Think I'm probably going to sell off everything but my 10/22 and my VZ-24 custom in 8x57. Just don't ever use anything else anyway and I figure the other 8 rifles could go toward building a workshop/garage in the back yard. I'll be hanging on to the ones I'm building for my boys, but really, if I don't ever use them anyway...

Anyone else here ever have the same thought?

I'm going to have more than one, but I've really limited my battery here recently.

I think as a lot of guys mature, toys become distractions and necessity become tools. Often times tools become heirlooms.

I would caution that you mentioned you have "boys" ... before they mature they will appreciate toys more than tools and will not quite understand the necessity of tools.

Good luck,

Todd

I've cut back on mine as well. I am like the OP and use old military sporters and am just happy. However, I'm going to hang on to my lightweight 338wm for a while though...

Guns are my business but also a hobby and a passion for me.
I could easily do it all with one 22 LR and one 30-06, but that is more "mission specific" than a hobby allows.


I enjoy the guns all years, all the time and I shoot 4-5 times a week. I hunt only 3 to 15 days a year. (for my own game,) For a mission specific rifle (one gun for all hunting) a 30-06 or even my 375H&H would do everything need, but not all I want.
If I wanted the closest thing to a one gun fits all may be a Ruger SR762 or a good FN-FAL. Hunting, fun shooting, fighting, varmints, targets and so on. Not the best for most hunting or competition, but "ok" for nearly everything.

But I'd get bored pretty fast with only one.

I am attempting to go to one center-fire as well. I just picked up a 375 KS on here that may be it .The great thing about 375 h&h to me is I can load down to 180gr 06 levels or up to 300gr kill anything on the planet level. I think I can get it around 7.5 lbs loaded and scoped. One rifle to rule them all , lol . I am thinking more doing less having .

C Tim

I understand where you are heading but I'm not there yet.

I'm like szihn in that guns, more specifically rifles, are also a hobby I can shoot at home anytime I want or need.

I could do ALL of my big game hunting with 1 - 270, 06, or 7 RM but as he also said I'd get bored.

Justahunter made a very good point per your boys. They will enjoy the toys before they appreciate the tools. I encourage you to
evaluate all aspects.

Jerry

1 rifle? Damn that would be tough for me, I think I might could live with 5 but that would be the bare minimum.......Hb

Not considering the .22 lr, I have a matched pair in . 243and .308. Being realistic, those two will do everything that I am likely to ever do, That would mean that I need to dispose of a bunch of center fire rifles, and I really don't want to do that. I have already disposed of the belted magnums and really have not missed any of them.

BEST,

jACK

I've considered cutting back to two centerfire rifles but it would create other problems. I would have to sell 20-30 boxes of factory ammo and hundreds of bullets for each rifle I sell. Also, I would no longer have a use for many of the powders that I have. Sounds like too much trouble.

I have a closet full of projects, which will cost $30-40.000 fully done..

However, what I know now, I should just have bought two Tikka T3, in 308, put them in McMillan stocks, pair of fixed scopes and be done with it!

I only have three centerfire rifles currently but each one has it's niche. I actually need a fourth badly as I haven't nothing long range currently. I've been meaning to get a .308 but things keep coming up.

Yeah, a short 4 years ago I had around 15 different hunting rifles, and paired it down to a few that will cover what I want:
30-06
7mm Rem magnificent
7mm08
30-30
243
22LR

This is just crazy talk.....

I had that thought once, but I woke up sweating and realized it was only a nightmare.

Yeah, just take a few deep breaths, and it'll pass. You're welcome.

FC

I've had the thought, then it goes away when I go to the gunstore and look around.

CowboyTim: BLASPHEMY!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

We need to do an intervention on CowboyTim.

I too have considered doing much the same thing- sports cars are singing their siren song to me again. Getting the urge for another Austin-Healey. Maybe I'll just steal one and keep the guns- now there's a plan!!

No.




Clark

I'm right there with you CowboyTim. I'm thinking of getting down to my model 700 that I bought when I was 15. It's a 30/06. It will handle anything that I plan on hunting. I've got a Ruger 375 that I used on a grizzly hunt, killed a grizz---doubt if I'll do that hunt again. I've got a Tikka 223 for prairie dogs-----I could just use my 17HMR or a 22LR. I could live out the rest of my days with a 30/06, 22 lr and a 12 gauge.


I love shooting trap-----so my BT99 will be will me forever.

CowboyTim,

I am sort of in agreement. When I get the Weatherby Mark V six lug 6.5SLR back with a new barrel it will be the on I use exclusively. But I won't sell the other one in .270 in case there is ever a problem with the other. Everything else is not a hunting rifle.

20-25 centerfire bolt guns may pass through my hands in a given decade, even though I may only own half a dozen at any one time. I like trying new stuff too much to get down to just a couple rifles. My thoughts run more toward consolidation, as in sometimes selling 2-3 factory rifles to build just 1 fine one. I can understand that. But I'm still going to want to try out others.....

I am older now and needs have changed. New guns have come along that are better for me. I have thought about getting rid of a few, but I get attached to my guns. Like my old 270 Tang Safety Ruger ultra light that has taken so many deer and has made so many hunts. I cannot see that one go. Or the first rifle I ever bought, a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington I have had for 46 years. Hand guns the same way. I guess I will die with them all.

Some Y'all sound like a bunch of Europeans- One gun, switch barrels as needed. Take it to the club after the hunt and let the armorer lock it up for you.

This is AMERICA! Enjoy (and exercise) your 2A rights. Out of the 27 or so rifles I own, I might be able to part with one or two, but why? After all, they are going up in value, and if
a person doesn't need cash, then keep 'em!

I
Like Justahunter I've pared mine down some a while back and intend to do some more. I won't take it down to just one centerfire though. A backup is nice and I wouldn't want to be without both a bolt action and a levergun. If selling those other rifles you never use makes the difference in realizing a workshop, I say sell them and build the workshop.

