Why do you have the particular guns you have?

[michael_aos]

Somehow I've wound up with 12 handguns and 8 long-guns.

On the one hand, that "feels" like far too many. Yet, it seems like there's a void to be filled.

I generally have a pretty good reason / justification / rationale for each, although admittedly some have been superseded by others.

Perhaps it's just me. I fancy myself as something of a minimalist at heart, so I tend to look hard at the things cluttering up my house / life and get rid of stuff whenever possible.

Why do you have what you have?

Mike

[HunterCO]

That is a tough question I have different reasons for owning different guns I have. I curently have 13 long guns, 12 handguns and two suppressors that number will continue to increase.

Some guns I have for hunting, Some are for competition, Some like my m16 is nothing more than a toy fun to shoot, Some are for personal protection, Some are nothing more than collection guns and some like my single shot .410 have sentimental value. My grandfather who died when I was 15 bought that gun when he was 11 yrs. old for $3.50 to hunt pheasants. My dad was the oldest child and it was given to him when he was old enough to start hunting. I will never forget the day I passed my hunters safety 12yrs old at the time and when I got home my dad handed the .410 to me and two boxes of shells he had for it. My first real gun not to mention I was the proudest 12 yr old on the planet.

I guess all I can say is everygun I own I have for a reason it just depends on the gun as to what my reason is.

[newracer]

I have most of my long guns are to have different calibers for different hunting. But like you I have other reasons too.

12ga franchi over under- upland bird hunting
12ga Remington 870- waterfowl hunting
two old 12ga shotguns one single shot one pump- given to me and been too lazy to try and sell, plus they are not worth much

300 Win Mag bolt gun- elk hunting
Browning BAR 30-06 (Belgium produced)- was my Dad's, use it for deer and antelope huinting
CZ 527 Varmint 204 Ruger- prarie dogs and varmints
Marlin 917V 17HMR- close in prarie dogs and target shooting
2 Ruger 10/22s- just target and plinking
RRA Elite CAR A4- just had to have an AR, they are cool :P Mostly just plink clay targets with it but it is always ready to go in case I have an intruder or the SHTF.

Glock 22- was my father-in-laws
Glock 17- cheaper to shoot than the 22
Sig Trailside- even cheaper than the 17 and .22 pistols are fun
Taurus 24/7- trying to sell, just don't like the trigger

[Asha'man]

Savage 220, 20ga single shot - When he was 12, my grandpa bought this gun used with four boxes of shells for $5, and it's been in the family since. Kicks harder than a 12ga, and the single-shot is a PITA, but I'll never get rid of it.
Browning A5 - also been in the family for a long time, my great grandpa bought it new in '39.
Marlin 39A - given to me by my other grandpa, it's a sweet gun and accurate as hell.
Ruger 10/22 - found it at a neighbor's garage sale for a good deal. It's not all that much fun to shoot, and it's had some reliability problems, but I'm too lazy to get rid of it.
Glock 19 - I always promised myself that I'd buy a Glock on my 21st birthday, so I did.
Ruger MarkII - always loved these guns, especially the bull-barrel. Found this one and jumped on it. It's not all that reliable either, but fun as hell to shoot.

Brian

[michael_aos]

I started thinking about topic because I've been wondering about another bolt-gun. Just for screwing around.

Something in a short, lightweight 243 Winchester or 6mm "no neck" BR just sounds like fun to me.

But with my AR-10 in 260 Remington and my 700P in 260 Remington, I just haven't figured out a way to rationalize another screwing-around gun.

I figure my 260's cost me at LEAST $.40/shot. So, if I were to spend $1K on a 223 bolt-gun setup, I'd recoup the cost @ 5000rds (assuming $.20 for 223). But if I'm going to shoot 223, I might as well stick to my AR's.

I've got my 3-guns for 3-Gun (hi-cap .40, "assault" shotgun, tricked-out AR-15), plus a modified 700P bolt-gun.

Most of the pistols were just "stepping stones" on to something else. I guess the first gun I bought myself was a Springfield Micro-Compact .45. After deciding it was fun to carry, but not so fun to shoot, I bought a CZ75B 9mm, and a Browning BuckMark .22.

Mike

[michael_aos]

Back when I was dating my now-wife, we camped with a group of friends who liked to shoot.

I bought a Ruger New-Model Blackhawk convertible in 9mm / .357 and a Springfield Armory mil-spec .38 Super.

They're neat-enough guns, but don't see much use anymore.

Mike

[michael_aos]

I bought a S&W 629 Mountain Gun last Spring to accompany me turkey-hunting in an area with problem-bears.

I decided the S&W 357PD was a better-solution, but now I'm starting to think pepper-spray actually trumps either of them.

Mike

[michael_aos]

Browning BAR 30-06 (Belgium produced)- was my Dad's, use it for deer and antelope huinting
CZ 527 Varmint 204 Ruger- prarie dogs and varmints
Marlin 917V 17HMR- close in prarie dogs and target shooting

I think I'm going to bring home my grandpas BAR 30-06 this summer.

Tell me more about the 204 Ruger and 17HMR. Glad you bought them? Use them much? Like them much?

Mike

[Gman]

Is this thread really asking why we have what we have, or are you just looking for new excuses for a new gun? :wink:

[michael_aos]

Is this thread really asking why we have what we have, or are you just looking for new excuses for a new gun? :wink:

I'm the king of rationalizing. And I have a tendency to assume if I just think about a problem long enough, I'll figure out.

I also definitely think "less is more".

So I'm looking around at all these guns. Remembering WHY I bought each one, or looking at the role it's moved in to.

I honestly am looking for some insight into why people have the particular guns they have.

If something I read suddenly brings me to an epiphany that results in a new toy -- so much the better.

Mike