Streamlining Your Firearms "Collection"

[Busta Prima]

I've read about streamlining and it's not a bad idea. So I tried to plan how I would do it. You have to picture someone standing there with a couple of those puffy text clouds above them for the next part:

Of course 9mm is the mainstay - most "streamliners" are going ONLY to it for obvious and well established reasons so 9mm stays, duh. Can't get rid of .45, after all it's FORTY FIVE for crying out loud! That's like a motorcycle collector dumping all of his Harleys. Well then .40 cal has to go. It's the bastard child of the FBI - a horrific mating of a 45 and a 9 but they both cheated with a 10mm so nobody really knows who the dad (or even the mom at this point) really is anyway. Yup, 40's got to go. But wait . . . you just bought a Sig P226 in 40 and it's fast becoming your favorite pistol. Then there's your Glock 22 gen 2 and for some reason you kick ass with that one. Then there's the Glock 23 you promised yourself you'd carry but never do. I just can't dump 40. Okay, fine, so 9mm, 40 and 45 stay. That's not too bad. Let's see what else we can dump. Ah, 38 special . . . and .357 while you're at it. But you love revolvers. The 38/357 to revolvers is like the 9mm to semi autos. You CAN'T get rid of those and since a 357 can shoot a 38 it doesn't make sense to dump one without the other so no, they both stay. Hmmm . . . okay then those stay, what else? Well you bought that Glock 20 for some stupid reason, what was that again? Oh yeah, for all of those times you go hiking in the woods (never). None of your other calibers are enough for a bear (a 10 "barely" is, pun intended) and you didn't like that 44 mag much because you sold it right away so you HAVE to keep the 10mm. Ugh, fine, keep the 10mm. It's easy to feed just ONE gun anyway. What else, the 380? WHAT? What will you do without your Bodyguard? You have a CCW and it's hot here, what ELSE are you going to carry in a little pocket holster? You HAVE to keep the 380. Like you said for the 10mm, it's only one gun to feed so no biggie, right? Grrrr, I guess you're right. Something's gotta go because we're getting nowhere with this; how about the 22s? WHAT? Now you're talking crazy. The rifle? The 9 shot Taurus revolver that the wife shoots at the range? The friggen suppressor you busted your ass to get? The P22? The ammo is still dirt cheap (when you can find it). That would be the stupidest one to get rid of. That's like getting rid of a sink to save water, forget it. You suck. No YOU suck. Shutup and lets get back to it. Fine. Fine. Okay, what else is there? Well that's it for handgun calibers. Maybe you can get rid of some of the guns? I'm not talking to you anymore. Fine. Fine.

Nope. Sorry guys, I tried. Looks like I'm keeping them all.

 

[BSA1]

Busta

You forgot the 9x18 semi-autos you brought because they were inexpensive and reliable and surplus ammunition is cheap.

Oh and that AK stashed away for zombies and anything else that may come along.

And then there is that hunting rifle. You don`t shoot it much but it is special because it was given to you by a favorite relative.

 

[sixgunner455]

You know, my wife recently asked me if I could sell any of my guns. And I said, "Sure, technically, I could sell all of them."

I bought a SIG.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I get bored too easy.

Variety is the spice of life.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I admit I acquired a 7.62x25 pistol and a 7.62x54R rifle because I was shooting modern & vintage military matches with my .45 ACP pistol and .30 Carbine M1.

I encountered instances of ammo drought where I had to drive 40 miles to find overpriced .45 ACP or .30 Carbine. In that day dealers were practically begging people to buy their 7.62x25 and 7.62x54R ammo, so diversification in ammo supply made sense.*

When I got the 1892 bug, I bought a Rossi Legacy Arms Puma in .357/.38 because I had .357/.38 revolvers, ammo, and a Lee Loader for the caliber.

I ask myself at times before making a buy: I want it, but will it unnecessarily complicate my ammo logistics? Does it really fill a need? Does it feel a seruous want? So part of me with the wallet does go for streamliming, but the part of me with the interest in gun history wants to diversify.

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* Military military season ran 7 monthly matches, 3 ten shot targets per match, 210 rounds per gun per year for score. Shooting modern and vintage, rifle and pistol, 4 x 210 = 840 rounds per gun, for score only, not counting practice. Ammo prices 7.62x25 v .45 ACP and 7.62x54R v .30 carbine made the CZ52 pistol and Mosin rifle pay for themselves in the 2nd year of participation in the matches. Plus the CZ52 and Mosin 91/30 hex are cool for historical curios.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

For what it's worth, I've been getting into woodworking. I've been working very hard to stay minimalist on the hand tools that I buy.

 

[Old Dog]

I've periodically tried to streamline, more to keep space in the safes and have only guns that get shot ... I once tried to get down to only 9mm, .45 ACP and .38/.357 Magnum in handguns. Tried to get down to .30-06, .30-30, 5.56/.223, 12 gauge and .22 in long guns.

Didn't work. Guess I just see something shiny and have to have it...

 

[WC145]

You guys that have downsized larger collection, how did you dispose of your guns?


I'm thinking of downsizing my C&R collection, but I'm not sure about how to go about it.

Sold some guns locally, to friends/acquaintances. Also, sold some on brand specific forum sites that have classified sections. Mostly sold them on Gunbroker, it has the most exposure, fees are very reasonable, easy to set reserves and starting amounts so you don't undersell yourself. Plus, there are so many people shopping on there all the time if you have anything the least bit interesting or desirable you're almost guaranteed that it will sell and for top dollar.

By posting just a couple at a time I was never overwhelmed with keeping up with auctions or classified posts and I was able to deal with getting paid and shipping stuff without things getting confusing. In the end I dealt with some really nice folks, made good money, and cleared out a bunch of stuff that was just gathering dust. A win win win situation.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Due to layoffs, I am slowly downsizing my collection.

What I did was start with the easy to replace guns. Anything that is currently being made or in current product is either sold or in the process of being sold.

Next will be the guns that were recently made that I expect I can replace easily. Like a Glock 20 for example. It will go in this round.

Next will be my collectibles at the rate of about 1 to 2 per month. These are S&W revolvers and I don't want to saturate the market if I put say 50 up for sale all at once. You need to meter them out.

Finally there will be the rifles. Just because for the most part they are harder to replace and I have fewer of them. Most have a specific purpose so by selling them, I am committing not to do that action anymore.

In the end my collection will cull down to about 20 handguns, and maybe 10 rifles with 2 shotguns. Painful to think about but hey, that is life as part of the great unemployed. I will just get down to my favorites to shoot. Things like my Registered Magnum, my 38/44 Outdoorsman's, Colt Diamondbacks and Pythons. Those wont go while I am still breathing or at least that is my current thought.

I am doing mine so far by face to face sales. I will eventually have to go to the internet for the collectibles, but the rest, just face to face has worked well so far.