You people must be millionaires

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Nope - not a millionaire here either. I've spent the last few years building up a collection, partly because I enjoy it, and I have a wife that enjoys it as well, so it's something we do together which is a lot of fun. So between the two of us, we've spent a few dollars on guns over the last several years as we have gotten more into it, and have found some decent deals at gun shows and online here and there. But it's something that happens over time.

This hobby is like any other - you will have those whose trigger finger will never graze anything less than a high end HK, and you have those who are just as happy with their hand-me-down .22 rifle. You need to figure out what you want out of it and not worry about what others are doing - shoot what you can, and if there's something you want, figure out a way to get it.

BUT - like others have said, don't go into debt for it. That's a slippery slope, because a gun is not cheap - you have to feed the dam things every time you go out, accessories, cleaning supplies etc. It's easy to just charge all this stuff on a card and forget about it - it's not worth it - make a list of what you want, and decide how to get it. But just have fun with it!
 
Keep in mind that the folks on THR, or any similar computer site, are a self-selected group that not only like guns, but like talking about guns on the internet. There are lots of guys who shoot or hunt but have no interest in the internet. It stands to reason that the really zealous gun nuts are more common here than in the population at large.

Time of life can make a big difference in how you think about money. If you are in your 20's, at the beginning of a career, maybe newly married, maybe a new parent, then every $100 that comes into the household is pre-assigned to pay some bill or other. But if you have paid that last college bill and the property tax is more than the mortgage, then freeing up some funds for a new 1911 is not such a big deal.
 
I'm still fairly new to guns and came here to learn about shooting, rather than guns.

I was surprised to find that more people seem to collect than shoot (or at least have way more guns than they can & do shoot). Luckily, I have not been bitten by that bug, yet.

I was also surprised at how expensive ammo is...I thought I was getting into a fairly cheap new sport, after my initial gun purchase. As a new shooter, I do need to practice, practice, practice.

So I have 3 local WalMarts on speed-dial and spend some time looking for 9mm bargains.

Do I have lots of extra cash to play in this new sport? Nope. I'd LOVE a smaller 9mm to carry more easily, with a laser grip...but it's not in the cards right now.

What I need is a big gorgeous pickup truck...and I cant afford that either because I will not take on those monthly payments. Aside from my mortgage, I avoid stuff like that as much as possible. Oh well.
 
Rich? :scrutiny: If I divided the number of guns I own into my age I wouldn't have one for every other year of my life. Not rich, just old and wise. You gotta have a plan and patience to let it work for you.

I have money to buy things because I've refused to live in debt for starters. The guns I own can probably be accounted for with the money I haven't paid in interest over my lifetime. I don't buy things I can make myself but when I do I get the best so it will last, not disposable junk that needs replacing every couple years. I reload my own ammo, I grow food, I do my own remodeling, and fix my own cars.

I have an SKS also. It was obtained in trade for a black powder rifle that I received by saving up coupons. It only cost me a stamp to mail them in :neener:

blackgun.jpg
 
some guys with some pretty ridiculous gun arsenals out there (over 50 guns)...
Buy 2 guns a year for 25 years and there you go. Many here have been buying guns longer than that. Shoot two each week and that gets em all shot in a years time. :)
 
It stands to reason that the really zealous gun nuts are more common here than in the population at large.
Only natural. Birds of a feather and all that.
 
I use all my free money that I dont spend on bills, food, and gas on firearms. I love to shoot them, train with them, collect them. It has become my primary hobby. I don't have the latest fashionable clothing or the fastest sport's car. I dont have the latest tech gadgets, just the basics and what I need. My wife gets all the other stuff :)
 
I use all my free money that I dont spend on bills, food, and gas on firearms. I love to shoot them, train with them, collect them. It has become my primary hobby. I don't have the latest fashionable clothing or the fastest sport's car. I dont have the latest tech gadgets, just the basics and what I need. My wife gets all the other stuff

Thats me! Trading other toys, odd jobs and travel reimbursements from work fund my hobbies.
 