No way I'd go with just one. I could pair things down, but even if I was doing that, I'd have a backup rifle in the same chambering as my "one" hunting rifle. Stuff happens.

Ummm..... HELL NO!

This! And I for dang sure wouldn't be using the proceeds from the others for a shop/garage. I'd use the $$ to take the ones I keep on a hunt for a critter I've never hunted or in a type of country I've never hunted for something I've shot before.

What jwall and szihn said.. If I were paring down, the .22-250, 25-06 and 300wm would be the final three..

I am currently in the mix of thinning my herd. I would rather spend my time out in the field or with my son. I am going to upgrade some of my optics and go on a trip or two. Lfie is too short to worry about possesions. After all when we are gone they will be someone else's anyway.

I'm headed that direction for two reasons. The first is that my interest in guns that kick much harder than a 30-06 is dropping rapidly. The other is that I want to free up time and money for hunting. I've already sold everything that kicks harder than an 8-pound 30-06, and while I may add something occasionally, it will be something smaller, like a 308 or a 243.


Okie John

Guys that sell guns for a living love this kind of emotional spasm. When the craziness is over, he'll be back for more.

For my part, when I had a bunch of people dependent on me for food, shelter, transportation, and tuition, my toys were always expendable at need to finance things. They're still exoendable now, but mainly for financing the whim machine.

Yup, welcome to the club. Although I'm down to 223,243, and 270. You get the picture.

I pared down my arsenal significantly about 6 years ago. I have been building it back up. I have two on the way to me right now. I can thank SAS for an obnoxiously low price on a Guide Gun and a 10% discount on top of that for one of the incoming. What better way to rehab a totally replaced shoulder than a 45-70 right?

Rifles have personalities that make them hard to resist.

If I would go down to one rifle I honestly think it would be a .45-70. I mean, what couldn't I hunt?

It'd make groundhog hunting a little more interesting.

Sounds like an old hippy song - I think Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young...

I almost cut my hair...


I think I could get down to a half dozen 06's. But I'm pretty much bare minimum on the other cartridge rifles.

I still don't have a 405, or a 32-40, 577, any of the Weatherby cartridge rifles, a model 71, a 1898 Krag, or a 25-20, or 32-20.

Actually I need maybe another 20 or 30 rifles.

I would sell some of mine if I could get close to what I payed for them.

Are these expensive guns? Will the money even be enough to put down payment on a garage/shop? Why you don't have one already is a good question.

I just don't consider 8, much, unless they are real high end. I like having back ups.


Is your wife making you do this?

Other than the rare need for a spare rifle on a hunt, i see noting wrong with just one centerfire for big game. It's a want vs need issue imo.

I have done that very same thing.....several times

Therein lies the rub

You're beginning to reek of troll.

I've seriously downsized a couple of times. And I liken it to a crash diet - you get rid of the unwanted in a hurry and it all finds its way back plus a few extra.

After awhile, they's all just regular ole crackers....

Sure, must guns are wants. Unless for protection.

I have never needed a back up rifle. But I like having one. Never needed to shoot anyone, but I carry a gun.

WTF are you basing this on? I think they we are legit questions.


Funny, about 3/4s of the replies were similar to mine. I am thinking you got a shine on for me.

What a stupid topic to put on a gun/shooting forum. Maybe someone ought to consider quilting.

Well you know it's not just guns. I'm finding more and more lately that I have a lot of STUFF, stuff I "had to have", that I don't need and never use. Frankly at this point I'd rather have the space freed up than the stuff. Did the same thing several years ago with guitars. Used to have 7-8 at any given time, always looking for that next great thing, truth be told the only one I ever played much was my Martin D16. Sold all the others and have never looked back(well ok so I DO look at nice Telecasters from time to time, but I haven't had the great urge to buy one). The way I look at it, if I can free up a ton of space in the house, the attic, the safe, and the garage...AND finance a new workshop in the process(not JUST paring down the guns) then, why not?

As far as the rifles for my boys, there is still going to be custom Mauser 98's in .270 in the safe for them(along with a couple 10/22 carbines). As far as replacing the ones I'm selling...I'd rather spend the money it would take hunting or vacationing with my family. The older I get the more I realize that life's too short to spend it keeping up with the Jones...besides have you SEEN the Jones' VISA bill???!!!

I've done it too. It never sticks. Probably because I always tried doing it with a 30-06. Then I start missing leverguns.........

My grandpa only had 22 and 30-06. But I think most of like a little more, if we can afford it. I think he wanted to go back to 30-30 as he got older.

You need an 1895 Winchester in 30-06

the looney in me will not allow only one

but I could get by with:
Ruger 10-22
22-250
270 Win
338-06
9.3x64
404 Jeffery

If forced to, I could get down to:
Ruger 10-22
22-250
300 H&H
375 H&H

I agree. Seems the older I get...the less stuff I need. Storage is what I need now!

every place i've deer hunted in this state could be done with
a marlin 30/30 with a 4 power scope with no hardships.
i did it for a lot of years without having to shoot twice at 1 animal

It took too much effort and $ to acquire what I have... When I do get rid of something I really miss it later.. Fortunately, most things with in reason that I want,I can afford.. I really don't want that much these days.. Just a few good hunts each season.. I will let heirs decide what to do with this mess...

Cowboy Tim. I've used one caliber exclusively since 1981 or 82 and one rifle/caliber exclusively since 1990. I have a few others,but only hunt with one. memtb

But you are still holding on. I've only used one caliber in 20 years, but 3 rifles.

W C H. and All

I'm NOT being smart or hateful.

What does it matter to anyone else what a fellows decides pertaining to an arsenal OR
just 1 rifle. As long as YOUR hunting/shooting needs are met it's fine.

I have multiple rifles and calibers. I'm not bragging, I'm thankful. I can't tell anyone how many
I have because I have NOT counted them. I enjoy loading/shooting/hunting with something different.
I sometimes hunt a whole season w/the same rifle. Sometimes I change rifles on a mood.

I am not considering getting rid of any because I LIKE them not because I need all of them.

