How many of y’all are guilty of selling rifles you really like(almost all of them) when you get bored or feel guilty for not using them? I do it every year and every time I regret selling….but how many rifles can you actually use?

I can think of 10-15 rifles off the top of my head I wish I’d kept..

I have and am probably going to do it again.

I've got one on a local board that I know I will regret getting rid of when it goes. If it does not sell in the next couple days I will probably pull it.

I think I'm going to sell my Mauser M12 Impact .308. I just don't need it, and don't use it. I actually have my Mauser m12 30-06 listed now on Michigan gun Owners. if it sells, it sells.

The older I get, I can do everything with my Encore.

I might regret selling both Mausers but doubt it. They just sit in the safe. I don't use them.

https://www.migunowners.org/forum/s...SER-M12-30-06-Used-HOWELL-1300-No-Trades

I have done that too many times.
Almost always end up with a case of seller's remorse.
Maybe some day I'll learn.

A wise old man told me to never sell a gun. You will regret it. I listened.

I have bought and sold a lot of rifles, shotguns and handguns. I enjoyed shooting nearly all of them. I've enjoyed learning and studying the different actions and cartridges. I've enjoyed learning the different shooting and handloading techniques. There is one, my 416Taylor that I would dearly love to have back. A few others, mostly Whitworths that I would like to have. I probably would not have an opportunity to hunt any of those.
So like old girlfriends, they've gotten prettier and more perfect since they have found someone else to spend time with.
Ive been downsizing the last while, that will continue until they are all gone. But, there are more fish in the sea, and you never know what the future may hold.
Bfly

Nah. Only thing I miss is the Colt 357. And then not that much.

By CF standards, I don’t have a lot of rifles, and half of them are rimfires. I could do with two or three less.
....Or maybe just one less. And a few less air rifles.

Just turned one over to my LGS for placement on the Web. Very nice rifle, and a good shooter, but just too heavy for Grandpa to tote very far, and while I’ve never futzed one up in the field, I’m probably due, so I’m passing it on. Had it advertised locally for quite some time, but the only inquiries I got were from goobers trying to evade the law and drag me into it. Not going there, especially with all the crap the ATF is pulling of late. The last guy claimed to live in my state, but refused to show me his driver’s license. “I’m not giving up that kind of personal information!” What a crock.

Anyway, if anyone is interested in a LN Hawkeye AW .223 in a factory walnut stock, check GB Monday or Tuesday. Pappy’s working on a lightweight replacement, a Howa Carbon Mini. Final parts are en route.

I like them all! But can't afford them all at the same time! So I'm constantly selling something to buy something else. I do have a "core" of firearms I don't think I'll sell, but... lol! I've regretted selling some of them, others, not so much. But I enjoy getting something new to me, trying it for a while and then moving it on for the next new to me... been this way with everything except my wife! Lol!

Never had a problem with selling when I was bored but have bought quite a few when bored working overseas and the wife wasn’t with me. She had to make numerous trips for postal money orders. The internet is the devil!

My best friend always said that. He passed away a few months ago, and I recently went through his gun collection with his wife, helping her to decide which guns to give to the son-in-laws and grandsons. I want to be able to enjoy my guns while I'm able to do so, so if I want to sell one that I don't use and buy one to play around with, then I see nothing wrong with it. I have a few family heirlooms that I'd never part with, and want them to be passed on down thru the family. Otherwise, most of the rest of my collection are expendable.

I do it all the time. It's just stuff. I have a couple favorites, but everything else is fair game. I just sold a custom shop rem and a real nice sako. Next on the chopping block is a .308 mnt rifle. Great rifles, but every season I end up grabbing either my Montana 7mm-08 or faux KS Mnt rifle .338-06.

I am guilty of this as well. I only have a couple I regret getting rid of. The first is a Savage 99 in .358 Win. It was given to me by my uncle in payment for years of mowing his 5 acre tree farm.
Because I was 19 and dumb as hell, a lever gun didn't interest me. So, I traded it in on a new 30-06 bolt gun. Dumbest thing I have ever done when it comes to firearms.

I also had 4 Contender frames and 4 Encore frames. I am now down to 2 of each. I should have kept the other ones for parts, if nothing else now that T/C is dead.

I have a 6.5-06 barrel in the classifieds right now because I am converting that Savage long action to a .300WM. I got out of the long action and magnum chamberings a long time ago, but the increased availability of suppressors has allowed me to move back into them without the punishing recoil and muzzle blast.

