It is done My collection is gone

[rookhawk]

As of this week, the entirety of my bachelor collection is now gone. I loved collecting and accumulating rifles and shotguns over the years and I felt like I learned so much in the process.

Different chapters in life, all fantastic, have changed priorities for me. Hunting has grown as a passion as shooting has become nothing but a necessary evil to maintain proficiency or to meet up with friends.

My battery of guns is pretty slim these days but I want for little.

I have a 7x57 single shot that will someday be supplanted by a vintage British Mauser. I have my .318 Westley take down. I have my vintage Cogswell .375H&H and I have a "Spanish Best" 12-16 two barrel shotgun that fits me well but I generally disdain as an Anglophile shooter.

My kids have their .243 circa 1958 Winchester and I've got a safe full of yard sale quality stuff I keep as trinkets along with my 17hmr varmint gun.

I'm decluttered. I've erased all the tacticool stuff of my prior ways.

It feels good. I spent 25 years amassing beautiful things and now with kids I'm in the chapter of amassing beautiful memories instead.

Someday I'll add a large bore double back into the team and probably a .404, .416 or .450 magazine rifle, but for now there is contentment.

Anyone else experience the therapeutic effect of consolidating collections and owning fewer but better? While none of what I have left are truly best guns, they are the best guns I can own with a clear conscience with my family.

Right now I'm in the right place and I think most of my lovely guns are in great hands that use them properly in the pursuit of great sport.

Anyone else found contentment?

 

[CAustin]

I will leave the disbursement of my small collection to my son. I don't think I could sell my guns off at least not now.

 

[Pheroze]

Life is about change. Congratulations on starting your next chapter.

To answer your question, I am never content. But that makes life interesting as I satisfy one frustration after another

All the best.

 

[brettp]

I will leave the disbursement of my small collection to my son. I don't think I could sell my guns off at least not now.

Me too and my son is only seven. He's got a lot of years to wait.

 

[LivingTheDream]

I am slowly selling it off, with each trip comes tip money and slowly and surely I get rid of one or two more. I don't shoot as much as I used to, I bow hunt more, and have no need to expand. I want one more, and maybe someday will add a nice double, but I am beyond Content. My friends are now in there build up phase, so I get to see there stuff do research with them and go with them to gun shows. Still part of the process but I rather spend money hunting and fishing.

 

[BWH]

Wow @rookhawk that's pretty cool. I sold of a bunch about 10 years ago.... after reading Thoreau. I had 1 rifle, 1 shotgun & 1 pistol. Then the whole obamascare happened, and I'll admit I bought & got addicted.... now I have about 20 guns & hoards of ammo. I keep telling myself I'm going to sell. But I keep getting tempted to buy!!!!

 

[TTundra]

With not too many years under my belt, I took to collecting young and quickly with help from my father. I loved the chase and tracking down the next acquisition. Possibly even above all, I loves saying "I have one" when any of my friends brought up their next desire.
The past few years Ive decided and slowly begun the transition of my sport shooting and 'fun' guns to pursuit hunting instruments. I'll always keep a few around, but I prefer to have the firearms used on a hunt with great stories rather than another AR, FAL, "insert random" pistol, etc. I will however always be a student of history and never give up the chase for those firearms that just endure the test of time.

 

[Albert GRANT]

I have been trying to, and would love to, get rid of all unnecessary junk in my life. Have the minimum required to do the things I like, but slowly build up better quality. As others have stated I would much rather do things than have things. I have even gone as far as cutting out interests to focus on the ones most important to me. There is an ideal in my head I would love to reach someday that would leave me free to roam the world as I was able to, and be content with what I have in a clean uncluttered life. Hopefully sooner than later I can attain this. Not taking trophies home from my African safari was one step of that, and it has helped me to be more open to cull hunts, which are cheaper, and can allow for more time in country.

 

[Shootist43]

Life often causes us to rethink our situation and rebalance accordingly. In 1984 I gave up my boat, after being raised on the water so to speak. It was a huge annual expense primarily for my pleasure. But my wife would never take it out alone. I invested the money and several years later purchased 5 acres up north with a small trailer on it. My wife was willing to go up there either with a girlfriend or alone. Later she would take the grandkids. It was the right decision, and I felt better for having made it, even though I still miss having a boat. Sailors have a saying that goes something like this; you cannot change the wind but you can adjust your sails so you can get where you want to go.

 

[James Cook]

can't do it. mine are like members of the family, and one day will be passed to members of my family who also enjoy hunting and shooting. still enjoying time at the range, tinkering with them - and of course that brings back memories of the hunt. my kids are grown, but spending time with the grandchildren. one day hope to take them to the range with the guns, show them how to shoot, then how to hunt - and pass on the stories that go with each gun. i'll keep the guns and the memories that go with them, while making new memories with the grandchildren.

