It must be an early onset of the winter blahs but I was thinking about all of the various rifles and handguns I have owned through the decades and I realized that I could have had a much simpler, and possibly, more fulfilling life if I had kept it things simpler in my choices.
I have realized that with nothing more than a rifle chambered in 22 LR, another in 223 Rem, another in 308 Win, and a handgun in 38 Special or 9mm Luger I could have done everything I did with the multitude of rifles and handguns I have owned over the decades.

Would it have been as much fun or would I have learned as much as I did - no way, but it would have been more practical. Most of those cartridges have been available even in the times of "shortages" with a little looking and besides that if one is paying attention to the political climate or dealing with only with very popular cartridges they should never be caught in a shortage.

Then there is the fact that with those four cartridges anything in North America, and most of the world, any of our common game could be hunted.

I have never been a shotgun user but for a shotgun I suppose a 12 gauge would be the most common/available and that would round out a darned good selection - IMO of course.

If I had it to do over would I do it the way I just fantasied about - likely not because like most good things in life getting here has been a glorious adventure and if I hadn't have dealt with all of the other cartridges how would I have reached the conclusion on what I could "have" gotten by with.

drover

I pretty much agree. In fact, after hunting various kinds of big game in 14 countries, from animals weighing under 100 pounds to some around 1500, I am sure all would have been killed quite readily with a .30-06 and 180-grain Nosler Partitions, including Cape buffalo.

Same could be said about various other rounds, including the 12-gauge. Have killed everything from doves to my biggest black bear, a Vancouver island boat that squared 7 feet.

But would it have been as much fun? Or educational? Or would I have been as certain of all of this now, if that's all I'd used?

Oh, and I turn 69 in a couple of weeks!

Sometimes “practical” is mundane. Loonyism on the other hand, is never dull. 😁

I don’t have much use for a .416 Rigby.

I have had some use for a .416 Rigby over the years, but not anymore!

I think for gun guys it’s about an emotional connection as much as anything else. No doubt a .22 LR, 12 gauge shotgun, .223, a .308 Win (or several other comparable centerfires I’d personally go 30-06 but then again I like short actions too which is part of the never ending rabbit hole) and a 9mm pistol would pretty well cover just about all bases if push came to shove. A .308 is great in a 20” barrel and suppressed but slightly “under bore” otherwise for lack of a better term. A 7/08 seems just about right for an efficient short action 22” barreled rifle. A 30-06 is great but maybe slightly under bore for a long action rifle and a .280 Remington just right. None of this matters in real terms but has been a lifelong love and obsession.

As a young kid from the time that I was old enough to wander the local K-Mart without supervision while my parents shopped I went to the sporting goods department and stared at the rifles daydreaming about what I would hunt with them. I wanted a Remington 66 because in my mind as a young kid it looked like a big game rifle and I dreamed of hunting pest birds around the house and squirrels, tracking rabbits in the snow ect. I read cover to cover the hunting and gun magazines that were either handed down from my Uncle or bought with allowance money and dreamed of hunting all over the globe and shooting all of the rifles and cartridges that I read about. My dad wasn’t much of a hunter but I read his “The Deer Hunter’s Bible” book until it was falling apart at the binding.

Collecting guns that I dreamed about is something that I enjoy for its own sake and is fulfilling as a hobby. It never ends. The more that you own the more you get into it and want more to fill ever expanding niches. Certain guns add to the enjoyment and satisfaction of a hunt but are not about being more effective.

As long as it’s kept in a certain perspective and doesn’t get out of hand I can think of worse things. Guns are a poor investment when compared to the market but when compared to most other things it isn’t a bad place to spend your surplus income especially given the fun factor.

At some point I’ll probably sell a lot off to finance other things. My son’s 18 he likes hunting and shooting but has never really been in love or captivated by it. My daughter is five and tagged along today for a short pheasant hunt but probably won’t want to inherit safes full of guns one day either. I’ll save a few for them and likely sell a lot off but for now I’m still in the collecting phase. A divorce cost me a boat and some guns but guns, hunting, and shooting have been one of the constants and sources of enjoyment throughout most of my life. If I only owned five guns that aspect would be missing.

Although I use my Mod. 70 in .338 Winny every year if I had to go to one rifle here in Alaska it would be my old Mod. 70 Featherweight 30-06 and a 168 grain Barnes TTSX bullet.

Next year I hope to take the peep sighted Mod.71 Win. in .348 Ackley to Hinchinbrook Island in Prince William Sound and hunt deer and brown bear on the salmon streams. It will be stuffed with 250 grain Alaska Bullet Works Bonded bullets.

If I can get with in forty yards and have a rest and it is broadside and stationary I will be happy bear hunter. What fun!

Yet,Dan,Yet.

Sounds like the same as those of us turning 70 soon...

we have plenty of things we will never get to use much more in our lives.... and reality we have plenty we haven't used in the last 10 years or so all that much.

its hard to start getting rid of the things you enjoyed most in life.

If I started selling things I should, my wife sure would love all the money she could get from me for it. nothing means much to most women except money. my wife is no different.

Sounds like my wife “why do you want to accumulate all of this stuff?” “Because it isn’t just stuff to me.” It’s memories of great times and dreams of others. When and if I sell it it will be to finance some dream hunts not to finance a new kitchen and other trivial things that go in and out of fashion or that she seldom uses anyway and mean squat in the long run.

In the same boat - have often thought if I only would have kept that Remington 700 ADL in .270 I got just before my eleventh birthday and used the money I spent on guns since going on hunts I sure could have had some nice ones. But the thing is I enjoy guns - big guns, little guns, broken, custom, old ones and new ones - and shooting them. I can’t for the life of me justify selling them to get the cash and buy other, much less interesting “stuff”, as it would mean nothing to me. So here I am still accumulating - someone else can sell my stuff I’m going to enjoy it while I can.

PennDog

For hunting, I'd trade the 223 for a 12 gauge.

Often thought that I've only made a few big game shots that
couldn't have been done with my 30-30. Including a couple elk.

