I'm still into guns, but I've now sold three in three years

[Monkeyleg]

There was a time when I wanted as many guns as I could possibly have, although I didn't have the money to do so (or, more specifically, I would have needed to spend money on guns instead of cars, bikes, etc).

In 2009 I sold my NIB nickel Python for $2500 to buy chrome wheels and wide tires for my car (and had $$$ left over).

Last year I sold my Century Arms fake HK91 (I had it looking really good) to buy some switchblades.

Today I put my 2002 Kimber Eclipse Target on Gunbroker. I got it new from a local gun store in exchange for building their website. It was such a nice-looking gun, though, that I only shot it three times. It's been sitting in the safe ever since. I figure I can get $900 to $975 for it, which will just about pay for a Fender American Standard Stratocaster I just ordered.

I still have guns I won't sell, and I'm getting down to just those. I guess having guns I won't shoot doesn't mean that much anymore.

[seeker_two]

Sounds like me....I have a gun or two that I could sell, but the rest are strictly keepers due to how I got them (given by family). I may acquire few more, but I don't really have the drive to "buy 'em all" like I used to....

[mtnbkr]

Same here.  At the gun show last night, I walked by a very good deal on a S&W M28 4" because not only am I not a fan of the 357mag, I'd rather spend more time shooting the guns I have now.  

I'm not saying I won't buy any more guns, but I'm beyond accumulating random guns.  

Chris

[S. Williamson]

My habits have changed over the past couple of years, too.  Originally it was "1) this is a gun, 2) I can afford it, 3) Mine!"  Hard times forced me to sell off everything except the one heirloom .22 I had and a Sig P6.

Now it's 1) Save for a year+, 2) Buy/build exactly what I want, 3) Have an accurate, reliable weapon that I don't ever want to get rid of.  Life was also made a lot easier when I made myself the rule of only .22, 9mm, .45, .223/5.56, and .308.  Actually, been thinking about further consolidation including phasing out .45 and/or standardizing on certain platforms (Glock, AR).

[41magsnub]

I'm about to enter another round of gun sales my owbn self.  I have a number I just never shoot that have no particular sentimental value or SHTF use.  Mostly I want to fund a nice over-under 12ga for upland game.

[Stetson]

I just want a tube fed .22, I have everything else I need for now.

I want the .22 for my daughter for when she's older....and for me too to practice with.

[lee n. field]

I still have guns I won't sell, and I'm getting down to just those. I guess having guns I won't shoot doesn't mean that much anymore.

Any more I'm not too sentimental about them.  If it doesn't work well, and I have no other reason to hold onto it, it's trade fodder.  If the count goes down, but the quality improves, I'm happy.

Hard times forced me to sell off everything except the one heirloom .22 I had and a Sig P6.

I'm not there yet, but I can easily see it happening.  And I'm one that hates the "what one gun" threads.  (It'd probably be the Glock, once fitted with a land-and-groove barrel, as something that could be pressed into the most uses.)

  Life was also made a lot easier when I made myself the rule of only .22, 9mm, .45, .223/5.56, and .308.  Actually, been thinking about further consolidation including phasing out .45 and/or standardizing on certain platforms (Glock, AR).

Though the details differ, we think alike.

[mtnbkr]

I just want a tube fed .22, I have everything else I need for now.

I want the .22 for my daughter for when she's older....and for me too to practice with.

I have similar plans.  I want to find a nice Marlin 60 or two for my girls.  Of course, I'll have to test them both. :)

Chris

[Lee]

Same here...shifting priorities and desires.

[charby]

I've switched from shooting steel and IDPA and gotten into a lot more big game hunting so I've traded stuff.

[Jamie B]

I have similar plans.  I want to find a nice Marlin 60 or two for my girls.  Of course, I'll have to test them both. :)

Chris

The Marlin 60 is a great plinking  gun!
I have one that is probably 20 years or so, and it shoots great.
You can't beat a Ruger 10/22, though!

[mtnbkr]

The Marlin 60 is a great plinking  gun!
I have one that is probably 20 years or so, and it shoots great.
You can't beat a Ruger 10/22, though!

