How do you prioritize your gun purchases?

[788Ham]

I think I'm pretty well covered with wants vs needs, oh I definitely want a couple more firearms, but the needs keep me grounded in that respect. Over the years I've bought and sold quite a few, wishing my brain was functioning then like it does now! Varmint, HD, CCW, all covered, but that "itch" is still there to find that one gun I sure wish I had, its still there, but do I truly need it? Forindooruseonly, I know your feelings and wants about these rifles, there is a pawn about 10 miles North of me that has 2 of them on the shelf, not priced too high, but fortunately for me, my Pop left me his .300 in '99, and a .250 in '99, I don't need 2 of them in those calibers.

I want to buy more, but I think at this stage in life, I want to have what I have, more than I need to buy more! Hope this makes sense.

 

[Old judge creek]

... My "collection" was fairly large but truely had little rhyme or reason. I also had little ammo for all those guns and seemed to be shooting less and less as my collection grew.

Finally about 5 years or so ago a poster at a forum I frequented posted a scenario of picking your ultimate battery of 30 guns in 4 catagories, 9 handguns, 9 centerfire rifles, 6 rimfire rifles and 6 shotguns to cover all your shooting needs and interests plus hunting and defensive use and list which gun you'd use for what purpose, which I gleefully did. Then he added a twist, day by day he'd say to eliminate one or two guns from each of the 4 catagories in that "ultimate" collection and then share your thoughts as to what and why. The final number I won't post in case we play the game, but the thought involved in deciding what to keep and what to discard was very valuable to me.

For some reason that excercise really struck my fancy and was the first time I actually gave serious consideration as to what I had, why I had it, and what my true shooting needs and interests were. It was the first time I actually made a list of what I had and looked objectively at how useful it was. The exercise also worked to show me what holes I had in my collection. It really opened my eyes and I remade my "ultimate" list with this new insight. It turned out my collection shrunk noticeably as I got rid of the safe queens and redundant guns. I also reduced the number of calibers I had too, allowing me to stock up on more ammo.

My interests these days are primarily personal & home defense and target shooting, mostly informal but some regular shooting events. I also still have the thought of getting back to a bit of hunting, mainly varmints but deer, pigs and possibly some other game as well. My collection now reflects those defined interests and I'm pretty well equipped. There are a few guns I may upgrade yet and an additional slot or two I may fill someday, but I really have no true deficiencies based on what my needs and interests are at this point. I also find I shoot more, shoot better and enjoy it much more this way. It's also far easier to avoid the temptation of a new gun that really isn't suitable now that I've thought through my needs, interests and shooting opportunities.

I was the OP of the "game" Manny is talking about. The beauty of the game is that it attrits the original "pool of guns" over a controlled time period and almost everyone who's ever participated as confessed having learned something about his "real" preferences that he hand not expected.

Manny,
Have at it, Pard. I'll even play.