Carried a 7mm or 300 to Colorado. Never killed past 200.


Longest shots were here, with a 660 in 308.
Go figure.

Most here are serious cranks. Our ages vary. But we've loved this stuff lifelong. Suspect there was a period of time over which writers cast the greatest influence on each of us. For me it was O'Connor, Keith, Page, Ackley.....and those Weatherby catalogs.

Mentors matter, too. Guy I hunted with despised the '06. Had to have a .300. To shut him up got one. .300 Roy of course, if a M700. Never looked back, threw lightning bolts at animals. Well, it is a great round.

Not all change is bad. Tend toward cartridge sobriety nowadays, but think the .375R is just a heckuva well-balanced cartridge. But yeah, what couldn't a guy do with an '06?

I think I could get by with my 7x57 and 9.3x62. Everywhere.

I am 70 and will be 71 in January and no way do I want to have few firearms/cartridges.
I was never interested in 35 Whelen until last year when I decided to get a "Primitive Weapon" for Der hunting in Louisiana. The law requires an exposed hammer single shot in 35 caliber or larger. The season starts a week earlier and runs 2 weeks longer if you have a "Primitive Weapon"

With Power Pro Varmint and CFE223 or 2000MR the velocities in a 28" barreled Highwall is impressive and eye opening.

I never tire of of new horizons

I may not need a 416 Rigby but I have one as well as a 416 Remington

I agree with Mule Deer the 30-06 and a 12 gauge would do it all, but how boring would that be? I have bought, used and sold several hundred rifles, shotguns and handguns over the years and learned something from each one. Someone asked me once why I needed another gun and I asked what need had to do with anything. I am building my ultimate, for now, deer rifle, a Remington 721 action in 257 Roberts. I have a safe full of rifles that will kill deer, but the 257 seems ideal for a 68 year old who is starting to feel the years a bit. Next year I am sure something else might turn my head.

It’s fun to have different rifles to hunt with. I enjoy gathering up new dies and components to load for a new rifle. I like mounting a scope on a new rifle, sighting it in. I’ll be 69 in early March, New Year’s Eve is my last day of employment. I’ll have more time to do the things I like.

I keep going back to a 30-06, it’s hard to beat.

My Dad set me up with Remingtons in 30-06 and 20 gauge. On the big game front I was set for life. Only problem was what I really wanted was a 30-30 lever action. So a 30-30 Marlin was the first gun I ever bought at 15 or 16 years old. Then within a year the LGS had a Marlin 32 Special for $215. It was the Sporting Carbine and I thought it would go great with my regular Carbine. At the time I didn't realize what I had started. 150+ guns later I'm wondering if there's a cure for this?

I said I didn't have much use for it, never said I didn't know how to use them.

Dying usually cures it MM just enjoy it long as you can.

I sort of went the opposite way. I used to be an accumulator, but about 10 years ago I pared the collection down to 10-12, and that's about where I keep it now. If a gun doesn't hit me with the "wow" factor after using it a few times, I deal it off on something else that catches my eye.

Being able to fit everything in a couple small safes is a plus, since my house isn't that big. It also makes keeping sufficient reloading supplies on hand a lot simpler and less space consuming, too, so that's a bonus.

Drover, you make a lot of sense. I’ll turn 80 next February. I’ve always loved rifles. When I was a poor college student, I sporterized a Jap rifle my uncle brought back from the war and gave to me. I killed a lot of deer with that rifle and its peep sight. In my early 40’s I bought a Remington 700 in .270 and used it for years — largely influenced by Jack O’Connor. As I became more financially mature, I started adding rifles. Many of them are customs of the “old school” — fine wood and beautiful bluing. I have some done by Al Biesen and/or his son Roger. Jim Kobe has had a hand in providing several really nice rifles, either from scratch or very significant modifications. For years now I’ve had the frustration of having to choose which rifle to take on a particular hunt. I have one beautiful custom that I have never killed anything with.

If I had it to do over I don’t know if I would do anything different. But from what I know now, a guy could do a lot worse than buying a NULA in 30-06. However, I am planning to take my 375 H&H to Africa next year. 😃

PHwillie,

12-gauge shotguns don't have to be boring. Here are three I acquired within the last year:

J.P. Sauer Falke sidelock hammer gun, with 2-1/2" chambers, made in 1911.
R. Lisle of Derby, on a Webley & Scott boxlock action, probably made in the 1920s.
W.W. Greener boxlock ejector, with Damascus barrels, made in 1895.

They're easy to hit with, and I've taken birds with all three guns this fall.

Like John, I'll turn 69 in a few weeks. My life of gunnery has taken many turns - if I had every gun I've owned there wouldn't be room to turn around in my nest. I don't know whether to label myself as being fickle or prone to being bored easily. (Could explain why I was married twice but am not now, and have had so many girlfriends I can't begin to remember them all in one sitting.)

One thing I know JB and I have in common is we both bought Remington 700's in .243 at about the same time in the early 70's. I coulda/shoulda/woulda done all my deer hunting with that one rifle for the last half-century, but it went the way of the wind after a couple years because, well, I got bored with it. Besides, the search for the perfect deer rifle, shotgun, .22, etc. is as fulfilling and exciting as the "finding" is. That pretty much defines my experience with women too. And British cars. And fly rods. And....

I'm doomed. (But I wouldn't be if I could locate a cheap Mannlicher-Schoenauer 6.5x54, or an affordable Rigby Ballard .32-40, or a...)

That's basically me as well, other than still being a ways off from 69 😂

I get bored. I get something, fiddle around until I get it to shoot how I want it to, then I usually get bored with it and trade it off on something else to start the process over again. There's only a few guns I've ever held onto for more than a handful of years.

