How many others map out their future firearm purchases?

[Northern Shooter]

I've always liked to plan ahead and rarely make a spontaneous purchase when it comes to firearms.

I've bought two this month but am already thinking about my next 3-4 purchases based on use-cases that are not currently met by my collection.

Whether it's chambered in a new cartridge, a new action type or even a new rifle brand that I do not own, these are always under consideration.

I tend to plan out which rifles I will be buying over the next 12-24 month window.

Currently on deck:

• Merkel Helix (straight pull for driven hunt)
• Sako 90 (mountain rifle)
• Rigby Big Game (dream rifle)

 

[crackerman]

I do now. I have gone through "collecting" cycles with very low end stuff.

As I am approaching 50 I am trying to pare down most the crap I have at home and in hobbies so have gotten rid of lots of cheap guns and bought nicer stuff. For my hunting guns I would like some class hence the CZ600 vs Savage axis moves and they all need a job to me. So the semi auto shotguns have moved on to nice O/U for clays and upland. Ducks are still the $300 Mossberg I've had for 25 years.

Currently looking for a bigish bore .375 or 404J but only passively.

Any self defense or class rifles can be whatever plastic fantastic is workable at an OK price.

 

[VertigoBE]

I do have a wishlist of firearms I wish to acquire, but it is more focused on older firearms. I however do not plan the purchase date. Rather when I come across an example to my liking and at a price point that is achievable, I will try to pick it up. Now granted, some of these I'll likely never get to, but it is nice to dream.

	Colt 1911 with Ivory grips in .45 ACP
	A fine .22 bolt action, walnut, full size rifle, scoped
	A .22 hornet double rifle, scoped
	A H&H in .240 Apex, scoped
	a fine 6.5x54MS Mannlicher Schönauer take down, single trigger, scoped, reworked by a Brit/Scot
x	A 270win/7x57 falling block ruger no1 with British treatment
	A fine 7x57 stalking rifle, scoped
x	A Dumoulin Centurion 7x64 fully engraved
	An Ischler Stutzen hammer rifle in 9.3x74r
	A vierling or funfling (if possible with a 22cal in the rib)
	A Farquharson falling block rifle
	A fine 30-06 / 300WM rifle, from Hanssen
	A 303 British double rifle, from Daniel Fraser?
	A bolt action rifle in .318 Westley Richards
	A fine 9.3x62 bolt action rifle, scoped
	A fine 9.3x74r double rifle, scoped, ideally with the side clams as the third bite (Kessler)
x	Vereecke 416Rigby African Legend
	The Vereecke 338WM sister rifle, the Alaskan Legend
	A fine Scottish round action in 16 or 20 bore
	A fine Belgian or British side lock in 12bore
	A fine Belgian or British hammer gun in 12bore
x	A 12bore WW Greener boxlock
x	A 12bore Paradox/Shot&Ball/ gun by a British maker
	A George Gibbs 12bore push forward underlever lever-cocking sidelock
	A Westley Richards in 425WR with extended magazine
x	A 458WM/Lott bolt action working rifle
	A 450NE 3 1/4”double rifle, (from Daniel Fraser?)
	A Holland & Holland sidelock double rifle in 500/465NE
x	A Belgian boxlock in .500NE
	A fine British boxlock .500NE
	A Westley Richard’s droplock rifle or gun
	A .500NE 3” self-cocking rebounding hammer double rifle with ejectors and non-automatic tang safety.
	505 Gibbs / 500 Jeffery bolt action or rather a .500 Rigby bolt action? (.450 Rigby case blown out to .510cal)
	A 577 NE double rifle
	A 4 or 8 bore double rifle

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I’ve got my sights set on a Heym Jumbo sidelock ejector in .600 Nitro Express or a Joe Smithson .505 Gibbs built on a Granite Mountain Arms African Magnum Mauser action.

 

[PCC600]

I do have a wishlist of firearms I wish to acquire, but it is more focused on older firearms. I however do not plan the purchase date. Rather when I come across an example to my liking and at a price point that is achievable, I will try to pick it up. Now granted, some of these I'll likely never get to, but it is nice to dream.