I don't have any children and only 2 nephews who are interested in firearms, so I am sure more of these will go down the road for other people's enjoyment before too long, just so my wife doesn't have to deal with all of it when I kick the bucket.

bored maybe ? but sell them nope they move to a solvent sock and in the back of the vault. the rifles i keep shoot to well for me to ever sell . this is what i tell people when i die be to the garage sale wife and kids will sell them cheap probably ? the rifles i have in the gun vault are excellent shooters all sub minute rifles otherwise i got rid of them or they are old with great value hard to find guns.

Yup. Having spent the best part of a year and a half disposing of my father’s stuff, before and after he passed, I’m committed to not putting my wife and kids through that. Not just gun stuff, but plenty of “I Might Need That Someday” crap. He was a serious boater, so you can imagine how much of that stuff he had!

That was the mentality of the generations that grew up in a world where there wasn’t so much stuff to begin with. An era when indoor plumbing wasn’t even always a thing.
Never throw anything away. My mom would think there was someone who needed old worn out socks and underwear.

I must really be bored... because right now I feel like selling most of them! Lol!

Never been “that” bored. In 55 years I’ve only gotten rid of two…..and regret only one of them. But, we don’t have very many either! Pretty selective, thoughtful, and restrained about what we purchase! memtb

I rarely regret selling a rifle because I'm bored with it. I sold a few rifles that I regret because I was short on money, like my first Win 94 back in the 90's. However, in Sept 2017 I fell off a ladder and missed a year of work with a shattered leg, three surgeries, and months of PT. I hadn't prepared for that kind of life changing event. I sold all my .35 Whelen rifles, got down to one each .338-06, .30-06, and .243, but managed to hang onto two .270 Win rifles. I had a few others I didn't sell, because I knew I couldn't turn them very fast, or they were ones I bought my Daughter and Wife to use.

I regret selling those rifles but I haven't replaced because I learned that what I sold wasn't important. What's important in not putting my family in that situation again where I have to sell things to get by. Our savings ran out after about five months of me missing work, with no long term disability insurance or large nest egg. I now carry enough disability insurance to safeguard my family, and enough life insurance to allow my wife to live very comfortably (I'm still amazed I'm upright! :D).

Now I just sell my firearms when the thing that enamored me to them wears off.

I'm in the same boat, but I may out live my wife (she is 5 years older than me). Then what?? I guess I'll set up an auction company to sell them all and The Second Amendment Foundation will get the proceeds.

I usually sell guns after I've killed something with it. For some reason after the gun has blood on it, I lose interest in it. The customs I keep and maybe use again or maybe not.

Several years ago, Mrs. Featherweight instituted a strict "No Sell" policy. She got tired of me complaining about guns I had sold.

Plus 1

I’ve sold a few and usually regretted it. Handguns don’t take up any room and rifles and shotguns don’t take up much. I can’t see selling them. I have a lot more that I seldom shoot or have never shot than ones that I have shot but it still doesn’t keep me from wanting more.

I don't regret selling any of them. With that being said, I have not sold too many. I really enjoy buying them and fine tuning them. Squeezing the most precision out of them. I've gotten lucky this year and out of the 10 or so rifles I've bought, I have made them all shoot well within 1 moa at 100 yards. When I have sold a rifle, it is generally when a friend has a need for one, so I know it is going to a good home. Eventually there comes a time in your life when you are doing more selling than buying. I'm still in the buying and enjoying time of life. Things will change as you get older, maybe forcing you to sell some or all of your collection. Lets just hope that time is far from now....

I like when you post because you are a little different than the rest of us. You are simple when it comes to rifles. You are like that guy they warn us about: "Beware of the man with 1 gun, he just might know how to use it"... While the rest of us are really rifle "loonies". My collection is probably very meager compared to a lot here, but I see it as a 401K or savings plan. I know other guys have said the same thing in the past. So, to answer the OP's question about getting "bored". I buy, not sell when I get bored... ha ha.. There is just so much that can be done to a rifle to make them better, so that keeps the boredom away for the most part.

My dad always treated his guns like his dogs. For life.
Kind of stuck with me.
I did sell H&R handy rifle because it didn’t shoot well. I think it was due to twist. That was before I knew that kid of stuff matters. I also sold a nice stainless howa to a buddy in 223. He won’t sell it back to me.