In the same boat as many here. Started hunting at 14, got my first rifle at 15 and was captured by deer hunting (in the snow preferably). Hunting only in BC but have spent more than a few days looking for three species of deer, black bear, sheep, elk and moose. Never had an interest in shooting a grizzly, but have hunted n grizzly country a bunch.
Had only a few guns til I was in my mid 40's, too busy raising kids, getting established and just hunting til then. Then as finances permitted I went through perhaps 100 guns (almost all bolt actioned rifles) which was fun in itself and a decent hobby.
By my mid 50s I really started to focus on what I thought would be great and practical rifles for me to hunt with, and less on just a nice rifle at a decent price. Call it a refining of tastes, or an awakening to what made a rifle special. In amongst that is a reverence to what my dad, grandpa and one uncle hunted with. I think about them frequently while out and about, rifle in hand, and wish we could hunt some more together.
No big money rifles now (just a working guy) but a couple pretty nice ones (both pre 64 model 70s) and a couple more on the project bench (both model 70s). Very little of the latest offerings interest me much at all.
Now there is more focus on getting hunting while I can, as life sometimes gets in the way and the clock is ticking.
Knowing what I know now (or think I know) I'd have just gone to a couple good/excellent rifles built on pre 64 actions and just gone hunting. Nothing exciting for cartridges, 270/280/30-06/7mag would all work well.
Used them all, and a bunch of others, but have the most experience with a 270. Being mostly a deer hunter it is the gold standard, for me.

I don’t have much use for a .416 Rigby. [/quote]

But I had one for awhile!!! lol

One of the first real memories I have would be helping Dad police up shells after a round of trap. Afterwards he'd let me help clean the Superposed he used back then. I might have been about four. There's never been a time since when guns were not really cool to me. At age 52 moving to a practical battery is not going to happen.

I recently turned 73. Realistically, I could get by with one CF rifle, a shotgun and a handgun or two. I know guys who do so. I envy them.

I don’t consider my brothers “gun guys.” They probably only own 25 - 30 guns each and use even fewer. One does all his bg hunting with a BLR in .308 and the other with a 700 in .30-06. One uses an old Remington 58 12 gauge for all his shotgun stuff, the other uses one shotgun for steel and one of two for upland. They kill a lot of stuff and have a lot of fun.

I have a couple of guns right now that I’m trying to get myself to send down the road. It’s a struggle.

I went thru the build a Mauser stage. And then the buy a really nice rifle stage. And the handload it until it can hit a fly stage.

At this point I know what I like and I know what works for me and I am past the buy it because it's a good deal stage enough to be happy with what I have. I am 41 so not an old man but old enough to know better lol

It's been a journey of a lot of money and time and I found that I didn't use the rifles for the imaginary hunts for which I bought them.

I trimmed down and am using a few I really like for various reasons and I think this is where I will stay.

If I won the lotto tomorrow though I might call Melvin and build a 250 savage ultra light and see if I could wear it out.

"If I won the lotto tomorrow though I might call Melvin and build a 250 savage ultra light and see if I could wear it out."

Not yet an old man I still dream like a younger man. Similar idea but I would make room for a pre 64:

https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...uper-clean-dom-1947.cfm?gun_id=101768626

At 66 still buying a few and moving them if they don't make me happy. It's hard to pass up one that's a good deal for me. I'll shoot it for awhile to satisfy my curiosity then it goes away for more than I have in it. that's the way it has always worked for me. Mb

It's not hard to generalize on one rifle for non-dangerous, thin skinned medium to large game. But the .308 (or .30-06) would be VERY low on my list of options. The .300 WSM or 7mmWSM would likely top my list. And not everything is thin skinned and non-dangerous. Similarly, the .223 would be low on my list of "do everything" varmint options. The 6mm AI might top my list in a single shot. For bolt actions the .243 AI or 6mm Creedmoor is hard to beat.

Stopping rifles are their own topic - trying to shoehorn a .308 into that role is retarded. And some of the best public land hunts I've ever had were predator called bear hunts and require a stopping rifle.

9mm handguns are fine for people, garbage for bears. There's a reason the .44 mag exists.

A magnum 12ga does most thing, but does everything but waterfowl badly. Something like a 12ga SBE plus a 20ga side by side for upland/mixed bag plus a 12ga clays gun is a more reasonable battery.

Really it comes down to whether you want guns that do things badly, or do them well. Me, I'll take guns that do things well. Lots of people have a fascination with guns that do little if anything well, which they're entitled to but it's ridiculous.

W & C Scott and Son 12 Bore



I love the smell of black powder in the morning.

Mule Deer,
My point wasn't that a 12 gauge was boring, just the thought of only a 12 gauge...I have 4 12 gauge shotguns at last count, including a 110 year old 1897 Winchester, but also have couple of model 12 16 gauges and a several 20 gauges. The older I get the more I lean towards the smaller gauges.
Ken

Ken,

My post was somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

Right now I have 1 28-gauge (a Fausti side-by-side), 3 20s, 3 16s, 7 12s and one 10-gauge. Four of the 12s have 2-3/4" chambers, two have 3" chambers, and one has 2-1/2" chambers. The 2-1/2" 12-gauge is essentially a 28-gauge ballistically. (Oh, and one of the 2-3/4" 12s is a Winchester 97 pump.) They all have their roles, and they're all fun.

This isn't counting my wife's shotguns--she's actually more of a shotgun loony than a rifle loony--one 28, six 20s, two 16s and two 12s.

Probably should admit that two of my 16s and one of my wife's are combination rifle/shotguns.

That looks like another boring "old" 12-gauge!

Twaddle

I have a few more rings under my bark than most here.I went thru a lot of phases. The magnumitus hit me in my 30's but didn't last long.Old lever guns and old side by side shotguns lasted bit longer. Sometimes I would pick up something to shoot and elk with just for the challenge. Now I am wondering what to do with some of these rifles and handguns.

Elk hunting with center fires is about a thing of the past.The 30-06 and .308 sit in the back of the safe. Even muzzle loader hunting is getting close to being done.I can probably hunt deer and antelope out on the Colorado eastern plains,so the 6.5 Swede and .243 may still get some use. The 12 gauge old Fox Sterlingworth won't be shot any more and the 20 gauge Franchi might get 5 rounds thru it in dove season.

