The Final Answer: How Many Guns Do You Need?

[BearGriz]

I know many of you have strong feelings on these threads that go into "How many guns are enough?" or "If you could only have ____ guns..."

Here is the final answer/formula that you can use:

= n + 1

That is the number of guns that you need, and that is the number that you can have! (For those of you who slept in math class, the formula just means the number you are searching for is always one more than you currently have.)

For full disclosure, my brother's friend finally figured this out, but I am going to use it from now on.

Q: Honey, how many guns do you really need? A: n + 1

So if you could only have n + 1 guns, which ones...

 

[joe normal]

Like the real estate tycoon, "I don't want all the land in the world, just whatever touches mine."

 

[Double Vision]

My answer always is: Just one more...

 

[BearGriz]

LOL, I hadn't heard that, but it is funny!

 

[JoeMal]

How many do I need? As many as I want! Plus probably 1 or 2 more

There is no right answer for this

 

[Skribs]

How many you need is a lot different than how many you want or can have. "Need" I would define as one that has a specific use, which is different from all others. It can be:
*The gun you use for a specific competition
*The gun you use for carry in specific conditions
*The gun you have placed in that specific part of the house
*The gun you use for hunting that particular animal
*The gun you have to backup one of the above should the above need to go to the shop
*The gun you use for practice
*Etc.

Anything else, which is pretty much what you use just for collectibles or fun at the range, I would deem a WANT instead of a NEED (however, it is a want that should be fully protected by 2A). Anything which is "I felt like using this gun for competition instead of that one today" is a WANT (above the first one), because you already have that covered, unless the second one is a backup that you compete with to verify functionality.

How many shooting activities you do and what your philosophy is will determine how many you need. My strategy of carry the same thing everywhere, only do competitions where I can use my carry gun, and only have guns that will be up to the task of personal protection means my number of needs is far fewer than someone who has several hunting weapons, several competition weapons, and rotates between several personal protection weapons. My desire to have an alternate in case my primary fails does bring the number up, however.

We'll see what I end up with, but I'm thinking a handful of handguns and a couple long guns is all I need.

 

[BADUNAME30]

None.

I jist buy the ones i want.

 

[gym]

It used to be only 1 or 2, back 30-50 yrs ago. Only collectors had more. Now everyone seems to be a collector. Why anyone wants 10, 1911's is their own business. For me it's just like everything else, the more stuff you have, the more you complicate your life. I am Older now and realize I can only use 1 or 2 guns at a time. So having 6, is plenty of handguns for me. There was a time I had 10 times that many, but like everything else, it's more to maintain, fix, and worry about. I try to uncomplicate my life.
Plus you should be very good with the gun you carry, and carrying a dozen different guns can be confusing if you do get into a shoot out and have to respond fast. I don't want to be worrying about which gun I brought with me today, and does it shoot to point of aim, or 6 o'clock, and where the safety is or is this one that doesn't have one.
It should be a no brainer, maybe having a dozen similar guns makes more sense, so that they operate the same way if you rotate your carry's. But going back and forth revolver to 1911 to Glock, is really not for me . If you have a lot of money and a couple homes and cars, your kids education is paid for, and you have a retirement package set up where you live comfortablly, then you should "IMO" spend your money on whatever you desire.
I get annoyed when a guy buys a gun who can't pay his child support, or has massive debt, but indulges his selfish whims and buys a thousand dollar gun instead of food, or his rent or mortgage, for his wife and kids. But I am not here to change the world.
Lets face it, he's probablly never going to use the gun, but sure as hell needs the house.
Or when you worry about the cost of ammo and can't shoot the gun, that's a good sign that you shouldn't have bought it. But we are a consumer based society, and are taught that we should have what we want, just ask those folks who bought half million dollar houses on a 30 grand a year salary.

 

[tarosean]

Luckily wants and needs have entirely separate meanings.

 

[Big_E]

I WANT all of them.

I NEED all of them.

 

[230RN]

n+1 for n=0 or n=1

n [sup]1.632[/sup] for any n>1

Try it. It works:

Starting number of guns versus guns wanted, needed, coveted, droolworthy under the above rubric:

0 = 1

1 = 2

2 = 3.0994237238366859381198968979915

3 = 6.0070588643130644045980135346086

4 = 9.6064274198816692203186802869456

5 = 13.826716144088613132866211113612

6 = 18.61842075453537159566717216874

Taking integer values for the results, this seems to be representative of the gun community as a whole.



