I understand this is probably a strange question to a bunch of fellow firearms enthusiasts, but I am a very simple man , but Like a variety of firearms, not bragging, my modest collection is small in comparison to other on this site, 3 or 4 handguns, G17,G34,G21SF,G30, and maverick 88 12 gauge, SAR1 , DSA stg 58 carbine, LMT defender ar15, and savage 110 in 30-06 but thinking about it, not a whole lot more I feel I need to have, may be a revolver and a lever action or another bolt action in 300 win mag, and another shotgun maybe , I know strange huh, has anybody ever thought about rounding out a collection, or is it just a love that will only grow as I get older, 25 if that matters and I work in a gun store on weekends thus the confusion, and active duty military so firearms are a real passion, just curious has anyone ever had these type of thoughts?
Has anybody thought about completing a collection?
- Thread starter datruth
- Start date
- Status
22-rimfire
Member
This is my take on firearm collections.... Completing a collection... never happens. I have been collecting for over 20 years and there is always another something that you want.
You have a firearm accumulation not a collection at least the way I classify a collection. The Glocks come the closest to a "collection". Collections are generally limited and defined by some unifying characteristic... say Smith & Wesson 357 caliber or broadly Pre-war Smiths, Colt 22 caliber, derringers, or Remington anything. The more you limit what you are collecting, the more chance you have of completing it unless you are very wealthy and lucky.
Just think how many Remington Model 700's you'd have to buy to have a speciman in each caliber offered, in each of the ADL, BDL's, CDL, etc. The numbers get huge!
I will say you have a great start at building a versatile group of firearms in your accumulation. Good luck!
You have a firearm accumulation not a collection at least the way I classify a collection. The Glocks come the closest to a "collection". Collections are generally limited and defined by some unifying characteristic... say Smith & Wesson 357 caliber or broadly Pre-war Smiths, Colt 22 caliber, derringers, or Remington anything. The more you limit what you are collecting, the more chance you have of completing it unless you are very wealthy and lucky.
Just think how many Remington Model 700's you'd have to buy to have a speciman in each caliber offered, in each of the ADL, BDL's, CDL, etc. The numbers get huge!
I will say you have a great start at building a versatile group of firearms in your accumulation. Good luck!
Zach S
Member
Completing a collection is like finishing a hot rod - for some of us, it'll never happen.
Somewhere in America someone is thinking about replacing the 350 in their street rod with an LS1, despite the fact they've been driving street rod on occasion for 10 years. Or maybe they want to replace the TH350 with a 4L60E.
While I hope my AR15 is more gun than I'll ever need, I still want an M14 clone. No real need for one, I just want it. I dont have any bolt or lever guns either. Nor do I have any of the fine pistols offered by SIG or CZ...
My collection will never be complete, nor will my weekend warrior.
Somewhere in America someone is thinking about replacing the 350 in their street rod with an LS1, despite the fact they've been driving street rod on occasion for 10 years. Or maybe they want to replace the TH350 with a 4L60E.
While I hope my AR15 is more gun than I'll ever need, I still want an M14 clone. No real need for one, I just want it. I dont have any bolt or lever guns either. Nor do I have any of the fine pistols offered by SIG or CZ...
My collection will never be complete, nor will my weekend warrior.
Limeyfellow
Member
I can never complete my Lee Enfield collection until I get much richer and add an L39 and L42a1 to it. Then I can be happy. Alas I never get an original Delisle carbine, but I may work on making a reproduction of one to make me happy, from one of those kits.
I also not going to get an L85, so that ruins my British firearms collection line of the 1880 to present firearms. It's enough to make me cry.
I also not going to get an L85, so that ruins my British firearms collection line of the 1880 to present firearms. It's enough to make me cry.
scrat
Member
yep and i think i can do it too. i started shooting black powder about a year ago. then i purchased a revolver then another then another. so im up to 4 revolvers now. So my goal, collection is to purchase all of the popular replicas made from 1847-1873. so i have to still purchase a bit more. However its more atainable then saying you want to purchase all the 9mms made. When they keep making different 9mms. they never stop they are like cockroaches. everyone has them.
Neo-Luddite
Member
You said it first, worth repeating;
you DO need a revolver. It sounds like you have a VERY solid gun collection going--and maybe a source (gun shop job) for a deal on a cool older S&W or Colt trade in/2nd hand weapon. Versitile, undervalued in the market right now (except in DC(!)), revolvers are always a good choice.
you DO need a revolver. It sounds like you have a VERY solid gun collection going--and maybe a source (gun shop job) for a deal on a cool older S&W or Colt trade in/2nd hand weapon. Versitile, undervalued in the market right now (except in DC(!)), revolvers are always a good choice.