I never feel guilty about not using them and I seldom sell unless I find myself with too many of one thing, need room for something different and new to me, or it is clear that someone wants them more than I do. Once they've been cleaned and oiled they don't require much upkeep, so keeping them even if I don't use them or particularly want them anymore doesn't seem like a wrong answer.

There are certainly firearms that I regret selling, but what's done is done.

Hindsight is always 20/20, foresight not much.

Binge and purge. Sucks but it happens. I once on this site went from 17 CF rifles to just 3, but now I am over 25 or more……true sickness since i only shoot one at a time.

I could not afford to keep everything, so I rolled them over fairly often. Learn them, load them, shoot them, trade them. I think I have just about covered every major military small arm from Spanish American and Boer war through WW2. The history lesson was almost as much fun as the weapons.

That exact rifle is the reason I thought about making this post. My Impact 308 was a perfect rifle. It shoots very well and handled beautifully. I sold it and have regret. Only reason is I ended up with (3) 308’s and decided the other two I just wouldn’t want to part with. M7 MS and Montana…

Haha. I did that with a 700KS in 270. Matter of fact he’s on this thread. It was possibly one of the most accurate rifles I’ve ever owned🤦🏻‍♂️

Mine tells me to buy what I want, especially stuff that I use on the range as opposed to off in what passes for the wild here. Selling finances the buying anyway, for the most part.

My father had the same believe that you don't sell unless somebody will pay two times what you think the value is. I do trade up. I am constantly looking for kitsch rifles. Kind of like Stephen King books. I need more of those. 80-90% Aborts, Remington 700s, savage bolt rifles, Remington 600s/660s that I happen into for 250-450 dollars. I get about 15-20 of those and they allow me to punch upwards to get something really good in trades. I think sometimes really nice rifles are hard to sell for small shops. I have missed deals because I don't have enough of the trade fodder. I missed on a Winchester 1895 Deluxe takedown in 3003 that I could of obtained for 1500 in trades but was low on them. Heck last week, I missed on a Pre64 Model 70 Standard that was refinished for 900 with a VXII 4-12 Leupold scope because I didn't have trade fodder and had bought a 1949 Winchester 94 in 30-30 for 550.00 the weekend before.

Do I feel regrets about some of those trade rifles? Yes, but I get more satisfaction out of the 1952 Steyr MS Deluxe 30/06 with a Nickles and Marburg Scope than the Sako 85 laminate Wolf 375HH that I traded for it. I will be able to find other Sako 85s but not so much for the Steyr. I have three other 375s so that isn't a problem. I remember about 15 years ago when I saw all these old guys snuggled around lever action Winchesters at gun shows like they were cozily sipping hot toddies around a campfire with chiteating grins and I thought they were a bit nuts. Now I see their point of view and wish I would have arrived on that level of enlightenment 10 years ago. When we were looking for a house, we looked at about 15 houses and then we found this house that had two rooms that were reinforced on three sides with concrete and rebar that were off the blueprints and were completely underground and I didn't say anything but put in an offer. I have been at working on filling up the first room and installed a steel vault door on the first. The beeroom with 65,000 bees is one room from there so we will find dead burglars if they try to bust in. I am about two thirds way to completely fill room 1 up and then I have another room to go. I will be retiring in a year or two and then I will have to probably cut back on gun purchases.

I get great satisfaction from the history of the search on guns. It is great to learn about elements of different guns and find the connections. I have done this more than just purchase guns. I will try to sell guns for gun shops if I am interested in them. I do this because when the gun is sold I am no longer tempted by the gun. This has backfired. There was a CZ550 American Safari High Grade in 458 Lott that had nice figure that I got 3 different people to put on layaway then they would cancel because of angry wives. The last time it was cancelled it went home with me. Its not going to go anywhere now.

I need some more levers and probably head down that rabbit hole of LC Smiths, Parkers, and Fox Shotguns but I need to slow down the accumulation cycle and spend more time staying directed towards getting classic customs from the 60s, 70s and 80s and focus on this.

Thanks BSA…..I think! 😉 Or……did you just say that I’m a “simpleton”! 😂 I’d like to think that I’m a fair rifleman, but I’m nowhere in the class with some of you folks!

Having a lot of firearms is very much like a good 401 K, and as of late…..value growing exponentially!

I’d really like to have more, and build more accuracy/satisfaction loads for new firearms…..but truthfully, I simply don’t have the time and am too cheap to burn components!

