Three questions for our retired or semi-retired members.....

After retiring,


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Retirement to me is fishing, hunting, shooting when I want to instead of when I can - those are two very different mindsets offering two very different levels of enjoyment - retirement is freedom awareness from mindless indentured obligation and the forced company of strange and stressed people. Retirement provides a level of mental (and thus physical) relaxation that is not present in the dollar chasing world. I wish retirement freedom on everyone.

10 months and counting.....
 
I took an early retirement in 2003 and I started my own Computer Repair Business in 2005. I plan on being active in that as long as I continue to enjoy what I am doing. I shoot as much or more as I did before I retired, I have the guns I want and like so I have no plans to buy anymore.
 
Retirement was kinda forced on me when my dad came to live with us, he and I shared an aviation background so my forum activity migrated a tad toward airplanes (doesn't make sense, 'cause I can afford to buy and shoot a lot of guns, but not a single airplane). My wife is retired also and we're together 100% of our time, so almost all other interests took a back seat to our private school and our boats.

The coming year will be interesting... my old company needs my help and I'll be branching off on my own a bit more. Finances will grow and I'll probably increase my shooting activities.
 
The only thing that changed when I retired was the amount of time I have to devote to my interest in firearms. The interest has always been there but the need to earn a living and raise a family seriously cut into how much time I had left for firearms.
 
I went back to school for a second career and work sporadically, still, because I love what I do.

My interest in guns came late and purely from a desire to be able to defend myself should the need arise. It turned out to be way more than I bargained for; in a good way. I studied ballet many years and hope to put that training to good use in cane/stick defense classes. Starting soon. My shooting regimen is new and static.

I've lived in high rise apartments most of my adult life, in one major city or another and traveled extensively for work and play. Especially so, for a little girl from the deep south who was expected to stay close.

It is true that people are the same world-wide. In the ways that matter most.
 
So far it seems most people’s firearms interests increased, but not all. Not surprising given the forum theme, but interesting. I could see it going either way.
 
I retired the first of last month. I'll have to pick up some part-time work at some point, but not yet. I find that I shoot less because of costs, even though I do reload. I'm focusing more on cheaper shooting lately, like .32 Long, which is an inexpensive cartridge to whip up. I don't just go out and blast through three or four hundred .45ACP like I used to.
 
And the whole world is changing. The floor is much further away than it used to be and even just bending over to pick something up can be risky. Also the printing on the targets these days is much lower in quality and unless it's right next to me it just gets fuzzy looking. Even things like my belts aren't like they used to be. It used to be I could buy a 32" belt and it fit just fine but these modern belts are not sized properly so I need to order a bigger size.
And here I thought it was just me. What is it with belts lately? Sometimes I'll buy one and it fits fine, and then two weeks later it's too tight. I guess I gotta stop running the humidifier; that's got to be it.
 
My interest in firearms and firearms related activities increased.

I retired last year and when I was working, I was able to shoot only on my days off while coordinating chores/house projects to create shooting windows of a few hours. So due to time limits, my shooting sessions were often rushed and my load development/range testing were hampered. I do many myth busting threads for Handloading & Reloading category along with more typical component/load comparison testing and detailed/comprehensive load development/range testing was limited when working full time. Here's a typical quick load comparison - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...endence-from-work.853305/page-3#post-11195171

Now that I am retired, I find that I can start in the morning and shoot all day if I want/need to without rushing my shooting sessions and my load development/range testing are a lot more relaxed as I can take my time without rushing anything. Having more time has allowed me to increase my 5 shot group testing of pistol/carbine/rifle loads to 10 shot group testing which takes more time but I am finding 10 shot grouping is providing more information as expressed by this current 20+ 22LR ammo comparison test thread - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...lector-3-break-in.859106/page-2#post-11310458

Being retired, since I can simply take a break or come back the next day to shoot, I find the quality of shooting/range testing has improved. I now always pack a nice lunch/snacks with plenty of water/beverages to maintain nourishment and hydration whereas before, I would often be starved and dehydrated by end of the shooting session.

Since the closest retirement BLM shooting area is only 20-25 minutes away (Same time it took me to drive to indoor range in the city with traffic), I also found that I can do a quick range testing whenever doing load development or component testing. So all these have allowed me to do more shooting with sessions that are longer.


My interest in firearm forums increased.

My work with state government at times were stressful depending on case assignments and investigations/surveys we were doing (Our work that identified violations of regulations/laws along with fraud/abuse/criminal acts sometimes resulted in corporate/company directors/managers being terminated and even some professionals going to prison) and participation with THR forum was much needed diversion and therapeutic venting outlet. (Many thanks to patient and understanding moderators/staff who thanklessly maintain THR)

As I approached retirement, I shifted my forum participation from stress outlet to more objective in trying to help resolve problems, particularly reloading/shooting issues. (But believe me, being an imperfect human, sometimes this goal was achieved slowly or not at all. And yes, I find that posting after retirement, since my bedtime can be late into the night, quality of posting can suffer and I have apologized for "posting while sleepy" to correct the post next morning :oops::().