 

[curtism1234]

I'm at the stage where I'm trying to upgrade the quality of the cheaper guns I bought while younger, but unfortunately I don't want to get rid of those memories.

Instead of downsizing, I'll keep what I have and fill in the blanks. I wouldn't mind a nice 243 or a 20ga Remington Wingmaster.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Now @rookhawk didn't I see where you offered and perhaps bought a really pretty pre-64 in .30-06 just about a week ago?

 

[rookhawk]

Now @rookhawk didn't I see where you offered and perhaps bought a really pretty pre-64 in .30-06 just about a week ago?

No. Not me. I had a custom Zehner mint and unfired made in 1958 that was an exhibition grade rifle, built on a model 70. That gun went as one of the last holdouts.

About 6 months ago I bought my kids a pre-64 .243 featherweight though as the needed a gun.

I understand your confusion, it SOUNDS like something I would be prone to doing!

 

[rookhawk]

Oh wait...you're right! There was a 30-06 super grade I lowballed on not long ago! It was sold for much more weeks earlier.

A normal man would be embarrassed right now...it's a sickness. At least guns going outpaced incomeing 10:1 !

If you ever show my wife this thread I'll unfriend you.

 

[Divernhunter]

I sold about 35 firearms before I went to Africa in 2013. I do not really miss them. I have a few more C&R as well as a AR15 I would like to sell and probably will try harder after returning from Africa in June. I also gave my daughter a number of firearms I had bought for her when she was young. I have now bought a couple for my grand-daughter but it will be awhile before she id ready since she is 20 months old now.
Still have 3 large safes of firearms now. All the hunting firearms and some others as well as all pistols my daughter wants when I die. She will sell the two 50bmg rifles since they cannot be transferred to her in this screwed up state.

 

[Rob404]

I suppose somewhere down the line I will have to start giving some thought to culling the Herd, most likely when I dump my House for something smaller

 

[Royal27]

If you ever show my wife this thread I'll unfriend you.

Please Lord, when I die, let my wife sell my guns for what they are worth and not what I told her I paid for them.

I've sold exactly one gun in my life. Compared to many here I don't have a bunch of guns, but the one I have won't likely be going anywhere anytime soon.

 

[wesheltonj]

Still in the collecting stage for me. I have too many shotguns that can only fire lead or bismuth, so working on purchasing ones that can shoot steel. For hunting rifles I might be maxed out, (243, 270, 308, 300, 375) but I still have one Leica ER scope new in the box. However, still going to buy 2 more SIG 526's rifles so every family member has one (just in case). I am sure my daughter will sell all of it, once I pass over the River Jordan.

 

[CLICKBANGBANG]

While I'm very content in happiness, I continue to slowly collect as the gun fund means allow. I don't have many guns compared to collectors, and still have plenty of room in the safe. Years ago, I'd buy what looked shiny or cool. But now, I'm buying guns for a specific purpose.

Just put a scope in Talley rings on my new M70 .375 H&H Safari Express. Proper ammo was purchased, and new shooting sticks to practice with were also bought. I have a pig hunt coming up this summer that I'd like the .375 to go on. And down the road this gun should see Africa.

Speaking of scopes above, I have a new scope for the 7mm Rem Mag that just had the barrel free floated. It wasn't shooting how I wanted. This gun is going to far South West TX with me in the fall for an Aoudad hunt.

I need a slug shot gun for a California deer zone I'd like to hunt. And I'd love to try an auto loader for duck season.

Picked up a 17 HMR a day ago for a varmint hunt I'm planning for this early summer with my 8 year old son. We have more ground squirrels than you can shake a stick at. I have another gun in 17 HMR on order. And I may go ahead and order the CZ550 in 17 Hornet for fun...

The Ruger GP100 pulls at the strings of my heart. When I finally own one, I will sit in my chair and will watch western movies with John Wayne or Clint Eastwood while I hand polish the stainless to a high sheen... One day. We do an annual pumpkin shoot the day after Thanksgiving that I'd love to have a nice barbecue gun for. The GP would be perfect.

I was going to look at the store for the Bearcat this week, but work had me in the wrong side of the valley. I need to get the Bearcat before the pumpkins are ready to pick. It will go with the Henry Yellow Boy my son has. I'll also need a fine ammo carrier belt and matching holster that will fit a small boy... this will take some work... I'm going to carve desperadoes on the pumpkins we are growing. Add straw hats to the desperado gourds and a brass star sticker to my sons shirt, and we'll have a good Saturday of shooting bad guys with his lever rifle and the new revolver.

As you can see. More projects to start, and finish. And more fun planned for the year than should be allowed!

 

[008]

I went through a big disposal process of 400+, mostly accumulated by my father. I've been rebuilding some of the things I'm interested in. Oddly enough, there are plenty I wished I had kept. Some of interest, some because values soared. Really though, I've had a learning experience that quality trumps quantity every time.

Lord knows I still have too many!