How much money do you have tied up in guns?

[TechBrute]

I met a guy at a friend's party and my ears perked up when he said that he was a gun-nut and that he recently had to buy a 3rd safe and that the overflow from the first two have pretty much already filled it. He started going over his collection and I realized that he was a "quantity over quality" kind of guy. Nothing wrong with buying an SKS, but he said he had around 80 rifles, and none of the ones he listed were over $150 or $200. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but I was thinking about my buddy in Houston who has somewhere in the 300 rifle range, and the average cost of them is probably $1500. Different strokes and all, but I'm the type that would rather have a single $800 AR over a half-dozen SKSs, or a single Remmy 700 over 10 M44s.

There've been plenty of polls about how many guns you have, but how much money have you got tied up in them? If you have an STI, an AI, and a Benelli, you probably have more tied up than someone with 30 or 40 C&Rs.

 

[cslinger]

If you figure guns, accessories etc. I am right about at the cost of a decently appointed Honda Accord 4 cylinder.

Chris

 

[TechBrute]

If you figure guns, accessories etc. I am right about at the cost of a decently appointed Honda Accord 4 cylinder.

Yeah, a single scope can boot you out of the first two categories. Heck, a Barrett m85 with a NF NSK can push you over the $10K mark real quick once you buy rings, a couple mags, some ammo, a case, etc.

 

[BryanP]

Hmmm. Let's see here ... (starts counting). Total of about $3500-$4000. I don't keep exact records so I'm going from memory. Average cost is about $340. Cheapest being about $150, most expensive being about $700. My most expensive handgun is still my favorite, my SIG P220. However, my most expensive rifle (AR-15) is currently in either last place or next to it, depending on what day of the week it is.

Inexpensive does not mean cheap. Lee Enfield and Eastern European Mauser rifles are inexpensive. So is an SKS. There's nothing cheap about them.

For now I can honestly say my car costs more than my guns. This time next year I doubt I'll be able to say that.

 

[BozemanMT]

I'm under 25k. (barely). Another year or so will be over that. Thank goodness Bush won, my wallet and CC's can take a break for a couple months.
Of course, I just got hooked on guns 2 years ago.

and I've got one or two boxes of ammo lying around.
Addictive this is.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

I have three machineguns, so you can guess my minimum range easily.

 

[Mulliga]

Hmm...a lot.

 

[RRTX]

Not as much as I would like to

 

[White Horseradish]

Would that a single $800 AR was affordable to me...

I have no gun over $150. 2 SKS (one for me, one for the missus), Makarov, Nagant, 91/30, Winchester 1200, Marlin 795. All bought one at a time.

 

[StephenT]

My collection is pretty comprehensive. I'm actually at the point where I don't really know what to buy next. I have all the classics, from the Sig P-210 to the humble Makarov. It's scary how much much money I've poured into this gun obsession! It all started when I moved to TX from NYC.

 

[thatguy]

I have a rather eclectic collection ranging from a cheapie 22 not worth more than $50 to a very pricey British express rifle. The way prices on guns have soared recently I will leave my wife a fairly wealthy widow. Much of this value is due to inflation since I have been buying guns for over 35 years and values have risen. I paid $135 for a new Colt 1911 in 1972 and the ivory grips set me back $32.50 extra. It would probably bring $800-$900 now.

 

[hksw]

Hmm. Just noticed after polling, what happened to the $500-$1000 range?

When I polledI only included the price of the firearms and anything directly attached to it like scopes and bi-pods. Didn't include the price of extra mags, parts, cases, safes, reloading stuff, ammo, etc.

 

[GTKrockeTT]

according to my wife...i have less than $1000 invested.

if she ever "wanted" to look in my safes, she would see that number would be more correct if multiplied by 10.

 

[Zeke Menuar]

If I include reloading gear, specialized tools, 1911 magazines and then add guns, it is somewhere in the $5000 range. The Winchester M97(ca 1906) and the Tupperware Special have the highest value.

ZM

 

[tc300mag1]

Alto it dont even wanna think about it ..

 

[WhoKnowsWho]

I keep a running list and added it up recently, pretty much in the middle. I prefer quality of course, but quality that is inexpensive is the best still! So my average price is like $200 less than the average price of the guns my wife purchased for herself, or us I guess.

 

[TheOtherOne]

Actual Firearm Expenses:
$5,749.80

Ammunition Expenses:
$2,257.91

Accessory Expenses (mags, optics, etc.):
$2,505.74


TOTAL Firearm Expenses:
$10,513.45


I still consider myself as being in the "poor college student" category. I've got to stop keeping track of all my expenses because it hurts to see what I've spent.

 

[ny32182]

5-10K.

"Adding this to get my message long enough to post".

 

[Rich K]

I have been replacing guns since my ex-wife left,but it has been a fun job.The really great thing is,my girlfriend enjoys going to gunshows with me,and helps out.

 

[bytor94]

I don't have that much tied up yet, but I'm working on it!!!!

 

[joab]

I've never really added it up but I figure at least $5000 but not much over.
I buy almost all my guns used becuse like cars they depreciate with the first test drive.
I'll have to add it all up when I get home from work. It should be interesting.
If my wife is around when I do it should get loud too

 

[Mulliga]

I just calculated it...

Somewhere around $4700.

I just hope my parents never find out I own guns.

 

[USMCsilver]

If you figure guns, accessories etc. I am right about at the cost of a decently appointed Honda Accord 4 cylinder.

Ditto. I'm at around $18k. Wife says I have too many; I say I'm just gettin' started. Hell, I'm 26, she's got to learn to understand over the next 40 years...

 

[Moondoggie]

"We" (OK, "I") owned 2 horses for 10 years. It averaged about $100/month for upkeep on our own land. My wife just was never gonna be a horse person, although she is a gun person. At one point she said "If you'd sell those horses, you could have all the guns you want." I TRIED (really) to explain to her "There's no such thing as ALL the guns I want."

Well, I sold the horses about 7 years ago and have added 1 or 2 guns per year to our collection. Not done yet. Lately the price per gun has risen dramatically. We have a $5K gun rider on our homeowner's policy...it's not enough, but I have a good safe. Add in the ammo and reloading equip/accessories I'm sure we get near the $10k figure.

She's gonna start shooting IPSC with me, so it's all worth it!

 

[Okiecruffler]

I'm one of those "quantity over quality C&R types" and I'm still in the 10-25K group. But you have to remember, some of those C&R's aren't exactly $50 Mosins.