Too Many Hunting Rifles

[wind gypsy]

I'm having similar thoughts as the OP and going to list a few for sale here shortly. The more and nicer guns i get, the less reason I have for owning a bunch of "meh" guns that i never shoot.

I'd rather have 5 really nice rifles than 20 ho hum rifles.

 

[Mr Drysdale]

I have thought about selling some off but just can’t do it. I’m a good buyer and poor seller. The only thing on the wish list is a 20 gauge over under. The safe is slap full!

 

[TxxAgg]

Less is more. Don't let your things own you.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I kept mine and they became birthday gifts to my kids.

 

[Red Letters]

I never thought I would say it but, I’m thinking the same. I’ve got a safe full of weatherbys, Remingtons etc, these were all bought before owning these new light weight, custom hot rods everyone is buying and building now was a thing.
I want one of the new ones, just can’t decide if keeping guns I know I’ll never shoot again makes sense.

 

[JeffRaines]

When I was young and single with no kids, I had hunting rifles like someone has golf clubs. I had rifles for short range stand hunting, mid-range, long range, you name it. At one point, I had enough rifles in .284 bore to be able to shoot 140gr bullets in 100fps increments from 2800 to 3300fps.

Now that I’m married with kids, I find myself somewhat limited on time and money to reload, shoot, and even hunt. At first, honestly, I was a little resentful.

Now, being a husband/dad is as important to me as anything. Turns out my family is pretty entertaining. So, I’m thinking I should focus on a couple of rifles and maybe ditch a bunch of the other stuff.

Have any of you gone through a big sell-off or downsize? Regrets?

I recently went through my gun safe and did the same thing. I didn’t have near as many as you do, but my logic was the same - I have these rifles sitting in my safe collecting dust because I typically grab the one and that’s the one I hunt everything with.

Add in family, work, homeownership and a wife and as you mentioned, I didn’t have time to shoot or reload for all of them on top of fishing, hunting, scouting, camping etc...

I sold most of them off and the proceeds went into my savings - save for upgrades for my main rifle. I upgraded the stock with a nice AG and called it good.

I’d do it over again, too. Much more convenient, and now when tags come up I don’t feel so pinched buying out of state.

 

[Red Letters]

Not trying to high jack, I talked to a friend today, he got a call from another friend, someone they know passed away and has a huge gun and car collection. The guys brother is taking the cars, looks like my buddy is task with sorting through and selling over a thousand guns and no telling how much ammo. His wife just said she wants it all gone. I told him to make an account here and sent him a link just a few hours ago.
I guess that kind of fits this conversation, don't be that guy.

 

[coldchow]

As a younger man I wanted more stuff, guns included. Now that I have many grandchildren, I give guns to them. My 4 sons have all the guns they'll need and I'm giving each grandchild whatever their dads want them to have. I'm keeping the same 30-06 I've used since 1996. I love elk hunting and go on a top notch guided elk hunt every year. I've no need for more guns, the 30-06 works every time.

 

[PlanoDano]

I am almost done with this now. For bolt action center-fire I have gotten down to 2 hunting and 1 practice. Remaining for now are 7mm-08 tikka and 7 rem mag browning. I practice with a CZ .223, I have gotten rid of support for a lot of cartridges including .270 and .308. Still debating if I am going to stay with those 2 hunting cartridges.

 

[aschuler]

I'm having similar thoughts as the OP and going to list a few for sale here shortly. The more and nicer guns i get, the less reason I have for owning a bunch of "meh" guns that i never shoot.

I'd rather have 5 really nice rifles than 20 ho hum rifles.

Me too. I've been trying to emphasize quality over quantity and not just fill my safe(s) up with all the "good deals" that come along. They are hard to turn down though.

 

[kaboku68]

Most of the people my age are still buying and selling guns. They might have 3 or 4 guns and they treat them like yard tools. They probably have two or three rifles and they know very little about them other than general knowledge about the caliber. Jim Williams was a PE teacher out in Delta. When he shed his mortal coil collectors and dealers from across the USA came. His family realized a profit of 450,000 dollars after they had accounted for guns for family members. The key is that he bought low and sold high and knew what a good deal was. A very good custom smith moved into the community and Jim would get the smith to make him uncheckered custom guns on Pre-64 actions in various calibers. Some people do this with cars, motorcycles, art, even cards but guns have a special attraction to me. Most of the adults in my life would talk about people who had good collections. They might sell a couple to go to Africa but you find people who really have good taste will find a way to build up a collection over their life. Part of my problem is that I love the research and knowledge about rifles that can create an informational advantage that people who develop a knowledge base that gives you an edge on sales. I moved on from safes a long time ago. I have a couple rifles from my father but most of the guns that I own are ones that I saved for and researched and then worked into deals for. You have a family and are living in an age that seems to want to get to the future rather than savor the traditions of the past. You are on this forum and and can tell from your threads that you like wood and blued steel. You might have a SS / Synthetic custom hammer for bad conditions but I just gauge that you have some fair weather rifles. I have liked this line since I was young. So it is natural for me. People who I still look up to have the same good taste. This is just my view, so take it as you like. I can tell you that if I drive a kia or a Toyota Rav4 up to the range that has a number of Ram or Ford full size trucks. They pull out a black rifle and pepper the range. They come over quickly when I pull a Cooper, a JOC Model 70 270, or a MS with set triggers and shoot itty bitty groups. It is good to have taste in any thing that you develop a fancy for. There are people who hunt with harpoons up here but having some very nice things that stand the test of time is something that I aspire to.

