How Many Guns Is Enough Or Can You Never Have Too Many?

[JoeSoap]

One of my friends was giving me a hard time because I have more than a few guns. In her view, ok you have a rifle for hunting and maybe a handgun for self-defense but you don’t need more than that….

I took her view to heart and thought about it, briefly felt a little bad considering the cost…and to make myself feel better bought some more They just fill very different uses/niches, atleast that’s what I tell myself.

Anyway I did get to wondering if I am an outlier and need therapy or pretty average, hence the question if people have firearms, how many do they tend to have. I suspect I’m pretty average…

 

[mdwest]

She clearly doesn’t understand hunting.., or firearms in general… they’re tools…

A carpenter doesn’t pound nails with a drill press… and he doesn’t turn screws with a hammer…

Each task calls for a certain tool… and if you’re a pro you might have several variations of the same tool.. a roofing hammer, a ball peen hammer, a sledge hammer, etc… all will drive a nail.. some aren’t exactly designed for that specific task..

You don’t hunt ducks with a 375h&h… and you don’t hunt Cape buffalo with a 12 gauge…

A pistol actually makes a terrible home defense firearm… but a 16” barreled AR at the same time isn’t great for CCW..

It all depends on what you own firearms for…

 

[Gomer]

Some people enjoy firearms as much as they do using them. I still do to a certain extent, but I don’t have the time or drive to spend on more than a few. I greatly reduced my collection. I can keep up on maintenance, reloading, etc. My hunts are more important than the tool.

That being said, I have 20 and keep a soft rifle case in my truck in case I see something I like. I can then bring it in the house freely because I just “got back from the range”.

 

[RLD]

There used to be a formula we used in cycling for the numbers of bikes you should have that I think works equally well with firearms.

The correct number of firearms to have is X, where X-1 is the current number you have, and X+1 is the number that will cause your spouse to divorce you.

Very simple.

 

[Charlie64]

.

Depends where you are I guess ...... in the UK 5-6 guns is a lot, in Germany with a hunting license you can have unlimited rifles / shotguns but are limited to 2 handguns, the States is a different story......

Me, my wife may raise one or both eyebrows when I buy another gun, but she has never tried to stop me.....


.

 

[jruby]

See how many you can clean at one setting - might indicate how many is enough.

 

[John J]

Last year my wife told me no more guns! Then quickly followed up with till you get another safe. She is a keeper!

 

[Wildwillalaska]

Never enough. Having downsized and combined homes, no longer having a vaulted gunroom…for now…makes space in safes a premium where I have consolidated close to 20 rarely or unused rifles, and dozens of custom revolvers, I still answer never enough.

 

[RedTag]

My wife has little interest in guns and no interest in hunting aside from eating meat. But she’s great about my gun collecting hobby. My focus is on classics that will likely increase in value so she thinks of it as a sort of investment, although I have no plans to sell any of my collection.

 

[Tbitty]

 

[Rez Exelon]

I have way more than I need, but until people quit selling them at half off to make rent, then I'll probably not quit picking them up to be honest.

 

[Kalthoff]

I took her view to heart and thought about it,

Ask her: "How many pairs of shoes does a woman really need"?

 

[Inkgardener]

Ask her: "How many pairs of shoes does a woman really need"?

I was just about to type the same thing!

 

[Parkerpusher]

I’ll own as many as I can get my hands on in my lifetime if they interest me, and they almost all interest me .

I limit myself to 3 (rifles) and 1 handgun for hunting and training though. Those are my tools.

 

[Firebird]

Some of “my” guns belong to my wife and kids. Some are heirlooms I have inherited and wish to pass down to my family. I do regularly hunt with 6-7 different guns each year.

 

[JG26Irish_2]

As a rule guns & ammo appreciate at a rate faster than Gold. It is true they are harder to monetize but are never worth zero. Honestly, I wish that somebody told me as a young man to go out and buy one gun per month as an investment. Some of the guns that I purchased for $500 a few years back are selling for $5000 today and a few have appreciated much more. I try to buy guns that I want to have and keep with an eye for quality and collector value down the road. Some are black rifles but most are walnut and steel classics. I have not counted lately but am pretty sure the total is well over 120 today.

My wife does not care and only knows that some are long guns and some are short guns. She recently allowed me to teach her how to operate and fire a handgun and an AR15. I just told her to look on them as two gun safes full of gold bars and when I am gone, to sell the lot of them using one of the estate auction houses I know and trust. To keep a couple for self defense and to let each of the kids have one of Pop's guns if they want.

40yrs ago or so, I had a friend who had a walk in gun room/safe at the end of his house with glass enclosed display cases along every wall. A 50cal Ma-Deuce on a tri pod in the living room and a handgun stashed in every corner of the house. John Wick would have approved. Probably used him as a mentor. I told him that someday, I want to be just like him. Not there but close.

I have a rule that if I go on a big game hunt that involved guides or PH's and fees, that I buy a new gun for each hunt. Two for each African Safari. These become prized heirlooms after and are placed on display in my trophy room. There are currently six stunning hunting rifles on display and about six more still in the safe looking for a good place to put them. Why limit yourself? I am looking for a great Moose rifle now. I enjoy the process of fitting a scope and testing ammo until I can use the tool at any ethical range to take its intended prey. It makes me smile and that is enough.

 

[sgt_zim]

"If you can remember all the guns you own, you don't own enough." -- Me

 

[NoStepOnSnek]

When I was younger I wanted a firearm for every year that I was alive. I was meeting that goal, but I have now (at the ripe old age of 27) decided the number is less important than the use/relationship with the gun. I got rid of some that I never shot and had no plans for. I haven’t missed any of them. Now I have my collection of sentimental firearms, specific use firearms, and have also found a love for Ruger No.1s which I am slowly acquiring more of

 

[Ryan]

I have under a dozen and I have zero urge to gain more. I've dealt with enough collecting of stuff in my life I had to thin out and now dealing with my Dad's epic over-collecting of everything in his house that I can't be bothered with any more. But that is just me.

 

[Jhsmith]

Just one more!