	Colt 1911 with Ivory grips in .45 ACP
	A fine .22 bolt action, walnut, full size rifle, scoped
	A .22 hornet double rifle, scoped
	A H&H in .240 Apex, scoped
	a fine 6.5x54MS Mannlicher Schönauer take down, single trigger, scoped, reworked by a Brit/Scot
x	A 270win/7x57 falling block ruger no1 with British treatment
	A fine 7x57 stalking rifle, scoped
x	A Dumoulin Centurion 7x64 fully engraved
	An Ischler Stutzen hammer rifle in 9.3x74r
	A vierling or funfling (if possible with a 22cal in the rib)
	A Farquharson falling block rifle
	A fine 30-06 / 300WM rifle, from Hanssen
	A 303 British double rifle, from Daniel Fraser?
	A bolt action rifle in .318 Westley Richards
	A fine 9.3x62 bolt action rifle, scoped
	A fine 9.3x74r double rifle, scoped, ideally with the side clams as the third bite (Kessler)
x	Vereecke 416Rigby African Legend
	The Vereecke 338WM sister rifle, the Alaskan Legend
	A fine Scottish round action in 16 or 20 bore
	A fine Belgian or British side lock in 12bore
	A fine Belgian or British hammer gun in 12bore
x	A 12bore WW Greener boxlock
x	A 12bore Paradox/Shot&Ball/ gun by a British maker
	A George Gibbs 12bore push forward underlever lever-cocking sidelock
	A Westley Richards in 425WR with extended magazine
x	A 458WM/Lott bolt action working rifle
	A 450NE 3 1/4”double rifle, (from Daniel Fraser?)
	A Holland & Holland sidelock double rifle in 500/465NE
x	A Belgian boxlock in .500NE
	A fine British boxlock .500NE
	A Westley Richard’s droplock rifle or gun
	A .500NE 3” self-cocking rebounding hammer double rifle with ejectors and non-automatic tang safety.
	505 Gibbs / 500 Jeffery bolt action or rather a .500 Rigby bolt action? (.450 Rigby case blown out to .510cal)
	A 577 NE double rifle
	A 4 or 8 bore double rifle

Great list . I am quite familiar with 303 double rifles and a Daniel Fraser would be my pick .

 

[Rellik]

Almost all of my gun purchases over the years have been spontaneous or I get a whim for something and then spend the next days trying to justify the cost before I buy it.. Sometimes my good sense takes over and sometimes it doesn't. And since most gun collections seem to have a theme or a common thread, I don't have a collection, I have an accumulation.

 

[BJH65]

If I was smart or more disciplined I’d plan it out in advance like you but my desires sometimes change because I’ll come across another “bright shiny object.” I enjoy collecting and shooting guns but I must weigh some factors:

Does it impact my ability to go on an African hunt? I enjoy collecting and shooting rifles too much to relegate myself to just a few rifles so this stops me from purchasing a Heym double or a Rigby Big Game that may limit my ability to go on a hunt of my choosing. Buffalo or nice rifle? Elephant or nice rifle?

During the past two years, I sold 30 guns, many were vintage hunting rifles I collected over the years and vintage S&W revolvers with the idea of using some of the funds for a custom bespoke rifle or a high quality vintage H&H bolt action 375 H&H, or a Reimer Johannsen 416 Rigby or Rigby Big Game 416 Rigby. I had a change of heart and put most of the funds into a CD to cover our upcoming 2026 African hunt with at least two DG animals on the menu.

I did obtain a few rifles: semi custom Randy Selby stainless Winchester M70 375 H&H, custom pre 64 Winchester M70 416 Rem Mag, Custom AHR Brno 458 Lott, and a Brno ZKK 602 375 H&H, so that has temporarily satisfied the urge at substantially less cost.

Every so often, I have considered selling off most of my collection of guns to just a few, then I could perhaps have a Heym 470 double, a Rigby Big Game 416 Rigby and a Rigby Highlander in 30-06 to cover all the bases and with those rifles it would absolutely be nothing else! For now, I enjoy collecting and shooting too much to limit myself to just a few very fine rifles and I really get tempted when I come across a bargain. I can still hear my dear departed Mom’s voice, “you have plenty.”

 

[PARA45]

Truthfully, there are some fine firearms I'd like to own (Rigby Highlander), but realistically and financially I cannot justify buying one. I honestly prefer to use that money and hunt more with the rifles I currently own. However, after saying all that, I was able to purchase a Blaser R8 (which at one time was a pipe dream), and purchased a 375 H&H barrel. Now, if the planets would align and maybe a wood stock R8 would somehow show up, I may be inclined to sell some body parts to acquire that said R8 rifle.

 

[Munnik]

With me, it's just the opposite. After more than 50 years of hunting and having just become 75 years old, I am not planning any new acquisitions. I only own three rifles: a Krieghoff double rifle in 9.3x74R, a Cape Gun from Ferlach in 9.3x72R-16/65, and a single barrel rifle from Krieghoff in 6.5x57R.

The Cape Gun from Ferlach I gonna sell definitely - plus one of the others. Can‘t make up my mind which one…

 

[coreydb]

I've always been a utility hunter type of a person; maybe because I grew up with everything I needed but verrrry little I wanted.