Mostly to keep things simple and cut down on the volume of stuff I have clogging up my living space. Part of my approach has a much to do with how I want to live life in general (clutter free) as it does about a practical approach to hunting and shooting.
The following doesn't relate to you. It's just a personal gripe of mine. I don't know anything about your situation and make no assumptions about you.
I think there is a media and culture problem with "stuff" at times.
There are TV shows that really push the idea that the viewers will lead better lives if they just get rid of what they own. They portray owning "too much" as a disease. They encourage people to sell anything that hasn't been used recently, right down to suggesting you sell your winter clothes each spring. These TV shows tend to be sponsored by companies that sell the types of products the shows encourage viewers to discard. The house-clutter shows are sponsored by companies that sell furniture, the clothes-clutter shows are sponsored by companies that sell clothes. I'm not saying there is a conspiracy or anything. It's just a healthy case of corporate self interest.
Now there is truth to the idea that buying too much can be a symptom of unhappiness. There is a correlation between depression and impulse buying. Depression is a disease, or at least the extreme forms can be. But...I think that sometimes unhappy people see these TV shows where the actors give up their stuff and are happy and they buy into it as a way to become happy themselves. I've seen people in the grip of that destroy family photographs going back 4 generations, throw away furniture their grandparents built by hand, destroy tens of thousands of dollars in personal wealth, and do all sorts of other stuff they later regretted. It is a destructive force, just like anything else is when taken to excess.
There are many categories of possession which are only useful if they are owned in advance of need. A fire extinguisher at the hardware store does you no good when your microwave catches fire. Groceries leaving the store in all your neighbors' hands do you no good when a storm is predicted and your pantry is empty. Clothes in a store do you no good when....you get the idea. Tools in general are usually in this category, and guns can be tools.
The real balance is between how having less will improve your life (and it will...easier to move if nothing else), vs. how much all that stuff improves your life. My life is much better because I have tools to do 1000 odd jobs that most people can't do for themselves, because I have rifles in .17 and .45 caliber, because I have a handgun, because I own a utility trailer instead of renting u-hauls, because I have a leather jacket I bought - gasp - more than 3 months ago! I also have a place to store all of my stuff. If I didn't, I would own less...and my quality of life would be lower.
The pendulum swings, we all go back and forth, and theoretically it all balances out over time. Obviously, I'm on the "more, in moderation, is good" side. Doesn't make me right or other people wrong, but I worry that people are being encouraged to live in a way that maybe makes a lot of sense in a major city when all you can afford is a 250 square foot apartment and where "help" will be smotheringly close in an emergency, but doesn't have much bearing in the real world.
Sorry for the rant.
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