chaim
Member
OK, for a year or two now I have been thinking of cutting my collection back by about half- I simply could use the money more than some of the guns. Now, 2 years of pay freezes, car issues (though, I'm too far upside down to replace the car), and simply the desire for a bit of a financial cushion has caused me to decide to finally do it. I'm not just selling 4 or 5 guns though. I currently own 21 guns, I've done the math, if I sell them all myself I can get somewhere around $7-9K for them (depending upon where in the value range they end up selling- i.e. how fast I want to sell them off). If I consign them, most dealers will ask near the top (I figured their value pretty conservatively), but then charge a 20% consignment fee so I'll end up netting probably around $6500-7000. I can really use that money right now, none of my guns are particularly rare or collectors items that will be hard to replace. One or two are guns that are expensive enough I may not replace them with the same thing but rather with something similar (like my S&W 625MG, in a few years I may rather go with a Taurus or something for my big bore revolver). I figure, I'll use about half to pay off my credit cards and keep half in the bank as a rainy day fund, though paying off one credit card and using the rest to let me get out of my car and replace it with something cheaper and more reliable is tempting.
I do want to keep a few (or take the proceeds from one or two and buy something else) to cover my basic needs. The rest, I can replace in a few years when the economy picks up and my personal finances are doing better. It is funny, when trying to substantially cut back on my guns it was hard to decide what to sell and what to keep, but now, when deciding to cut to the bare bones, it has been an easier process.
I guess I just want feedback on the categories, and the individual guns I've decided to keep (there are just a few things I am having trouble deciding when figuring out what bare bones means).
I want to be down to 4-6 guns from my current 21, if I can do 4 instead of 6, all the better.
I am probably not keeping any rifles. I haven't been to a rifle range in years and some of my most valuable guns are rifles. I've only shot my AR 2-4 times, and it has been several years. My Rem 700SPS Varmint is 2 or 3 years old and it hasn't been shot yet. As much as I love my Winchester 94 in 30-30, I just don't shoot any rifles much (it is about 10 years old so it is not a rare gun I'll have trouble replacing).
I am having trouble deciding if I want to keep a .22. They are cheap to shoot and all gun enthusiasts should have one, but with how much I shoot these days (only a few times a year) it probably isn't necessary. My Marlin 60 isn't worth very much money though so I probably should keep it and it was my first gun. The value of having a .22 is probably greater than what I'd get for it, and it isn't so much that I want a small number of guns, I want to maximize the money I can get out of my collection. On the other hand, I might shoot it once a year and it has become very temperamental (at its best it is very ammo sensitive).
I wouldn't mind a long-gun for home defense, but a .45ACP or .357mag would work for that. I don't like my Benelli shotgun at all and current used values are about what I paid for it new 6 or 7 years ago. I love my .45LC Win 94 (I just love lever rifles) but it is a little more temperamental than I'd like for a home defense gun and right now I don't see keeping any guns ONLY because I like them (they need some utility too). I could sell both and buy a used .357mag lever rifle that may be more reliable, and the price of that and what I'd get for my Winchester may be a wash if I buy used. I could go a little cheaper and get a Mossberg 500, but there is only one range I know of around here where I can shoot my defensive loads and it is about an hour and a half away.
(more to come)
I do want to keep a few (or take the proceeds from one or two and buy something else) to cover my basic needs. The rest, I can replace in a few years when the economy picks up and my personal finances are doing better. It is funny, when trying to substantially cut back on my guns it was hard to decide what to sell and what to keep, but now, when deciding to cut to the bare bones, it has been an easier process.
I guess I just want feedback on the categories, and the individual guns I've decided to keep (there are just a few things I am having trouble deciding when figuring out what bare bones means).
I want to be down to 4-6 guns from my current 21, if I can do 4 instead of 6, all the better.
I am probably not keeping any rifles. I haven't been to a rifle range in years and some of my most valuable guns are rifles. I've only shot my AR 2-4 times, and it has been several years. My Rem 700SPS Varmint is 2 or 3 years old and it hasn't been shot yet. As much as I love my Winchester 94 in 30-30, I just don't shoot any rifles much (it is about 10 years old so it is not a rare gun I'll have trouble replacing).
I am having trouble deciding if I want to keep a .22. They are cheap to shoot and all gun enthusiasts should have one, but with how much I shoot these days (only a few times a year) it probably isn't necessary. My Marlin 60 isn't worth very much money though so I probably should keep it and it was my first gun. The value of having a .22 is probably greater than what I'd get for it, and it isn't so much that I want a small number of guns, I want to maximize the money I can get out of my collection. On the other hand, I might shoot it once a year and it has become very temperamental (at its best it is very ammo sensitive).
I wouldn't mind a long-gun for home defense, but a .45ACP or .357mag would work for that. I don't like my Benelli shotgun at all and current used values are about what I paid for it new 6 or 7 years ago. I love my .45LC Win 94 (I just love lever rifles) but it is a little more temperamental than I'd like for a home defense gun and right now I don't see keeping any guns ONLY because I like them (they need some utility too). I could sell both and buy a used .357mag lever rifle that may be more reliable, and the price of that and what I'd get for my Winchester may be a wash if I buy used. I could go a little cheaper and get a Mossberg 500, but there is only one range I know of around here where I can shoot my defensive loads and it is about an hour and a half away.
(more to come)