Interest in guns fading.

[BADUNAME37]

Those of you who have spouses that join you in your hobbies, you are very fortunate. I cannot get my wife to shoot or hunt to save my life! I've bought some of my guns with the thought that she might like to shoot them. NO Way! So, she kind of has her own hobbies (quilting, sewing, always doing something), and I kind of have my own.

I discussed getting a motorcycle last year (at 54 years old), however with my spine condition and constant pain, all the vibration would really do me in. A friend took me for a ride through and around town last year and when I got off the Harley (he has the one that was like $16,000), my pain was worse than ever from the vibration.

We've discussed touring the country in our small station wagon or in my full-size work van, or even possibly driving to Alaska! However with me nearly out of work (self-employed) due to my health and my dwindling business over the past two years or so, living on my wife's salary is just not enough to do anything other than just keep afloat, paying monthly bills!

I try to be as prudent as I can with spending money on ANYTHING! Just the thought of my work van getting up in miles is now concerning me, things are starting to go on a 2003 van I bought new and now has about 85K miles on it. Just this morning one of the automatic transmission cooler lines was so rusted and corroded that it got a major crack in it. I barely made it home from town (four miles away), when I pulled into the driveway and saw a long line of fluid and felt it and saw it was red, I nearly had a stroke. I don't need to have my tranny run out and have me burn it up without knowing there was a leak! Before I called the wrecker with the flatbed truck, I checked the fluid level, at least it still had enough fluid in it to mark up to the FULL marking! I tried about five times as the transmission dipstick is about five feet long! After that, my wife and I prayed.

Sorry, I had to get all that off my chest.

 

[Route666]

I can relate to the OP about losing interest, my interest kind of wanes every now and then. I don't see anything wrong with losing interest with anything, that's the human spirit, always hungering for what they don't have, which drives them on, and once you have it, the goal isn't as good as the effort it took to achieve.

At least take heart that you don't have the rigmarole that I do here, by law I HAVE to compete (not much, but still a few comps per year) to keep my license, and thus guns. While I thoroughly enjoy it almost every time, HAVING to do it is kind of a kill-joy sometimes. It would be nice to be able to take a couple of year break doing other stuff and go back to shooting later.

 

[Cosmoline]

When my interest starts to fade in a particular firearm, I will go to something new. For me much of the fun is learning about something new, particularly the history. So if centerfire is getting boring I will build a flintlock. Or if surplus rifles are getting boring I'll try a newer design.

One thing I just did was throw the question to THR in a poll form, and I bought the rifle that won the poll--an AR 15 in this case. It's completely new to me, and learning about its intricacies has already got me recharged about shooting.

 

[1stmarine]

What if you take a new challenge? have you had professional sniper training. Or done defensive drills with 3 guns? Develop a new firearm from scratch. As humans we develop we look for new challenges. That is what keeps us mentally alive.
Some o the traditional shooting that I see at the ranges always shooting at a piece of paper bang bang bang w/o even knowing why a bullet works, what is a ballistic trajectory and so many things. that is really boring. I could not stand that for even 20 rounds.
Try trap and skeet those are lots of fun. I never settle with anything. Air carbines, airsoft whatever.
Archery and canoeing is good too. Go on an organized hunt in where you can do them all even in the same day.
Imagination is the gate to personal amusement. Of all the challenges we face the first one is ourselves and our preconditioning that we need to break and rebuild sometimes.

What I am doing tomorrow with a friend.... I am going to do 22 LR "long range shooting" at 200 and 300 yards. The spotter will mill out the targets, calculate range, calculate adjustments basedon the ballistics chart and then he will call the adjustment and the shot. The shooter is there to deliver. All a great fun exercise that even with a limited range can "simulate" the same type of tactic you use in long range past 800 yards.

Keep supporting the 2nd amendment and specially the 1st one that is being violated all the time by the government themselves.

 

[fallingbird]

Great thread. I can relate.
It's the circle of life for me.......hunting-->rifles-->reloading-->pistols-->freshwater fishing-->college(2-legged deer)-->tournament marlin fishing-->inshore saltwater fishing-->sporting clays-->argentine bird hunting-->hot rods-->skeet-->pistol caliber lever rifles-->reloading again-->ar's-->pistols again.....who knows? 52 and still doing the circle.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Time, Money, Passion

When I was young, I wasn't much good at anything.

Until chess.

Man, what a high that was. I can still perform the knight-and-bishop forced mate, something most players never even learn. I was never a world class player, but I was good at something.

Then there was fencing. Once again, I was good, but not great.

I found that I could enjoy just about anything I was involved in, as long as I had a chance of getting good at it.

Many years later came computers. I taught myself to program in less than a month. Assembly language. And this time, I got really good, and it turned into a career. Thirty years later, I'm still at it. Somehow, it just never gets old. It would be easy to get overwhelmed at all the new technology and languages, but I have managed to stay reasonably close to my programming roots. (And have you guys seen the Fit-PC and the RaspberryPI computers? Awesome!)

And then there's shooting.

Interested as a kid, but not much opportunity, and I wasn't really all that good. Well, just good enough to qualify "expert" with the AR when the time came.

