How many of you have had waning feelings about firearms?

[JTHunter]

With no "public" range nearby (private range w/ $300/yr. memberships!!), I don't have an opportunity to shoot as much as I would like.
With the limitations of .22LR and .38/.357 ammo availability, this compounds the problem.
Interest diminishing? With Illinois finally moving forward on CC, NOT BLOODY LIKELY!!

 

[itsa pain]

Has my interest waned? Most definately!

I used to go to a range that was free and you shoot almost anything. Then one day I go there to find it "formalized" to where there is now a rangemaster wanting a $5 "donation" to tell you that you're only allowed to shoot NRA certified paper targets. Your own paper targets aren't good enough. Water jugs, pop cans, or anything else is banned. Oh, and to shoot pistols, the minimum is 50 feet. Shotguns can only be fired at flying clay disks. No tactical shooting at all.

Then I try another range that only lets you shoot rifles, and only from 100 to 600 yards (at the ranges own paper target only), and only at the distance the majority of other shooters there agree upon. .22 rifle at over 100 yards is not allowed. Shotgun slugs not allowed. Handguns not allowed. Can only shoot 1 shot at a time while a target operator marks each hit on the target afterwards. Is shooting in such a strict and regulated way like this supposed to be fun? (I went there on a day it was agreed they'd be shooting at 100 yards. I brought my .22 and drove out there only to be told that the other people agreed at the last minute to shoot at 200 yards. So I didn't get to shoot at all.)

All this, along with the increased cost and unavailabilty of ammo doesn't make the hobby much fun anymore for me. So now, I try to look at my guns in a practical way:

What are they for? Mostly self-protection against home invaders and the possibility of complete economic and national collapse. I feel safer having them because they give me the ability to defend myself. As a result, I don't need very many. I figure 2 or 3 handguns, a .22 rifle, a shotgun and an AR. If the AR became too much of a "pain" to have, I'd have a second shotgun in its place. Altogether, that comes out to about 6 guns. With those, I feel I have what I need in a practical way. I feel I have what I need, which makes me feel good in that way. As for wants, I can fulfill those with other hobbies now that the fun has been taken out of the gun hobby.

they have intentionally taken the fun out of everything like driving going to a game, concert walking down the street etc

 

[Orion8472]

Again, it isn't like I would give up my entire collection. There's no way. I have several "never sell" items.

I may start a pile of "never sell", "maybe sell", and "will sell". . . . . . . then go from there.

 

[huntsman]

^sell guns buy ammo, I'd rather have 1 gun and 1k of ammo than 10 guns and 1 box of ammo.

 

[Orion8472]

huntsman, I think that would be a very good stance to take on the subject.

 

[btg3]

Agreed. But I don't and won't have any safe queens -- only shooters. YMMV.

 

[7mmsavage]

My interest in firearms has never been stronger. I've been shooting, collecting, selling and sometimes even building firearms for a shade over twenty years. Sometimes I think the less access I have to land for shooting, money for guns, time for any of it, the more I want to do it all. I remember when I was younger and could have wasted my money on any cool guns I wanted, I was pretty happy with just my pistol and a .22 rifle. Maybe this is my version of a mid life crisis.

 

[jolly roger]

I just got into a new arena of shooting for me..after being primarily a pistol and rifle guy..skeet and sporting clays..I believe this might be an addiction...just sold a couple of safe queen magnum revolvers to get into a nice Beretta Semi I'm getting older too and my hands just don't take to a whole lot of shooting magnums anymore...shoulder still perfectly fine though

 

[jolly roger]

Talk about an expensive hobby that I throttled back on...photography..While lenses hold value the actual camera bodies crash like a rock...

 

[kimberkid]

If your asking if I have lost interest ... Absolutely NOT.

My interest ... direction and intensity ... has changed several times over the last 40+ years and over the years I've shot a few different disciplines but now my eyes suck ... I don't compete or even get out and shoot as much as I used to.

I still enjoy going to shows, seeing what's available, doing a little trading and finding a "deal" once in a while. I enjoy talking to old friends and making new ones but it does get a little old hearing about AR's all the time and the current flavor of the month and why last months flavor is now worthless.