I gave a nice old 06, a Fox Sterlingworth double and a pristine M1 Garand to my God son along with a lot of ammo for them.Then I took 4-5 down to the LGS and put on consignmentt. That cleaned out my gun safe so that each rifle has a slot and are not stacked up one another.

Now I need to figure out what to do with all my ammo.My life time supply looks like it will out last me

It is indeed. Loaded up some brass shells awhile back; shot, buck and ball. It was a joy to shoot and it did very well.

back in the 70's, i was the corporate banker type for dave wolfe and handloader mag. I had a good job but not overflowing with money .
i hung around the hq for handloader making business calls. i asked dave and the writers at the time what rifle to buy as i didn't have money
to buy a herd. they said have a .22, a 12guage, and a left hand bolt 30.06
the 06 wasn't the best at any specific role it had to play but you could load it up or down so many ways. well, i did buy the left hand 30.0 6, and a lot more through the years just cause i wanted them.
the last elk tho was shot with the 06, even given i had a lot more powerful rifles.
I don't regret the purchases.

I’m keeping my eye out for another shotgun…that I don’t need; probably a higher end 20 or 16 O/U. But my days of compulsive buying without considering it’s application are pretty much over. I just sort of contradicted myself as there is no hunting application for me presently that is unfilled. But I’d like another nice O/U anyway.

At 72, my perspective has changed due to some eye-opening experiences, those of emptying homes of parents and dispensing of everything inside. I’m talking the Depression Generation folks who kept everything that ever crossed over their hands. In one instance, particularly, it was a daunting task which I’m sure many others have experienced also.

I have no children that are interested or inclined toward guns, and part of that may be on me, but that’s beside the subject here.

My wife and I have agreed that other than furnishings, anything unused for a year gets the heave-ho, either giving it away or selling. The point being we wish to prevent our children being faced with the task we faced due to our parents’ not having a realistic view of the future. And that’s not at all a criticism of them. Times and circumstances have changed.

Anyway, items like a 458 Lott, a 416 REM, 375’s, 340’s, a myriad of shotguns, and other custom rifles have made their way through the house and out again both as I learned, and as I realized I wouldn’t really have any need for them if I ever did. I’m down to a safe of eight rifles and shotguns and a smattering of handguns. It feels about right for the age and mileage accrued.

However, there’s a Rizzini out there somewhere..

I've been selling off my rifles, shotguns and pistols in various calibers/gauges over the past 15 years. I am sticking with rifle calibers in .308" , 224" (and 22 LR), 12 gauge for shotgun, and for pistols: 44 mag and 45 acp. I have (2) 30-06 rifles, (2) 308 Win and (1) 30-30. I am a deer, woodchuck and squirrel hunter. I have enjoyed many rifles and calibers, but its time to thin the herd.

Sold off: 45-70 ( Marlin), 44 mag ( Marlin), 9.3x62 (CZ), 358 Win ( Browning BLR), 35 Rem ( Marlin), 338-06 m98, 303 British ( SMLE 4/1), a few 30-06 rifles, a Sako A2 308 Win, Win m70 Stealth II, 308 Win, Rem 40x single shot and repeater 308 Win, Rem 700 Vs 308, 7x57 ( pre-ww2 sporter, Rem 700), 270 Win ( Win pre-64), 257 Roberts ( m98), 250 Savage , 220 Swift pre-64 Win m70, 22-250 Rem 700vs, 222 Rems ( Rem 788, Howa 1500, Rem 700V and 722), 218 Bee ( Kimber 82 and Ruger #1), 22 mag ( Marlin), and several 22 LR rifles ( not to mention several 357 mag/38 special and 22 LR pistols). For shotguns, I am keeping a 12 gauge Rem 870 with Remchoke barrel (with smoothbore rifle-sighted barrel, and a Hastings rifled barrel). The Citori 12 and 20 gauges are gone, as well as several pumps and single shots.

My selling off guns is a controlled process, by desire- not need, and is not a punishment. The best part is that I am shooting the guns which remain much more, and that was part of the decision to thin down.

I still have my eyes open for interesting ( to me) guns. I recently picked up a CZ 527 Varmint (Kevlar stock, 1-9" twist bbl)) in 223 Rem, ( just because), and a Tikka T3 Varmint ( blued) in 308 Win, which will be used for cast bullet CBA postal match shooting.

So, I AM definitely thinning the herd, but also selectively looking- and playing more at the reloading/shooting bench. It's a good thing.

Man, this is a depressing thread...After closing down my mother's house last year and looking at doing the same for my wife's mother's house in the next couple of months, she is wanting me to start downsizing my collection of "stuff." She doesn't want our sons to be burdened getting rid of my stuff after I'm gone. Trying to get in the swing of things, I threw away a Shooting Times magazine I'd had since the 1970's and a Handloader magazine from 2010. She's not to impressed so far.

Like most that have responded to this thread, I'm getting older. Just hit 70 a couple of months ago and I have accumulated some rifles that I haven't shot in many years. I tend to collect deer rifles. A lot of those rifles remind me of times and friends long gone and I hate to even consider selling one. I have given some of my better firearms to my sons, but like another said they really aren't into the firearms of my generation. So I'm going to be getting rid of some rifles but I'm not going down to the one 308 Winchester and a 22LR.

I guess the question I have is where do you list, post, or go to sell your firearms and hunting and fishing equipment? Anybody done an estate type sale on firearms and get a price for all that you want to sell at once? Or do you list them in the classifides or put one in the local gun shop on consignment every now and then?

Any suggestions?

Going through Rock Island Auction is an option. That insures a national audience to look at and bid on your guns, but of course there are auction fees.

Thanks Liama, I'll have to look into that option.

52. Feel old, young enough to call a bunch here Dad.

I often think of selling some stuff, most isn't used.
Like the Pre-Garcia 264 bought in the mid 90s and never fired,
or the pre owned/never fired Tikka 7mag. About 15 years, never fired.

