Do you ever feel like your gun interests are just too varied to be healthy?

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It's not the "interest" that is unhealthy ... its when actions to fulfill that interest get out of whack. Like when you spending on that interest gets out of hand. Or when it absorbs all your time, to the detriment of all else. Or takes up too much space in your house. Or becomes all you talk about. Or otherwise negatively impacts your life. This goes for any hobby or interest. I have a few friends that got obsessed with hobbies to the point that they really drained off cash needed for family activities or household repairs, one even ending up in a divorce.
 
Fishslayer said:
There is more than one aspect of the shooting hobby that can "get away" from you...

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Just venturing down that path. Good to know I'll be kind of broke forever.

At least I'll have some nice guns and high quality home made ammo to hold in my lap, while I sit in a rocking chair muttering, to myself as s crazy old man. Gonna live the dream.
 
No but that infernal motorcycle was seriously eating into my gun fund and it just had to go. ;)

You're in the wrong place to ask this question. I hit the dozen mark 20yrs ago and am fast approaching six figures in total investment between guns, optics, mounts, grips, stocks, aftermarket parts and custom work but still leaves out a lot of other crap. No matter how many you have, there's always something else that strikes your fancy. Have fun, live a little every now & then.:D
 
I've reconciled my feelings on the matter. Life is short and if I don't enjoy it a bit, it's going to feel disappointing when I'm reaching the end of the road.

As long as I can pay my bills and contribute to the well being of my significant other, my my gun interests and hobby isn't hurting anything. And he'll, if the flock gets a little too big, selling guns is always a possibility.

Thanks all for the support on the subject. I tend to beat myself up if I spend any money I could be saving for the future. This thread has actually helped me realize how that attitude, while healthy in general, can become unhealthy if taken too far. Gonna keep on shooting as many different guns as I can.
 
huntsman said:
I try not to allow fulfillment to be based on what I own or do. My guns serve a purpose in my life but aren't the purpose of my life.
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It really isn't about ownership with me either. If I built my own guns it'd be different. For me, I enjoy shooting lots of different guns.

It's about experiences for me. That includes traveling, enjoying things like good food and drink with friends, and shooting the guns I want to shoot.

All things in moderation.
 
I've been shooting since I was 7 or 8 years old (don't remember exactly, as it was a long time ago), been buying guns since I was old enough to get a part time job to pay for them. I own more than some, less than others. I enjoy both shooting, reloading and purchasing a new gun every now and then (I rarely sell any). It's still fun after 7 decades and as the saying goes...there's no such thing as too much fun.
 
If I bought every gun I liked I'd be broke. For my budget and time available in a busy life with other things I have to totally rationalize a gun purchase. I don't want to be what I call a "gun glutton". My rules are now. Must be a used gun I like at a great deal. I'm done for now buying new at full price (with the exception of percussion revolvers which I'm now obsessing over). I also like to shoot more of what I have and get better rather than a whole bunch of different stuff. More of a shooter than a collector. I do keep a mental "lottery winner" list. Just in case I hit it big. What would I get?
 
460Shooter said:
As the title states, I'm just wondering if anyone ever feels like they just have too much interests in guns in too many different areas for it to be a good thing.

Personally, I have always been a handgunner. I have a dozen handguns, 9 of which I shoot regularly, and 2 that are older, and finding ammo is a challenge.

I have two rifles.
<snip>
I mean I just don't know if my wallet can support this many interests in guns, nor do I know that my home has adequate space to store them all properly. I often hear folks on here talk about how they have dozens and dozens of guns. I don't see the point of having a bunch of guns that I'm not going to shoot, unless it's as an investment. The above guns are just the ones I want to own to shoot.

Do you ever feel like your gun buying habits and interests are just kind of getting away from you? I mean I do control myself. I'm not buying several guns a year and just running up my credit cards, but I'm starting to question WHY I want all these different guns.
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For a while, I bought several guns a month for a few years.... I'd go to a show and come back with two to four new firearms. Obviously, it depended a lot on what was there, my finances, and how I felt that day. I enjoyed it. I kept some and sold off some. This was the beginnings of my collector acquisition period. I've stopped pretty much cold turkey on the collector stuff. I just don't have the interest any more.

I'm at the one or two guns a year point in my life, sometimes none. I just told my wife yesterday that I had no interest in buying another firearm at this point ,but things can change. My primary focus for the last five years has been 22 rimfire rifles. Toss in a handgun now and then....

Varied interests are a good thing. It isn't just guns or shooting with me. Of late, my dominant interest has been with knives. But there is photography, fishing, hiking, and a dormant interest in hunting. I really enjoy knives and it bothers me a lot less with a $100 knife being un-used as compared to a $1000 firearm. Question? If firearms were $100 a pop these days (the ones you like), would it bother you if you piled up a bunch beyond what you could or would shoot?

When you feel a hobby is starting to control you, it is time to park it or at least the dominant spendy part of the hobby.
 
