I have to say I do not have all that many regrets. However, given hindsight, there may be a few blind alleys I could have missed.
For instance, my first deer rifle was a Remington 742. My buddy put a 742 and a 760 in front of me and asked me to pick. I picked the 742. It's been out of action since 2004 with a bad case of the chatters. Mind you, I had gobs of fun with it, but I see where I went wrong.
Back in those days, I lusted for a Remington 700 BDL. I wasn't thinking about a Win Mod 70. As it turned out a used 670 fell into my hands a bit later, and I never did get around to buying the 700. I repent any thoughts I had of a Remington bolt gun.
I would have bought my Savage 99 much sooner, back when they were not collector's items. I'd still buy a 308 WIN, but I bet if I'd gotten a 358 WIN, I'd have never gotten into 35 Whelen. Frankly, I wish I had a whole rack of them.
I would have bought a bolt-action 223 REM much sooner. I cannot say I regretted buying my Mini-14 twenty years ago, but it kept me from buying a bolt gun. It's funny. A buddy of mine from Texas asked me about my Mini-14, and I said I liked it. It was a heck of a lot more accurate than common opinion of the time would dictate. My one qualm was that I should have bought the ranch version, because mounting a scope on mine was problematic. 5 years later, he died and a near-new stainless scoped Ranch Rifle arrived at my door. It had been the last rifle he bought, and he made sure I got it.
Which reminds me: I would started buying stainless rifles a lot sooner. My Ruger Hawkeye last year convinced me of that.
I should have bought my 25-06 sooner. I love my custom Mauser.
I do not regret buying my Marlin 336 in 30-30, but I think I should have kept it as the designated yute rifle for my sons. On the other hand, I fully repent not buying a Marlin in 357 Mag sooner. I love that little thing.
I should have bought a hundred Albanian SKS when I had a chance back in 2006. They've appreciated from $70 to $400.
A M1 Carbine would be nice right about now. I could not figure why I'd need one back in the early 80's. I can't say what I'd be doing with it, but that has never stopped me.