But then, they ain't eatin' nothin', and I don't need the money.
Might need it someday, will sell then.

The first 10 rifles that I owned would have done everything that I've needed a rifle to do.

The last 1,000 or so have been mostly redundant/surperfluous.

My kids aren't interested in shooting sports, so a bunch of people will have the opportunity to own some nice ones somewhere down the road.

Thru the scamdemic I've been seriously downsizing. I'm a lefty and have gotten rid of the right hand stuff and aquired proper left handed equipment. Still have a few right hand autos, pump shotguns and 22lr rifles but most have hit the road.

Now I'm happy to report I can say I have a "core" of users, all lefty or at least left hand friendly. So several 30-06's, 308win, 270win, 338RCM, 338 win mag, 30-30, 348 win, 5.56, 375 Ruger, 45-70's, and mybnice lefty CZ 452 mixed in with a few shotguns.

It's look like still a decent amount of numbers there but it's been a significant reduction and I'm happy about it. I'm really wanting to spend more time learning more of the 270win and 30-06, yet I can still go and tame my 338 caliber fetish and cap off some levergun ammo. I'm happy. Overjoyed, but the worst thing is there's not enough season or types of game to hunt. Wish there were more exotics an different types of game to pursue.

My Mother, born in 1928, always kept enough dried and canned food to last a year, plus about 500 additional lbs. of sugar, flour, pasta, and rice. 15 cases of scotch and 15 cases of wine too. She had most of the parts required to put a still together, which probably explains at least in part the extra sugar and dried fruit.

My Father, born in 1909, never traded a car in if it wasn't worn out. When he passed, there were 8 vehicles that he had pickled and put up on blocks on the lowest floor of our barn for just in case. They were all old technology, no computers or electronics to get blasted with EMP.

I’ve been a “gun guy” since my earliest memory around 3. I owned a gunshop for a decade and that helped my practical nature as well as destroyed it. At first when every gun comes in I thought “I’ll keep it” but after awhile it becomes an overdose and you kick the sickness. 😁. Now I only keep that which will get used and serve a useful purpose. My calibers are all based off of each other so that the.243 can become .308 or the 7mag brass can be turned into .338wm….etc.

The guys I know with big collections might be considered loony but they have more or less invested their money and seen their collections increase in value. One guy I know from Delta Junction works on the pipeline and makes big money but he’s never had a bank account. He lives (relatively) under the radar and invested in guns and ammo. I’m friends with guys that have HUGE collections but my friend’s collection in DJ DWARFS every other collection I’ve seen. I was friends and business associates with a man that has a Colt/Winchester/Volcanics collection that’s on display in Cody as well as in every Winchester or Colt book around. It was nothing for him to bring several hundred thousand with him when he went to the big show in Cody. He has millions in guns but everyone of his guns could be sold with a couple phone calls in a mater of hours….that’s liquidity that the government can’t control!

I appreciate practical but I don’t begrudge loonyism. 😁

In a month I'll be 86. I've two BG rifles left, a 12ga and two .22 LRs. The two BG rifles are a #1 Ruger in .458 Win Mag and a Tikka T3 Lite in 9.3 x 62. The .458 has Mag-na-ports and the 9.3 x 62 is in a shop for a slim-line muzzle break. I handload for each, and have handloaded all centerfire rifles I've ever owned, except one. The first I made handloads for was a converted M98 military rifle to .30-06. The second I made handloads for was a .22 Hornet. Since then I've run the course, pretty well, of most common rifles all the way to three in .458 Win. The most common bore for which I've made handloads is .458-cal., including ten .45-70s, plus the .458 Win Mags. The next most common has been in .300 magnums.

We only got enough elk in our province of Ontario for hunting purposes about a dozen years ago, and I've never gotten a license. But moose in the north and bears everywhere have commanded most of my hunting activities - not all.

But the thing about the .458 Win Mag is its versatility. At the range I've shot many loads of 500s at up to 2300 fps. But this fall season - for deer, black bear and wolf, my load is a 250gr Hornady MonoFlex at 2610 fps. About the same as a hot-loaded 1895 Marlin in .45-70. Recoil from my 10.6 lb Ruger #1 with Mag-na-ports is 23 ft-lbs, or about the same as a .30-06. Too heavy? Does 2 extra pounds make a rifle too heavy? Not if you're in good shape and used to it! Last winter I had a severe attack of arthritis that lasted four months. I could barely hold a cup of coffee! With prayer and good help from a specialist, I'm about 75% free of it!

So, I must be a real "he man"? Not really - in my prime I was 5'-9 1/4" in bare feet at 210 lbs. Today, I'm 5'-8.5" at 160 lbs, and about 86 years in this world... and parts of about 70 of those years in a hunting context of mostly Eastern Canada.

Bob

For more of my experiences and thoughts, you can read:

www.bigbores.ca

I started out with a .22 semi auto for varmints and rabbits, a 12 ga. 2-3/4" pump gun for anything with feathers, and a bolt action .308 for hoofed game. Added a .222 for coyotes and such. That would cover what I actually "need" to this day.
But then I wouldn't have a 16 ga double to hunt with behind my pointing dog, or the .25-06 that is perfect for pronghorns, or the muzzle loader for the early seasons, or the 16x16x7x57R Drilling with .22 WMR insert barrel that is so versatile and ready for anything, or the 12 ga. O/U target shotgun, or the magnum goose gun, or the .44 magnum short barrel lever action carbine that I keep in camp for bear repellent, or the German single shot kipplauf rifle that is so artistic and beautiful and accurate and ergonomic that it is just a joy to carry and to hunt with and to admire when I'm not hunting. And the .450-400 3" Nitro express double rifle that took a cape buffalo in the Caprivi, and needs to go with me on another adventure for something big and dangerous. At least while I still have it, the adventure is something I can plan or dream about. .... What was the question again?