I like guns, always have. I think it all started around 1975 when my dad bought me my first gun, a Winchester 9422 XTR, I still have it.
I see nothing unhealthy about wanting or buying guns. Those that follow my post know that I have a few guns.
I really like 22 rifles and have fifty or sixty, I loose count. But most are in one safe.
I like surplus guns. I built a gun vault for my Mosins, should have made it bigger.
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I really like Turkish Mausers and have picked up a few.
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I have become fond of Enfields and have a few on a gun rack I built. The rest are tucked away.
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I also like ARs. Don't ask how I got so many, I only wanted 2 or 3 when I started.
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But I did give three of them to my kids.

The only problem I have with guns is my lack of focus. But I'm having fun.

And I also like to have a little ammo on hand.
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Is all this healthy? I think so.
As long as the bills are paid and my kids have what they need, I see no problem with spending my money on the things I like.
 
Gunny,
Is it healthy?
We're not medical professionals who have examined you. So we can't answer that.
That said it seems you have quite a love of firearms!
And you have an interesting collection.

Personally I agree as long as you're happy, not harming anyone, and living the life you choose all seems good to me.
 
The only problem I do have is that my 19 yo son likes to shoot and is always dipping into my ammo. I make him think that it's a big deal, but always let him have enough ammo to go shooting with his friends.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
Is all this healthy? I think so.
As long as the bills are paid and my kids have what they need, I see no problem with spending my money on the things I like.
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I'm not so sure, Gunny. You seem a bit "conflicted" to me. You mentioned in another thread that you've wanted a .257 Roberts for years, even bought dies, yet you don't have one.
Just kidding.:) You have a great collection, and I totally agree with you - as long as a person is taking care of their responsibilities they should spend their money any way they want. And if you have a 19 year old "kid" that enjoys going shooting with his friends, you're doing things right.:)
BTW - I'm 15 to 20 years ahead of you. My mom and dad gave me a Winchester Model 55, .22 for my 10th birthday in 1958. I still have that gun too, and I let my middle grandson (18) and his mother (my oldest daughter) take it shooting a few days ago.:)
 
.308 Norma said:
I'm not so sure, Gunny. You seem a bit "conflicted" to me. You mentioned in another thread that you've wanted a .257 Roberts for years, even bought dies, yet you don't have one.
Just kidding.:) You have a great collection, and I totally agree with you - as long as a person is taking care of their responsibilities they should spend their money any way they want. And if you have a 19 year old "kid" that enjoys going shooting with his friends, you're doing things right.:)
BTW - I'm 15 to 20 years ahead of you. My mom and dad gave me a Winchester Model 55, .22 for my 10th birthday in 1958. I still have that gun too, and I let my middle grandson (18) and his mother (my oldest daughter) take it shooting a few days ago.:)
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The Winchester Model 55, is that the single shot auto eject model?
 
I recently performed what one might call a mass sell-off of things I felt I didn't need, and quite a few guns made it into that category. At the time I realized that I had accumulated the items just to have them and never use them. The majority of the guns I bought purely because I got a good price on them. I ended up actually selling the vast majority of the handguns that I own, as well as a few rifles. They were all guns that I didn't use at all, and none of them were what I think of as collectible. It was mostly things like a S&W M&P 40, Springfield XDm 40, Ruger LCR, etc. Long story short, I don't miss them at all and I used the money to pay off my car. YMMV however.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
The Winchester Model 55, is that the single shot auto eject model?
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Yeppers, it is.:) We run across one of them at gunshows once in a while. Sometimes the sign on them says, "Winchester's Edsel."
When I was a kid, southern Idaho was plagued with jackrabbits, spotlighting them was legal, and dad with his .22 auto and me with my .22 single shot auto, killed hundreds of them.
One thing about the Model 55s though - the loading gate is either nylon or plastic, and it will crack where the pivot pin goes through it. Mine has started, so I'm careful, and I tell others to be careful when they load it. I think it was someone on this very message board that told me about its nylon or plastic loading gate. Until then, I hadn't noticed.
 
.308 Norma said:
Yeppers, it is.:) We run across one of them at gunshows once in a while. Sometimes the sign on them says, "Winchester's Edsel."
When I was a kid, southern Idaho was plagued with jackrabbits, spotlighting them was legal, and dad with his .22 auto and me with my .22 single shot auto, killed hundreds of them.
One thing about the Model 55s though - the loading gate is either nylon or plastic, and it will crack where the pivot pin goes through it. Mine has started, so I'm careful, and I tell others to be careful when they load it. I think it was someone on this very message board that told me about its nylon or plastic loading gate. Until then, I hadn't noticed.
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In my vast, healthy, collection of guns I have a very nice Winchester 55 that I picked up for $100 at a pawn shop a few years ago. My loading gate is in very good shape. Someone over at Rimfire Central said that there was someone making aluminum replacement loading gates.
I haven't shot the little Winchester in a few years and that seems unhealthy. I should take it and the Winchester 77 to the range and have some fun.
 
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