Or do you stop buying everything when money is tight?

As for me, I buy parts, brochures, stock, barrels, anything to keep it rolling.

I may be addicted to Savages. You?

I buy sights, parts, scopes, guns on layaway, etc..when money is tight.

When I find what I want, especially in front of me, I try to buy it.

I dig Savages too, as you know.

I would like to experience a time when funds are long, but all in all I manage to keep a roof over my head. I can and have done worse and I am grateful for what I have. But to give you a frank answer when funds are short there simply isn’t anything to fuel the gun furnace, so I don’t. Or more accurately said, I can’t. That doesn’t stop me from looking but those periods really square up my perspective on what in this world is truly necessary. For guns and everything else. And when times are flush I always try to remember a bit of that. And besides, you know what they say about the man who can only afford one Savage 99.

..this.., says it all, Thank You..., especially, " I can and have done worse, and I am grateful for what I have.)

People ask me why I keep working. I collect a pension, and SSA monies. THAT is my gun money. I call in my gun a month fund. When the election infection broke out and the local banks panicked and required a mask and appointment to enter, my wife and I yanked 95% of what we had in there. Stuffed it all in a safe where we have control over it. I am much closer to the end than the beginning and when I am gone my wife will be on her own. There will be no one to help her. She will have the house, a fairly good 401K (if the f u ckin gubberment leaves it alone) and my social security which goes up every year I work. At least she will be secure in that respect. Every gun I own is documented so she knows the value of each one. In 49 years, I have traded ONE rifle, sold ONE rifle, both to members here.

My gun buying days are about over, although I still watch the market closely. I have more guns than I could ever hunt with now. What I really need at this point in my life is more time and $ to hunt. I've still got more wild places to see, more game to pursue. At 57 I know my time left to climb mountains is running short

Every time I get the urge to buy a gun now I go look at the ones I have and set that money aside into my future hunt money.

Scaling down as I write this, but still buy stuff I like.

THAT'S IT. In a nutshell, Randy. At 75 I am much closer to the end than I am the start. You go now while everything is comfortable.

Hi. I'm Calhoun and I've been gun purchasing free for 4 months.

<applause>

That's funny and it about got a snort of coffee out my nose this morning!

*There is help available to those that find themselves in this position. Please see the .338 Federal thread.

I said I was scaling back, but I've bought a dozen this year. Only one deer rifle though, the rest were target guns and pistols. Anything that gets sold from here on out are deer rifles because I've long since crawled over my last mountain. Pretty much why I'm not buying Savages as I always looked upon them as merely really neat tools.

When monies get short I try to eliminate one end 0 on allotted funds to spend. But that don't work most of the time. I'm just redistributing my daughter's inheritance and makin sure they shoot ok.

No such thing as short money when the right Savage 99 / 1899 comes along. Right ones are far and few between, few out their that I am still looking for. GW

Haven’t bought much lately. I’ve been busy building deer lease stuff, pig traps, etc

No matter what, when the right gun falls in front of me I try to figure out how to buy it.
I know, it's an illness!
I'm 61, Not sure when I'll flip the switch....

Hey, I too hail from the class of 77. Don't go looking for that switch too soon!

I'll tell you how good at it I am getting. One of the only guns I thought I might buy if I ever found one was a 250A saddle gun with a 22' barrel. Only made them in that configuration about 3 years. I can't get my head wrapped around a 250 with a 20" barrel but that is another story for another day.

Found one. Even talked to Gary about it. Went and looked at the 4 beautiful 250's I have right now that have never hunted and passed on the rifle. Put the $ in the lets go hunting fund.

I sold a rifle this year, and have bought 3 pistols, one on Monday. Might pick up a 303 project to go with the 13 box's of factory ammo, and a bunch of hand loads.

Didn't when I still had kids at home and wearing a badge enforcing the law, started buying more as a heavy equipment operator, but I think I've bought more since I went on "self imposed unemployment" four years ago. What's that you may think? When yer in yer 20's. 30's, early 40's and some guy ya know or work with retires in his late 60's or even early 70's, ya kind of regard him as a 'old guy'. Well I worked until 68 and wasn't gonna think of myself as an 'old guy' retiring, so I just went on 'self imposed unemployment'. Try to stay active doing what I've always done, slowed on a bit in some areas though. Have good longevity genes from both parents and 14 aunts and uncles. Most people that don't know me think I'm in my late fifties, early 60's. Can buy now and still live comfortably, but not to excess. Sale of land from my parents farm and wife parents kinda give ya a bit of freedom. What isn't invested in crap I don't really understand doesn't make squat sitting in a bank with what interest that pays, buying select firearms that I like will bring more return than the paltry sum it gets sitting in a bank.

Not trying to be braggadocios, but "Remember Opal, you asked me"! --------HUH? Back in the 50'-60's, a guy named Tommy Collins released a song called "Opal, You Asked Me". About a guy that got fed up with his less than charming wife and told her he was leaving. She asked him why and the unnamed guy went into a whole list of reasons. After giving every reason that made him sick of her he stated "Remember Opal, you asked me"! Used to listen to that on a late night radio, believe it was 970 AM--the 'Charley Douglas Road Gang' out of Slidell, Louisiana at night while on patrol. It's in cyber space if yer curious and want to hear it. It's a 'hoot' to listen to. Rambled enough.

When I'm low on gun/fun money (which is always) I buy "parts guns" and parts and make guns outa them. This is very hard in CA now because state fees are often as much as the "gun" itself, even if it is just a bare stripped receiver.

Our genius legislators always seem to write laws that favor new guns and "stocking dealers" over small dealers who usually deal in used guns, and hobbyists who work with them. Now, I wonder why that is? I guess those 20th Century models are just so much more dangerous to their beloved public.....

The older I get, the less things I find I want. For the past bit, I've been really squirreling money away for retirement. I'm 47, but lately, I feel and think much older than that.

Once I paid off my mortgage in 2015 I had some fun filling out my gun collection. I have scaled back since I started what I call my “aggressive savings plan” in 2018. I will reach my savings goal at the end of 2022. The other thing that has slowed my buying is I’m running out of space! That being said...I have purchased two long guns in the past five days: A Savage model 3 single shot .22 that belonged to my girlfriend’s grandfather I picked up at her dad’s estate auction on Saturday for $60. Today I stopped in a local gun store and spotted a nearly pristine Stevens model 94 20 gauge with Tenite stocks on the rack and fell in love with it. $200, but I like to support the my local dealers once in a while.

I am starting a new job on Monday that will be a 40% increase in pay over my last job, so I should be able to buy the 3 or 4 guns on my wish list next year...if I can figure out where to put them!

This spring Randy and Roy both tipped me off on a really nice 250 K, and had to pass, the gun fund was in the red. Two years ago a good friend retired and moved to a gated community in Myrtle Beach. He was going to leave his garage queen $12,000 JD X540 with the house. I dumped my $2500 gun fund into the JD. Just can't pass up tractor with a 48" snow blower and Cyclone leaf vac, for $2500. Then last spring an other friend sold me his $15,000 dollar diesel, 4X4 front end loader for $2000. Just paid him off 2 weeks ago. My gun fund is back to a little over $2000, so the search for a K will be back in gear soon. I'm going to try not to dip into it until I find another K, I have a 300 K, so I only need 4 more.

My dad was a die hard John Deere man from the waning days of the 105 combine to when he finally retired at 74. He was a mechanic and specialized in making rice combines outperform their factory specs. So I can appreciate your diversion of gun funds into a good green tractor. "Nothing Runs Like A Deere" pretty much feed, clothed and provided shelter for me while growing up.