YOU only have to make YOURSELF happy.
Don't worry, Be Happy.

Jerry

10 years back I had 2 gun safes nearly full, now down to less than half a safe of guns.

These center fire rifles should server me for the start of my retirement hunting years and I can add as needed

.223
.243
.270
30-06
35 Whelen

Walking deer rifle(long walks) rem mt ks 308
Walking deer rifle(short walks) rem 7mag
Driving around deer rifle(long range) 7 ultra heavy custom
Driving around deer rifle (men out pushing bush) 30-06 rem semi along with 7 mag
Coyote calling rifle(snow on ground) 22-250 imp white duracoat
Cotyote calling rifle(no snow) .223ai
Elk rifle (timber)30-06 pump
Elk rifle (sage)338 lapua weatherby
Fox rifle (.17 Rem) sako heavy
Gopher rifle (small -.22)
Gopher rifle (.22 mag)
Gopher rifle (.17 hmr)
Prarie dog rifle (.223)
Prarie dog rifle (.223)
Prarie dog rifle (.223) Ran out of room. But a clear example of why 2 rifles can't do it.

My FIL had one. The recoil is terrible and there's no good way to carry the things in your hand.

If paring down, I think it's smart to have two rifles chambered for the same cartridge. Redundancy isn't a bad thing IMO.

One thing I can say about my own rifles is the majority are short action, and don't kick very much. Less really is more in more ways than one.

Started this same journey 2-3 years ago. Got out of the last 30 cal Mag last year, and all the 30 cal bullets went away shortly after that. Even the 300WMg dies will go in the mail this week whenever the check arrives, but still hanging on to the 308 dies as much for sentimental reasons as practical.

I'm delivering the 5th remaining rifle later today, a T3 HG 260, with 3 calibers left that are still too close together, since the goal is 1 not more than 2 calibers and 3 shooters for the BH to dump when I'm gone...

IMO right now, the ideal setup for me is a rough use Brush gun, a longer barreled "Pretty Shooter" to brag about with both of 'em in 1 doall caliber & 2 cartridges , and mebbe a 2nd larger/smaller cartridge play toy as well.

The 3 remaining calibers are a 270 - since I've had one of some sort since 1969, a new to me 7x57 that could become a quality 7-08 or 280 and a NIB 6,5x55 Swede that I had one of before about 7-8 years ago and loved it coming off a major shoulder surgery and traded after I healed for another shiny object..

I think just mebbe the 2 shooters of the 3 keeper's will be 7mm's in some mix, & and the T3 Super Lite Swede I picked up earlier this year would make the 3 Gun Max Limit Plan complete...just having problems getting my head around not having a 270 of some sort anymore...but then a BACO 264WMg M70 just hit the classifieds of my local forum this morning that would make a great 270 replacement. Hmmm????
Ron

Jwall has it right. To the OP I'm sort of in the same spot as you.

It's like anything really. You get into it then you get out of it. Some do, some don't. What is always amazing is the emotional attachment to the stuff.

"I can't do X if I don't have Y"

Like JWall and others have said. It's all a matter of what you want to do. The rest is just internet chatter....

That right there is funny.

Zerk, It is a "semi-final custom" that I had put together and got in Feb of 1990. The only changes: Threw away the muzzle brake (should have "never" wasted money on that), several years later put on Leupold QD bases and rings, and most recently (about 4 or 5 years ago) changed from my 2.5-8 Leupold to a 3.5-10 Leupold! Other than a few load changes, not many changes since 1990. memtb

Understand all about "STUFF". Besides my own accumulation, I've got relics of my childrens' education and athletics, a bunch of ex-wife clothing, plus all the extra junk you get when you combine a couple of households. Books, books, and more books. Tired of trying to get people to move their schitt, they can throw it out when I die.

Then how are you such an expert in the other calibers?

hum... no 25s, no 6.5 (260, Creed, X47), no Noslers ? ? ?

you are OLD SKOOL

At least I have a 6.5X55


I COULD get by with my 6mm Rem, and 270 Win but I'd SURE miss my 7 RM, 06, & 300 WM
I like em.

Someone said, "It's a sickness I tell you, a sickness". Yes but I'm better now.

Jerry

I've been considering this for about ten years, and right when I'm just about there ...OH LOOK SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




Ten rifles later.....



I think I'll get back down to one good rifle for hunting everything........

I should have kept my 7mm RM, I traded away and do not miss my 6.5 creed, 260 REM, 300 WSM and 375 Ruger, so for me I guess Old School rules

I sold a few I should not have the past year or so, but pretty much corrected that. I don't think I'll ever be down to just one, but right now the plan is to keep what I have (without anymore additions) for maybe another 10 years, use'em if I can if my health holds out and then drastically reduce to a few I can use in whatever time I might have left. That's the plan............is that God I hear laughing? What's so funny?

O W

I LIKE old school. I've only had my 6.5 Swede since Dec 2011.
The 270 7 RM & 300 WM are favorite rounds to me. I'd fight or shoot anyone who tried to take any of them away.

I had a 35 Wh made before Rem adopted it. I liked it enuff but really didn't need it. I'd do another
before getting a 358 W - which I've had a few.


Jerry

I tried and got to rifle specific for each need. I Kept:

1. Custom 5R Remington .223. varmints and fun.
2. McWhorter 6.5 Weatherby, long range Hunter
3. Sako Quad Varmint, .22lr
4. Custom 6.5 Creedmoor, F-Class, Varmint Silhouette, PRS type shooting
5. Seekin's Precision AR .223, Carbine matches, Patrol rifle
6. Beeman 350 Magnum, .177 cal springer Air Rifle
7. Browning 725 Sporting, 20ga, Sporting Clays
8. Benelli Super Black Eagle II, general hunting

Shopping for a lightweight hunting rifle, eye on the new Barrett Fieldcraft 6.5 Creedmoor.

Think I'd just go back to sleep and realize it was a bad dream.......

My point was even though you only hunt with one of them, you still hang on to the others. Many of us here are the same.