Part Two:

I’ve never been a purist, or a specialist, or a collector as regards guns, and in thinking about it, cartridges have intrigued me as much or more than any platform. In shotguns, SxS’s, then O/U’s, then all others are in order of my interest. I’ve had shotguns from .410 through 12, but no 10 gauge, the biggest impediment to the latter being weight, and I have only hunted geese from blinds twice.

Some like to hunt and the firearm is just a tool to use. Some are interested only in works-of-art firearms, top-dollar guns and not hunting. Some like to hunt with very nice guns. I’m modestly in the latter group, liking to hunt, but with a gun of good quality if not really a piece of top workmanship or an elite gun. Hunting with both shotguns and rifles is available to me, so I’ve always enjoyed both.

While adding a fine O/U was mentioned, and I’m still thinking on it, so are the realities of a septuagenarian crashing (pun intended here) in on me. A month ago, in northern Minnesota, on a fishing trip with my wife, I tripped over a tie-down cleat on a dock. The tibial bone bruise and torn medial meniscus with the accompanying swelling really slowed me on my last pheasant with another three-day trip planned for December. Healing in the seventh decade is measured by a monthly calendar, and aftermarket parts start to add up (rarely as good even in the short term as those God-given). All of it signals to less being more.

However, I still have and use an Anschutz 22, a .223 (an AR — truth be told, an ugly but efficient machine), a CZ 204, a small shop 243, a semi-custom, very light 284 Win, a Ruger American 350 Legend (never would have happened except I’m in Iowa). This summer I hit the off-ramp again and picked up a Savage 99A in 358 Win. (Iowa changed their deer hunting reg’s to include this cartridge).

If I ever go elk hunting again, I have two rifles that would work; for western deer, I have three that would work. Perhaps none would be ideal for either hunt, but they would do.

And then there are the shotguns. And then there is reality.

I believe it was none other than JOC who wrote decades ago (paraphrased) that anyone with a .22 rimfire, 12 gauge, and 3006 could effectively hunt everything and not be disadvantaged.

I take mine to a LGS and sell on 15% consignment

Crimes sake you're 86 almost! Awesome! Now you must PM me and convince meto turn my LH M70 into a 458.

I'm with Bluefish. I too could get by with my 9.3x62, but I can substitute my 7mm-08 and be happy although I would love to have a 7x57.

Since you can buy meat in the market, The most practical solution is no guns at all.

But what would be the fun in that, you say?

Exactly.

ive got about all the rifles i need. a BLR in 308, my dads old 700 308, an old peep sighted model 70 in 30-06, a 700 7mm rem Mag, a 70 Supergrade in 7-08, a semi custom 70 fwt in 280(my pet) and a Christensen Ridgeline in 28 Nosler.

My first rifle cartridge was a 308 Winchester in 1978. I still use it and have yet to find any good reason to change. I have others that are toys, that’s all.

I've always loved that Quigley line. Says a lot.

DF

I killed my first deer with my father's Marlin .30-30, before getting a Savage 99 .308, which I used on my next several deer. It shot VERY well, considering my age and a 4x scope, putting three factory loads into an inch or so at 100 yards. Wish I'd kept it--took a while before I realized how well the .308 works on a wide variety of big game.

I am like most of us here, I grew up with just a couple of 22s in the house and not much else. I have been infatuated with guns since an early age. I never could afford to have many at one time but I have swapped and traded and bought and sold several hundred and perhaps even a 1000 through the years. A few shotguns but early on it was lots of various handguns and then my passion turned to rifles.
I love a fine slim and trim blue walnut and I also almost lust after certain stainless synthetics.
Certainly fine wood with good fit and finish will turn my head as will fine Classic calibers. I love the 30-06 with a passion followed oh so close, or maybe even surpassed by the 7x57. The 9.3x62 is another fine classic and I dote on the 338-06. Funny, I’ve been using a 338 Federal the last few hunts.
I demand my rifles be pleasing to the eye but also accurate. If not with factory loads, then with hand loads. They must be aesthetically pleasing with the scopes mounted low and neat to the rifle. No bases hanging over the ejection port and no high or extended rings. It must look “right”!
I guess my favorites are the older classic rifles showing some use but not abuse and in an old classic cartridge.
That brings me to my latest “last rifle I will ever need”. Through search and swap and purchase, I have put together my latest and greatest “all around rifle”. This one is a Remington mountain Rifle in 7x57 with a nice walnut stock and soon it will be mounted with a Leupold 6x36 gloss scope in Leupold dd mounts.
Perfection! For now.

Now what to do with that Winchester Classic Featherweight in 280? 😁
It never ends. 😳

You look upon the rifles of half a century ago, with their polished blueing and walnut, they were art of an industrial age. You can't say the same of the fiberglass and stainless, let alone the black paint and the plastic.

Good grief!

You should learn to follow your own advice



Don't agonize over intagibles and buy which ever one suit your fancy, unless you are dying in the near future you can buy one and if you don't like it then buy the other.

drover

Would life have been more fulfilling? Think of all the times you were pleased with those choices...or were horrified, discovering that your dream cartridge or firearm was a huge disappointment. Remember the daze before the Internets, when you would discuss your choices with friends. Even the disappointments gave you things to talk about and left some interesting memories. Perhaps it wasn't a firearm, but rather your chunk of the Internets. It may have been the worst thing you have owned.

Have you ever thought about why you bought what you did? Was it a magazine ad campaign? Was it because of a fad like WSMs? Perhaps it was the Interwebs. Maybe a friend, mentor or gunwriter praised a rifle or handgun, so you bought one.

Whatever happened, consider that you led an interesting life! You have some very unique memories!

Add a 223, and I agree.

But it wouldn't be NEAR as much fun!

Now excuse me - I have to go to the gun safe, as I have grandkids to spoil.
Who should get what?

I could have just stuck with my favorite push feed Model 70 Winchester XTR 300 Win Mag, a 22lr and a 12 gauge Remington 870. But I would have not have the interesting trip and the research opportunities that I have had researching guns. I don't think people really recognize the wonder and greatness of living today when we have so many great opportunities to hunt for wonderful guns and those guns that need to move down the road.