Many of us have been buying our guns for over 20 years, or more, not all at once. Add to that the shooting sports happens to be one of our favorite pastimes. My family doesn't do without so I can purchase a pistol, or rifle and my wife enjoys shooting as well.
 
Been shooting for 26 years now, even though I have many firearms and now collect full house customs, I have spent many times more on ammo than my firearms. I've also spent as much on training as I have firearms.

Maybe you own a Harley, I've always wanted one but could never justify buying one. Different people have different priorities.
 
Millionaire?

Yeah. Don't I wish.

I'll tell you what, though, if I had taken one half the amount we lost on remodeling our last home and spent that on guns and a vehicle, I'd have a new paid-for 4x4 truck, a decent safe, and at least five times as many guns as I do now.

Every so often I contemplate what else that money could have bought.

There's simply no substitute for knowing what you own is paid for.

 
I'll tell you what, though, if I had taken one half the amount we lost on remodeling our last home and spent that on guns and a vehicle, I'd have a new paid-for 4x4 truck, a decent safe, and at least five times as many guns as I do now.
That must have been some remodeling job.
I pretty much have the same story as the earlier posters- my collection is a result of 40 years of buying a gun every so often. Over time they add up. Could I afford to replace them? Sure, in another 40 years
 
-Been accumulating 'em steadily since the early '70's. One at a time. Now I've got more guns than years.

I figure that guns are fun in good times, an anchor to windward in bad times, and something to put in the community pot in GTH times.

Thank G-d for layaway!
 
A lot of guys my age golf and have Harleys, I hunt and fish and shoot guns. That and chasing women is almost as expensive as catching one, or losing one. Ask Tiger Woods about that.
 
Keep putting $20 bills in the cookie jar when you can, and keep an eye on the classifieds, craigslists and estate sales. Your collection will get big fairly quick.
 
im pretty young. like, caint buy handguns young. and i read a lot and try to learn as much as possible, not just about the firearms, but also,the laws and responsibilities that come with them. Every chance i get, I take my friends shooting with me and my family so they can learn about firearms and safe handling. ive been EXTREMELY fortunate in what ive learned and try to spread it to people my age because its a whole new generation of gunowners and thats the only thing protecting gun rights in the future. one of the most important things ive learned from older people and even members of this forum is that its not always the guns that you have, its just the fact that you do own one and have that right. and besides, when you can only buy one gun, you tend to find the one that suits you and your needs the best. id rather have one gun and a thousand rounds than a thousand guns with a few rounds.
 
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I think it's just like any other drug habit... If you are really into it, you make it happen to get what you want. You cut back on other things that aren't as important to you.

It gets bad when you have multiple things that are all the same. Like cars, guns, computers, tools, and now mountain biking... Then they all suffer as a result of each other. Oh well, food can always wait.
 
some guys with some pretty ridiculous gun arsenals out there (over 50 guns)...

that's not an arsenal - it's the beginning of a decent gun collection - this is starting to sound more like whining about wealth envy than anything else.

Personally, I could care less how many anyone else has, or how much they cost......and I know some personal friends with some expensive tastes, including one who bought three shotguns this years - spending about $75,000 for them - good for him, he has the disposable income for it; and if I had the same, I probably would do it also.

I have other friends who have 2 or 3 safes full (I'm talking those 52-gun Browning safes)....again - good for them.

Personally - I would rather own, as I said before, about 4-6 long guns that were all made to my specifications than have a large collection of inexpensive guns I don't shoot. (family heirloom-types excepted)

To each his/her own and their wallet.
 
im pretty young. like, caint buy handguns young. and i read a lot and try to learn as much as possible, not just about the firearms, but also,the laws and responsibilities that come with them. Every chance i get, I take my friends shooting with me and my family so they can learn about firearms and safe handling. ive been EXTREMELY fortunate in what ive learned and try to spread it to people my age because its a whole new generation of gunowners and thats the only thing protecting gun rights in the future. one of the most important things ive learned from older people and even members of this forum is that its not always the guns that you have, its just the fact that you do own one and have that right. and besides, when you can only buy one gun, you tend to find the one that suits you and your needs the best. id rather have one gun and a thousand rounds than a thousand guns with a few rounds.
We have a winner:)
 
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