 

[orionengnr]

Hex. . . the other part was "no place to setup the equipment.

Doesn't take much room at all. Some people use a Black & Decker WorkMate (which folds up and takes no room at all) and a single stage press bolted to a piece of 2x4 or 2x6.

Pull it put, unfold, load.
Fold it up, put it away 'til next time.

 

[BowerR64]

A year ago i decided to dig out my dads gun collection he left us. I never shot any of his guns in the past.

He had a little bit of ammo saved up so it made it easy to get hooked i had fun and didnt spend a dime.

Went threw all the 44 and 357 then went to 9mm. I shot 9mm for a while then i noticed it was costing alot to shoot 100-200 rounds every range trip. Semi auto guns can chew up ammo in a hurry.

I then got on a .22LR kick he only had 1 pistol and 2 rifles in .22LR i bought 6 more pistols and 5 more rifles. Then the panic started and it about killed me. I did not see that comming.

Waiting for .22LR to come back on the shelf i was an inch away from a pellet gun then i dug out his black powder.

Black powder has REALLY helped me get over the ammo shortage. Again he had a couple pounds of powder and enough balls and caps to get me hooked on this also. Plus it didnt help that these guns wouldnt shoot good right out of the case. This made me want to figure out why i couldnt get them to shoot good.

While everyone piles around the .22LR isle with bare empty shelves i zip right to the blackpowder section and drool. Plenty of everything!

 

[cl4de6]

I used to own ten guns and shot every Tuesday and every other Saturday. I did that for about four years.

Newtown changed a lot for me because I got politically active with a number of state gun organizations. Honestly, I spend much of my time working on political campaigns and with 2A organizations.

I keep a range log and track every bullet fired through my guns along with the date and weather. I went shooting last week and I realized that the last time I went was February!

So I guess my interest in guns has waned. I am not interested in buying new guns. I'd rather give that $600 to a pro-gun candidate and work toward changing NJ's laws.

 

[gym]

I also think more now about why I am buying the gun. No more impulse buys.

 

[3212]

I'm primarily a deer hunter and my interest waxes and wanes with the seasons.I was a centerfire rifle hunter for 40 years.I never had an interest in muzzleloading.Then one day at a household auction,a flintlock in new condition came up.I thought it was going too low and bought it for $90.I have discovered I like trying different loads to improve accuracy and its not expensive.Now, I'm taking it on deer hunts,I missed one last year because I misjudged the distance.I'm taking it on a hunt this Saturday.

 

[Orion8472]

I placed all my firearms on the floor in a "keep", "maybe", and "sell" pile. I had 4 in the "sell", 2 in the "maybe", and the rest were in the "keep". If I sold the ones in the "sell" pile, I could potentially see about ~ $4k - $5k [that's with the sale of the ammo for one of them]. It is truly a tempting thing to consider.

 

[SP2000]

If the ammo prices and supply are not back to normal by the end of 2014, I'm selling everything except one rifle, one pistol, one shotgun. Too much money tied up collecting dust.

 

[larryh1108]

The good thing about the sell/buy moods is if you sell easily obtainable stuff you can buy whatever you miss when the ammo is back and priced as it should be. You can then get the bug again and find bargains from others who lost interest and need cash. If you keep the ones you can't replace and sell the others, you can end up with a better collection down the road.

Me? I feel this trend will come to an end, as it has in the past, and everything will be back to a new normal. When you shoot for a lifetime, a year here and there of shortages is nothing to worry about. It also makes you take a hard look at what you really wish to keep and what has no meaning to you. It forces you to prioritize your inventory.

 

[CoyoteSix]

Not a loss of interest, but a "Hiatus".

It seems like it's been forever since I've gone to my local Idahoan desert to shoot. In reality it's only been a few months. I went shotgunning with some friends. Cheap, 12 gauge target loads are very available in my area. Even though my 18.5" single shot is nowhere near as cool as my friend's SuperNova, it's still fun to get out and actually shoot something.

Maybe you need to adapt your shooting hobby?

