When does it become a "Collection"?

[Mr White]

Its a collectoin if you have more than 1, or if you're talkin to fence sitters or uppity-type people. Otherwise they're just called 'some guns'.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

On that sad day, the day that you stop shooting them.

 

[Gixerman1000]

I would say you are starting a collection when you have all the main bases covered and then keep adding out of want rather than need.

For some people here adding firearms one after another is a sickness, these poor people just can’t help themselves from buying more and more and there is no help group for them. I just thank my lucky stars that I have never contracted this sickness and that I have been able to stay in control of my hobby, you see I can stop whenever I want,,,,,,
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I mean I would still need to pick up the 3 more I have coming but after that I could stop,,,,,,,
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and I did see this one gun that someone posted a few days ago and I just have to find one like it,,,,,
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and there are a few new ones that come out every year but after that no problem ,,,
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I could stop then,,,, I know I could then,, though it would be silly to stop then when I would be so close to having them all and I HAVE TO HAVE THEM ALL,,,,,, umm,, you guys agree right??

My modest Collection

 

[Leatherneck]

"HI, I'm Gixerman, and I have a problem."

C'mon, Gix, you can do it.

TC

 

[Mr White]

Bulls**t, Gixerman! I've seen the pictures you post.

The only thing that's gonna stop you from buying more guns is the same thing that'll stop you from shooting them, eating and breathing...

The Eternal Nap!

 

[outofbattery]

I don't consider myself a collector as I don't actually collect,as in seek out to own,any particular firearm.Actually,I've only been into guns since 04 after having not even handled one in ~ 8 years.In that time span,I've ended up with 21 handguns ( the only ones that could construe in a loose sense a collection would be 5 SIG's) and ~ 21-23 longarms.I don't need that many and have threatened to sell some of them off but I always read that you'll regret it more later.

 

[CajunBass]

When you get a C&R and the government officially labels you a collector.

WOOOO HOOOOOOO

I is a "collector" now.

Before last week, I was just a guy with a few guns.

 

[mike101]

When you're done.

 

[3fgburner]

I know the exact moment when I made the transition...

... From accumulator to collector. It was when I picked up a Polish P64, hated the DA trigger pull, and bought it anyway. It's not a fun gun to shoot. The only reason I have it, is that it's a Cold War-era Eastern Bloc gun in 9x18mm. I still want to find a Wanad P83. Learned about CZ82s, and got one. Having broken the .380 barrier with a Kel-Tec, I'm now in the market for a Carpati.

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

I don't collect guns.....










They follow me home, and I adopt them.

 

[CWL]

I own alot of firearms.

I have a "collection" of 3 HK P7s

I also have a "collection" of 5 m1911s

 

[22-rimfire]

Wow old thread, but great theme. Tamara and I have had discussions on what constitutes "collecting". I think I fall into that catagory now. As was mentioned a couple of posts back, I know the exact time when the transition happened..... Colts were getting more expensive, I loved them, and certainly didn't need any more.... hence I started collecting, but within the bounds of a theme for the most part. I still buy stuff that would not qualify for part of the collection; I shoot those.

 

[1BLINDREF]

Bazooka -
LOL
Happens to me too

 

[davera]

I think that it became collecting for me when I had all the guns I needed for personal and home defense, for fun and entertainment and for any sort of hunting in the lower 48. Then I could start collecting guns I wanted.

 

[Chuhhuniban]

For some people here adding firearms one after another is a sickness, these poor people just can’t help themselves from buying more and more and there is no help group for them. I just thank my lucky stars that I have never contracted this sickness and that I have been able to stay in control of my hobby, you see I can stop whenever I want,,,,,,

Oh Lord, do I know that feeling. It comes on you about the third Delta Elite or when you find a S&W 4506 to go alongside the 1006's (note the "s") just 'cause you ought to have one of those too...

 

[PrimaryB]

LOL, a tool box....gee, I bought my third tool box last month! Could be I have a problem.All are 1950's pre 64's Remintons and Smiths!
Actually, these tools are a legacy for my kiddos.......better than stocks...I'll keep a few for myself and give em to them in about 5 years.
Dan

Hey dad. Remember me? I almost gave up finding you. Thank God I found you. Please PM me for shipping address.