Not to quibble but you don't have a "collection". You have an assortment. And a fairly complete one at that. The only real holes seems to be the absence of a .22 rifle and handgun, the lack of a pocket or hideout gun, and I would think that, for the sake of diversity, you might want to add a nice K or L frame S&W and something on the 1911 platform.
myrockfight
Member
I don't think a collection can really be complete. Unless you are talking about a specific make like Limey's Enfields. Limey, I hope that works out for ya mate! Maybe the lotto?! 
yeti
Member
Kinda like my Dad used to say, "there is always a bunch you NEED, and a whole bunch more you want."
I'm a simple collector, I want one of every type firearm ever made, and I'm just as happy my collection will never be complete.
I'm a simple collector, I want one of every type firearm ever made, and I'm just as happy my collection will never be complete.
justin 561
Member
LT1 with a LS1.
RecoilRob
Member
A friend of my father has a M1 carbine collection. Supposedly one of every one made. It is huge....and expensive.
I, myself, have a motly assortment/assemblage of things and wouldn't even THINK of a collection. That means one specific brand/type/genre of firearm. They get out of hand real fast when you start trying to track down some oddity or low-volume variation that the manufacturers allways seem to make.
At my favorite gunshop back in the 80's, the owner handed me a rusted, one grip missing Luger to inspect. Looked like it had been dragged behind a truck on a rope. But, it had some interesting markings that I (certainly NOT a Luger expert) hadn't seen before. He had taken it in on pawn and the guy never came back for it. Sent it to some Luger expert store and they offered to trade him any gun in their inventory for it! Seems it came from a submarine IIRC and they had some well-heeled collectors that needed one to fill a missing slot in their collections.
Long story short.....be careful if you decide to start a 'Collection'.
I, myself, have a motly assortment/assemblage of things and wouldn't even THINK of a collection. That means one specific brand/type/genre of firearm. They get out of hand real fast when you start trying to track down some oddity or low-volume variation that the manufacturers allways seem to make.
At my favorite gunshop back in the 80's, the owner handed me a rusted, one grip missing Luger to inspect. Looked like it had been dragged behind a truck on a rope. But, it had some interesting markings that I (certainly NOT a Luger expert) hadn't seen before. He had taken it in on pawn and the guy never came back for it. Sent it to some Luger expert store and they offered to trade him any gun in their inventory for it! Seems it came from a submarine IIRC and they had some well-heeled collectors that needed one to fill a missing slot in their collections.
Long story short.....be careful if you decide to start a 'Collection'.
I don't think I'll ever finish my collection, just like I've never finished my collection of magician's apparatus, props, and gimmicks, or my collection of juggling equipment (I have 6 juggling knives, 6 juggling torches, used to have 12 juggling clubs but sold them and am looking to buy a set of 6 probably European clubs, 7 silicone balls, 5 lead shot weighted leather balls, 7 regular size leather balls, 7 small leather balls for juggling high numbers, and it just goes on and on). Any hobby you regularly participate in will just constantly grow as long as there are innovations.
The only collections that are possible to complete are ones where there is only a finite number of things to collect. Due to the constant innovation in the firearm industry, there will always be something to add to the collection, and therefore it will only be complete upon the extinction of man on this planet when the sun explodes.
The only collections that are possible to complete are ones where there is only a finite number of things to collect. Due to the constant innovation in the firearm industry, there will always be something to add to the collection, and therefore it will only be complete upon the extinction of man on this planet when the sun explodes.
jrfoxx
Member
my collection will never be complete, as there are just WAY too many antiques,milsurps, and different calibers out there (I am a bit of a caliber whore.currently have like 28 different calibers to stock 
), and I have a big thing for old stuff (not just guns), and thats on top of any neat, new, and interesting guns/cartiges that come out.
), and I have a big thing for old stuff (not just guns), and thats on top of any neat, new, and interesting guns/cartiges that come out.At some point you have all you want.
Or at least you have all you need... and maybe that's all you want.
For most of us, there's always "something" else we might like to have, but realistically, it just ain't gonna happen. I would dearly love to have a Royal Grade Holland & Holland double in .375 H&H caliber but at $125,000 it just ain't gonna happen.
After many years of acquiring (not really a collector) I have sort of reached the point where I can't find anything I want badly enough to buy. I went to a show last weekend and as usual I walked around, saw lots of guns, but nothing I didn't already have. In most cases I have multiple examples.
I saw a pair of S&W 38/44s on a table. Ooooo... I said to myself. But wait, I already have two of those at home. Do I need or really want another one? I kept walking.