I just got the VX3i3.5-10 too. Like it. I had always hunted 2-7, which is still great, and on other hunting rifles. Mostly I like it for working up loads.

The idea of thinning the herd considerably is very appealing, but there are two problems: 1. While I'd like to have fewer firearms than I've got, I don't want to get rid of any of the ones I have. 2. It's just too much trouble. to deal with.

I thinned the number in the safe down by one. It is easier to close the door now. No need to go further.

About a year ago Daughter #3 asked how many firearms I had. When I responded I didn't know, she started emptying the safe and counting them. Then she went to the other safe. Then we counted those that hadn't been counted yet. The number was surprising.

Might sell one more to fund a suppressor, but which one?

I play the same game with myself all the time. For me, however, it is usually a 3 rifle battery that will serve me for the rest of my life. It's my version of counting sheep when I go to sleep at night.

Truth is, I can get along with one rifle if I leave out plinking and shooting the occasional squirrel. Perhaps a 6.5x55 swede or the 257 Roberts. Done.

Got down to 2 30-06's for some time and they filled my needs well. Have since added a bunch becausecI like trying new ones, working up loads, etc. It seems my vision of what the ideal big game is changes, but comes back full circle. Like most things in life, moderation is the answer. If you have too many that it becomes a burden or no funds to hunt, etc. unload a few. I always keep a good 30-06 around and tinker with others, as long as the tinkering doesnt cut into hunting/adventure/family vacation funds.

I know a guy, aka "dummy", that uses a 460 Wby for "Wabbits"


Jerry

When my kids were little and funds were tight I got by with a .22, a 12 gauge and a.30-30. I could do it again but really don't want to. .

I could EASILY do all my hunting with a 12ga, a .22lr, and a 30-06.

With a new kid on the way this fall...I just might.

I am back up to three, 1x Brno ZKW465 in 22 Hornet, 2x Brno model 21 in 7x64, and I am comfortable with that.

A .460 for rabbits,that person is an absolute dingus.

^?^?^?^?

That means "Something like this", for me. I'm pretty sure I could pare the collection down. And if I did I'd likely keep only my .260 or my 25-06.

But... To go beyond that and consider parting with my H&R/Sako .222 or My old .243 or my old .17 Rem or the .300 Win or the .308 or HEAVEN FORBID, MY .300 Savage? Maybe to save a grandchild's life...

I have been mulling this over for a while. I agree with Ingwe, this is crazy talk.

Jack

I almost cannot think this way. I like my 7mm-08 and my 35 Whelen a lot, but if I had to have one centerfire rifle, it would probably have to be a 30-06

If I had to keep just one of what I have now it would be the .300 Savage. And I'd probably still be in pretty good shape for North America.

Aside from that, he 'seems' like a pretty good guy-- from the net. GRIN

Jerry

He may be a "pretty good guy" but killing rabbits with a .460,well.....

Yeah, but could you eat right up to the hole?

Had just one big game rifle for 20 years, a 7mm RM. Now I have quite a few and have killed a lot more elk than when I had only the 7mm RM. No causation implied, just a correlation.

The big difference, simple and dumb as it might seem, is I learned to hunt smarter - i.e. "where the elk are". Big causation factor there.

The fact is I enjoy hunting with different rifles. The time to thin the herd out will be when I quit hunting elk and settle down to antelope, deer and prairie rats. Or when the grandkids get old enough for a rifle of their own, whichever comes first.

On one side you can.

This is the entrance hole.


The other side,well....

I bought every gun I have for a specific purpose. I am very pragmatic about guns. It has to do what I want it to do. If not it went down the road. If it did I still have it. And if i still have it I am very attached to it. Emotional attachments to inanimate objects is probably the subject for psychiatrist and psychologist to ponder as evidence of mental problems,and if so I am certainly guilty. I hunted many many years with only one gun, a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. I have gradually added to the herd as need have arisen and financial condition improved. At 70 and retired with back injuries (from my tail bone through my neck), guns are my only hobby. I have never accumulated any other kind of stuff. My injuries limit my ability and time to hunt and shoot, but I still do what I can and am an avid reloader. I cannot figure out why I would want to pare down my accumulation. The guns I seldom use only need cleaning occasionally, and that isn't a bad job. They hurt nothing sitting in the safe. There are only a couple of guns I am considering selling. They were gifts that were well meant, but either not very good or for which I had little use. Getting rid of these would make more room in my safe for something more appealing to me. Like the side-by-side double barrel shotgun I have always wanted. If guys want to pare down and go back to basics I will encourage them to do what they want to do. What I want to do is keep mine. My son is a gun nut, too. He will get mine when I go and I am glad to see him have them. Just not right away.

Excellent points. Compared to some other hobbies like boating, motorcycles, classic cars, and women, shooting is relatively cheap as long as you stay away from the real high-end stuff like express rifles and Parkers.

I get the urge to dump stuff at times because I feel like I'm not using it enough to justify the associated loading stuff, optics etc, but really I think that once I get something set up and ready to go, I get bored and want another project. When I was playing with computers, I enjoyed putting them together, installing software and drivers, etc more than actually using them. Maybe I'm carrying the tinker gene.

Think I have the same problem, like working on them too much(wouldn't be a problem if I was a smith, expensive hobby for a carpenter)...Really isn't a money issue, no my wife hasn't said ANYTHING about how I should sell the ones I don't use. At this point I'm keeping the 8x57, the pair of 270's I'm building(for my boys), a couple 10/22 carbines and POSSIBLY my Mark VII in .300 Win Mag(figure I'd take too much of a bath on that one).


Selling my CZ550 to a buddy of mine, the rest I'm taking to a local ffl to get sold. I guess getting down to 2 personal rifles would be close enough.

So did I. Sometimes that purpose was just to avoid walking away from a great deal. Now I have a couple safes with guns in them and no time to shoot them all.


Oh, well, retirement is only a day or a year or two away. Not sure what my wife thinks I'm going to do when the day comes, but I plan to do more hunting and shooting.

