why do I drive myself crazy wanting several more hunting rifles

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Sheepdog1968

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Hi, I can't be the only one who does this. I have two very nice hunting rifles - Marlin 30-30 lever action, Rem 700 bolt action in 30-06. We could talk about caliber choices all day but the reality is that those two really cover almost all of my needs in rifles. At some point I want to get a Marlin lever action in 45-70 which should cover the big dangerous game (I have a thing for lever actions so don't want to debate calibers) which I do want to hunt down the road.

What drives me crazy is I will read magazines and drool over new hunting rifles and then spend hours researching over the internet. It drives me nuts and I work myself up into a frenzy for no good reason. As it is, I have plenty of toy firearms and two hunting rifles that I really love to take in the field. Why do I do this to myself. Is there a cure? Why can't I just be happy with what I have and stop looking? Have you found a cure?
 
I'm sort of in that boat, except I keep with one caliber. I have a couple excellent rifles in my favorite caliber, but they are both blued/walnut. I'd really like to have a stainless/synthetic for wet weather. After I acquire one, I'll want another different one, for some other reason that I can't think of right now.
 
I have a Mauser 30-06, an in-process Mannlicher Shoenaur 6.5 carbine that I'm restoring, I would like a nice 22 bolt sporter (CZ, Savage, ...) and maybe a 22-250 or 220 Swift, maybe a short 308 or 6.5x55... And I don't hunt!
 
Celebrate your freedom and buy another hunting rifle in the cartridge and action of your choice! :)

If it makes you feel better, I have big game hunting rifles in multiple cartridges, including 243, 30-30, 257 Roberts, 6.5x55, 7mm-08 and 30-06. :neener: Several of them I have more than one rifle chambered for them.

Buy what you want if you have the money! Stimulate the economy. :rolleyes:
 
Yep. Sounds like you have the affliction..

Don't know if there's a cure (certainly hope the wife doesn't learn about it if it exists) Cause I DON'T want it...

There's nowhere near enough different game animals to begin to give us a real reason to own half of the calibers available, but I kinda like having that "sickness".

Our sickness seems to be a minor one compared to the folks with the afflictions we see in the local paper.

Keep wanting.. And keep buying..
 
It Is Common Among Lever People!

I must warn you...you have the signs of deep onset of Leveritis!

This inflicts 3 out of every 5 Lever Lovers....so you are not alone!

We could start LAA Lever Action Anonymous, but it would turn into a huge swap meet....:uhoh:

Here is what to do:

Find a Local Gun Shop That does Layaway!

This way it gives 90 days between buying the next rifle! :)
(This will allow you to gain a new set of Marlin Stainless XLR and Express Leverlution Rifles in a year!)

This Therapy helps the Fever Subside every 3 months....:scrutiny:

Usual Side effects are rebudgeting income every 90 days, need for bigger safe, frequent urges to buy ammo, and unrelenting periods of THR addiction!

This will usually subside in a few years when the wife realizes your constant need for a bigger safe and more cash!
 
do like me, just buy another safe...I usually cant decide which rifle to take out of the safe when I go check cattle. most of the time it's the cheapest, ugliest one I got, a Stevens 200 in 7mm-08 that is a tack driver. I love .22-250s, .308s (imagine that) ARs, AKs and my latest an M1A. there is no cure except going broke...
 
Here's my problem, i will buy a ~$300-400.00 gun, then go buy another a year later... I have went "crazy" on occasion and bought into the Obama Gun scare, and shelled out $800 for a black semi-auto AR, and maybe a few other "crazy" purchases as well... bought 1/4 dozen Mosin Nagants just because of the price tag... I probably should eliminate cheaper rifles, and buy a few higher quality rifles...

I have a couple guns in the safe i have never fired, and have considered purchasing a bigger safe...

then feel obligated to keep ammunition on hand for all of them, as if there was some sort of end in sight, and that even common calibers will dry up someday... (The "Obama scare" really assisted by ammo purchases a couple years ago as well)
 
The bad news is that your disease is incurable. I know because I have it too. The good news is that it can be managed. I know because after thirty years of dedicated effort and experimentation, I've finally achieved the perfect treatment protocol.

Here's what you do:

1) Acquire a sensible, practical set of hunting guns and keep them forever. Two guns should do it, three at most.

2) At regular intervals -- every six months is my preference, but you choose -- suggest to yourself that your setup lacks perfection. The merest hint is enough to get things started.