People might chime in that I might have gone on more hunting trips if I had just stayed a hunter and not an accumulator. However, I would know a lot less if I hadn't gone on the grail hunt. I also want to get to a place where I have achieved something with that research and hunt.

I am still relatively young and hope to finish what I feel I need for guns.

My experience though no where near yours has brought me to the same conclusion. When I was younger I had to have the latest, greatest magnum. Then one day I was in a local gun shop and bought a JC Higgins M-50 in 30-06. Jeez. I now believe the 30-06 is the greatest cartridge ever designed and if I was starting all over again knowing what I know now, I’d have saved a lot of money and I’m sure I may have been even more successful in my hunting. I now own 3 30-06’s, the JC Higgins and a couple of M-70’s. Down to one magnum and it’s retired.

The 30-06 just works.

Don't say that so loud! You'll conjure up Llama_Bob

I am old, but have reached this point and hope I never do...

I am old, but have reached this point and hope I never do... I think if I had just hunted with the .30-06, I would have quit long ago...

Like several of you I just turned 68 and now I'm wondering what to do with everything in my gun lockers. I got into AR's about 12 years ago and I built way too many of them. My son can't use all of them so I have decided to reduce the numbers. I find I just can't seem to let them go. I built all of them but one and they are like my kids, I don't want to lose one. I have tried trading them but everyone wants to make a killing. I'm finding bolt actions are the direction I want to go. But, I have a .308 and several .223's. I have 3 12gauges and several .22's. Really, what more does a guy need ? I don't want to burden my wife with them and my son only needs a few. He is not a hunter, just a pleasure plinker. I enjoy reloading almost as much as shooting.

Although I remember a day when all I had was a double barrel Stevens 20 gauge and I used it for everything. Deer, pheasants, quail and even duck hunting. My .22 rifle was a Coast to Coast semi auto with a 5 shot "clip" my dad bought for me when I graduated 8th grade. No one in my family owned a gun, hunted or even fished. I had to learn it on my own. I spent many a day off hunting quail and pheasants with friends in fields that are no longer opened to us locals. They are leased out and posted no trespassing. One spot even has a number of houses on it in what used to be an old rail road right of way. Myself and some friends chased out a ton of quail there one day. Man, it was fun !

Like many of you I know I need to downsize in the near future and the wife wants to move to a condo or town home. (what a disgusting idea !) I really don't want to haul all of this stuff across town to a "retirement village" but the day is coming. I know what I need to keep and I know what needs to go but I'm having separation anxiety just thinking about it. They are all works of art to me. My personal treasures.

kwg

I agree with Steve. Some people like cars, coins, horses, saddles, clothes, etc. I like firearms.
I can recall the “reasoning” on most of the purchases. A lot of them was “hmmm, that’s a good deal”. Or, “I really like that rifle, revolver, pistol” or “don’t see many of those anymore”..
Most have been no issues, other than have personal preference modifications done. Some have been a challenge.
I enjoy the firearms, even the ones that I have not gotten around to firing yet.

Shidt, I would've hunted just as much had I been forced to use a 12 gauge slug. I like hunting more than guns

I noticed on my bench two uncompleted project rifles. a 308NM and a 358NM . I should get them done even if I never hunt with them . They are both on P-17s . The P-17s were an affordable pre-war M-70s, same steel , with a better, longer and deep mag. When I started their weight wasn't even remotely an issue . Now with worn out knees, a lot of my hunting uses a quad. They are not quad friendly .

I’m more of a gun nut that hunts.

DF

Younger days, I hunted with several different rifles with different cartridges.When I got older, I figured it out that it didn't matter too much what was on a cartridge head. I said screw this, grab an .06 and go hunting and quit worrying about all that.

I can't remember a time when I thought I had too much gun or not enough.

Old rifles are a cheap restoration projects, at least in comparison to cars and trucks. As kid in high school, instead of a '55 Chevy, I wanted a Dodge Custom Royal 2dr hardtop hemi .My collection wouldn't even come close.

I'd hunt just as much if I never owned a gun again and had to use my Bow for everything

Now, that’s a real hunter.

To me, hunting is the testing ground for my gun projects.

Different strokes.

DF

Yup. Different strokes

60 yo here. For me, 2 308’s (a lightweight Kimber MT and midweight Winchester 70), a Ruger 77/22, Ruger 4” 357 Security Six, and Remington 870 12ga are all the firearms I’ll ever need.

“Need” not a good Loony word.

But I understand your point.

DF

I have all those for myself, and a couple of 6.5 CM’s, 22lr’s, and Glock 9mm for my kids. Dats it.

I’m over firearms…

I don’t think 7ea 30-06’s are too much!
But I worry that there are rifles in the safe that didn’t get to go hunting yet.
Next one out will be the 300 H&H.
I need to acquire and hunt with some older (100+ Year) cartridges.

That's a tough to beat combo.

+1

DF

Agreed,took a while to get there but about ten years ago I decided a 22RF, a 223 and a 30-06 were all I needed for hunting. I've still got three Mausers, a 6.5 Swede a 95 Chilean 7x57, a 8mm 98k and a No 4 Enfield. I use them for informal paper target and steel plate shooting. Still got a few handguns but could easily get by with a Glock 19 and a Buckmark. Shotguns are a 12, 20 and 28. Most of my hunting anymore is late season doves & valley quail with the 28..

Interesting to read and take in what you guys are saying. My father started my love of firearms at a young age. Spent my weekends watching him shoot trap and skeet with his model 12’s and hunt rabbits with his Parker and Fox side by sides. None of which were collector grade, just field grade working guns. Parents gave me a chipmunk 22LR for my fifth birthday and a 870LW Wingmaster 20ga three barrel set for my sixth birthday. Dad gave in a few years later and let me have his Winchester 43 in 218 Bee for groundhog hunting. Received a Remington 700 270 Winchester for a birthday around the age of 10. Used those guns until I had my own means of income to buy others.