Good Luck with that "retirement" thing! I wonder how I was able to keep up around the house and work..... Now I barely keep up and I am "retired"! memtb

I can't imagine selling them all.. but if I did it would be cut down to:
Ruger 10/22
Mossberg 500 12g
Remington 700 .30-06
30-40 Krag that came from my grandpa.

This would cover all of my needs. But it would be allot less fun.
-Jake

Hunting buddy emailed earlier today. He his only bolt gun is a 7mm RM and wants to do some shooting on Saturday. He can't shoot his 7mm RM much due to shoulder probs so he built some 7mm RM 120g or 140g loads to test. Hopefully we can find a load he can easily tolerate.

I won't have time to do any reloading as I'll be in Alberta all week (Calgary and Athabasca). Guess I'll just take what I have plenty of on hand - .243 Win, .280 Rem and .308. My buddy should be able to shoot my .243 all day. The .308 has a brake (just because I could) and it is pretty mild, too. Will probably take the .257 Roberts as well as it is zeroed for 75g V-MAX and needs to be rezeroed for 100g AccuBond before antelope season. That's another one he can shoot.

If I still had only my 7mm RM, as was the case for 20+ years, my buddy would be out of luck - a few shots with his 7 and time to go home as his shoulder won't take much more.

That about covers it, switch krag for any sentimental gun.


It wasn't mentioned I don't think, but keeping all your hand guns I assume.

Ya, I just ignored those as it was focusing on rifles primarily.
-Jake

Well I've made my final decision on what to sell/keep. The safe is going down to about half what was in it. When I'm finished my personal rifles will be down to:

Ruger 10/22 Carbine
Custom VZ-24 8x57
ER Shaw Mk VII(Stock & trigger upgraded) .300 Win Mag
Winchester M70 Featherweight .257 Roberts(SHOT show special run, SC rifle)

Figure that aught to do it...will still be finishing the 2 Mausers for my boys in .270 and I have a 1915 Danzing 98 action packed in good grease(just in case )

Should open up some room, clear out some stuff I don't use anymore, and help with the continued reduction in stuff I'm trying to achieve overall. Besides, I figured I'd wind up taking a bath on the .300 and hanging on to the Bob may prove useful...I have a daughter too(assuming I'm ever able to teach her to shoot without her mother holding it over my head in court like it's some kind of crime)...

You are set for just about anything, but I must say it's kinda sad to see folks going all practical on us.

I've thought about paring down my collection, mainly because there are several that I bought on a whim, and probably will never shoot again. Problem is, I'm pretty sentimental about a bunch of mine, and can't fathom parting with them. IF, and that's a pretty big IF, I ever got down to one centerfire, it would be a 223 in an AR. I could hunt deer and varmints with it, and more importantly, defend myself and my family. Let's hope it never comes to that,

It's pretty amazing how Creed Fever has caught on. Lotsa big stuff going by the wayside it seems...

I have two heroes I look up to on this site. Phil Shoemaker and John Barsness and neither one would go for cutting down the herd. It takes a lifetime for a man to acquire the guns necessary to be representative of a man who lived. My father just passed away about 1 month ago. You can learn alot about the man he was from his guns. He had a proviso that you never sell your guns but you can trade them up for better guns. I have lived with that view and feel that I am starting to get near where I need to be. 4 safes and I need another soon. I am not yet fifty but I feel that 200 guns that aren't stinkers is probably where I should be. I am not there yet.

I'm not down to one centerfire,but I am down to two calibers with multi rifles in those.I'm down to .284 and .308 calibers.These two have got me covered for all my hunting needs.Shooting bullets from 120gr to over 200grs,there is not too many animals I cannot kill with them.

I have had those thoughts, but not all the way down to 1. Cannot argue with the logic. I have attempted to pare down before, but usually wind up buying the same again, and of course at a higher price ! So now, I just try, not to purchase other ones, even the "what a great deal" ones. I would be very restless with only 1 center-fire, even though certainly could be done and has merit. There barest personal minimum would be 3 different cartridges by tough choice. But two, if 1 was a 338 Win and the other a 223.

3584ELK suggested the European switch barrel system.... I have that, and it doesn't help a gun nut. 😬

Jack

22lr
222
6BR
7x64
9.3x62

&

6,5x55

I am more then enough covered.. Even though I want more, I don`t need more.

i could for this Dakota 30-06

https://www.gunsamerica.com/userimages/3310/962768072/wm_1936543.jpg

Yeah. I could make do with that. Friggin gorgeous rifle.

I've given this a lot of thought. I could get rid of everything but my Ruger 77MKII RLS in 308, my 77/22 and a S&W 3000 12 Gauge pump with a multi choke barrel and a slug barrel. But then I realize that I still need a muzzleloader for the black powder deer season and when I retire some informal SASS shooting and an occasional CMP match with the requisite AR would be fun and there's six more guns that I "need". Sentimental attachment kicks in (10% sentiment and 90% mental) and I would miss grouse hunting with Dad's Sweet 16 and how could I part with Grampa's Savage 99 and Springfield 03 or Great Uncle's 99. Then there's the Sharps, the Marlin 94's and Dad's 71. You see where this ends up, looking for a spot for another safe.

My 35 Gibbs would take care of everything up here for me. The 225 Sierra for most and 280 SAF for moose and brown bears. It might be a little tough on wolves as my trapline rifle though!

As I approach retirement in about two years, I think I'm going to get rid of the .300 H&H, the .375 H&H, the .348 Win, and the .300 Weatherby. I don't hunt anything
larger than deer or pronghorn anymore. I think I will keep my pre-64 Win M70 .270, my Ruger M77 .270, and my Cooper .243. Will keep all the shotguns and
handguns. I don't need the big horsepower weapons anymore. I do see a nice custom 1911 in .38 Super as a retirement present though!

