Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Anybody ever think about selling most of their guns?

To answer the question. I did once and have regretted it ever since....Been trying to get the collection up to where it was before, just about there again.....

I am taking down my collection somewhat. I will be retiring to a European country and taking (very complicated), 18 long guns with me. I have an AR, an AK, 4 hand guns and half a dozen hunting rifles that I just cannot bear to part with that I am leaving in the custody of a couple good trusted individuals.

If you have any pre 64 model 70's, you can leave them with me

This economy is not really a good time to dispose of luxury items or otherwise expensive items. My first to go should be the mentioned pre-war .357, A Blaser R-93 two barrel set, and two engraved rifles, a Beretts SP IV, and a minty 42 Winchester. I just do not see getting full value for them. I shopped a Rolex that I no longer am attached to a while back, and the offers were laughable. I am fortunate in that we are still OK with finances, and I do not have to "give stuff away" - at least not yet. I may have to make arrangements to go to the oil patch to sell. Things are booming there. Jack

If you have to start giving stuff away can you give me the 42?....

I have always wanted one I just can't find one I can afford.


Chit I am supposed to be thinking about selling not buying.

Dink

dink--i've seen a few guys do this. it's always somewhat sad really. but interests can--and do--change over time. rigs are a hassle at times--they have to be cared for. i knew a guy who had over 70 colt sa revolvers--he drove himself nuts worrying about humidity and rust...

the few things i've sold i've almost always regretted.

reading this entire thread left me with a sense of sadness--almost like when someone dies--but it is in fact a part of life--somewhere down the line.

a good friend of mine--a fine, accomplished hunter and handloader, is doing this too--to exchange it all for sitting on the beach sipping drinks. his situation was caused by the following:

one evening when he and the wife were gone, some of his son's friends broke into his home, and they poured out a bunch of his handloading powders all over out in the middle of the livingroom floor, and then poured a trail to the door--and lit it. the house was damaged, but saved--they still live in it. his guns were in a fireproof safe. his priceless mounts were ruined, much smoke damage everywhere too, etc. it took it all out of him. he told me, "it all went out of me then--i lost all interest and desire..."

that whole thing still bothers me to this day...

Yes, no, and yes.
That seems to be me, I have a few keepers that operate especially smoothly, or have the just right feel. But I went through a phase of custom nice wood and now prefer composite.

Also had a British side by side double, but didn't want to lengthen the chambers to 3" or shoot steel shot in it, so it's gone down the road. No more safe queens for me.

I have a 12 ga 870 express as my only shotgun and do feel a need to keep my rifle collection to about six or less. Can't take them with you when you leave this world or even to the nursing home. I figure I can get better prices for ones I lose desire for than my family would get at the pawn shop after I'm gone.

They are worth more to me to hand down to my son, son in law, and grandsons.

As stated earlier, I'm about to rack up 75 (Lord willing). A Man was originally given about 70 and I have used them with gusto to about 72 when I had a heart valve go far enough south to remove stamina, but not far enough to replace (which is risky). I think it better if I sell at a leisurely pace rather than dump the burden on the family.

My thinking is to keep all the .22s and mark them for the grand children. I am thinking of passing the heirloom guns to my daughters. some of those go back to very near 1900.

For me: Rifles
-Marlin .218 Bee
-Ruger Mini 14 for social work if needed.
-A Marlin .30-30. Yet to decide which one. I most use a little Glenfield 30.
-.243 and
-.308. These are a matched pair, Browning Safaris, small ring Mausers w/pencil barrels. Both are accurate for at least three shots!
-.30-06- have to choose which of three.

Shotguns:
-Browning Superposed Pigeon Gd 20 from 1962 M/IC
-Benelli Montefeltro 20
-Remington 870 12. I have all three of these guns set up for the same cast and drop. I go from one to the other w/o a hitch.
-Browning A-5 from 1963. Sentiment. I skipped lunch for months to save for that one, back in the day.

Handguns: I will let the collector grade S&W go for good money, but will keep the rest. They are easy to keep and all are pretty good investments.

If My Blaser R-93 (.22-250 and .270) does not move for pretty good money, I may keep it and let the matched Brownings go, but that will be a hard choice. Practical vs. class.

That leaves a lot of nice stuff that I have accumulated up for grabs.

now I have to think on this for a while and decide if I can live with this plan. No varminter-we have no mass rodents to shoot, a very few p dogs is it. jack

I've decided to thin the herd down myself. keeping my .243 as my go-to rifle for deer/antelope. my 30-30 is staying, a shotgun, my carry 1911, AR-15 and a couple .22's. all the rest are going. in fact I have 3 on gunbroker that end in a few hours. have a baby coming in the next couple weeks, so I figured I could use the money, I doubt I'll get a bunch more later, maybe one for the wife, and if the kids take an interest.

I've had lots come and go over the last decade, but am down to 8, likely to stay at that, although I may build a .358 something just to have one.

.260 lightweight - deer/coyote
.308 HB -targets and gongs
.338WM - moose/bear
.50 ML - deer
.22 target - paper/varmint
12Ga semi - ducks/geese/turkey
20Ga O/U - upland/Skeet
20Ga single - takedown packer

Over the years I have probably sold off between 20 and 30 rifles. Have I regretted some? Sure have! But today I have three rifles that are my goto rigs....