PrimaryB

 

[gezzer]

When you have to ask, you are not yet a collector.

 

[HuntCast]

When the wife says........
"Get all these God D**mn guns out of here so I can clean!"

 

[BothellBob]

How to tell an arsenal from a collection (assuming they are mutually exclusive, not the soundest of assumptions):
1. How many guns do you own? (If you know the answer, it is not a collection)
2. So go to your safe and count them. (No safe? It is not a collection)
3. Go to the gun section of your home library and count the number of gun books. No library in your house? You NEED a few liberal friends! No gun book section? No gun books? A few books, but you can count them on one hand (and they are all about reloading)? It is not a collection.
4. If the ratio of guns to books is better than 4:1 then you are on your way to having a collection. If you own more gun books than guns, your liberal friends are under an obligation to not only approve of your hobby, but go shooting with you. They really want to anyway, but how could they hold their heads up with their other friends unless they can say, "Well, he is a collector, you should see his library, some of the specimens we shot were over a hundred years old." Your conservative friends without books are knuckle dragging Neanderthals (offer them a bath, take them shooting, and try to educate them).
5. Failing the above, if you actually look for and buy gun books (extra points for looking for specific gun books) then you are at least making an effort toward having a collection.

But more to the point, the distinction between a collection and an arsenal depends not so much on the count of the cache of weaponry, but in how that assemblage is perceived, not just by the owner, but more particularly by the rest of the world. A true collector must cultivate an attitude that lets the great unwashed know, however subtly and condescendingly, that they are in the presence of a connoisseur. To plagiarize shamelessly from a Penultimate collector who, on another board, shared some insight on the distinction between the gun nut and the collector:

I … would in general agree that it is a cultivated aroma, a dash of pretense, a certain savoir faire, that ultimately comes to distinguish the collector from a mere gun nut. But defining that certain je ne sais quoi that characterizes a collector takes a lot of words and still will be a mere cartoon that pales in comparison to the real thing.
If the goal is distinction, I suggest that reliance upon negative inference is both simpler and more sure. Just as ordering red wine with Dover sole, wearing a regimental tie with Harris tweed, or white sox with other than tennis attire (or putting catsup on anything) are sure signs of ill breeding, I believe that my "more than one truck gun" hypotheses is reliable proof that one is not a collector.
Since the only practical goal of a collector seems to be to become recognized as a collector by other collectors, I remind you that most people have long memories resistant to new impressions. In keeping with the old adage "It is better to remain silent and thought a fool than speak and remove all doubt," to me this means that the aspiring collector should first and foremost avoid the kind of social gaffe that causes him to be labeled as an uncultured gun nut amongst the collector crowd. As to the wisdom of joining this cadre, I can only point to Groucho Marx: "I would not want to be a member of any club that would have me."

Gun nuts have arsenals; collectors have specimens.
And a final word: Once you have a collection, the rest of the world truly is unwashed. While another collector can fully appreciate a collection, you need to have a few simple arms that will impress the masses. A post 1950s S&W revolver collection has merit, but most people will see it as only a stash of handguns. If you are into modern guns, get a few examples of the historical precursors of your collection. Nothing humbles them quite like a few real antiques (pre-1899 and recognized as such by US law); even better if the ammunition is no longer made, and you keep the gun as an "example of its type". And best if you manufacture that ammunition and can let them shoot something that they will likely never lay their hands on again.
BothellBob

 

[aaronrkelly]

I have a "collection" of guns. Why a collection, because thats what Im doing...collecting. I have easily 10+ guns that have never seen a single round. I have a "gun room" where they are displayed, more than stored.

I keep all information in a program called GunSafe (free by the way if anyone is interested) and I keep it up to date to the minute. If I acquire a correct sling to replace an incorrect one I will change the info in the program and take a new photo as well.

I buy guns I have no intention of using.

This is the last picture of my "gun room" - it was taken in January. Since then I have added a nice K31, SAIGA .223, Savage clone of Browning A5 lightweight, Romanian TTC Tokarev, Polish P64, Mosin Nagant 38, Glock 19.....I know Im missing a few more........