So, how do you pay for your hobby of guns?

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Jeeps are nice...... for the two days of the year they are not broken down:evil:
Seriously tho it looks good.
 
May seem odd, but thanks to my wife. She considers any firearm bought as an investment, if she don't think it will show a profit when sold someday, I have a hard sale with her to get it.

She is very knowledgeable about guns and will mostly ask my opine, but she often strays off at gun shows and buys on her own. She collects Bersa Model 85s in .380 and Model 23s in .22 LR.

And BTW, she is 71 years old and still an avid shooter.
 
I used to work hard for them.

Now I clean hard and cook. My reloading services for the Mrs. also contribute.

The kind gnomes who leave expensive brass laying everywhere have contributed a surprisingly decent share over the last couplea years.......although nothing like California.

Say what you want about Cali. Those people were so stinkin rich, they left piles of white gold and loaded ammo everywhere.......miss those rich slobs.
 
I buy really cheap guns.
I go to the gun shows and buy the cheapest gun at every show.
I have a friend who's gun collection median value is orders of magnitude higher than mine.

I get some guns for free when people throw them away.
I make firing pins from nails and trigger springs from guitar wire.
 
I live vicariously through other THR members. My "hobby of guns" consists of reading about other peoples' enjoyment with their guns, and fantasizing about a future when I'll actually have time to go shooting on anything resembling a regular basis, myself.

Currently, I find time to go shooting for around two hours every three months or so.
 
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This was my first actual hobby. It began at age 52.
Most milsurps don't cost so much. Somebody up there (mljdeckard?) mentioned Russian ammo. Prvi Partizan (Serbian) .303 is really good reloadable ammo.

Years ago I really wanted a canoe, but it's hard to paddle upstream to a car. Not kidding at all.
 
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I gave up boating and fishing (price of fuel and to old and stiff to do maintainance), now I have about $5,000.00 every year that is not committed (boat was paid off). I could save it for my kids but they would use it for a vacation to grive my passing. My wife would use it for a luxury cruise to Italy. So, off to the gun store to buy a new toy, I made it, I'll spend it.
 
Have a wife, kids, mortgage, two (cheap) cars and a poorly paid academic career. Wife's got a job too, she almost pays her own expenses :evil:. Just kidding, she's a priceless companion.

I afford the hobby by working overtime. I also reload and shoot a lot of .22s. No drinking, smoking, gambling, etc. My only other hobby is photography and collecting inexpensive but interesting cameras.
 
I'm a plumber in our family business. I don't make a whole lot there, but the hours are great and very flexible. The economy has taken it's toll on that business. I made less last year that I have since 2005.

For the last few years I have been buying properties and fixing them up. That has been a huge investment of time. I spend right around 500 hours for each unit. I have been turning units out in about 3 months. 90-100 work weeks of labor are not fun, but now I have 5 rental units. I did not buy any guns or shoot at all until 2009- 2010. I had a few guns from before I was married in 2005, but I never really shot them because I never had the time or money. It's a hard trade off. You can work all day and all night but then you have no time to shoot. If you don't work extra it seems you never have enough extra money.

Being married with 2 boys and one more on the way is expensive! I don't buy many guns. Most of my money goes towards ammo! I'm looking into getting sponsored by a local business. That would help a great deal.
 
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I don’t spend money I don’t have. My CC’s are paid in full monthly. I don’t have any vehicle notes. I have friends with much flashier stuff, but I don’t try to compete. Do those simple things and you will have a little extra change in your pocket.
 
Most of the gun buying is on hold right now while my wife and I are trying to unload two condos (that we own in addition to our home) that are just huge money pits.
Once they are gone, she and I will have money to put away every month.
 
So, how do you pay for your hobby of guns?
Click to expand...

Actually I am a professional thief so I steal stuff and buy guns. :)

OK seriously? Guns have always been a hobby since my first .22 Remington 510P which I still have. While my real job is electrical engineering my wife manages a small TV station. Our kids are grown with kids of their own and doing well. We own our modest home in the Cleveland burbs and carry zero debt. We also owned a small gun shop for a number of years which helped the collection.

Fortunately we are at a point in life where I can afford the guns I want and she enjoys her jewelery. In a few years I'll retire as will my wife. I figure now is the time to stock up on guns and associated equipment. Once retired I see us doing well but the income will not be what it is today. Additionally we both see the guns as an investment. You will seldom lose money buying a gun assuming you hang onto it for awhile.

Ron
 
Well, just like musicman10_1, for about 25 years I built a massive guitar collection. First I bought, then I started building them. for the last 10 years I've been buying guns or rifles as the mood hits. It seems, however, that in the past year I've been buying at a more rapid pace. It's a very addictive hobby. Expensive? Yes. Worth it. Absolutely!
I fund all my hobbies from my paycheck. I have no debt and I've been in my particular career since... a very long time. I make a habit of making sure I have the cash before I buy anything. I will not every carry a CC balance for any type of weapon. Ever. Personal philosophy. But, yeah, cash or no buy.
I also reload, so I can't walk out of Cabelas or BassPro without buying some sort of OH SO VERY NECESSARY component. :)
It gets expensive, but I guess in a way I'm fortunate that I've been through all the pains of not having discretionary income when I was younger. At my age, I figure I have about 25 years left to enjoy and then pass it all off to the boy.
Good times... and I'm not done.... yet.
 
Its a combination of factors for me. My oncall pay puts $350 a month into my combination gun/hunting trip fund. I reload for everything but the rimfires. And my 10 year old daughter is getting in to guns as well, so the wife assists from time to time, especially with the daughter's guns and accessories.

Next summer's prairie dog trip will also save me some cash, as both wife and daughter want to try it out, and we'll incorporate it into a 9 day SoDak vacation. That means the gas for my truck gets paid from the vacation fund instead of my hunting fund!



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I take $40 every payday as discretionary funds. Whatever I don't spend goes into my guns and ammo fund, along with anything I make from teaching CCW classes, though that has dried up completely since April, since I don't own the company and am not a primary instructor.
 
I work in advertising, and do not have any kids. I am fortunate enough my day job supports me enough financially to play. But i still try to keep it under somewhat control. IE trade or sell arms i do not shoot any longer. Sell accessories i dont use. Purchase cheap plinking ammo. Shop for deals of course,
 
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