KnightHawk,
One of my favorite "collecting" stories came from the late Jim Bashline, the well-known outdoor writer (or at least he was a few decades ago). Jim collected several kinds of rifles, as I found out when visiting him and his wife Sylvia (another writer, for years the game-cooking writers for Field & Stream) over 30 years ago at their home on the outskirts of State College, Pennsylvania.
Jim had a collection of every model/chambering variation of Ruger No. 1 made up to that time, but he also had a few very nice old Winchester lever-actions. He said he used to have more, and in fact collected them so avidly back that while on a trip one time, he phoned Sylvia to to telegraph him enough money for a bus ticket home. He'd traded the family car for four Winchester lever-actions, as I recall all 1886's in good condition. They later sold them and paid for their kid's college education....
Dunno what happened to the No. 1's after Jim passed away, way too young, at 63, but suspect they were part of Sylvia's retirement.
Ah, man. I love to hear Jim Bashline stories. I made his acquaintance later in life through fly fishing. (I have a couple classic pattern Atlantic Salmon flies he tied for me displayed inside glass bell jars.) We crossed paths numerous times, usually in hotel bars where our talk invariably turned to guns and hunting- fueled by copious quantities of scotch. The man loved his scotch. (One memorable evening we were joined by Ernie Schwiebert- another scotch drinker- and ended up getting our happy butts kicked out by the bartender at 2:00AM because he wanted to go home to bed.) Jim sold me an Orvis split cane fly rod that'll likely go to my grave with me. I make a point to use it whenever I make it up to the Sinnamahoning Creek in Pennsylvania, one of his favorite trout streams.
He had a fondness for Savage 99's too, and gave me royal hell for cashing out most of my Dad's 99's. (Back then I had little regard for 99's, oh my.)
