Nightcrawler
Member
I probably do that too much.
See, I'm a college student. If you read my "list" thread, you'll find I have some rather eclectic tastes in firearms. I'll never be able to afford all of the guns on the list, of course (well, maybe once I finish law school and start bringing in the money).
I've got this idea in my head, that if I find the PERFECT set of guns, I'll be happy with them and can spend my "gun money" on ammo, magazines, spare parts, accessories, and training. Sounds frugal, yes, but I've got college soaking up a lot of my money here. So frugality would be wise. At least until I'm out of school, have a career going, steady paycheck, etc.
I figure I could find one perfect rifle (.308 semiauto that can do it all), one perfect shotgun (thinking 18" Remington 870 with ghost ring sights) and maybe two or three handguns, possibly all in the same caliber (which would likely be .357 Magnum, as it's probably the most versatile).
Here's the problem. I've got a substantial amount of money invested in the guns I own, especially the FAL. I don't dislike any of my guns by a long shot. And some guns, like my 25-5, are so hard to find it seems that I don't know if I could possibly part with it.
On the other hand, none of the guns I have are the "ideal". My rifle is a DSA STG58A FAL; I love it, but after shooting one I think I like the M1A more. My shotgun is a Norinco pump with ghost ring sights that I picked up on the cheap, as a temp until I can afford something REALLY nice. My two handguns are both large; the 25-5 with its 6" barrel is unsuited to carry, and the CZ-97 is hard to find holsters for (it's heavy, too).
What do I imagine my "ideal" gun collection for my frugal college years to be?
-Springfield M1A Bush Rifle, 18"+flash hider, with black synthetic stock. 20-30x twenty round GI magazines, and ten or so five and ten round magazines. Scope mount and some kind of well made optic for it.
-Remington 870 Police 18", with 7 round tube. Ghost ring sights, reversed Big Head safety (lefty), heat shield, parkerized finish.
-Ruger KGP160 6" half underlug or 4" full, stainless. Field Revolver.
-Ruger KGP4-341 4" stainless, short underlug, fixed sights, slightly smaller grip. General purpose defensive gun.
-Ruger KSP-331X, 3" stainless 5-shot SP101. Maybe I'd get the hammer bobbed for better carry.
-MAYBE a Ruger Vaquero or Blackhawk, just for fun.
-Maybe a .22 Pistol just for cheap plinking. I've been meaning to get one anyway.
And those six or seven guns would cover everything I could possibly need out of a gun. Heck, they'd do stuff I probably will never need guns to do. I don't hunt, but I could. A .308 M1A bush rifle, with a 5-round hunting mag, could take any game in the lower 48. I could take deer with the GP100. I could defend myself from bear with the shotgun and some 3" magnum slugs. I could carry concealed easily with the two smaller revolvers.
So, what do you think? Should I focus on just getting that small collection and being happy with it? Should I sell things that I have to get there? (Sell the FAL? The CZ-97?) I've gone through over 20 guns in the few years I've been able to buy them, hashing out my tastes, finding what I like and don't like. It's been an expensive process, and I've wasted money that would've been better spent on other things. But, I've learned some stuff...I learned that I prefer .308 rifles over intermediate ones. I learned that I like revolvers after all.
Just looking for advice. Don't know why I've got this thing about minimizing and ammo compatibility...my dad spent many years as a logistician by trade; maybe it rubbed off.
See, I'm a college student. If you read my "list" thread, you'll find I have some rather eclectic tastes in firearms. I'll never be able to afford all of the guns on the list, of course (well, maybe once I finish law school and start bringing in the money).
I've got this idea in my head, that if I find the PERFECT set of guns, I'll be happy with them and can spend my "gun money" on ammo, magazines, spare parts, accessories, and training. Sounds frugal, yes, but I've got college soaking up a lot of my money here. So frugality would be wise. At least until I'm out of school, have a career going, steady paycheck, etc.
I figure I could find one perfect rifle (.308 semiauto that can do it all), one perfect shotgun (thinking 18" Remington 870 with ghost ring sights) and maybe two or three handguns, possibly all in the same caliber (which would likely be .357 Magnum, as it's probably the most versatile).
Here's the problem. I've got a substantial amount of money invested in the guns I own, especially the FAL. I don't dislike any of my guns by a long shot. And some guns, like my 25-5, are so hard to find it seems that I don't know if I could possibly part with it.
On the other hand, none of the guns I have are the "ideal". My rifle is a DSA STG58A FAL; I love it, but after shooting one I think I like the M1A more. My shotgun is a Norinco pump with ghost ring sights that I picked up on the cheap, as a temp until I can afford something REALLY nice. My two handguns are both large; the 25-5 with its 6" barrel is unsuited to carry, and the CZ-97 is hard to find holsters for (it's heavy, too).
What do I imagine my "ideal" gun collection for my frugal college years to be?
-Springfield M1A Bush Rifle, 18"+flash hider, with black synthetic stock. 20-30x twenty round GI magazines, and ten or so five and ten round magazines. Scope mount and some kind of well made optic for it.
-Remington 870 Police 18", with 7 round tube. Ghost ring sights, reversed Big Head safety (lefty), heat shield, parkerized finish.
-Ruger KGP160 6" half underlug or 4" full, stainless. Field Revolver.
-Ruger KGP4-341 4" stainless, short underlug, fixed sights, slightly smaller grip. General purpose defensive gun.
-Ruger KSP-331X, 3" stainless 5-shot SP101. Maybe I'd get the hammer bobbed for better carry.
-MAYBE a Ruger Vaquero or Blackhawk, just for fun.
-Maybe a .22 Pistol just for cheap plinking. I've been meaning to get one anyway.
And those six or seven guns would cover everything I could possibly need out of a gun. Heck, they'd do stuff I probably will never need guns to do. I don't hunt, but I could. A .308 M1A bush rifle, with a 5-round hunting mag, could take any game in the lower 48. I could take deer with the GP100. I could defend myself from bear with the shotgun and some 3" magnum slugs. I could carry concealed easily with the two smaller revolvers.
So, what do you think? Should I focus on just getting that small collection and being happy with it? Should I sell things that I have to get there? (Sell the FAL? The CZ-97?) I've gone through over 20 guns in the few years I've been able to buy them, hashing out my tastes, finding what I like and don't like. It's been an expensive process, and I've wasted money that would've been better spent on other things. But, I've learned some stuff...I learned that I prefer .308 rifles over intermediate ones. I learned that I like revolvers after all.
Just looking for advice. Don't know why I've got this thing about minimizing and ammo compatibility...my dad spent many years as a logistician by trade; maybe it rubbed off.
Last edited:
