Arriving at a point in life

Rare Breed

Rare Breed

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All of us are at different points in life with different priorities. Earlier on I wanted many different DRs so I bought 8 from Westley richards to Rigby etc. and enjoyed and learned from them all. At this stage of my life I know several things about myself:
1. I only need two calibers to take any animal on this earth, a 275 and a 404.
2. I prefer a Rigby Brand.
3. I now put my money in future hunts after spending decades also putting money in different calibers and brands.

I believe all of us choose to do different things at different times in our life chasing our mistress Africa!!!
 
I agree, and glad I found that secret early in life. Maybe mid 20s

Watched my older brother buy or sell trucks for 10 years, to end up owning his first identical truck. The amount he would of saved by paying outright just owning that first one would of been substantial.

We used to get the hunting catalogs yearly and buy lots of waterfowl gear. after a few years realized we didnt need a single thing from the catalog. That felt real good.

My first trip to Zim, ended up selling a couple small hunting boats, a few guns. didnt notice them gone at all. Realized I had amassed alot of material stuff that could pay for African adventures.

Now I sit at a bit of a conundrum, I own a double, and a old rigby 275. BUT my favorite country to hunt and value is Zimbabwe. and I cannot "legally" bring them to hunt in country.

So I play alot with selling them. to provide myself more opportunities for more safaris.

I love the Zambezi Valley, and its been 8 years since my first safari. So its tough for me to try elsewhere when I know what I want.
 
I agree but hate to sell rifles…at this point I’m close to 20 DG rifles but don’t “need” them all.
My favorites lately are the
458 Lott and 300 win mag.

HH
 
I did the collecting thing, wanted unusual calibers.
Now I just use a Howa 1500 in .30-06 for 99% of everything, with a synthetic stock and a $200 scope. Wish I hadda bought it 15 years ago, woulda done way more hunting, less safe filling.
 
I was thinking about this just last night. If I had a 275 rigby in a Rigby (not a highland stalker) it would cover 90% of all my rifle hunting and I probably wouldn’t want for anything else.

A 22lr for the kids to shoot rabbits
A 223 for foxes and roos
A 9.3x62 for the odd buffalo hunt
And a 12G for birds is all I need

But I enjoy guns, nice ones especially and I enjoy collecting them. I can see myself cutting way back when I financially have the means to just running a customised 275 rigby and a 9.3x62.
 
I often look back at when I really began collecting rifles. It was completely accidental. (Of course) Knowing then what I know now, I could have put aside $10,000.00 for two rifles and two scopes. That seemed like a ludicrous a.mount of money at the time and there was no way that I would have done it. I also would have saved enough for two or three safaris in doing so. I've also come to a point in my life that my happiness can't be overvalued. So...All is good my friends.
 
Rare Breed said:
All of us are at different points in life with different priorities. Earlier on I wanted many different DRs so I bought 8 from Westley richards to Rigby etc. and enjoyed and learned from them all. At this stage of my life I know several things about myself:
1. I only need two calibers to take any animal on this earth, a 275 and a 404.
2. I prefer a Rigby Brand.
3. I now put my money in future hunts after spending decades also putting money in different calibers and brands.

I believe all of us choose to do different things at different times in our life chasing our mistress Africa!!!
Click to expand...
I get that those previous DRs don’t mean as much to you anymore. What about the experience you have of buying them, shooting them, learning about DRs etc. I take it you still value that, maybe as much as you value the experience of some of your hunts.

The way you feel about your past rifles is how I feel about most my taxidermy. I’m glad I did the hunt and relish the memories, but am really not that attached to the taxidermy.
 
I go back and forth on this myself as I’ve got a pretty large firearms collection even by enthusiast and collector standards. In 2023 I sold off a slew of modern rifles, shotguns and handguns that I’ve accumulated and never really used or shot. In doing so I was able to pay for an 18 Day Elephant/Buffalo/Leopard hunt in Zim. The deals and opportunities have kept coming and the safes are all over flowing again. Lately I’ve been selling off a number of Pre64’s and 1st Gen SAA’s trying to get them all down to a single Safe.

At this point the rifles I intend to die with have all been to Africa and carry sentimental value of previous hunts
1) A Pre WWI Rigby in 275 Rigby
2) A Pre64 M70 Transition Super Grade in 375H&H that I’ve taken the Big 5 and Tiny 10 with
3) A Pre WW2 M70 Super Grade in 300H&H
4) A 1908 Westley Richards Drop Lock in 450NE
 
Rare Breed said:
All of us are at different points in life with different priorities. Earlier on I wanted many different DRs so I bought 8 from Westley richards to Rigby etc. and enjoyed and learned from them all. At this stage of my life I know several things about myself:
1. I only need two calibers to take any animal on this earth, a 275 and a 404.
2. I prefer a Rigby Brand.
3. I now put my money in future hunts after spending decades also putting money in different calibers and brands.

I believe all of us choose to do different things at different times in our life chasing our mistress Africa!!!
Click to expand...

I believe I kinda feel what you are saying good sir? And I applaud you for recognizing what makes you happy.

A part of me thinks about this from time to time, but admit I'm still buying guns. I got a way late start in life in getting a point to where I could financially afford to acquire guns I have always wanted. On the cusp of 60, there are still a few that pull at m y heartstrings that I do not own, like a Winchester 71. But I do acknowledge there is a sensible simplicity to identifying the few that really make you happy or fit your needs.
 
I thinned the herd a bit over the past year. Moved some repeats on caliber and a couple that I knew that I was just probably never going to use. I have a couple more that I'll probably get rid of.

Most likely going to hang on to a 404 Jeffery, 416 Rigby and either a 458 Lott or a 450 Rigby. My 338 Win Mag has been my favorite for plains game so definitely not letting that one get away.

Moving forward I only see myself hunting Buffalo as often as I can afford and a few plains game mixed in.
 
M70375! said:
I should be selling some too, but instead I bought 5 more that I don't need this year. I am a sucker for rifles with pretty wood on them.
Click to expand...
Pretty wood sells more rifles an shotguns than anything. :)

Paul
 
Yeah… I never thought of the guns I accumulate as “needing” many of them at all.
We just tell ourselves whatever because we enjoy having them.
As I get older I want more simplicity however… also your kids don’t want to deal with this shit either right?
I will keep ones I want to be heirlooms. Also, I’ve been thinking of doing some real high quality and personalized stuff like having a set of DR guns and some custom Shotguns with fantastic wood and high end engraving etc.
Let those make it down generations maybe…. Have our Surname Initial engraved
Stuff like that
 
I mentioned earlier that if I knew now what I knew 3 years ago, I would have set aside $10k and bought 2 rifles and two scopes for world wide hunting. I took 20 minutes to look through our classified section and cut that to $5k. I would be very happy with those two set ups, and be set up for the 5 continents that I'd actually hunt (More like 4 continents..)
 
About 6 months ago I started thinking that I needed to cut my accumulated stuff to 4 cartridges. Still trying to reduce from about 15 rilfe rilfe cartridges...

And then I get distracted...

I basically use:

22LR
223
7-08
35 Whelen

Started thinking that for PG, a 7-08 and a 35 Whelen would cover anything. So would a single 30-06. Or even the 35 Whelen...

And I've realized that I like my Howa/Vanguards in updated Fancy stocks just as much as my custom Mausers. I could have saved myself a bunch of money.

If I need a DG, then a 404J

I'm the same with my fly-fishing stuff too...
 
JPbowhunter said:
I was thinking about this just last night. If I had a 275 rigby in a Rigby (not a highland stalker) it would cover 90% of all my rifle hunting and I probably wouldn’t want for anything else.

A 22lr for the kids to shoot rabbits
A 223 for foxes and roos
A 9.3x62 for the odd buffalo hunt
And a 12G for birds is all I need

But I enjoy guns, nice ones especially and I enjoy collecting them. I can see myself cutting way back when I financially have the means to just running a customised 275 rigby and a 9.3x62.
Click to expand...
@JPbowhunter
If you live in NSW depending on your use four will become a reality in November.
Bob
 
After decades of hunting, one has almost certainly bought, sold and still owns far too many rifles. However, exactly how many rifles you need depends heavily on what you hunt and where. For example, I cannot use the same rifle for shooting Ibex or Deers sometimes at long range also for wild boar driven hunts. Anyone hunting dangerous game in Africa needs also a specific rifle for that, and one certainly should not forget the shotgun, also a must for each hunter. That brings the requirement to a minimum of four rifles. The question of caliber is another issue. One often search for the ideal caliber, which does not really exist, but explains why the gun-safe ends up full. And let us not forget the collector’s urge, mild or intense, that arises when one becomes interested in a special type of hunt, such as hunting in Africa for example.
 
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