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Just how much is too much?

smooth_operatorsmooth_operator Member Posts: 227 ✭✭✭
edited January 2002 in General Discussion
Living in CA, I have always owned firearms. Since moving to Nevada last July, my collection seems to have more than doubled... I might be losing my mind but how did you guys know when to stop buying ang be contented with what you have?-smooth
Life is the leading cause of death.Everything else is just a contributing factor.
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Comments

  • cpermdcpermd Member Posts: 5,273 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    BLASPHEMY
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  • LowriderLowrider Member Posts: 6,587
    edited November -1
    I don't have sense enough to know when to stop. I don't own near as many as other people I know but when one catches my eye I have no control. Out comes the plastic and I run home and stash my new shootin' iron in the safe before the ol' lady sees it. I have several guns I've never even fired.
    Lord Lowrider the LoquaciousMember:Secret Select Society of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets She was only a fisherman's daughter,But when she saw my rod she reeled.
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  • Richie RichRichie Rich Member Posts: 439 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    who's contended with what we have,You are just staring to find what you have not been able to have being from kaliforny and all.
    Remember,"your woman may not find you handsome, But atleast she'll find ya handy". I love that show..............
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  • hyperspacehyperspace Member Posts: 91 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    "Too much of everything is just enough...."
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  • ysacresysacres Member Posts: 294 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I guess when you cant aford to buy ammo for all of them, that would be a good time to quit.
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  • soopsoop Member Posts: 4,633
    edited November -1
    Stop? I didn`t know your supposed to stop.
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  • gunpaqgunpaq Member Posts: 4,607 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    How much is too much? What ever you will have will never be enough. I had 2,000 rounds of reloaded ammo at home, so why did I buy another 1,000 rounds of factory ammo at a gun show last week. I just bought another Ruger several weeks ago, so why am I salivating about a model 29 S&W at the local gun shop where there is a really nice M-1A that just came in on consignment. Isn't it great to enjoy this freedom while we can? Enough will never be enough for someday we may be saying "remember when".
    Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.
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  • mudgemudge Member Posts: 4,225 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Too many guns?Reminds me of the song that goes;"Like too much money,or car too fast.A girl too pretty,with too much class.I don't care what they say I've done,but I ain't ever had too many guns!"Mudge the entertainer
    I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS!
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  • concealedG36concealedG36 Member Posts: 3,566 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The way I look at it is like this:If/when our country ever sees days like those of the great depression, your greenbacks won't be worth much more than toilet paper. But, in those times, he who has made investments in precious metals, firearms, tools and other commodities will be the one who is "rich". Plus, you never know which new law is going to be passed next, making what you have now "pre-ban". Don't you wish you bought 6 or 7 AR-15's in 1993?G36
    Gun Control Disarms Victims, NOT Criminals
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  • kimberkidkimberkid Member Posts: 8,858 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    No such thing as "Too much of a good thing!"
    GUN CONTROL: If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!kimberkid@gunbroker.zzn.com
    If you really desire something, you'll find a way ?
    ? otherwise, you'll find an excuse.
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  • YankeeClipperYankeeClipper Member Posts: 669 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Always remember "This is a nation of want,not of need". "If you liked the Holocaust:You'll love gun control"
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  • MNTNMANMNTNMAN Member Posts: 46 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    DONT STOP, DONT EVER STOP.
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  • thunderboltthunderbolt Member Posts: 6,041 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Just remember you are building your kid'sinheritance and plan wisely. Don't you wish your dad had left you a safe full of Lugers, Colt Peacemakers and such?
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  • sandman2234sandman2234 Member Posts: 894 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    A wise gun purchaser keeps a close watch on the bottom line in the checkbook. And then, there's the rest of us. Just remember, if you spend your grocery money, you might have to go hunting to put groceries on the table.
    Have Gun, will travel
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  • Shootist3006Shootist3006 Member Posts: 4,171
    edited November -1
    When you run out of money buying guns, one of two things - you are either spending too much on guns (naw, can't be) or you need to get a better paying job (yeah, that the ticket).
    Quod principi placuit legis habet vigorem.Semper Fidelis
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  • turboturbo Member Posts: 820 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Towards the end of J Paul Getty's life a reporter while interviewing him asked him this question;Mr. Getty, how much is enough?Getty replied,Just a little bit more.Same subject, different object.[This message has been edited by turbo (edited 01-10-2002).]
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  • offerorofferor Member Posts: 8,625 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    There is no such point. Just buy more and bigger vaults. I know collectors who seem to want one of everything, and more than one of all their favorites. And they don't shoot them all either.
    "The 2nd Amendment is about defense, not hunting. Long live the gun shows, and reasonable access to FFLs. Join the NRA -- I'm a Life Member."
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  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 51,593 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Why are you guys acting like this is a serious question? He is just kidding, right?Um, I don't want to appear insensitive, so just in case this is a serious question, the answer is you quit when you have them all.Collecting is a genetic thing. Some have it, some don't. If you have it, you will always want one more. [This message has been edited by He Dog (edited 01-10-2002).]