I could probably hunt everything short of Cape Buffalo and Elephant with my .300 H&H and do fine. The only problem is that Shiloh Sharps and Savage 99s are my passions so I have to hang on to them and will continue to hunt them

Making great progress, I've sent a 30-06 and a 12 gauge to a buddy who can use them until he can afford to buy his own, sold my .270 and my .54 locally and the .308 is heading for Gunbroker...the safe is trimmed down where I want it and the first .270(for my oldest son) is almost finished. Good to reorganize and keep things more manageable. Still have a 1915 Danzing action that will make a fine 9,3x62...AFTER I get the other things on my priority list taken care of in a couple years.

I can't make it without at least 30

I've listed a few for sale over the years. I always end up buying stuff to replace them though. Always something to be playing with.
-Jake

I can't make it without a .30 either. Currently I have a .30-30, .300 Sav, and .308 Win.

Bases simply but thoroughly covered:

22lr - Ruger
9mm - Glock
223 Rem - Colt
270Win or 308Win - Remington
12ga - Benelli

Of if you want to go old school:

22lr - Marlin
45LC - Ruger
45-70 - Marlin

I have had those thoughts before bu no way I could do it....I actually only use a fey myself but....my love of guns just won't go away...

I've already done this once.

I'm on my second sell down now.

I'm down to two 6.5 Creedmoors, a heavy gun for F Class and the Barret Fieldcraft

1) McWhorter 6.5 Weatherby, extra long range hunting rifle,

I may sell several and get the new Sauer 400 carbon Fiber rifle and be done

I've made it to 10 before. Didn't last long.

Somehow I managed with only a Ruger Tanger 30-06 from around 1987 to 2003. I went astray after that.

Revisiting this thread, been 9 months and I'm still thinking it was a good idea. Currently down to my main rifle(8x57is), a backup rifle(.300 Win Mag) and my 10/22. Of course I have a pair of .270 Winchesters in the safe built for when my boys get big enough/mature enough to use them safely and a featherweight .257 Roberts in case my daughter takes an interest. I also have a spare 10/22 for one of the kids, I'll still need to get a couple more .22s eventually.

Building a 6.5 on that spare action I had in the safe, not sure yet if I'll do X55, X57, /06 or Gibbs right now.(Have everything but the reamer/gauges) May not even keep it after it's finished, don't need it, just enjoying building it.

I haven't waivered from 223,243, and 270.....yet.

Still fighting Creedfever.

I’ve never had a lot of rifles. I did sell off a few to fund one I wanted though. I’ve really only had one rifle I hunt with for the last few years. Now I’ll have two. One synthetic (84M) and one wood (Fieldcraft). Barring a lot of rain in the forecast, the wood rifle is going hunting. I also have an 11lb 308 which is fun for longer range shooting and my .22/20ga Savage over/under I got when I was about 10. But that’s it, and I really don’t have an itch for more. I’d rather have more hunting opportunities.

Going thru the same exercise, again, for the N-th time. Each time have fallen off the wagon before I got down to "one". Realized that I really like to tinker, build, etc. This time funds are going toward one really nice wood/blue custom. Goal this go around is to get down to one average size gun cabinet. Already have the .22 and shotgun covered. Keeping one .300H&H and one .37H&H "just because". Balance will be a small assortment of 6.5x55 / 7x57 / .270's. Will winnow down from there..

I keep going through the same exercise, but mainly in my mind. I've decided to accept the fact that I just like rifles, and plan to hold on to the ones I like until I decay to the point where I can't enjoy them, at which point I'll pass some on to my sons and grandchildren. I spend a bit more on them than I should perhaps, but as Old Jack once said, it's no more expensive than golf clubbing, and a lot less expensive than night clubbing.

The ones that don't stay usually depart pretty quicky, like my AR experiment and my brief fling with a pump (that one was pretty nice, actually, but didn't stir my blood).

Creed is 243 and 270 in one package.

You can get to 2 rifles without losing anything.

I can hear him waivering from here

223 and 416 Bee LOL

Absolute SACRILEGE!!


:-D...........dj

I have 4 or 5 possible projects in the works. Actions, donor rifles, brass, dies etc etc. Slowly selling off the "projects" first and a couple superfluous shotguns. I don't need (or want) 6 or 8 deer rifles.

Hand-me-down 270.....so you know how that goes.

Just started selling things off only because I am getting old enough that I don't want to leave my wife with the hassle of selling them when I am gone.
My plan is to get down to a 22 LR rifle, a 22 LR pistol, one 223 Rem bolt action (well maybe two), and a 243 Win for my "big gun". A good 90% + of my shooting is done with either a 22 LR rifle or one of the 223 Rem's, with the 243 only rarely being shot, and I is usually shot the same ones so it won't be too hard to do except for the idea of downsizing.

drover

For the love of God man, listen to the Poobah! He knows his schitt.

Hell No! They’re my kids. I keep them locked up and feed them sparingly. 😎

I've almost achieved it. My 45-70 is really all I need but I can't see a good reason not to keep a 30-30 around?

But I also realize I'm not keeping my inventory this low. I'm watching for the right 45-70 single shot to bore out to 50-70 Gov't. JES told me he'd do the job for $250.

It scares hell out of me to think about having only one gun. I can’t think about getting down to one 7 mag or one 264 Win mag.

Curiousity question - what is there in Texas that you need a 7 Mag or 264 Mag to kill?
Most of the old time guides in my part of the world traded in their 250/300 (usually a Savage 99 with a 4x Weaver) for a 243 Win and most swore that it killed just fine, and this was before all of the boutique bullets that we have now, the elk and deer just kept dying not knowing that they weren't shot with a magnum.

drover

I've had just a 243 for my only centerfire rifle for the past couple of years. But will be adding a 223 bolt action soon. And feel the need for another centerfire levergun.

While I have way too many and could dump several without ever missing them, I see no need to go down to one.

Jack

We have big scary rabbits down here, it takes a 7 mag to kill them!! 😉

I still have a spot I need to fill (7-8# middle chambering for all-around use), but I second these sentiments! For me, I usually spend my "new gun" money on trips/hunts. Now that I'm having to outfit two boys, I do get some buying enjoyment from getting them stuff.