Saw a 3.5" M27 at $595 (not a bad price). But wait, I have three of those at home (well, 2 are actually pre-27s, but close enough).
At this point I'm not sure if I'll ever buy another gun. I don't have time to shoot the ones I have and I don't need to spend any more money.
Unless I win the lottery and call H&H about that double rifle.
Wait, this state doesn't have a lottery.
Crap.
Or at least you have all you need... and maybe that's all you want.
For most of us, there's always "something" else we might like to have, but realistically, it just ain't gonna happen. I would dearly love to have a Royal Grade Holland & Holland double in .375 H&H caliber but at $125,000 it just ain't gonna happen.
After many years of acquiring (not really a collector) I have sort of reached the point where I can't find anything I want badly enough to buy. I went to a show last weekend and as usual I walked around, saw lots of guns, but nothing I didn't already have. In most cases I have multiple examples.
I saw a pair of S&W 38/44s on a table. Ooooo... I said to myself. But wait, I already have two of those at home. Do I need or really want another one? I kept walking.
Saw a 3.5" M27 at $595 (not a bad price). But wait, I have three of those at home (well, 2 are actually pre-27s, but close enough).
At this point I'm not sure if I'll ever buy another gun. I don't have time to shoot the ones I have and I don't need to spend any more money.
Unless I win the lottery and call H&H about that double rifle.
Wait, this state doesn't have a lottery.
Crap.
Robert Hairless
Member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2003
- Messages
- 3,983
I've been around serious, big league collectors of one thing or another all my life. I'm one (serious but not necessarily big league) and have been for most of my life.
We've talked about this, my collector friends and I, for years. All of us have come to the very same conclusion independently: the most exciting day is when we complete a collection. It's a thrill not to be imagined.
And from then on that collection is dead. There no longer is any vitality to it at all. It's a collective museum piece with little interest for us.
It turns out that the chase is what matters.
We've talked about this, my collector friends and I, for years. All of us have come to the very same conclusion independently: the most exciting day is when we complete a collection. It's a thrill not to be imagined.
And from then on that collection is dead. There no longer is any vitality to it at all. It's a collective museum piece with little interest for us.
It turns out that the chase is what matters.
TexasRifleman
Moderator Emeritus
I agree completely.
My 12 year old asks me when I'll be "done" and I tell him that I'll be done when I die then he will get a nice "starter collection" to build on
Hope he gets a good job..... Hate to think how much ammo will be by then.
CountGlockula
Member
I own two Glock .40S&Ws...all I need are the other two and I'm complete!
They will all be in OD Green.
They will all be in OD Green.
Sir Aardvark
Member
I think my collection will be done once I have 2 of everything.
1 for the collection and 1 for the spare.
1 for the collection and 1 for the spare.
LiquidTension
Member
All of my guns fill a niche. Now that I have a scoped bolt gun I've really filled all the holes that I wanted to. Everything else is just redundant. Now I'm working on making everything quiet, and in some cases shorter
mhillsing23
Member
My collection would be complete with these nescessaties...
- 2 Service/CCW Weapons (I have done this with my XDs)
- Fun .22 Pistol (I have done this with my customized 22/45)
- AR
- Shotgun
...and these pleasure items...
- Long range tack driver (custom .308)
- 1911 built to my specs
- 2 Service/CCW Weapons (I have done this with my XDs)
- Fun .22 Pistol (I have done this with my customized 22/45)
- AR
- Shotgun
...and these pleasure items...
- Long range tack driver (custom .308)
- 1911 built to my specs
yhtomit
Member
My "collection" is based partly on trying to constrain myself to common ammo types, and nothing exotic. I don't have the knowledge (nor patience to develop the knowledge) to buy guns the way art dealers buy paintings, as sheer buy-low-sell-high trade goods.
I may personalize a few of mine (besides my laser-engraved AR-15 lower), but I want to have *shooters,* for fun as well as for the RKBA reasons which need here not be hashed out, in
- .22LR -- plink, plink, plink. Fun, low-recoil, cheap.
- .223 -- Nato caliber, not going away soon, low-recoil, *less* expensive than many others, and the basis of many great guns; sometime I'll even finish my AR
- 9mm -- so far, and I hope into the future, a relatively cheap cartridge which is the designed load for lots of the best guns ever made.
- .45ACP -- my favorite to shoot; I keep buying guns in it despite the now-painful cost of ammo. However, this is also one of the nicest / easiest rounds to reload, and I have now done this successfully and look forward to more of it. My Lee Classic Cast has seen too little use so far, and I intend that to change!
- 12ga: it's 12ga. It's everywhere. The recoil hasn't bothered me yet, and reduced-recoil loads mean that if I start to wimp out on that front I could turn down the volume without going to a .410.