Now let's look at the number of holsters in your holster drawer, box, shipping container, or cargo ship, shall we? Anyone? Mr. Bueller?

Terry, 230RN

 

[TreeDoc]

I to have been thinning the herd, just don't shoot as much as I used to. Still buy and trade a little, but for me a .22 , 12 gauge , 30-30 , and g26 are all I need, so I guess 4

 

[tomrkba]

This is the beauty of n+1. It always works. All possible firearms uses are accounted for. All new guns, and future designs, are included.

Long live "n+1"!

 

[AlexanderA]

"Need" is the wrong question to ask. The ancient philosopher Diogenes the Cynic managed to reduce his earthly possessions to what he considered the bare minimum -- a drinking cup. Then he saw someone drinking water with his cupped hands. So Diogenes threw away his drinking cup, having finally reduced his "needs" to -- nothing! (More realistically, in the greater scheme of things, guns rank fairly low on the list of priorities.)

"Wants," on the other hand, are infinite.

 

[buck460XVR]

So if you could only have n + 1 guns, which ones...

OMG, I foresee a whole new wave of threads......

 

[pseudonymity]

Need: 0
Want: typically 1-2 more than I currently own

 

[zonzin]

How many are there??


.

 

[tubeshooter]

Me: "Okay, this is going to be it for awhile..."


My gunsmith/vendor: "Yeah - they all say that."

 

[flatlander937]

My personal needs:

A 4.25" 1911 - check
.22 target pistol - check
Small CCW 9mm - check
Inexpensive surplus bolt action rifle - check

Still need to acquire:
-Small revolver in .38/.357
-Mid size revolver in .357
-Big bore revolver in .44 mag
-Something in .380
-Something DA/SA
-Something in an interesting caliber
-A military surplus handgun
-Full size 5" 1911
-.38 Super 1911
-Something in .40
-A Glock even though I hate them
-Color case hardened SA revolver
-Something in .45ACP threaded for a silencer

-Bolt action rifle in .22
-Semi-auto rifle in .22
-Lever action .357 old west style rifle/carbine
-Bolt action rifle in .223
-Bolt action rifle in .308
-M1 Garand
-M1903 Springfield
-An AKM in 7.62x39
-An AKM in 5.45x39
-An AR in 5.56
-A Romanian PSL
-12ga pump gun
-Semi auto 12ga


Those would keep me happy... except for the +1

I never typed out all my "wants" before... thats a pretty long list.

I want to just acquire as much different stuff as possible to have all kinds of stuff for introducing newcomers to shooting. That was by far one of the coolest things about the guy who got me into shooting, he brought about 6 different guns with him so I got to experience a bit of every caliber and weight differences and subtleties in each different firearm.

 

[firecrackerktm]

It is the same answer to "how many motorcycles should you have"

 

[General Geoff]

Need is dynamic, not static

 

[coalman]

Q. How many guns do you need?
A. As many as I want and can afford.

This is still America. No need for any of that = n + 1 stuff.

 

[Pete D.]

Hmmm

"Need" is a very dangerous word. There are those - you know this - who will tell you that you don't "need" any firearms at all.
Personally, my needs right now are filled....but that could change with the next picture that I see or post that I read.
Pete

 

[Dr_B]

All l NEED is one revolver and one shotgun. That covers all home defense and carry needs. But need doesn't have to govern want. So l will get as many as l want as long as l can afford them.

 

[TAKtical]

You dont "need" a car. You could ride the bus or a bike or walk but most people have two or three. Or we could be like china. Do you really need 5 kids? Lets just limit you to one. Do you need to make $20 per hour? No you could probably live a normal life make $7 per hour. Do you need coffee? Do you need double ply TP? Do you need alcohol? It causes so many deaths every year, im sure you will be ok without it. It always kills me how quick people are to discredit the second amendment but no one will ever dare touch the 1st. This country is what it is because of the laws and rights our forefathers created for us. If you dont like the laws, move to mexico. Mexico has some of the most strict gun laws in the world. They will be happy to provide you with a "safe" gun free environment. There are no gun crimes there right?