Gun Addiction

[The Swede]

Lately I've been thinking I may have a problem. I probably own too many guns for my own good, yet I browse the internet constantly for deals or the next new thing. I spend way too much money on them, and never feel satisfied with my current collection. When I get something new I feel like a little kid on Christmas, this quickly wears off and on the hunt again. I think I need a new less expensive hobby. I'm not sure I've found anything quite as satisfying. Do you all have the same problem. I think I am way too impulsive. Any psychiatrists out there willing to help with my addiction J/K...I think-

 

[U.S.SFC_RET]

If you are feeling too guilty then sell them off and give the money to charity.

 

[RNB65]

Actually, you've described a real problem. You don't have a gun addiction, you have an internet addiction. There's so much information available on the internet that folks often get worked into a frenzy looking for new and interesting things. Combine that frenzy with a hobby that they're passionate about and things can get a little out of hand.

The best way to deal with it is to go cold turkey occasionally. Take a vacation and leave your computer at home. Or at least turn it off and stay away from it for a day or three. About once a month I travel out of state to visit my parents and I usually go without the internet for several days. After the first day, you won't even miss it.
-

 

[moewadle]

You have taken the first good step

by admitting to yourself, and to us, that you have a problem, or at least believe you have a problem. I know a little about compulsive behaviors and addictions because, until 27 years ago, I had an alcohol addiction commonly called alcoholism. I am also rather compulsive and become impatient and too preoccupied with things that interest me and that I want. Right now I want a certain model of gun and cannot afford to buy it for about 6 months but I am sort of obsessing about it. Maybe I have not helped you much but it is very good that you are doing a self-examination of your behavior. I have no credentials with which to tell you why you doing this. I will say that I think perhaps you love guns and that is an escape from the more mundane and boring things in your life....like having to get up and go to work everyday. So, one suggestion I would have is to somehow channel your interest in guns someway that does not include compulsively looking to buy. Perhaps you could do more reading on the history of guns. You could somehow volunteer to work with youth or newbie adults in learning to shoot.

Also, think about other interests you might have. And, take a look at your personal relationships, if you are married or have an intimate partner are you spending enough quality time with that person. Do you have children who need more attention. Are you being too wrapped up in what you want at the expense of others. What about your goals in life? For seven years I worked a very, very boring job on a truck dock. It paid well but I hated it. I finally went back to college and got out of that laborer job. I was much, much happier for doing that. When I was working that job life was pretty miserable for me and things were not the best in the marriage at the time (we are divorced 28 years) and I had this feeling that my life was going nowhere. I was collecting coins at the time and I did with coins what you are doing with guns. Maybe you get the idea and I am getting too wordy. Hope I have given you some clues. If you believe in God then pray for guidance and help.

 

[41magsnub]

I'm with RNB65, unplug for a while. Take a couple of your favorite guns and people into the mountains for a few days and shoot until it isn't fun anymore. Oh.. IL.. do you guys have mountains? You know what I mean anyway.

 

[The Swede]

Good suggestions here...RNB65 I think you are right about the internet addiction. I've been picking of novels lately, it seems to keep me off the internet. It's crazy sometimes cause I'll here something on the news or on the radio or I'll here something from a friend and I'll have to look into it immediately. I pick up the laptop and start the research. Another thing I do is if I get sick I'll go online and look up the symptoms and see what all the different illnesses can be and I'll freak myself out. I'll usually assume its the worst possible illness. I'll have to start limiting my online time somehow.

 

[hksw]

Huh, you've described me to a T.

 

[bfox]

Hksw , Swede

We better start a support group .
I GOT IT ALSO !

We better meet here .
It would be a Heck of a drive for us to get together .

Bill

 

[ReadyontheRight]

Go out and shoot your nice new guns. Switch to an AMMO addiction.

Unfortuniately, it's even more expensive.

 

[Flyingtiger172]

Addiction

I had the same prob before there was an internet so i became a gun dealer. I found most of the guns I thought I wanted I didn't like when I got them.
That was years ago, now my collection is small, 10 firearms, pistols, rifles and shotguns. Some I keep some I trade for some other firearm but I have limited myself and my budget.

Knowing the problem is half the solution!! Good Luck

 

[snow92686]

I feel for ya, I think I've got the same thing... My favorite hobbies, firearms, motorcycles, cars, and computers. None are cheap.

 

[paintballdude902]

my name is tim and i suffer from an adddiction to firearms.


*rest of room*-hi tim

its a disease and is almost impossible to cure if you wanted to ..........now i dont want to cure it so ill be back around 4 when i get home fromt he range

 

[PointOneSeven]

You can switch to buying accessories for a while. Just watch it, buy too many grips, scopes, and boxes of ammo and you'll be worse off than buying more guns.

 

[revjen45]

You can't possibly have too many guns, and gun lust is a perfectly healthy phenomenon. Now take your debit card and hurry down to the next gun show. I'm certain one of those beauties on a table will wink at you, your knees wil buckle and it will follow you home. One of the pleasures of being an adult is getting to indulge your desires without asking Mom and Dad.
Oh, and what the previous posters said about Net Addiction is true. As a minister, I advise you to go on a Net fast for a couple of days while you go out in the Great Outdoors (if there are such in Ill.) and enjoy the guns you already have and love. After all they ARE part of your family.