Confessions of a “wanna be” rifle looney! memtb

after seeing what some of the remington and ruger rifles in certain cartridges bought recently i wish i had never sold a rifle....

Pretty much me too. My milsurp era ended a couple decades ago, except my M1903 Springfield collection - they are "cold dead hands" guns. I was neck deep in Savage lever guns for a long while (it's what led me to the 'Fire) but I eventually got bored with them and most have been sold. Nowadays it's mainly single shots in many iterations.

I get bored easily, not just with guns but with cars (and women too, but we won't go there). Once I've acquired something, learned its history, and shot the bejesus out of it I get bored with it and away it goes to support the addiction. Just like the string of women I've gone through in my life, I guess.

Not many have been regretted. A certain M1952 Mannlicher-Schoenauer .257 Roberts is one I'm still kicking myself in the ass over, 30+ years later. Another one was a minty pre-war Mauser commercial sporter with cocking knob peep sight and Zeiss scope in claw mounts, 7x57. And then there was Doris, whom I shoulda married back in '86, and didn't.....

The story of My life! 😆.....Hb

My 92 year old friend and benefactor has been a gun loony all his life, with a collection that would impress the most jaded denizen of the 'Fire - handguns of every description, high grade shotguns- target and sporting, .22 rifles both target and sporting, and hunting rifles. He proudly proclaims he has never sold a gun in his life, and I believe him. He still has stuff he bought as a kid. Jesus, how can a guy do that??? If you see me selling a bunch of vintage treasures you'll know what happened - he has no family whatsoever, and I'm the heir apparent.

I don't sell any of my guns, I give them to kids, grandkids, or friends. I love seeing them being enjoyed by others.

When I retired in 2015 I thought of selling a bunch then realized all three of my sons are firearms enthusiasts and hunters. If I sold the funds would go into a Fidelity account for their inheritance... Cash or a fair pile of stuff they will likely not see for sale 30 years from now. Now nothing is for sale and the trust for the firearms reads, "three straws, pull, select and rotate...

I enjoy trading up and to fund upgrades of other rifles. I have a nice pre 64 70 .308 featherweight. I'm thinking about selling, to finance some custom parts for other builds. I know i will kick myself in the a$$ if I do.

don't.....

Ditto. Don’t.

That’s a fine hunting rifle. Find another way to finance your new toys.

Never.

With Measure 114 p"assing in Oregon, I took all my rifles down to the Scrap Yard Recycling Depot, and got rid of all of them...

Even my great grandpa's old Single Shot 12 Gauge.

To hell with you guys... Tomorrow is Monday, and I'm converting to DemocRAT at 8 AM, and turning Gay at 8:30 AM...
and moving to Potlandia and signing up for BLM and Antifa in the afternoon...

And Putting Biden stickers on my Volvo and Tesla....

Ah, go ahead and sell it. It's only a thing. The remorse will be fleeting. Out of probably a hundred guns I've sold in my life there's only a couple for which the regret has lingered. Think of the joy that the new build will bring.

Like I said earlier, I get bored easily. Coupled with a very narrow sense of sentimentality it makes it easy to sell stuff. When my Father died 32 years ago I inherited all of his guns and since virtually none of them fit into my areas of interest it didn't take me long to dispose of them. He was a practical man too, and admonished me not to hang on to them for sentimental reasons. Cold hearted? Nah, I have stuff that was his, but more importantly I have 37 years of fond memories that are the best souvenirs of all.

I hate selling, but I always have my eye on something new to me.

I trade up/off all the time. I'm not a particularly sentimental person, and I've only got regrets on maybe 2 or 3 that I've gotten rid of over the years. They're just stuff and I'm a load fiddler by nature, so when I get bored I tend to trade up on something new to fiddle with.

Every once in a while.

The only one I regret selling was a .243 Tikka LH Whitetail Hunter, I really miss that rifle.

I have never really had more than 10-12 rifles. I never get bored, just overthink what I really need, do I have overlap, kids need a gun, cool factor, and limited funds. Of all the guns I have sold, I loved my marling guide gun in 45-70, a ruger boat paddle sin 25-06 and a Ruger #1 in 270. I kick myself every time I think about not having those in my collection. Unfortunately, I am a slow learner and will probably do it again. Although, my hunting has slowed and 2 in college is eating all toy expenditures.