My two sons are getting older now and more trips to the hill with them will be in order and I'll be needing another .22lR, and a .243.

Besides, I'm getting more and more into backpack hunting and the gear I'm trending to tends to be pretty darn pricey...

Maybe layin a couple of extra tubes for the rifles I have and keep shooting those....they have yet to let me down!

DINK - I went through almost the exact same process you did on 20 gauge shotguns. I still need to go pick up the 870 Rem 3" 20 ga that I left at my Mom's house. I plan on turning it into a light turkey gun for next Spring. I keep one 12 gauge around but almost never use it anymore.

On the inventory front, I seem to have spent the last 15 years or so trying on every firearm I ever wanted or was curious about. Some I keep, but most move on. I'm whittling down to a Marlin 336T in 30-30 and a Ruger No. 1 in 45-70 on the CF rifle front since I mostly shoot rimfires and scatterguns these days. Also keep a 357 and a 9mm around for self-defense both outdoors and indoors.

A few years back my knees were so bad I figured my long walk hunts were over. I rounded up all my rifles and shotguns, thought about which ones to keep, and sold the ones I felt I could live without. I sold four of ten shotguns and seven of eleven rifles. Two of those rifles were customs and expensive to acquire but returned very little money compared to cost. Most of them were 30 cal. and up and a couple were magnums. Fast forward three years and I am up to about fifteen rifles. Strangely I did not buy any more shotguns as the ones I kept are enough to keep me happy. The rifles I bought are mostly single shots as opposed to the ones that I sold which were all bolt actions save but one. My long walk hunts are pretty much over but I found that its more fun to have rifles in the safe than money in the bank.

Also working on thinning the herd. Everything I have has been hunted. Nothing I have is a true "collectable". After I sort out the 30 calibers, the grand kids will get their pick. I figure better to let them have now to use and enjoy, rather than languish in the back of the gun case. What the grand kids do not claim, will be sold. Door will always be open for other interesting Left Hand bolt rifles like the LH Mausers from K-var. The 9.3x62 LH Mausers sound especially interesting. However, I still have one project under construction, and two rifles waiting for load development....

On the "keep for sure list" are:
LH Rem 581 .22
LH Rem 700 .243 Faux M7
LH Sako .375H&H
My dad's Rem Sportsman 48 20ga.

Still undecided:
LH Savage 110 .30-06 semi custom
Pre 64 M70 Std .30-06
LH Rem SS 700 .300WM
LH M70 .300H&H (under construction, retro Pre-64'ish)

The rest will go bye-bye...

Don't have that many to start with. I currently own: Ruger 10/22, CZ-550 .270, Savage 99e .308, and a CZ-452 .22lr. However I'll be picking up an M70 FW in .257 Bob pretty soon, and My Shaw MK VII in .300 WM should be finished about April.

I am with the majority here. I prolly should, but WHY!

Dink, I can help you out, just bring the excess to my house, and then you wont notice the ones that are just sitting around, not being used. Mine dont bother me at all. Now the wife has a different opinion!

Dink, thought I'd check in and see if you've regained your senses.

Well?

This has been an intresting post to read through! I would not want to make up anybodys mind for them as to what consititutes too many rifles, and how many anyone should personnally own. For the last six years I have been down to three centerfire rifles from about 30. And many others have passed through my hands over the years. Out of them all I really only miss a Remington model 725 of 30-06 caliber. That may have been the best rifle ever made, and it did not seem to catch on. A better design then the old 721 and the following 700. But now that is water under the bridge. My personal intrests are more as a user then an accumulator any more although I still have alot of fire arms around. My Semi auto M14 has been with me the longest, but has been rebuilt many times to include a new receiver in 2003 (I guess that makes it a different rifle since then?). But that is a different side of shooting then the hunting topics that predominate here, so other then I have taken two deer with it over the years, I'll discuss that one elsewhere. Outside of that my 30-06 has filled the bill since I unloaded the vast balance. Which is nil as I have until this summer been out of the hunting scene. And its not suited to the type of hunting I will be doing here, combined with my age. At 20 to 35 I think I could easily have run up and down these mountains with it. Now I wind easier and have slowed up some, despite staying in good shape, probably still could to be honest, age also makes me lazy and if I can shave a pound or two, so much the better! So another rifle is in the works. ( I have a seperate post up for advice on this, and its what brought me to your fine forum!)The only other rifle in the house, and take a deep breath cause I think many of you will cringe, are some Mosin model 91-30's. I have one, and each of my boys have one and its something we sort of fell into for informal competitions. Cheap to buy, cheap to shoot and a hoot to shoot with the boys! Good practice for learning open sights which I think alot of kids miss out on.

Any way that is what I am down to with centerfire rifles, but it is going to go up by one with in the month or so as I set up a whole new mountain hunting rig. Just my .02 cents.

Thanks, Rob

I would bring them to your house but....should we discuss the fine rifles you have sitting idle...

Dink