Another thing that retirement has allowed for forum participation is being able to research/inquire problems/issues/topics that I did not have the time to do when I was working. Recently, I did range testing with rail mounted scope on pistol to push the limits of flexible rail on Glock for accuracy testing at 25 yards. To my surprise, what I learned is at limits, polymer will flex (Surprise, surprise ;)) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...endence-from-work.853305/page-4#post-11219888

So I am shifting my forum participation focus, particularly for H&R category, to topics that are more involved, time consuming and at times esoteric to benefit THR members who are still working and do not have the time. I even made an offer to conduct tests for other THR members if they lacked the time/resources - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...endence-from-work.853305/page-2#post-11172227


My purchases of firearms and firearm related items decreased.

I have been preparing for retirement about 10 years specifically gathering various firearms, accessories and reloading supplies. So while I just about have all the firearms I wanted to retire with, I did give myself last minute retirement gifts of GSG 1911 22LR and Ruger 10/22 Collector #3. And since prices have fallen, I have built several more ARs/PCCs and bought CMMG 22LR conversions to plink and use for AR training.

So for me, post retirement purchases are actually slowing down but when I see good sales, particularly reloading supplies (As I found decades ago, prices only go up), I will stock up.
 
I retired in my early 50's from full time work. Military & general dynamics. I spend more time & money on firearms and shooting than when I was working. Not as much as I expected though, grandkids keep us fairly busy, helping friends with their projects & working on our property.
 
I retired from one job in 2007 and a second in 2015 at 71. I volunteered at the local museum and have been inventorying the firearms collection, making firearms videos, and giving presentations on the museum's collection.

I don't shoot as much as when I was working and actively competing in Cowboy Action and IPSC matches. I have a range on my property so do more shooting with "fun" guns instead of practicing for competition.
 
My interest is about the same! My interests have expanded since I have moved. Now my 5 acres adjoins 1000's of acres of cattle land, state land and BLM stuff. I got permission to help out with the wolf, coyote and badger problems. I aim to please, pun intended. My purchases decreases because I already had just about all I wanted:)
 
I retired recently a little young for retirement , but with 30 years service . I get a pension and have investments , but i don’t draw on them to live . My income now is half of what I was making so I don’t buy as many firearms or toys . I did buy 120 acres and built a house on it to get away from close living . I retired early because of the people not the work . Hunting was my peace and sanity when I worked . I now don’t deer hunt as much because I don’t need that solitude as much since I don’t have stress in my life . I still rabbit hunt as much , but not more . I might start shootings more , that depends on our new gun laws we are going to get in Virginia . I have more free time now , so I am on gun and hunting forums more now than I should be . I had rotator cuff surgery the first month after retiring , that took a year to get over . My dad died 2 months after that and then my stepmom got cancer and I had to take care of her for 3 months and she died . Now I need another rotator cuff surgery on the other shoulder . Retirement has not been fun for me yet .
 
Interest in firearms expanded because of me getting into CC.

retirement means I can carry all day every day everywhere, So I take it serious with gun selection and practice.
 
I quit hunting and fishing when I quit needing the meat to feed my family
I quit watching television when social media emerged - about 1998.
I check all types of social media because none of the groups have a lock on the truth.
I love science and history, and weapons are the intersection of the two fields.
I intend to continuing to learn until I die, and maybe a bit after... .
 
I'm not really sure whether or not having to give up a 25+ year career & look for something else b/c of arthritis counts or not, but my engagement with shooting waxes & wanes.
 
I retired almost 10 years ago at age 52. In my younger years I bought/sold/traded a LOT of guns and had accumulated quite a few. Even before I retired I had started thinning out stuff I didn't use much. When younger I bought stuff just because I'd never had one like it before and wanted to try something new. By the time I retired I had figured out what I liked and what worked best for me. I've slowly gotten rid of a lot and used the money to upgrade to better guns, optics and gear.

Now that I'm retired I have a lot more time and money to actually shoot more. I now have time to travel to hunt that I never had when younger. My interest in shooting has evolved and will probably continue to evolve. The interest is still at the same level, just in different directions.
 
I retired from hunting after being in the military, now I just punch holes in paper to retrain myself to shoot after going toe to toe with cancer, guess who won. Everything has changed for me, I lost 90#s in 7 months, I lost 30%of my muscle mass, my balance is off, my memory is shot, I can only eat vegetarian (and only very little of that). My job hates me now and I get absolutely no accommodations even when dr ordered. I cant shoot large bore without a trip to the ER, and that has brought me around to the wonderful world of .22s. I used to just collect them, but now I shoot them. My internet forum use has gone up a little bit but is still not a daily thing for me. And since my job is in limbo I haven't run out and bought the latest and greatest even though I really want an AR-9 (probably gonna be my last gun purchase, unless I find something I just cant live without in .22lr).
 
Very limited opportunities to go shooting now.
I've now more an interest in CCW stuff than hunting/targets/instruction (I was a BSA Shotgun instructor)
I used to frequent gun forums to pick up ideas for teaching shotgunnery but I don't do that anymore, so it's more out of habit that I'm here, I'm guessing
If I buy anything gun related, it is limited to .22lr ammo, reloading components, gun cleaning, or a new holster
 
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