I have never sold a gun, however I have given away many. I still have to many and I can think of 4 that will be given away soon. Lately I'm more into minimalist living, making memories instead of acquiring useless crap that fits the same nitch I already had filled 10 times over. My gun collection is soon to go down to a 7PRC, 223, 22lr, one twenty gauge shotgun and a 686 Smith and Wesson 357 pistol

I have absolutely zero regrets about getting rid of any gun

Trystan

I agree 100%. Keeping a rifle or any gun that you don’t like for that matter makes absolutely ZERO sense. The mentality that people have of never selling any gun is absolutely stupid. Why would people not sell a gun they don’t like and purchase one that they will use?

If your a lefty there's not that much out there that's madenfor you so selling is less frequent.

I’ve reached the point where I’m happy with what I got which is a lot don’t need anymore.I still cruise the pawn shops and lgs but there’s no more deals out there and I’m putting gun funds into land payments and college for the kiddos.

For years I just kept stacking them up and sooner or later I would get back to them
I am now starting to thin them
Out some I have never even shot

I have thinned my hunting rifle herd significantly over the past 15 years. Motive was to simplify. Nothing to do with boredom or finances.

I decided to keep a couple of calibers. I settled on keeping a couple rifles in 0.308", and .224".

Sold off: a few 22 LR rifles and pistols 22 mag rifles, 222 Rems, 0.257" ( Roberts and 250 Savage), 6.5" ( 6.5x55), 270" ( 270 Win), 7mm (7x57), 308 Win and 30-06 rifles, 303 British, 0.338 ( 338-06), 0.358" ( 35 Rem and 358 Win), 9.3 ( 9.3x62) and .458 rifle calibers ( 45-70). Also sold off 20 and 16 gauge shotguns, and all but one 12 gauge. Sold off multiple handguns including 357 mag and 38 specials, and 45 acp.

The only rifle I regret selling (a bit) was a Sako Forester sporter in 308 Win. The only reason I have any regret is that I didn't shoot it enough to determine what potential accuracy I could get from it. I probably would have sold it anyway, but after some range time. So, really I don't regret selling it much at all.

My ultimate goal / strategy is to shoot what I have "remaining" more frequently, and simplify my reloading room. I am not shooting any LESS than I did years ago, but just shooting a handful of platforms more frequently-and that has been VERY rewarding. There will be a few more sold off after I play with them a bit, continuing with the same strategy.

Who knows, I may wind up with only one rifle in the end: my first rifle, a Marlin 336A ( 24" bbl in 30-30), and be very happy. I'll know in about 15-20 years. Overall...no regrets selling. I sold them when I wanted to, not when I had to.

If I’m emotionally attacked they stay. If not I sell them on a whim and am lucky enough to have short memory so they are forgotten and I move on.

I’m sure if I try I can remember them all but if they are unimportant enough to be gone why try?

I just scored a NIB threaded, iron-sighted barrel and nice oil-finished Turkish walnut stock for the CZ 457 Premium. Gonna swap out the parts on my MTR and futz around with irons a bit. Kinda-sorta new gun for less than half the going price. Was never a big fan of swapping barrels, but this looks like it’ll be fun, and as my sons used to tell their mother, “there’s no net gain of guns”. No loss either!

I buy and sell and don't have any sentimental value to them. I wish I had kept some to sell at the current prices, but I don't miss them. I like disassembling rifles and looking at the construction and craftsmanship or lack there of in each example. I also like trying different cartridges. I am always in pursuit of the perfect mouse trap for my purposes and have never quite found it. I definitely sweat the details too much.

When I start feeling like I have too many projects I start purging. Sometimes I play a mental game with myself. I imagine a fire wiped out everything and I have to start over with the money to buy what I want. With a fresh perspective and nothing holding me to keep what I have, I have never kept it. Everything has always felt like a bit of a compromise. I have never met the perfect rifle and doubt I will. At this point, I have a much smaller battery and I have spent more time afield this year than I had previously in the past 15 years. My son is into fishing and I have done more of that as well. I got out and went hunting instead of messing with these little projects which invariably come when I buy a new rifle. As I say this I did buy a rimfire for a project, but I intend to have in the field soon. We are all looneys in different ways.

I’ve done it. Now I buy when I’m bored instead.

I can own every gun I want, just not all at the same time. I've sent close to 200 down the road over the years

I have never sold a gun. Once I buy em, they have a forever home. Once, in the '80s, I gave a12 ga to a bowling partner for home protection.