I am tempted by a few others, too
- .357/.38sp have put Smith & Wesson 686 is on my list; it's another eminently reloadable caliber, and because of the .357/.38sp overlap, even more flexible than either one alone. The 686 model, I must admit, feels nearly as nice to shoot as my 625, even though it lacks both style and moonclips in comparison
- .380 -- Mostly because of the Ruger LCP, which has made me look however at some other really nice CCW-appropriate .380s.
- .40 -- Not one I've shot much of, but I have over the years scavenged enough of the brass to make me want to get the appropriate dies, primers, and ... a pistol for it. Maybe a top end for the Witness!
But getting into even *slightly* more exotic ammo makes me very skeptical about whether I'll be able to buy (or justify buying) ammo for a particular gun, decades down the line.
- .45GAP? Forget for a moment all the "solution in search of a problem" cliches -- what will a box of it cost in 2028?
- .357sig? A cool cartridge, one I've fired with a big grin on my face! But also one I don't expect to want to pay for down the line.
- 10mm? I admire it, and like the idea, and suspect I don't want to pay for enough factory loads (or factory brass) to get started it. If I find the mythical happy brass hunting grounds where people have abandoned hundreds of shiny 10mm cases, I'll be tempted
And I won't get into things like the oddballs that Ruger and others like to introduce. (327 Federal?)
I want guns such that (if all goes well), 100 years from now I'll have grandchildren who are enjoying them.
timothy
I may personalize a few of mine (besides my laser-engraved AR-15 lower), but I want to have *shooters,* for fun as well as for the RKBA reasons which need here not be hashed out, in
- .22LR -- plink, plink, plink. Fun, low-recoil, cheap.
- .223 -- Nato caliber, not going away soon, low-recoil, *less* expensive than many others, and the basis of many great guns; sometime I'll even finish my AR
- 9mm -- so far, and I hope into the future, a relatively cheap cartridge which is the designed load for lots of the best guns ever made.
- .45ACP -- my favorite to shoot; I keep buying guns in it despite the now-painful cost of ammo. However, this is also one of the nicest / easiest rounds to reload, and I have now done this successfully and look forward to more of it. My Lee Classic Cast has seen too little use so far, and I intend that to change!
- 12ga: it's 12ga. It's everywhere. The recoil hasn't bothered me yet, and reduced-recoil loads mean that if I start to wimp out on that front I could turn down the volume without going to a .410.
I am tempted by a few others, too
- .357/.38sp have put Smith & Wesson 686 is on my list; it's another eminently reloadable caliber, and because of the .357/.38sp overlap, even more flexible than either one alone. The 686 model, I must admit, feels nearly as nice to shoot as my 625, even though it lacks both style and moonclips in comparison
- .380 -- Mostly because of the Ruger LCP, which has made me look however at some other really nice CCW-appropriate .380s.
- .40 -- Not one I've shot much of, but I have over the years scavenged enough of the brass to make me want to get the appropriate dies, primers, and ... a pistol for it. Maybe a top end for the Witness!
But getting into even *slightly* more exotic ammo makes me very skeptical about whether I'll be able to buy (or justify buying) ammo for a particular gun, decades down the line.
- .45GAP? Forget for a moment all the "solution in search of a problem" cliches -- what will a box of it cost in 2028?
- .357sig? A cool cartridge, one I've fired with a big grin on my face! But also one I don't expect to want to pay for down the line.
- 10mm? I admire it, and like the idea, and suspect I don't want to pay for enough factory loads (or factory brass) to get started it. If I find the mythical happy brass hunting grounds where people have abandoned hundreds of shiny 10mm cases, I'll be tempted
And I won't get into things like the oddballs that Ruger and others like to introduce. (327 Federal?)
I want guns such that (if all goes well), 100 years from now I'll have grandchildren who are enjoying them.
timothy
Beatnik
Member
Agreed.
.357 magnum puts a smile on your face. I refer to my GP100 as my house gun - a friend, upon seeing me shoot it, says it's not my house gun, it's my "get the F- out of my house" gun.
And if you ever plan on introducing someone to shooting, for some reason revolvers are inherently more understandable - probably because you can see everything move. Glocks... not so much. It takes ten times as long to teach someone to lock back the slide than it takes to teach them to open the cylinder.
Cosmoline
Member
The chase is absolutely the fun part. I get nothing from just having the firearm around unless I'm shooting it. The "collecting" pleasure comes from making the find and getting the deal. Then I lose interest and usually trade it off. I'm not a person who sees much benefit to having a huge gun room. Though if you added up all the ones I've bought it would be several hundred I'm sure.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