I'm in Texas too. I have a matched pair of Browning Safaris in .243 and .308. I can't imagine anything that I am likely to do from here on (I'm eighty y. o.) that this pair will not do. Still, I want to hang on to my .223s and .30-06s and my small assortment of Marlin lever guns .22, .218, .219, .357, and several variants of ..30-30s. I intend for all my .22s to go to the grand and great grand children, and several of them are interested in rifles and shotguns. One daughter wants the .308, and another wants the ..243. We have three guns from my wife's father and grandfather, two of which are at or over 100 years old that stay in the family.

Perhaps I was warped as a child. We survived WWII on a farm with one single shot .22 and what ammo we could get, usually not more than ten rounds at a time. As an adult, I needed more guns. Amen.

Jack

Go for it if that is what works for you.

I plan to pass mine down to kids and grandkids. Might have to get a few more ...

I'm down to a single 30-06. Plus two spares, also in 30-06. And my uncle's early 700 in 7 RM. And a CZ 550 American in 9.3x62 because maybe Africa someday.

I've seriously considered getting rid of everything but the 7RM.


Okie John

I'm never going to Africa if I can help it.
Now Hawaii I would do. But they only got a 1200 ft.lb. minimum for big game, so I'm covered.

I took a different approach to “ thinning the herd” of firearms. I eliminated “calibers.”

Sold off : .257 ( 250 Savage and 257 Roberts), 270 Win ( 1953 Win m70), 7mm ( two 7x57 rifles), .358 rifle ( 358 Win Miroko BLR , Marlin 35 Rem (2)),, 9.3 ( CZ 550 9.3x62), 22 mag Marlin 783., and most 20 gauge shotguns.

Kept: rifles: 308 cal ( 308 Win, 30-06, 30-30: Marlin 336a 1976 vintage- my first centerfire,
; and a JCHiggins m50 FN m98 30-06, howa 1500/ sw1500 308 bolt), a 222 Rem, , 44 mag Marlin 1894, 45-70 Marlin 1895/ Ballard ( but sold a W&H 45-70 Buffalo classic, Browning Bpcr 45-70 and 40-65), sold off 30-06 Garland and 308 Win Springfield Armory NM M1a).

Shotguns : kept 12 g Rem 870 , 2, ; and 12 ga Mossberg 500;
Sold ( Browning Citori 20 and 12 gauges, 3 combined, Marlin m55 Goose gun in 12 and 20 ga)

Pistols : Selling off my 357 mags ( S&W 586, 686 - all “dash 4” or lower, 3 Security Sixes), will be selling 2 S&W k38/m14 6” 38 specials. Will keep a Ruger GP100 4” stainless- for now. Will sell a couple of 22 LR semi-auto target pistols SW 41, Hammerli/Sig Trailside). Keeping a 44 mag SW 629-3, will likely sell Ruge Flattop Bisley 44 special. Keeping two Springfield Armory 1911 45acp ( range officer and milspec)).

Rimfire rifles: keeping a handful of them to play with for now, but sold off several in last decade.

Sold a couple Flintlock rifles- will keep 1 to compete in local matches/ hunt. ( .50 cal Yorktown fainter by Brad Emig).

Just not shooting firearms/ hunting much. Was shooting Traditional recurve/ longbow 3D competition pretty seriously for last 5 years, until I torn my rotator cuff/ supraspinatus at the Maine 3D Trad Championship this past fall ( won it), but had shoulder surgery 2 weeks ago.

All that being written, I did purchase a couple of firearms this past year: used Win m70 FN/Baco 30-06 featherweight and an anib Win m70 FN/BACO 30-06 sporter- just because the seller offered them to me for a “can’t refuse price”- and they are AMAZINGLY well-made rifles; also picked up a hardly-used, dirt-cheap 10 year old Mossberg 500 20 gauge as an “ utility gun”. Love that tang safety, and it points great for me. A high-value shotgun and design for sure.

So, I will keep thinning the herd, by caliber first, then by desire for what to keep within each caliber group, but in no hurry. I enjoy oiling them.

Someone in the Winchester collectors section wrote something like “ I get more fun oiling in my guns, than compared to just looking at the balance in my bank account making no return if I sold them/never bought them. “. There’s something to that statement I agree with.

I’m down to two 243s and two 308s. That’s a historic low for me.

And various ARs rim fires.

Yep. All of my surplus arms are for retirement supplement. That’ll be two years from now.

In CFs I’ve got an AR (everyone should have at least one), mini-Mauser 223, 6-250, 2-257 Robs, 6.5-06, 7x57, 7-08, and 30-06.

Have seriously contemplated culling down to AR, mini-Mauser 223, custom 257 Rob, and Kimber 7-08.

Be nice to put funds into tags...

Over the past 35 years I've had many, many CF rifles, but I seem to carry the same old Model 70 in 30-06 hunting while the others sat in the safe, so for the past few years I've been thinning the heard to only 2-.223/5.56, 1-.308 & 2-.30-06 rifles now. I'm thinking I could easily get by with that one Model 70 from now on out, but I still like to keep a few around just for the heck of it. My biggest thing in getting rid of a lot of my other rifles was to eliminate all of the different calibers, the three calibers that I've kept will do everything that I need now and later.

I have also felt the need to not necessarily trim down the deer hunting tools just preparing them for my son to use when I pass to the happy hunting ground. I have loaded several hundred hunting loads for each rifle
so my son can continue the tradition.

I have moved on to enjoying clay birding shooting again,

I mentioned my switch barrel European rifle many posts back. In the mid '90s, I bought a Blaser R-93 in .22-250 and .270. I wanted to stay with the standard case head. The .22-250 was a 14:1 twist, and I was never happy with that (but I should have been). Anyway, I traded the .22-250 barrel for a 9.3x62 which was to be my medium heavy. I have never fired a round through that barrel. My original thought was to dump all the belted magnums and use only the Blaser. The magnums all left, but I have several damn fine rifles, and that is as far as the sales ever went.