I don't sell very much any more. Made a list of my stuff and who it is to go to, and the rest are my stepdaughter's and this family. I have given away 4 or 5 in the last years, but it is nice to know they are used by old friends and that will be a nice way to be remembered. I really don't need the $, and it is fun to fool with them even if it is once every five years.
I still have a few more to give away, but not ready to do it yet. I can't think of a nicer way to be remembered than by a rifle or shotgun given to a younger friend.

As someone whose livelihood is based around buying and selling used guns, I'll put in my perspective. If you're not attached emotionally, not using it, and can make good money while the market is still hot, sell it and enjoy the money while you're alive. 9 times out of 10, big collections left to family will still end up in my shop. Most often, the family will pick a couple they want, and sell the rest. Or 1 pos family member will sell off everything without the rest of the family knowing to fund their own needs. Or, just like money, cars, property, etc... its going to cause a whole lot of fighting when you're gone.

I swap out stuff fairly often, again with my job its real easy to be tempted by something new on a near daily basis haha There are a few that ain't going anywhere anytime soon, but as of yet I don't have kids, my brother passed, my sister is unable to have kids. So most likely my guns I may happen to have, will be set aside for a couple of cousins kids who so far, have an interest. Honestly I've been purging a bit lately to upgrade a few projects, or to fund some guns that are nice than what I have now. And to bank some money to maybe actually travel to hunt and USE some guns .

THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The two concepts don’t conflict. Both result in change, the remedy (sometimes) for boredom. You’re allowed to do both, even on the same day! That pretty much describes a trade, come to think of it. Did one of those a couple of weeks ago.

Not true. I've sold plenty that I have no desire to have back. My tastes changed

I regret selling a bunch of them, but if I hadn’t sold, i would not have the ones i have now

I have the opposite problem...hunting season is over, everything back in the safe, I'm just loading ammo.

Looking back, this is the time of year when I buy or commission a rifle.

Dang, did it again...

I wouldn’t sell now. A. You’ll underestimate the value. Inflation is crazy. B. The dollar is about to tank and guns will be in high demand.

Trade for utilitarian/ defensive guns or ammo if you are light in that area.

I have never understood the reasoning behind never selling a gun? If interests/tastes change, it’s not sentimental, or you no longer have a use for a gun why in the world would you not trade it or sell it and apply the funds to something that you would enjoy more? Can someone explain it to me because it makes absolutely zero sense to me?

That's the same for me. I've bought and sold lots.

I have a few family rifles that will never go anywhere until they go to one of my kids. Nothing fancy really. Remington 700 30-06. .30-40 krag, a couple .22s and shotguns from the grandpa's.

I do regret selling two rifles though. Sorta... One was a marlin 45-70 but I didn't like the straight stock or 18" barrel. So I sold it but regretted not having a 45-70 anymore. Picked up a 22" with the pistol grip stock and love it.

The second was a cz550 in .458wm. it was just cool to pull out and shoot. Doubt I'll ever replace it as I have no need.


Everything else gets bought to enjoy and then sold when I'm done with it. Been through a closet full of savage/Stevens rifles in various calibers because they were cheap, shot well, and gave me something to play with.

I'm about to get a flintlock from a friend. And as long as it shoots well it'll never go anywhere either.

-Jake

I've only sold one rifle that I regret selling.

It's the only one I ever sold.

I'm alot like Gnoahhh, I get bored, I like to buy em shoot reload for them , hunt em! But then one comes along that iv never owned, I like to give them a try. I'm on a limited income, so can't afford just to keep buying anymore. No kids, so don't collect anymore. There's a handful I'd love to have back, but there just tools in the long run. Not alot left that I need to try, but there's a few yet!

I've bought 100s of guns in my life but usually never do have more than 20 in the safe.

Some come and some go and so on. I have no desire whatsoever to own a lot of firearms.

Same here

I used to go through that this time of year. I have bought and sold a safefull or two, only one or maybe 2 I wish I had back. Most were factory rifles that financed the customs that I have now and are exactly what I wanted. I decided I would rather have a few guns I used the hell out of instead of 30-40 guns that I merely owned but never used. To each their own.

I only pray my son appreciates them the way I do.
I sold two in my life time, one I bought back, but the old boy threw the box away.
The other is still being hunted by one of my dearest friends.

I've sold quite a few rifles over the years, and mostly don't regret it, with a small handful of exceptions...wish I had them back!

