Trying to frustrate my future self

[d31tc]

I've been working for a number of years "scrounging" guns, reloading gear, components, and various other gun hobby "stuff", on sale, used. Sometimes I get lucky, other times I don't.

I saw a guy who had listed 357 dies and some equipment and components. After contacting him and settling on $30 dollars for the dies, he offers "$100 for the lot otherwise it goes in the scrap pile." I ask to clarify $100 for all of it, or $100 for the stuff plus $30 for the dies. His response, "All of it - and more". I'm kind of excited, because there was at least $250 worth of stuff (357 dies, 700 pistol primers, an RCBS press, an RCBS scale, an RCBS case trimmer, a uniflow powder measure with large and small drum - AND MORE!

I would have been in my minivan and on the way to pick it up then and there if it weren't for kid and dog commitments, so I set a time to meet him at noon on Friday, which was the soonest I could get free.

He responds, "Getting tired of dealing with this crap. Get it out of here. Just so much to get rid of." I laughed when I read that, because I'm going in the opposite direction of acquiring "stuff".

Knowing FB marketplace is first come, first serve, there was a risk someone else might beat me to it, and that's what happened. On Thursday evening he messages, "A guy stopped by for other stuff and wound up buying all the reloading stuff."

Yes, my heart sank a little, but I had to laugh about the stuff. Maybe the guy who beat me to it saved the future me the frustration about having more stuff.

Are you trending towards more gun stuff or are you trending toward less gun stuff?

 

[EddieG54]

At 70+ I may be in the middle of getting stuff and letting stuff go. If something grabs my attention I make a call to get it or let it go. But I am cutting back on firearms and only reloading a few pistol and rifle calibers now. I have a few family members that shoot and reload so my "stuff" has a place to go.

 

[Miami_JBT]

My tastes have evolved over the years. I've culled some things from the collection, added other stuff to it. In the end, I figure I have another 40-45 years or so before I liquidate everything due to age and health.

 

[Hookeye]

Have had a fair bit over the years but am becoming more practical, even when I can afford to be a little silly.
Not a collector, not a target shooter........just hunt.
As such I want better stuff, not more.

Think what few I have good enough, now just want to upgrade optics.
Thats enough of a hassle.

 

[Hookeye]

My taste?
Well after 40 plus yrs I finally got an Anschutz 54.....lusted over em in ads back as a kid.
Never was a slave to the "latest and greatest".
My reloading gear is older.

 

[MarshallDodge]

I'm never one to pass up a really good deal on stuff. Last night I was helping a friend get setup to load 45ACP. The die set that he had did not include a separate taper crimp die. I dug through my stuff and found one that worked.

Some times it pays to have excess

 

[Hookeye]

My dad had a bunch of stuff over the years and kept adding to it
(he collected reloading presses, had over 60 of em).
That and other "stuff" meant a PITA when doing the estate.
Im a minimalist and hate clutter. Must have been adopted LOL

 

[Hookeye]

I have a L:yman Mag T and trimmer.
My scale is an old Ohaus.
My .357 and .44 dies are old Lyman black box stuff.
Rifle dies.............I hate lubing cases so prefer to neck size and keep for specific rifle.
No duplicate chamberings.
Like the Lee collet dies for neck sizing
Do have RCBS FL dies for prepping new brass.

 

[gwpercle]

Both ...

I have so much old stuff I don't have any room for the new stuff !

I have been trying to get rid of some of the old stuff to make way for the new stuff !

I don't like to throw stuff away but I'm learning ...

You never stop getting new stuff... that takes all the fun out of life !

Gary

 

[Hookeye]

Oh Ive tossed stuff that ended up being needed months if not years down the road.
Ive learned that the lack of clutter worth the expense.

 

[Riomouse911]

I have been blessed with the ability to slowly amass enough stuff to keep me occupied for easily two and a half lifetimes.

Nowadays, I’m only getting stuff I REALLY want to have now. No more impulse or “I’ll buy it to try it out” purchases, but things I have pined for or desired for quite a while.