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  • jdc606jdc606 Member Posts: 5 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    You can easily justify buying as many,and almost any firearm,as a great financial investment.I remember looking at the back page of my dad's "American Rifleman" magazine in the late 60's when you could buy an "NRA Excellent" rolling block in 7mm Mauser for around twenty bucks.What would one be worth today? How much did a Ruger 10/22 cost ten years ago and how is your 401K doing? Buy'em,shoot'em,have fun and get your investment back +.
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  • RUGERNUT3RUGERNUT3 Member Posts: 247 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Stop?...er,uh..never thought about it....but I am happy...I could stop any time I wanted,honest....but I dont wanna...the thought makes me ill..I always feel better after I buy one...maybe just one more..
    "ANY" EXCUSE IS A GOOD REASON TO BUY "JUST 1 MORE".& VICIE-VERSIE!
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  • woodsrunnerwoodsrunner Member Posts: 5,378 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I ran into this question about a year ago. Was getting to the point where I'd have to buy a third safe. Also was running into a lack of time to shoot them all or take proper care of them. My solution, TRADE UP!! Take 2 $200.00 guns and trade them towards a $500.00 gun. I did this several times. May do it a few more. WOODS
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  • JudgeColtJudgeColt Member Posts: 1,790 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Isn't there a book entitled "Too Much is Not Enough?" I agree with that position!In a way, this is a serious question. If some of us would admit it (I won't!), what some of us spend on guns would be better spent on other things. Suppose we have a credit card balance at 18 to 21%, and buy a $500 gun instead of paying that $500 on the credit card. While the gun may appreciate, is it appreciating more than 18-21% a year to put us ahead of that game? Of course, the gun has value beyond its monetary value in both pleasure and usefulness, so it may still be worth it, but probably not on paper.Why is it we love guns so much? Of course, collectors of other things are probably just as bad, but, to me, the major difference is that other collecting fields are not subject to the regulations we face, and no one is trying to do away with stamp collecting and stamp shows, for instance. The "forbidden" aspect of firearms may be a major part of their attraction. Another part is the omnipotance aspect. We could, if we wanted to or had to, God-like, point our finger (our gun) at our enemy and smite him down with a single lightening bolt (shot). Whether we admit it or not, the power feeling is there as part of the attraction. As collectors, the feeling of getting tbe great find or the like also makes us feel like we have achieved some kind of great victory that others have not been able to achieve. But that soon fades and we have to set off after another conquest. The collection that has always set the standard for me is the Sutherland Colt collection. Mr. Sutherland co-wrote "The Book of Colt Firearms" in 1970, probably the most comprehensive work on Colt firearms ever attempted. Almost every one of the thousands of Colts pictured in the book is credited to Mr. Sutherland's personal collection. In looking at the book, he had dozens and dozens, if not more, of Serial Numbers 1, and special orders, and consecutive pairs, and engraved and cased and ... and ...., just everything to do with Colt, including even non-firearms items, like Colt electrical wiring items, stock certificates, tooling, etc.. I understand his collection was sold when he divorced. The collection had to represent millions of dollars in cost of acquisition and I frankly do not see how it could have been done. How do you find dozens of Serial Numbers 1, particularly on some guns 120 years old? We all mention appreciation as a justification for our buying addiction, and there is appreciation in older guns, but not much in a new M870 for instance. Still, the thing that worries me is that legislation could destroy our collections and make them worth next to nothing. What about the "assault weapon" collectors in states where AWs have been outlawed? If they had to dispose of their AWs, do you suppose they got what they wanted? Their plans on future appreciation are certainly gone.What happens to our collections when we die? Some of our families will want them, some will not. I have tried to prepare for that by keeping very detailed records and drafting suggested advertisements fully describing each gun and setting out a market price, that I update from time to time. I use very few of my guns, and, because of security issues, cannot enjoy the collectors items as much as I would like. Yet, I do not stop. Of course, I could if I wanted to.......
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  • concealedG36concealedG36 Member Posts: 3,566 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Well, Judge, while I think you are right I also think that approach is too analytical. I mean, I could take that a step further and just say that we're all going to die someday so why even bother collecting anything? Why not invest every penny we earn into real estate so that our children and grandchildren will be wealthy? Because, you can't get a rush from hearing real estate go BANG, BANG, BANG!Anyway, my investment rationalization is more for my wife. I just love shooting my guns, cleaning my guns, admiring them, and becoming a better shot. That's what it's all about, isn't it?
    Gun Control Disarms Victims, NOT Criminals
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  • wundudneewundudnee Member Posts: 6,105 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Judge Colt,Good points. No one will ever see your collection with your eyes so individual pieces that are valuable in your opinion might not mean much to your heirs. When I add something to my collection I make out a recipe card with where I got it and how much I gave for it. Also I list any redeeming features or any defects. I try to list the model #, serial #, and when it was manufactured. I keep these cards in my safe with pictures of the guns. I have given my son a key to the safe and the combination in case something happens to me. I also could quit any time, I don't need any steenking professional help. "To Much?" Not hardly enough!
    "If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?" Will Rogers
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