Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Guns we need vs.Guns we want

Maybe its need verses greed?I don`t know.Looking in my gun safe I do not need all the rifles I own.I mean after all you can only shoot one at a time.Right?Unless of course you are Chuck Norris or Shrapnel.I have actually pared my Shotguns down to one and my hand guns down to six.I really do not need anymore,but you never know.Rifles are a different story.Once I get one that really shoots and I mean itty bitty bench rest groups,it is so damn hard to part with them.So my question is what is enough?A dozen lever actions?50 bolt actions.How may 22LR`s should you own?Man they are like popcorn,can you ever have enough? I guess I am a Rifle looney.No hope for me.There will always be another Rifle"just to try out"Then again I do not drink,smoke or do drugs.Got to spend my money on something.Then came the revelation.It is not guns I am addicted to.It`s reloading.I have to buy guns to feed my reloading Jones.I am glad I got this off my chest.

Confession is good for the soul, but I just can't seem to own up to having done anything wrong. I think my wife sees it a bit differently, but she's just being judgmental.

i put the limit at having more then one in each corner of the house, attic, garage, and backed up with the safe full. i just had to build a new cabinet for the ones that caused my wife to glare when making the bed. Sheesh! there were only four rifles and 4 handguns on my side of the bed! she may be comfortable with just a 357 in her night stand but i NEED backups for when the Chinese come over the ridge!

Huntz

Interesting perspective and I don't have a god answer. I have more than I 'need' PLUS I've HAD so many over the years that I don't feel deprived or pity
for myself.

Our personalities dictate what we FEEL that we need or want. From my perspective I 'want' 2 as a minimum as to
have backups.

Beings that I have all my basis covered, I'm not looking for any more AT THE SAME TIME there are a FEW rifles
I would like to have/play with. IF a god deal comes along I'll jump.

As I said it's not a good answer but this is where I am.

Jerry

Huntz, I'm totally with you. I enjoy the process of finding the right load for a rifle, then it's on to the next one. I usually have 6-7 going at a time, and it certainly is hard to get rid of the ones that shoot little bitty groups!

Didn't know there is a difference between need and want.

Huntz: I have a LOT of guns - I feel not an ounce of greed in doing so.
I do have MUCH pride of ownership though.
And I shoot a lot of them and that doubles the "fun".
Never even considered my "gun hobby" as greedy?
Although I have made a LOT of profit over the last half century's worth of gun trading - is that where you imagine greed coming into the equation?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Need? What does need have to do with it?

It doesn't even have to make sense. I want a Savage 99 in .308 even though I already have one in .300 Sav. I can't come up with a need for one but I still want one nonetheless.

I've been that way about most rifles for a long time. Ohio was a shotgun only state until a few years ago, and I had no justification for me to buy a rifle. Didn't stop me from wanting one, but as a single income household, my wants took a backseat to my needs. Since ohio is now a rifle state, I now own one for large game. (Previously, just .22lrs and muzzleloader.

I am past the need part.

Way past need.....

i have 10 grandkids who deer hunt, and should have 2-3 more in the next 5 years. i've given several rifles already and will give each of them a rifle and shotgun before i'm done. as far as need vs want, i buy a rifle, scope it up and shoot a few deer and an elk or two, then set it aside for the day the kid can take it as his/her first big game rifle. everybody wins, as i get to hunt with many different rifles and each kids ends up with their own gun.

As long as we have one active gooberment official trying to take them away from us .
I NEED as many as I can acquire.

No real want about it My finances are the only thing from holding me back.

I always tell my friend When I got married I had

16 ga 870
6mm Remington 788
Remington nylon 66
50 cal TC muzzleloader
22 Ruger auto pistol

Should have stopped right there.

i want therefore i need! simple as that. the former changes almost daily, the latter keeps up
i just swapped a 300 eg for a 30-30 g 99 savages. because i wanted a TD 30-30. now i want/need a 300 sav TD. see how it works.
and contrary to what the wife says it is not a sickness. oooooh! a TD in 250-3000 !!!!

I used to hunt with my Great Grandparents takedown in .300 Sav as a teen. When they died I was outbid on that rifle at the auction (honestly never got over that) and have always wanted a takedown since. I had a chance at a very reasonable .30-30 takedown some years ago but as much as I like the 30-30 it just doesn't do anything for me in a Savage 99. Anyway, I have a solid frame .300 and I very much want a .250, .303, and .308 in a 99. So I guess the 99 sickness is infecting me too.

Heh-heh. Have to agree with this. Seems about right.

Need: one shotgun, 12-gauge; one .22 cal rimfire rifle; one centerfire deer rifle, .30 caliber. That's all I "need" and that's all I had for the first 45 years of my life (which equates to the first 35 years of my hunting life). I killed more game for the table with those 3 than I have with all the guns I've bought since! I suppose I should add a center fire handgun to that list, for personal defense purposes, but that's a small quibble only.

But I am grateful to the good Lord and the framers of the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution that I don't have to get by with what I "need" only.

As the former Senator Phil Gramm, TX, once said, "I own more shotguns than I need, but not as many as I want"