30.
We're simply out of room in this house for more guns and guns safes, and at out respective ages, we're not about to buy another, bigger house.
We like the house we have now even if it is small, and one of the best things about it is it's not mortgaged anymore - which means we have more disposable income, which means we can buy more guns, which means.......:D:D:D
 
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I am no longer and have not been for some time an accumulator of firearms. In my younger days yes, but now past the midpoint of my seventh decade not that much if at all.
 
Does every gun you own have a reason to justify its purchase?

...at the moment , yes . This wasn't always the case.

.270 Win, BSA Monarch. The all purpose hunting rifle. It will stabilize 160gr round nose to 110gr varmint rounds. I have two cast boolit loads as well.

FN-FAL , This is an all purpose zombie apocalypse rifle and impractical .308 deer rifle.
Basically a 50.61 , full length, mid contour, para, built on a DSA receiver with a collection of 922r and home machined parts. In short a Franken-Fal.

Ser. 70 Colt 1911 .45 ACP . Cary and home defense.

FEG-P9R & P35-Hi Power (Browning). I'm lumping these in one holster (/sarc) because the patterns are similar. Other than the FEG being the bastard offspring of a Browning and a S&W 59 they are some what similar. The FEG was acquired because a contract precluded condition one carry. I'm not a fan of the crunch and ticker but it has not failed me , yet. It's unfortunate that the magazines are not a direct swap and require a bit of conscious segregation.

The rest (short of admitting to a small armory) have no purpose other than to collect dust and expend ammunition for no better reason than to experience recoil and endless cleaning afterwards.

Doesn't answer the question ?
Does it require an answer?
 
Ok, let me go thru them...
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Gotta get a beer...
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes...hunting
No
No
No
No
Yes...Grail list
No
Yes...Cheap price
No
No
No
Done
 
Justification ... Surely you jest !

Unless " I wanted it " or "it was passed down from my Dad / Grandad" is considered Justification .
One thing I'm not is a collector ... I hunt and target shoot ... the guns are what I use to get the job done .
Gary
 
DM~ said:
Yeaaa, it's called "I wanted them"...

DM
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I own a couple "too cheap to pass up" guns. I bought a pair of Turkish Mausers back in the 90's for $40 for the pair. Some day I will sell them and get my $40 back! I never really liked the Mossin Nagants but at $39 I figured I better own one of them.

But the majority are "I wanted them" guns.

I got over the whole "They need to have a purpose" thing before I bought my first gun.
 
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My first few guns were bought to fill a specific role.

After that, no. It’s been purely about what I find interesting.
 
My only real justification is that I like the gun and the price or trade is good enough that I can sell the gun if I get bored with it and not lose money. Normally I know within 6 months if it's a keeper or not and get rid of it pretty quickly at that point, to date on 4 I've broken even, on 3 I've lost a total of $285, and on 7 I've made a total of $780 so I'm a little ahead. This is over 18 years so some inflation comes into play on the raw numbers. I just like trying out different guns so this is a hobby, I'm no horse trader.
 
Every one of mine does. The best reason of all...I wanted it, bought it, keep it, shoot it.
 
It's too much work to justify a firearm. Or a Jeep. Or a cat. Or a dog. Or a cheeseburger. Or a pair of warm slippers. Or a workbench. Or a rootbeer float. Or a recliner. Or a book. Or another case of ammo. Or a chocolate chip cookie. Or a hug from your child.

So I don't and enjoy each in their turn.
 
Yes. I hate wasting money on shelf queens.

For example, I can't find an excuse for a commander 1911 as long as my Glock 23.4 outperforms them. I can find an excuse for a fullsize 1911 though. (Thinnest fullsize ccw)

It's hard to justify some of my AR's. But each has it's niche.

Sold all of my precision and long range stuff. Just one 5-20x scope remains.
 
I just bought another one, and I counted the reasons, I wanted one, been looking for one to be In stock so I could handle it to see how it compared to its bigger brother, I was Already in the store, they had one in stock, it felt good in my hand, the price was right, i had the money in my fun account, wife said if you want it get it (I love that woman) I bought it and brought it home.

8 good reasons in my book

d
 
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