My Blaser is the Prestidge model with highly figured wood and the rose and scroal die struck engraving on the action side plates. Scoped with a 2.5-8 Leupold, the .270 is plenty accurate. This is my second dance with Blaser. I had the "ugly" Ultimate model years ago in .270 and .338WM. Both were amazingly accurate. SIL had the 87 (?) in .25-06 and .300 Wby. It was accurate on both counts.

As I mentioned in the earlier post, that is not the answer for an American rifle looney. It is just another itch that got scratched.

Jack

Only have my Ruger m77 tanger in .270 I bought new when I started hunting.
Had a couple others over the years but sold them off as I never had any use for them.
I just had a son born in November and find myself buying ammo for him so he won't have to buy anything.
Got him a 10/22 the other day and will add a varmint rifle and AR 15 as well, he will also get my dad's guns that he handed down to me.

Thought about that many times and figured I could use the money for hunting or maybe a new truck when that time comes. But I know exactly what would happen..... that money would end up going to pay bills or other things and would never see it again anyway.

How's the recovery from surgery? I have a torn rotor cuff too, but don't think I'll have the surgery yet. I've had two repairs and the recovery was brutal. Don't know what to do.

Won't bust your ears or shoulder and won't blood shot an animal from their nose to their ass! I agree.

If I had one rifle to hunt with, I would quit!!!

How’d OP do in his quest to go to one rifle??

Uh, worried that someone might force you to go?

I've been thinking and thinking about going down to "one center-fire", and I'm all-in!!!

From here and forever more, I will only acquire one center-fire rifle of each center-fire cartridge!



Cheers.

Wound up keeping 3 of mine and 2 for my boys.

I'm still not sure why I bother with that many, but here is how I told myself it would work....

1. The "one" rifle I was going to keep is still about the only one I'll probably actually use for hunting anything bigger than a rabbit.

VZ-24 8x57 4x Weaver

2. Kept a capable "backup" rifle, just in case.

Semi tricked out ER Shaw Mk.VII, .300 Win Mag, 3-9x40 Burris FF-II,

3. Kept one "just in case" a.)My daughter ever takes an interest in huntong or b.)I ever get injured and wind up with problems with recoil(happened to my Dad after he got struck by lightning the 2nd time).

Winchester M70FW .257 Roberts Weaver 4x

4. Kept a matched pair of M98s I'm building for my boys.

Gew.98 & 98/22, 270 Winchester, 3-9x40 Redfield Revolution, McMillan.

5. Putting together a 6.5 with a spare Gew.98 action I had packed away and some parts I had around(mostly) already...not sure if I'll do a 6,5x55, 6.5x65 or a 6.5 Gibbs yet(still need to get a reamer) or if I'll even keep it after it's finished, just like tinkering with these.

And that is where I'm at after purging the stuff that never got used.

So I am less certain about if this is show & tell about what we have or really trying to reduce the herd. My first action would be to eliminate three 9.3x62s. There is a Huskavarna that has some agricultural properties (it's a club). There are 2 European commercial 9.3x62, one unfired. A 35 Whelen in a 7600. 2 1885 06s, 2 1885 22x250s, a 1885 low wall in 243, a 1885 low wall 260, a 1885 in 7Rem., 444M TCG2 and a few other 06s . Those are most of the ones that would perhaps leave.

Perhaps more interestingly are the guns that would remain. 30/40K #3, 30/40K TCG2, 375JDJ TCG2.

Currently lusting for a 30/40K W/Silencer and an AR in 450 Bushmaster. Keep in mind that I only hunt deer.

I almost bought a Guide Gun last weekend and then came to my senses and realized that it'd only be fun for about one box of ammo.😀.

So I'm still at one, a little too heavy 243 with a little too slow twist, which will eventually be gone when I upgrade to a lighter stainless 9 twist model.

Still gonna get another lever gun so I won't be without a blued and walnut centerfire. And a bolt 223 for a "truck gun". And that's it. All I want and probably more than I need.

Or a wife

I don't think I'll ever get down to one but I may shed a dozen, or so, this summer - the wood and blued ones.

My sons are into black guns and have no interest in shooting or owning anything with wood. And, to be fair, many of them I've owned for years and have never even shot them, or at least haven't shot them in years.

Accuracy wise, my Sako 85 .30-06 is as accurate as you could ever expect a rifle to shoot so I'm not sure where I'd go from there.

I'll probably keep as many guns, just not long guns. I'm sliding deep down the pistol rabbit hole.

In my wild and misspent youth I got by just fine with a 30-06, a bolt action 22 rimfire, a 223 bolt rifle and a pump 12 gauge shotgun. Then it started, had to have a 270, a 30-30 for brush hunting, a 22-250 just because and after the internet I had to have all the others just for testing and comment.

Needs updating;

I am back up to four, 1x Brno ZKW465 in 22 Hornet, 3x Brno model 21 in 7x64, and I am more comfortable with that.

Well, it would have to be at least a 30-06, but would lean more to 35 Whelen, then there is always 338 mag. I've been thinking about getting rid of my bigger guns in 458 calibers and the one 50 in the box.
Now if I lived down in the lower 48 I'd have to reconsider that.
Still would have a 30-06, because it's the best all around cartridge out there. But, 30-30, 35 Remington, 260 Remington, have a real nice 250/3000 1926 Savage bolt gun with a 1 in 10 twist. Got to have a 223 bolt gun, and how about 22lr, can't do with out 2 or 6 of those no matter where you live, can you? Well this just gets harder and harder to think about. I go to the box and look at whats there, with the idea of thinning the herd and I just close the door, spin the dial and go get a cup of coffee. Fortunately I come to my senses, start looking at Gun Broker for the next new to me rifle.
My problem is I have brass, bullets, casting molds and other stuff, well it just gets complicated.
I must admit I've thought seriously about this subject over the years, then I figure the Kids and Grand Kids can work it out after I'm gone. They might sell them all because my guns are blue and lumber only. Hopefully I raised them better.
John