3) Begin scheming immediately and proceed obsessively/compulsively, ignoring family, work, sleep, food, sex, and even TV until you've identified the new gun. Then go on to caliber, optics, etc. Spend no more than a month on this.

4) Acquire the new setup, preferably by selling or trading guns you've sworn to keep forever and/or diverting funds from less critical areas like health insurance, mortgage payments, etc.

5) Shoot the new setup, changing loads and scopes until optimal performance is achieved. Allow yourself a brief glow of pride and contentment.

6) Lose confidence. Experience doubt, indecision, the darkness of despair. Glimpse, however briefly, the foolishness of your behavior and the nature of your disease. Sell or trade the new setup at less than half its value.

7) Resolve to never do all this again.

8) Do all this again.

9) Repeat until dead.


This works like a charm for me and I'm sure that if you accept and embrace it fully, abandoning all resistance, it'll work for you too.
 
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I went thru a stage where i was trading rifles every 6 months to a year, sometimes for no apparent reason, than to just "try" a new caliber... then one deer season, got ready to go hunting, and did not have a suitable rifle... I made a purchase shortly afterward, and swore that was one problem that would never happen again.

I took the bolt to a custom engraving shop, and had my name engraved on the face of the bolt... that way if the feeling to get rid of the rifle ever passed, i knew i was obligated to keep it because of the personalized "defacing"... I have harvested thousands of lbs of meat, and do not regret the decision.
 
when and if the SHTF you will only be optimally using one caliber rifle and one caliber pistol or shotgun or spread yourself thin on ammo. unless you want to arm your entire family or neighborhood. unless you got a safe full of guns buried somewhere you will need to travel light, dont think barricading yourself with your guns will do the trick.
 
Cob said:
I went thru a stage where i was trading rifles every 6 months to a year, sometimes for no apparent reason, than to just "try" a new caliber... then one deer season, got ready to go hunting, and did not have a suitable rifle...
Click to expand...

Only time I have ever gone deer hunting without an "old friend" was my first season, 45 years ago. I still have that 1897 that felt so strange in my small hands. I too have bought/sold/traded numerous firearms over the years, but have never found myself without an "old friend" come opening day. It ain't always about the most effective way to kill, but about the memories and the companionship that comes along with repeated usage. Sure there have been many times when I found myself on stand opening morning with a firearm that was a virgin to killing a deer, but it was not a stranger to me. I buy new rifles, not because I need them for opening day, but because I want them for opening day. In my mind, there's nuttin' wrong with that.
 
You could have spent the money of liquor. Then you would have literally "pissed it away". More than a few guys go that route.
 
The problem with the disease is after you buy your dream rifle you start thinking about your next dream rifle.
 
The road to wellness is paved with: .45/70, .44 Rem Mag., .35 Rem, .30/06, .30/30, 7mm Rem.Mag., 7mm08, .270, .243, .223, .22lr. :what: What??? No .22/250, .22mag, or .17HMR.....must seek and procure to prevent relapse.:D
 
I'm in the same boat brother. I've got a .30-06 and a .280 Rem and all I hunt is whitetail deer. You'd think I would be happy with those. But I'm constantly drooling over others. I'm wanting a .257 Bob. Why, I don't know.
 
I feel your pain Sheepdog.
I have a safe chok full of hunting rifles in many calibers.
My preference though is not the new ones but the good clean old ones with nice wood stocks.
Nothing like it.
 
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who suffers along with this issue. To make matters worse, I went to the range this weekend with my brother and a good family friend. He has a double rifle. Hmm, this is a fun rifle. I could see this being nice to take on a deer hunt, maybe get one in 308 or 30-06 so it's good general rifle. Two shots enough as most game has moved to quickly to get off a third shot. Ack! It's starting again.

I did especially like the comments about the booze and shoes and made me laugh. Luckily neither of these do anything for me. Leveritis is a definate issue I face. Let's hope it doesn't turn into double rifleitis. And yes, ammo maintenance is a definite issue. I don't want to be the position if a buddy calls me up and wants to go out plinking that I don't have rounds for whatever caliber I wanna shoot.

Spare parts also get under my skin. There are three times in my life where I "lost" parts due to tossing out the cleaning mess before reassembly (found one part after dumptser diving) which I never do anymore. Also once while disassemblining the Marlin lever action, the ejector plopped out and fell on the basement floor and bounced off. Lukily I found it. Next day I ordered $40 worth of $2 parts so I wouldn't have to worry about a $2 part breaking or disappearing rendering one of my toys unusable while I anxiously waited for a new part to arrive. Was a bit of a hard sell to the wife.
 
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