Approaching my late 30’s and a few guns later, I realize my old man was setting me up to save money for hunting trips and not guns. However we all know how that works out for guys like us.I have a 5 year old son and began buying him guns before he was born. Hopefully he will share some of the same memories I experienced growing up. My father turns 70 in a couple weeks. Over the past ten years he has resorted back to using the same few rifles/shotguns he used when he was my age.

I’m in the same boat as most of you. I enjoy the search, the load development, the range trips, the hunts and dreams of hunts to come. Bottom line, I just really like firearms. But, hypothetically if I had to sell I could get by with just the bear minimum. I’ll tell you what though, the few that I would have would be some of the finest rifles, shotguns, and pistols you could buy! All the money I’d earn from the sells would go right back into the few.

I'm a youngin at 62. I have many firearms that mean something to me and several that are tools. I bought a PA10 in .308 last year after getting out of the hospital after sixteen days because of covid. I finally took it hunting and took my largest ever WT a couple of weeks ago. I can't see it ever being any more than a tool but who knows. I'm always looking for something else to buy.

I have been a gun guy since I was five and will be until I die.

Have certainly grieved the self-inflicted loss of some favorite rifles.

I can relate to that frame of mind. I don’t look as much for a particular firearm. But, visiting firearm emporiums regularly, they seem to find me. I still enjoy different rifles and cartridges.

While viewing this thread I stopped and did a quick and dirty count of the different cartridges/chamberings for which I've reloaded. I counted 93. I've got the complete upper and two different types of bullet, and when the dies and brass get here for the 350 Legend I'm assembling, that will be 94 (subject to those i've forgot).



I'll be 70 on the 21 of December. Lately I've been thinking about paring down my collection of rifles and knives.

Guess I'm getting old!

ya!

GWB

Geedubya,

What? No 375 Ruger?

You’re not done yet my friend.

And you really need a 404 Jeffery…

Life is short. Live it up. It’s only money.

Seriously, you have a fine collection! (But I am also serious about the 375 Ruger & 404 Jeffery.🙂).

I see two camps on this thread: hunters & gun nuts. Both, are my type of guys (and gals)!

If I had to throw myself into one group or the other, I guess I’m mostly a gun nut, but I love to hunt.

I hunt Moose, Elk, Deer, and Pronghorns in CO & WY. I just returned from my 10th safari in Africa a few days ago, hunting Lion, Buffalo, Hippo, Crock, Eland, Hyena, Kudu and Warthog in the Luangwa Valley of Zambia. I also hunt birds with my Springer Spaniels and I was a field trial gunner for 25 years. So, I really like to hunt/shoot.

But, I own a little under 200 rifles, about 30 shotguns and maybe 50 handguns. Yeah, I’d have to admit to being more of a gun looney.

I’m 70, and like many of you, I am contemplating ‘the end ‘, wondering what to do with my collection. I have no children to pass them on to, so I suppose I’ll just enjoy them to the very end, and then let my wife or remaining family sell them and enjoy the money. It’s just too hard to part with a lifelong passion of collecting and the joy they bring me, whether in the field, or just holding and admiring them in my gun room. And I don’t need the money that I would realize from their sale. I would just feel empty.

As a wore out old man, I will continue to hunt with wore out old rifles and guns. Until I’m a wore out old dead man.

Hero!!!!

At 66 you say the same things I'm feeling but
I do have a daughter who doesn't care to much about guns and atleast 3 nephews who will get some of them...mb

There is wisdom in the old Russian proverb that "Better is the enemy of Good Enough "

Also Hero!!!!

At 66 you say the same things I'm feeling but
I do have a daughter who doesn't care to much about guns and atleast 3 nephews who will get some of them...mb

Getting long in the tooth here also. I feel I’ve been blessed with my health so far and living in rural Iowa. I live on the home farm yet and have all grandkids living within 10 miles. With 500 acres of pasture and timber out my back door it’s been very easy to enjoy hunting and shooting with family. Pretty sure I’ll probably hang on to a safe filled handguns and long guns till I’m planted. Like the old western cowboys would say“ if you don’t show up in a few days we’ll spilt up your gear” ! Probably more enjoyment passing them along in person and watching family enjoy getting one of Grandpa’s neat guns.!,

I know where you can divest yourself of a K95

And that’s the best problem to have lol

A 12ga shotgun is capable of anything on the Planet with the correct load. It may not always be the best choice.
But with a 50cal Sabot Solid Slug I could shoot any of the Big Five, but with any Centerfire Rifle I could not shoot Bobwhite Quail Quail on the fly.
Yes the versatility of a 12ga is unmatched.

The Sectional density for the 12 gauge sabot slugs is about 1/2 of what is recommended for dangerous heavy game. I would make sure you have your affairs in order before that safari.

The late, great shotgunner Bob Brister (who was also a very good big game hunter) once made a bet during a safari that he could kill a mature Cape buffalo bull with his over-under 12-gauge bird gun and Brenneke slugs, which are among the highest-rated. He won the bet.

Never said it couldn’t, or hasn’t been done. Advisable, is another story altogether.

I would offer however it’s a good thing there aren’t cape buffalo and rogue elephants lurking in the upper Mississippi River for hunters armed only with 12 gauge slugs to do battle with.

I don't have the collection that many here have, but have rifles ranging from a couple of flyweight mountain rifles to a few big boomers. Nevertheless, it seems when I pack up for a hunting trip, whether to the Brooks Range or to the Lost Coast or anywhere in between, nearly 100% of the time, I grab my 300H&H. Even shot several plainsgame with it in Zimbabwe. As Forrest Gump would say, we go together like peas and carrots.

I doubt I'll be clearing much inventory anytime soon, because I do enjoy the others. They just aren't the workhorse for me that the H&H is.

Yup 12gas are pretty horrible DG guns. The sectional density is not there. The .45-70, .458 WM/Lott, and various medium bores all have more to offer for NA.