Then a long lapse. Really long. Like thirty years.

Finally I awoke from that slumber and re-engaged with firearms.

There is little likelihood that I will burn out on firearms in what time remains available to me.

There is simply too much to do. I'm sixty-one, and I have yet to go big game hunting. I've never fired a shotgun. I've never reloaded. I have a few pistols and a few rifles, but I so seldom get to the range (work eats the time, the bills eat the money) that the very idea that I could grow tired of it is worthy of a guffaw.

I'm a better shot with a carbine than I thought I would be. I'm a better pistol shot than I thought I'd be. I'm not great with either, but the room for improvement means I'll never be bored.

I don't spend all my time fixated on guns, but I'm continuously aware of them and that they are lonely. (Fixation . . . ? Well, uh, that's more about knives, really . . .)

I don't know as I'll ever be an expert, but I'll surely have fun trying.

I have something (okay, several somethings) to strive for, and knowing the time is limited makes burnout and boredom non-issues.

However, if I somehow reached all the pinnacles on my bucket list and had years left over, I would still have to pass that baton to as many of my grandkids' generation as I could.

Maybe getting a late start wasn't as bad as all that, after all.

 

[marv]

I am four score minus two. I should be selling off my guns. Instead, I go to shows and peruse the ads on the net and if I see something I like it gets tossed in the safe. I still pull an occasional trigger.

 

[8654Maine]

To the OP, I know how you feel.

I loved to shoot, esp while in the Corps.

After I left the Corps, I had my personal handgun but you could count the amount of range time on one hand in 20 years or so.

Life sort of gets in the way.

I have since re-discovered my passion for shooting.

I thank all those who have protected my right to bear arms.

Life does go on.

 

[LawScholar]

I confess to being a typical college video game nerd. Guns fight with games (and books) for my time and money.

 

[MrsSmith]

I'm kind of on the opposite end of that spectrum at the moment. My interest in other things I enjoy has waned a bit recently as I've gotten back into shooting and guns. Let's see, if I'd gone out and raced sailboats yesterday I'd have been scrambling across a hot deck on tacks and gibes, blistering my hands to haul or ease sheets quickly, and regardless what position I was on the crew, would have come home with unexplainable cuts, scrapes and bruises, and an aching back. Do I do it anyway and love it? I did, but not as much as I used to.
And instead yesterday I went to my first IDPA match and had a GREAT time! No cuts, scrapes, bruises or aching back (speedloader keeps my thumbs from being all cut up, maybe not macho, but I'm a girl and not supposed to have scarred up hands!). Cost wasn't much different overall when you count memberships, event fees, and gear. After the match (I didn't do poorly at all!) several of us went out for a late lunch and talked guns which was fun too. And here I am on a Sunday morning sitting on the patio with my laptop looking at gun forums. I really should be working - my business doesn't run itself only Mon-Fri between 8 and 5. But it IS Sunday and if I want to feed my obsession a little bit, I won't feel guilty for it! Now if I'm sitting here tomorrow morning when I really DO need to be working, that's another story. This morning I feel like indulging in talking guns and shooting with others who enjoy guns and shooting.

My point here though is at this moment, I can't fathom ever getting bored with it. But several years ago I couldn't fathom getting bored with racing either and now I'd far rather just go out for a booze cruise than fool with race tactics and strategy. Like someone else posted earlier in this thread, I've won a couple trophies, that's sufficient.

Shooting and guns are a multi-purpose endeavor though. Defense (of anything and everything I care about or that needs defending). The fact that I really enjoy shooting, in the same way but far more, than I like throwing darts or shooting pool - much better rush. I also just LIKE guns. My M&P9 is SO sweet and I'm having a great time with it, even enjoy cleaning it. I know at some point the newness will wear off and I'll be ready to look at the next gun on my wish list and I'll obsess about that for a while and the M&P will get some rest. I also picked up a rifle a friend built the other day and felt that same tingle - the "OMG-this-is-sexy-I-want-to-shoot-it-right-now" tingle. But I'm on a handgun kick at the moment so I'll just leave that rifle-tingle as something to look forward to later on.
Will I eventually get bored with guns/shooting? I suppose it's possible, but most of the other things I enjoy I can easily combine with shooting. Right now I'm trying to come up with some kind of floating targets that I can use repeatedly and that won't leave trash in the water. Imagine shooting a bobbing target from a moving boat (the power boat, not the sailboat) - talk about a cool way to challenge yourself!

I know what you mean though Carl. Realizing that something you once enjoyed/cared about has faded in importance is an odd feeling. Sometimes almost a guilty feeling. But life cycles and changes and we cycle and change with it.

I also find that life is far simpler when you pare it down to the basics and keep things simple. I'll probably never have a safe "full" of guns for the same reason I don't have dozens of bookcases overflowing with books or a dozen cameras or (don't be shocked) dozens of pairs of shoes. I have some "things" that have sentimental value (books, not shoes!) but most things must serve a purpose or they're just clutter. Yes, there are instances when the sole purpose of a thing is just because I like it - I really want a Ruger MKIII because its just a fun gun to shoot. And sometimes that's enough of a reason. I think you're decision to go back to the basics was a good one.