Someday, maybe, I’ll start shedding things. Until then…

Stay safe.

 

[Frulk]

Facebook marketplace rules or not…VERY POOR form of him to sell it out from under you if there was an agreed upon time and date and it hadn’t yet passed.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I been upgrading my scopes. So i have some spares now sitting on a shelf.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I deal with folks on F.B. I learned not to hold anything. There is a lot on there who do not come through.

 

[d31tc]

Facebook marketplace rules or not…VERY POOR form of him to sell it out from under you if there was an agreed upon time and date and it hadn’t yet passed.

I put in my ads “No holds. First come, first served”. I’ve had a huge percentage ghost after agreed meeting time, ergo my no holds policy. In reality, I’ll hold it when they message me they are on the way with a solid ETA.

I don’t hold it against him.

 

[230RN]

Made up a list, gave it to sons, asked them to decide between themselves what they wanted, transferred them accordingly about ten years ago.

For myself, I only kept what I could carry in my own two hands at a dead run.

Terry, 230RN

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Holding pretty steady to what I got. Might sell a few, buy a few.

 

[The Night Rider]

The older I get, the more of a minimalist I become. I currently own more guns than I actually want. I would rather sell my Ruger LC9 and Glock 43 and put the money into magazines and ammunition for the guns we keep.

 

[armoredman]

I have had to get rid of many wonderful guns and stuff over the last 20 years due to a bad marriage. My new wife of the last three years has turned everything around for me, so that I can finally get and KEEP some new toys to play with, even with the white in my beard and buzz cut. I even was able to buy everything to get in to cowboy action shooting!

Note, I never said I was GOOD at it, but I am having a lot of fun now that I wasn't able to before. I know what i am mostly doing is building up the pile of junk my son will have to keep or sell when I croak - that's HIS problem, not mine.

 

[nofendertom]

Is that your Cowboy Action get-up?
Remove the gun belt and I would dress like that every day.

 

[d31tc]

I personally only have 2 guns officially remaining on my list to add to my safe - a S&W 1066 and a S&W CS9, so I am slowing down, but still getting stuff. There are other guns I would replace/upgrade that fill a perceived roll that I have and would maybe do it better. If I win a billion dollars, then all bets are off.

Reloading stuff, that’s a little different story.

 

[JmacD]

I haven’t read the whole thread. I just read the original post. That said, I’m still gathering. That being said, much of it is to pass on to help somebody else. I pay a lot of stuff forward. In life in general. But especially with gun stuff. I’ve had plenty of people give me help, and I returned the favor! For example, there was a semi local member that was wanting rid of a bunch of extra MTM ammo cases; a good friend of mine, who has always carried his ammo in an ancient beecnut coffee can now has enough proper cases for his 44 magnum…

My kiddo is also getting more and more interested in the firearm side of things… She’s quite a formidable force with her BB gun so, I suspect that’s going to open up a whole new chapter of both Firearms and Reloading

 

[Walkalong]

I'm still buying a few things, but I have given away quite a few guns over the last 20 years, partly to make room for something else. I need to make room in the safe for what I want next, but there's nothing I really want to get rid of.............

 

[LV Gun]

I am ditching stuff I turned 70 recently I am still in good health but I don’t want to leave a huge mess for my wife as we have no children just a couple nephews who are somewhat into shooting. I have sold quite a few guns , they were ones I just barely shot anymore , I have also been getting rid of old reloading equipment that I haven’t used in years by just giving it away.
I am trying to Pay it Forward like the people that helped me get started reloading did , they made it easy for me to start reloading when I didn’t have a lot of money.

 

[orionengnr]

I've been reading threads such as this for at least five years (currently 68), and in that time I have helped two widows dispose of the stuff their husbands did not.
So I have had a solid spreadsheet with everything I own, make/model/serial number, current value, etc. Just in case.
Had a cancer diagnosis last July, and a second one in Oct...that kicked me into gear. Sold about half of what I owned (and a few more still for sale), and any future purchases (if any) will probably be upgrades in quality while trimming down the quantity. Sometimes, less is more.