Win M70 Classic Featherweight 3006...one of the last ones to come out of New Haven with factory installed aftermarket bottom metal
Win M70 Classic Featherweight 243
Win M70 1st Gen Stealth push feed in 223
Rem 700 VS in 223
Rem 700 VLS in 223
Rem 700 VLS in 6mm Rem

Heresy to some I’m sure but I’ve given each of the grandsons theirs, sold the rest and now have only one and I really am fond of it and of how it performs. It was the one that I grabbed every time I go out. So…

Browning Hells Canyon Speed model in 6.5 Creedmoor with a Trijicon 2x10x56 with the fiber optic green iridium illuminated mil dot.

The grandsons can draw straws for this one when I’m gone.

Pistols are another matter though. Probably time to start ramping back on those also but I just can’t seem to get it in gear!

I’m pretty content with what I have now, after making some changes in the lineup. I have some nice light hunting rifles now, plus a few 98s, a couple of falling-block singles, and some fun guns. Still get an itch once in awhile when I see something new and interesting, but taking a deep breath usually takes care of that. I certainly don’t lack for stuff to shoot or futz around with. I’ll have a lot of free time this Spring and early Summer to fiddle with stuff, so plan on making a lot of smoke.

Guns are cheaper to trade than Wifes.
I learned that the hard way.

I've sold 3-5 guns to buy nice customs a few times (NULAs, GA Precision, etc.). I always played with the customs for a few months and then became bored / disappointed with them and sold them. I have generally missed the guns I liquidated to fund the expensive gun. I've sold a lot of solid guns to end up owning more expensive, lesser guns. Slow learner.

That sucks man. I've bought one of your rifles. Looks like you were recently selling another Extreme weather. I hope you find what you are looking for buddy. I'm wondering if you learned to work on your own rifles to make them what you want, it could help? Glass bedding, trigger work and knowing what kind of stock works on a rifle to optimize it helps big time buddy. The EW 30-06 I bought from you about 10 years ago went into a Mcmillan edge stock and it was rock solid. Probably better than most customs.. I have a problem of buying them, fixing them up, making them sub moa shooters and then hanging on to them. I don't sell too often..

I sold the EW .308 because I wanted to try a Benelli Lupo just because I've had such good luck with Benelli shotguns and wanted to try their bolt-action rifle. These days I try to sell one for most anything that I buy.

Regarding my first comment, I've been disappointed with customs I've bought from big-name makers. I've yet to find one that lived up to the claims made by the makers and customers but am sure somewhere they're out there. As you mention, I've generally had much better luck with tweaked factory rifles than I have had with big-name customs.

Pieced together customs have also been great for me (someone does the barrel and metal, someone else the bluing, myself or dad do stock work, etc.). As an example, I've found the the guy that is best at bluing and finish is often not the best at chambering. Piecing it together really gives one the ability to have the best person do the task at which they excel. I'm competent to do bedding, some trigger work, some stock inletting and minor gunsmithing. My dad has skills that rival most custom gunsmiths. He's been a part of a couple of really nice rifles builds for me.


I had a close friend that I met on this forum 15 years ago die of an unexpected heart attack at a fairly young age in 2021. He and I traded nice guns back and forth, drank Scotch, talked life and theology and encouraged each other to buy guns neither of us needed. My friend's death plus some other things that have happened since 2019 were really eye-opening for me. My focus was on the wrong things, and my gun hobby needed to be put in its place.

For me these days, Loving God and striving to love others as Christ loves us is number 1. Family is number 2. Maintaining good habits for health number 3. Work and running my businesses is number 4. Guns and other things fall quiet a bit farther down on the list and for me can be a substitute to fill a hole left by not focusing on number 1 on the list.

For those of us in the Christian Faith, loving others as we should is a life-long struggle that few if any accomplish in this world. I've found I need to intentionally lessen or remove things in my life that get in the way of that. Thank you, God, for your grace.

^^^
Excellent post, DMD.

Just sold another one that I wasn't using. Not much left.

GUILTY, Sold here and there

Browning 52,
Abolt 22,
Mountie Marlin 22.

BSA Majestic
Nikko Golden Eagle
Coon Texas Mag.
Omega bolt
Voere (not mauser)
Howa/Mossberg

Mausers:
Venezuelan
1895 - Lowe
Peruvian 30-06
CZ Brno 21
2 Daly Zastava
Mex 24 carbine