 

[gym]

At 63 with a busted up back, everything changes. You can't make plans, because you don't know what you will be feeling like the day you made them for. But I try to keep my intrest in guns at a level I can deal with. I still amd buying and selling stuff, "just to keep myself interested". I have my carry guns, and everything else is subject to change. It gives me something to do. There was about a 10 year period where I stopped shooting all together. But now I started going regurlarlly again, and you really don't forget how to shoot. It's imbeded in your muscle memory. So you can stop for a while and pick it up when the interest returns.

 

[rogertc1]

I always seem to come back to guns. They are neat machines which last forever with little or no maintenance, don't take up much more than 1 room.... thus is why I collect and have so many.

Then when your mind starts to go you lose interest in everyting. My 95 yr old father in a nursing home was a pilot, landed in N Africa WW2, raised on a farm and ran his own business. Nothing remembered. Doesn't even care about TV. Just 3 years ago he was using a computer and driving.
It all goes away.

 

[huntsman]

I've never bounced from hobby to hobby (I'm too poor) and guns have always been a part of my life and will be.

What I have dropped from my life is fishing only because it always required going out to fish, hunting and shooting I can do out my back door so I do.

I'm a minimalist, just a couple of .22's a 12 gauge and SD carry guns is all I have, only 2 center fire pistol calibers and no crammed full gun safe makes my life simple.

 

[Nanook]

I have a number of hobbies, firearms being among them.

As I get older, and approach retirement, I find myself more interested in firearms, handloading, casting, and the like. I think it's because work has a way of cutting into range time.

I also like archery, ham radio, computers, reading, music, astronomy, and a couple other things. Reading is a way of life for me, I don't care much for tv fare, so I'm always buried in a book.

Normally, I can be on the computer, reading my Kindle while listening to music at the same time. My wife, who is used to this behavior, doesn't find it unusual anymore. At first she would shake her head and wonder how I could pay attention to several things at once. "Practice" I told her. LOL

I do find myself having less interest in ham radio lately. My station lays idle while I do other pursuits. My shortwave antenna had problems in a wind storm, and came crashing down. I have the parts for it, but I haven't rebuilt it yet.

Lately I haven't had a chance to shoot much, and I definitely miss it. I took a one week vacation, and only got to shoot once due to constant rain. The ranges are quite crowded on the weekends, which kind of puts a damper on it for me.

When I am retired, I'll be able to shoot during the week when most are at work. That suits me better. I look forward to retirement, after over 45 years of working. By the time I get to retire, 3 years or so from now, I'll have put over 40 years into my trade. That's a lot of time to do something, no matter what it is.

I do understand the waxing and waning of interests, people change over the years. I've had stretches where I never even touched a gun, but it wasn't intentional. It was just life getting in the way; overtime, travel to jobs, etc. When you drive 60 miles one way each day, it cuts into your leisure time.

 

[xfyrfiter]

Money seems to always get in the way of hobbies, ie. not enough of it to do every thing I would like. But I have always seemed to have enough to feed two, guns and motorcycles, they both took a back seat to raising a family and now that that is done, I and my wife enjoy both as much as we can. The guns are the priority though.

 

[NMGonzo]

i've been skateboarding more than shooting lately.

 

[mortablunt]

It's just natural to have changing interests with age; it's not just something we whippersnappers can do.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I haven't been shooting in over a year, a combination of things, helping friends work on their houses on weekends, e.g. Though I visit the gun forums regularly and have added several new gun books to my library. All of my milsurps are safe queens, I bought them for the history, not the shooting.

 

[mrbro]

I have a bunch of hobbies that I tend to cycle through. When I am "into" one, the others tend to take a back seat, sometimes for years. It's not that I lose interest, it more that something else rises to the top for 1 reason or another. There have been years when I did not shoot, now I'm back into it. For how long? Dunno. Maybe just until the next bright shiny object captures my attention.

 

[jhansman]

Like the previous poster, I have several hobbies for which my passion varies over time. Some months I am crazy for photography, others I never even think about my camera. This has only happened once with shooting, but I suspect it will again. I just ride them out and wait.

 

[DNS]

Had a mild heart attack last year and just lost interest in a lot of things I thought were important to me. Cars, guns, and RVing fell by the wayside.
Still enjoy landscaping and "working"( ) in the shop.

My wife and daughter wanna get me a Crossman 1377 pellet pistol for Fathers Day and its peaking my interest. I always wanted one as a kid so maybe there's hope yet.

 

[Diggers]

Carl your fleet sound really neat. That sounds like a great way to fish in style!

 

[Sav .250]

Time/Age has a direct affect on a person. What was once an anticipated
activity, now is a after thought.

 

[Toaster]

I'm a recreational boater so I tend to shoot less during the summer months. After the fall harvest, when the fields are empty I'll start shooting clays again.
I would have to say though, that my overall interest in shooting has changed. I don't enjoy plinking at stationary targets as much as I used to. I've become more interested in hunting - varmint (coyote) hunting in particular.