What motivates your gun-related expenditures?

What motivates your gun-related expenditures?

  • Need. I'm a minimalist and I buy only what I need for a specific purpose.

    Votes: 5 4.0%

  • Utility. I make select purchases that expand the functionality of what I already have.

    Votes: 40 32.0%

  • Exploration. I like to try new things: a new cartridge, a new platform, a new reloading tool, etc.

    Votes: 33 26.4%

  • Collecting. I enjoy the pride of ownership of lots of guns, with or without a theme.

    Votes: 28 22.4%

  • Addiction. I can't help myself; if it looks cool, I buy it.

    Votes: 19 15.2%
  • Total voters
    125
  • Poll closed .
If guns required any high-tech Nerd skills to operate them I would have nothing to do with the hobby
Literally—

And that’s mostly why I retired from aviation over two years early, as soon as I could afford retirement.
 
Need & Utility have never inspired me to buy anything nor has techie accessories, my opinion is to keep it simple, there’s fewer things to break … I guess that’s why I really like my 62 VW & 77 Triumph Spitfire. I do like my 2004 Chevy truck, and it’s as basic as they came at the time. When it comes to guns I do like to test out new platforms or cartridges … which has always been my motivation. I’ve never been into hunting and briefly into cowboy. Not to disparage anyone that is into those disciplines, they just aren’t for me.
 
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I haven't had a real strong itch for any new guns but in my particular case, a somewhat recent birth has me thinking about adding a couple .22lr's to the safe. I want my youngest and my oldest to feel like they both have their own guns independently of each other, ex: 5 or 12 for one and 4 or 12 for the other one 😆, and of course 1 for me too.

I don't have any immediate plans to add anything else besides .22lr's but if one of my girls were to take a liking to trap shooting adding another shotgun or two wouldn't be out of the question. As for me, I think I'm pretty well set, but that's not written in stone, my eye wanders around from time to time and if I find something older and interesting for a price, it wouldn't take much convincing but as for now, my lil one will be guiding my gun purchasing decisions for the most part.

Most of the gun stuff I think about nowadays aren't firearms themselves but support gear, getting a slide cut for a RDS, adding an optic to a rifle, updating some placeholder support gear like upgrading to better slings, triggers, hardware, etc.... I would also be interested in an MK12 416SS bbl upper with a full length QR and 4-16x50 optic for longer range. No hurry on that, I'm pretty much squared away.
 
I am not a "collector". I am an "accumulator". Whether it was buying a gun as a base to build a new match gun, or because the agency went to a new issue sidearm, and I preferred to carry my own, rather than city property....I ended up accumulating more guns than I need. I have way more AR platform rifles and carbines, and 1911s than I will ever need because I just flat like building them, so they accumulate.

I admit, yes, sometimes I make whim purchases, like the stupid X-Frame I bought, or because whatever it may be is a "good deal" like a Sig P229 I bought not long ago. Every once in a while, I go through the accumulation and trade off, or sell off ones that I have never shot, or won't actually carry. But hey, if you like to collect or buy whatever X Brand boomer because it's the new gee whizz thing....more power to you. It's better than pissing away money on wives, strippers, and cocaine. I mean unless you like collecting wives who are strippers addicted to cocaine. It's not my place to judge. You do you.
 
Minimalist here.
Have owned a fair number over the years.
Dad was a collector/dealer so nothing really excites me.

Buy for specific need.

You know, I NEED an 870 Special Field 20 ga ..........just for rabbits.
Have a Citori 20 ga just for doves.
Have an 870 Supermag for turkey
and an 1100 magnum for bismuth shot on geese

etc

Well defined needs might increase overall number LOL
 
None of the above.

I already have utility and what I need, so I buy what I want, but I don’t really take pride in ownership of things and am not a collector.

So I guess … whim. I buy on whim, obsessively researched and plotted and planned whim
 
Reloading drives much of my gun purchases these days. Right now, I'm hot on a new caliber for me, 45 Long Colt. So I am purchasing a 45 LC Western style revolver, because I'm a serious Western fan as well as a horse owner (Western riding). And of course I just purchased all the reloading dies and components for 45 LC.

I have been a bit of a split personality over the decades with regard to gun purchasing. Years past, I bought just to have. Like I was ticking off check marks per caliber. Then I went through a phase of liquidating about 80 percent of my collection. Now I am SLOWLY rebuilding that.
 
If collecting isn’t shared - in person in my home, on a regular basis- with another gun owner who really appreciates a specific gun, it wouldn’t be rewarding for me.

This has been a predominant factor in not being a collector.

Just being honest. I don't consider the internet to be a "personal inspection" or personal visit.
 
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Flawed poll; you need an "Other" option. I don't buy a gun for any of these reasons. I buy for self-defense, but I don't realistically "need" a gun for that; I just like the insurance policy it provides, so to speak.
 
At times, all of the above. I place myself right between "need" and "utility." I have all the basics covered when it comes to self/home defense and hunting. With very little emphasis on the hunting, as I haven't participated in a white tail season in many years. My last two purchases were hunting rifles in an attempt to recapture the fun I had in hunting when I lived in New England. Didn't work and now I am trying to off load them to make room and money for other purchases. One of them was a M1917 Einfield rifle. Which is both a great hunting rifle and significant historic firearm.

As I have what I need covered, I am focusing on expanding utility. And I have determined that is suppressors. I have several handguns and rifles with threaded barrels. So I am going down the rabbit hole of suppressor shopping and regulation to expand the utility of those threaded barrels.
 
Personal defensive was the motivation behind my initial gun purchases... however once I satisfied that, I started looking for firearms that I just thought were cool or fun. In my case, that meant going from boring but practical polymer wonders, to historic firearms like lever actions and revolvers.
 
Guns fascinate me. I bought my first thinking I was going to conceal carry it for defense but truthfully I don't like concealed carry. No matter where I put the weapon it bugs the hell out of me. The closest I've got is with a pocket holster with a snub nose revolver.

So, what it turned into was part addiction and part collecting. I just like shooting at the range, it's something fun I go and do with my Dad, and I like owning all these unique and cool looking firearms. There's just so much out there in the firearms world to learn and see.

Also, the firearms community is the friendliest group around. I've met a lot of interesting people and we all had common interests which made talking to them pretty easy. This is the kind of hobby where a lot of folks are happy to be social and share their experiences.
 
When I started buying handguns they had to be able to collect large mountain whitetails. Then competitive shooting was practiced. When I retired 22 years ago I picked up rifles for deer hunting I coveted when I was young with a young family and money was tight. Now I just enjoy and shoot what I have. I have been into hand loading since 1969.
 
Lately I have been buying accessories, spares, etc. Bought an extended/ported barrel for my Browning HP, a muzzle brake/compensator and a barrel with a compensator for my M1911s-range report to follow. Bought spare fixed sight slides for my long out of production S&W M-639 and 659, 10 round magazines for the latter.
 
.308 Norma said:

"What motivates your gun-related expenditures?"​

To some extent, THR. 😁
Click to expand...
index.php
 
Missed the poll. No answer in there for me either though.
At first I started with the .22 rifle, 30-30, and a shotgun. Reloaded for all but rimfire. After I got over being young and broke I started to buy anything that was a good deal for what it was. Then I would buy used guns from friends when they were down on their luck for more that the LGS would offer. In later years as I had more disposable income I was a member of "the gun of the month club". So basically an accumulator of firearms is my title. ;) Had a friend that had a bumpersticker that said "He who ends up with the most toys wins!" I am trying LOL.
 
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