 

[RyanM]

One possible solution is every time you get a new gun, sell an old one. Or do trades. Keep your number of firearms constant, instead of growing.

 

[ThomasT]

I think flyingtiger said it best for me. I look at guns, buy guns and shoot them a little and find out they're not all that i thought they would be. I'm still looking for the perfect rifle and handgun. I have a winchester pump 12 guage and two barrels. It does it for me as far as shotguns go.

I had whittled my self down to 11 guns once and then my dad said he was too old to hunt and i could have his guns. Now i was back up to 40-45 guns. I went to school and learned a new trade and started making more money. I bought more guns.

I find that if i go shoot regular it curbs my appetite for new guns. I now have a new place to shoot on my friends property and it doesn't cost a dime to shoot there. The funny thing is every time i go shoot i look in the safe to see what i want to take. It seems like i always end up taking a 22 of some sort. I thought about buying an expensive 22 but i don't think a high dollar gun will shoot any better than the Marlins i have.

I have even sold a few guns lately and plan on selling a few more. I haven't even bought a new gun for 2 months. I may have this thing whipped.

By the way, has anyone shot one of the new Mini-14s with the heavier barrel?

 

[Nate C.]

I feel your pain. To speed your recovery, I am going to make a sacrifice. I will buy everything in your collection, sight unseen, for $25. I am willing to take on your burden while you go out and realize that golf is at least as expensive as firearms, and far less rewarding.

Kidding aside, put yourself on a budget. Sell one to buy one.

And limit your internet to an hour a day. Okay, two. You can't rush into this all at once.

 

[nwilliams]

Its an addiction I share, I'm an incredibly impulsive gun buyer and no matter how hard I try I can't seem to stop myself when i get into a certain frame of mind. Last year I spent way more than I should have on guns and I fell behind on a lot of my bills. I just can't help myself I get these cravings for a new gun and I end up spending money that should probably go towards more important living expenses. Then again I love owning guns and its an addiction I don't really mind having. This year I know I'll be spending a lot less on gun purchases so I'm really thinking hard about what guns I really want.

 

[lanternlad1]

"Kidding aside, put yourself on a budget. Sell one to buy one."

That doesn't work, trust me. That's what I do. I still tend to obsess a bit about buying guns. Luckily, I don't use credit cards, or I'd be in BIG trouble.

My entire collection consists of one rifle, one shotgun and three handguns.

However, in my attempt to find the Holy Grail of Carry Pieces I have bought and sold many guns over the past year. Usually at a loss. I finally settled on a 642 and thought that was that. I was good. For awhile.

Now it looks as though we will have a Dem. president, and visions of weapons bans dance in my head. A buddy of mine is so worried about it that he's gone on a bit of a spree in the past week just to make sure he gets what he needs before his rights are whittled away and he can't get any more.

I also worry a bit about that, and am going to increase my collection "just a bit to make sure my family is ready for the future".

Rationalization - thats how it starts.

But, as Buddha said: "Life is suffering, and suffering is caused by desire."

That mantra serves me well as I drool over cases filled with Socom 16s and P90s...

 

[Guitargod1985]

I have a gun addiction, too.

It's a damn good thing that I don't have as much money as Bill Gates, because if I did I would have enough guns to arm an entire state - with no money left. I'd have so many guns that I'd have to pay about fifty thousand people to oil and wax my guns in order to keep them in consistent good repair.

 

[Soybomb]

Another thing I do is if I get sick I'll go online and look up the symptoms and see what all the different illnesses can be and I'll freak myself out. I'll usually assume its the worst possible illness.

I'm convinced that the ultimate conclusion you'll be led to when researching any ailment on the internet is that you have cancer

Seriously though if you feel like your life is suffering because of your interests you do have a problem that you need to work on or get help with. If your interest in buying new guns is preventing you from saving for retirement, paying the bills, or causing you to rack up credit card debit then its a real problem. If your internet time is keeping you from going to work, normal socializing with friends and family, grooming, cleaning your house, working out, etc then it is a problem. Greater than usual indulgence does not alone indicate a problem.

 

[harmonic]

It's called "obsessive compulsive disorder."

I prefer to call it "investing in durable goods."

My next fix is likely going to be a Colt Diamondback 22.

 

[marksman13]

Swede, if you have a problem then so do I.

 

[brentn]

Its funny, the only time I'm not thinking about guns is when I'm drunk. Then when I do think about all the money I've spent on my collection I think about how I could have used it to pay my bills off, or saved it to buy a car, or saved it to put a downpayment on a house or something... lol, when I'm drunk I'm thinking these things, and then when I sober up I'm right back at it again.

Up here I feel that one day we may lose our firearms, or at least our ability to purchase them, so if that day ever comes, I'm going to have a nice collection in which I can still legally own and hand down to any future generation of myself. This is my justification for buying so many

 

[Vaarok]

You're getting your emotional fix not from the firearm, but from the thrill of the chase and the joy of finding something rare or making a bargain buy. Diversify your interests and flip the bargains you find you don't like, and it should be more manageable.

I started selling things I'd bought right but didn't love awhile ago, and not only am I less cluttered, but I have more money to roll into the next purchases.