If you can't find any common center fire or rimfire ammo, maybe you need to shoot what is there. Maybe it's only 12 Gauge target loads, maybe it's black powder. Hell, it may just be .177 and .22 lead pellets, or worse! Airsoft BBs!

The message is any kind of shooting is still shooting! I'm really considering buying a Propane powered airsoft pistol just so I can have some kind of trigger time!

Or maybe if you're like me, you just need to take a few (or more) steps back and evaluate your living situation. Currently my Hiatus from guns isn't due to lack of ammo, but because right now I'm putting my money and time into bettering myself. College and a full time job take alot of my time. Living expenses, holidays, and the continuing mission to make sure my Fiance feels loved and treated well take a good chunk of my money.

What I'm getting at is that I love shooting, every aspect of it. But sometimes there's periods in life where are passions and hobbies need to take a backseat to making sure we can live a comfortable life later, and enjoy the sport without taking money from living expenses.

Hopefully when I hit 28 I'll be an attorney!

Six out.

 

[556by45guy]

I've never made so much money that I could afford to regularly purchase guns. If one was regularly purchasing gun I don't see why you can't continue as prices are not that much more now than they were a couple of years ago.

For me, the pleasure I get from shooting does not depend on buying as many guns as I can.

Exactly. I see folks all the time at our local range who pull up to one of the bays, carry a gun case up to a firing bench, put up a target and proceed to shoot 50 rounds at it. Then pack up and drive away. I always wonder, "what in the world was the point of THAT?" At this point in life I'd have to be TERMINALLY bored before that would be very appealing.

That's exactly what I do. Put up some targets, shoot, go home. For me it is a zen moment. Concentration and control over your body to poke the smallest holes possible (or I could be working up a load). It's the same pleasure I get from reloading. Personally, I cannot see the point of mag dumps at a can on the ground or shooting randomly with no measurable goal. That kind of shooting leaves me wondering what exactly was the point of that, LOL.

 

[Sam1911]

Personally, I cannot see the point of mag dumps at a can on the ground or shooting randomly with no measurable goal. That kind of shooting leaves me wondering what exactly was the point of that, LOL.

Well, certainly I'd have to agree with you there!

 

[CoyoteSix]

I do slow mag dumps, but with only 3 rounds in each mag. And one mag has an empty casing or snap cap in it. I have a shooting buddy randomize which mag it is.

Kind of my economic way of practicing magazine changes and clearing jams.

 

[justice06rr]

Interests and hobbies change or go through a roller coaster phase. I can definitely agree to that. I was an avid motorcycle rider (sportbikes) for over 6yrs, including track instruction. Eventually it will come to a point that it will either get kinda boring, or too expensive to move up to the next level of instruction/competition so I stopped riding and sold the bike. I was spending around $5k/yr on trackdays alone; that is equivalent to a couple of nice guns and a few thousand rounds of ammo!

At least with firearms there are other avenues of interest you can persue. Try hunting and competitive shooting if there is one available within an hour of your residence. Static shooting at an indoor or outdoor range does get boring after a while.

Another suggestion is to find like-minded shooters who will join you in events like IDPA/USPSA, 2gun/3gun, Hunting, Appleseed, etc.

 

[Akita1]

Exactly. I see folks all the time at our local range who pull up to one of the bays, carry a gun case up to a firing bench, put up a target and proceed to shoot 50 rounds at it. Then pack up and drive away. I always wonder, "what in the world was the point of THAT?" At this point in life I'd have to be TERMINALLY bored before that would be very appealing.



Spot on! SO many things to do and skill sets to work on! You could easily spend a lifetime and never reach mastery of even half of them!

Agreed, but what if that's all the time, ammo, etc. they had? I go shooting at lunch time a lot (when I'm actually in town) and I can't hang for a couple of hours every time. Shoot what you can when you can.

 

[RBid]

The 2nd is a key part of my belief system. I shoot less, but have worked out dry fire exercises that have made me grow as a shooter between live fire days. I actually put in more time now than I did when I ran 150-200 rounds/week, but I'm saving drive and prep time , as well as money.