I had a 10/22.  Because I like to tinker, I took it from a bone stock rifle to a tack driving bench gun too heavy for children or field use. 

I like the M60 because of its simplicity and because that's what I started with as a kid.  Nostalgia and all that. :)

Chris

[AmbulanceDriver]

Tube fed rifles do present a couple of safety challenges however, they're a little more difficult to make certain they're clear, for example.  You have to cycle the action several times to make sure there's not a round in the carrier that could inadvertently be chambered, even if the plunger is removed and the tube empties. (We run across problems like this at Appleseed - had a negligent discharge this weekend due to this exact problem.  Kid thought he had cleared the rifle, an instructor checked it, plunger was out, chamber flag in, etc, but during the next prep period, when we dry practice, a round that was already in the carrier (and not obviously visible) was chambered when the action was closed.  Hearing "bang" when you were expecting "click" is *really* distressing.  Thankfully all the other safety rules were being followed, and the kid actually hit the sighter square we were working on pretty much dead center.... :)

[Jamie B]

I had a 10/22.  Because I like to tinker, I took it from a bone stock rifle to a tack driving bench gun too heavy for children or field use. 

I like the M60 because of its simplicity and because that's what I started with as a kid.  Nostalgia and all that. :)

Chris

No doubt about the nostalgia!
When I showed mine to my 9 y/o son, I had to show him the loading port.
He was impressed! It is kind of neat, I will admit!

[Tallpine]

Marlin makes a removable magazine fed bolt action .22 rifle.

(also a tube feed model)

There should be a lot of them around used.

I really don't see the point in a semi-auto for marksmanship practice.

[mtnbkr]

I really don't see the point in a semi-auto for marksmanship practice.

It's not about marksmanship practice, it's all about good ol' fashioned chasin' a can plinkin'.  A high capacity tube fed 22 like the Marlin 60 is perfect for that.  I can't imagine a better way for dad and kids to spend an afternoon. :)

Chris

[Perd Hapley]

I really don't see the point in a semi-auto for marksmanship practice.

Less time working the bolt; more time working the trigger. That said, I believe in using whichever gun makes you happy.

[Tallpine]

Less time working the bolt; more time working the trigger. That said, I believe in using whichever gun makes you happy.

My observation is most people spend less time using the sights and more time pulling the trigger.

You can miss really fast that way 

[mtnbkr]

Don't you guys just plink for fun?  You don't toss an old bean can out into a field and see how fast you can chase it out of range?

Y So Serious?

Chris

[seeker_two]

Plinking is a lot more fun when you can hit the target....

[charby]

Don't you guys just plink for fun?  You don't toss an old bean can out into a field and see how fast you can chase it out of range?

Y So Serious?

Chris

I do, its fun to chase a popcan from 10 yards to 50 yards.

[Perd Hapley]

Don't you guys just plink for fun?  You don't toss an old bean can out into a field and see how fast you can chase it out of range?

Y So Serious?

Chris

When you don't have a beanfield, you find yourself at a pay-by-the-hour joint. Shooting gets much less fun. :(


I know the old saw is that kids learn better when they only have one shot at a time. As an adult, I find it less distracting to have a self-loader and just keep working on the fundamentals without stopping to reciprocate the bolt every time.

[MechAg94]

As a youngster, I definitely shot better with a single shot rifle than with the 10/22.  I liked the single shot Savage because it was easier to carry around in the woods.

My brother came down with his family last weekend we shot at the range.  My nephew is a teenager, but he seems to like my Marlin 39A a lot.  He started shooting it and was reloading every time I turned around.  They have come down a few times over the last couple months.  His wife and kids are getting to where they aren't scared of the big stuff either.  My nephew shot my Dad's Armscor M14 also.

[Tallpine]

Don't you guys just plink for fun?  You don't toss an old bean can out into a field and see how fast you can chase it out of range?

Y So Serious?

Chris

Gophers

It's more fun if the target is already moving 

[MechAg94]

As for selling guns, I don't think I have ever sold a gun to fund buying anything but other guns.  It was always a safe queen that I didn't shoot and didn't care to keep around.  I have been dragging my feet on posting 2 or 3 for sale on line.