 

[BraedenD93]

In all reality, anything I’d shoot with a centerfire rifle could be done with a 30-06. I have two M70s in 30-06, one pre-64 and a newer stainless model. The pre-64 gets a diet of 180gr Partitions while the stainless gets 168gr TTSXs.

Then again, I have two Christensen Mesas (308 and 300 Win Mag) that give me a little variety without sacrificing versatility.

I still have the 7mm-08, 7x57, 280, 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm STW.....

And then there are 243s, 6.5 Creedtards, 270s.....and that’s just the bolt guns!

Maybe I’ll do as you say and just clean and oil them and lock them away.

How do you like the Mesa's ? Ive been on the fence between that and doing a semi custom tikka.

 

[BraedenD93]

I am almost done with this now. For bolt action center-fire I have gotten down to 2 hunting and 1 practice. Remaining for now are 7mm-08 tikka and 7 rem mag browning. I practice with a CZ .223, I have gotten rid of support for a lot of cartridges including .270 and .308. Still debating if I am going to stay with those 2 hunting cartridges.

For me 7 Mag wins every time.

 

[MeatMissile]

How do you like the Mesa's ? Ive been on the fence between that and doing a semi custom tikka.

Honestly, it’s a lot of rifle for the money. The stock is trim and the grip is fairly long, which are both things I like. My 300 comes in at 8 1/2 lbs field-ready, which is perfect for me because I use it in open country where shots are longer and it’s easier to make steady. Fit and finish is great. The brake is effective enough while not being too loud.

 

[JSearles562]

I’ve recently undergone a similar transition. I was married and had over a dozen nice sporting rifles and shotguns, half dozen different handguns and a few vintage military arms. I was proud of my collection but divorces are expensive so all but my great grandfathers rifle was sold off. It took a few years to get back on a solid financial foundation and my collection of firearms was back with a vengeance. I had a handful of nice bolt action rifles, 2 shotguns, 3 handguns and a pair of semi auto rifles. Like the OP I’m a father. I’m engaged with another little one on the way. This past summer I consolidated my collection and took that opportunity to upgrade once and for all. I kept an upland shotgun and a .22, sold off everything else and bought the nicest hunting rifle I could get my hands on; a Mark V backcountry 2.0 280ai. That rifle covers 99% of the big game hunting I will ever do in my lifetime. And for the 1% remaining I have a Ruger African chambered for .375ruger. (I also only own one ccw piece anymore). I’m not looking back. All the money I’m not spending on guns and ammo, I can save to make memories with the family and afford to travel to hunt. Throughout my 20s I sold a lot of guns and often regretted it later. But what I don’t regret is the shift in my entire attitude. From a collector of sorts to a utilitarian rifleman. No longer do I suffer from indecision over rifle and cartridge before a hunt, no longer stocking 15 different types of ammunition. Life is best lived simply. I say go for it.

 

[General RE LEE]

I have three 6.5 Creedmoors
One 6.5 PRC
One 308
One 30-06
One 7mm STW

and a few shotguns. I’m good and considering selling one of the Creedmoors and the STW.

Sell some guns and buy a fish tank or take up causal crack smoking.

 

[allstajacket]

When I was young and single with no kids, I had hunting rifles like someone has golf clubs. I had rifles for short range stand hunting, mid-range, long range, you name it. At one point, I had enough rifles in .284 bore to be able to shoot 140gr bullets in 100fps increments from 2800 to 3300fps.

Now that I’m married with kids, I find myself somewhat limited on time and money to reload, shoot, and even hunt. At first, honestly, I was a little resentful.

Now, being a husband/dad is as important to me as anything. Turns out my family is pretty entertaining. So, I’m thinking I should focus on a couple of rifles and maybe ditch a bunch of the other stuff.

Have any of you gone through a big sell-off or downsize? Regrets?

I’m still young-ish (30) and have gone through a few major sell-offs. Interests change over time, and situations change. Overall I’ve been financially stable but difficult times have happened. When I was 18/19 and living at home I had a decent job and spent everything on guns. Suddenly has to move out and sold everything to put a down payment on a house. I do wish a few of them would still be with me, but overall I don’t regret it.

Now with a family and 2 kids, my guns mostly need to have a specific purpose/job, with the exception of a few historical pieces.


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[Pony Soldier]

My old hunting partner had a hunting collection that was small and stable. On the other side he had a transitory collection that was funded by other peoples divorces, children, etc. He bought them cheap to reasonable and sold them at a profit with no emotion.

On the other hand I purchased mine based on need at the time. As new models appeared I upgraded. Not a lot but I have nearly every gun I have ever owned. I have a particular attraction for gold enlay and beautiful engraving. I guess it is something to look at while I am sitting under a tree in a blizzard.

 

[letrbuck]

I've started my sell off and just had kid #2, most of mine are shotguns though.

The last two really nice shotguns I bought were from widows whose husbands had lots of guns that they wouldn't part with. Both had similar stories of their husband saying things like "these are our retirement" or "investments" etc. I got both guns for great deals and offered to pay more, but both widows were happy for the price and to just start clearing out guns that had no value to them. If you dont know a lot about guns (these widows) they're a pain in the ass to sell for what theyre worth, especially if they are nicer/rarer. This kinda hit home for me. There are guns that I will always hunt with and use, and there are other guns that are really cool to have and say I own but won't necessarily take out of the safe much.

So I'm starting to sell some of those to fund family and make room for youth guns if my kids take on an interest for hunting and shooting

 

[KoolBreeze]

Don't do it. You will kick yourself later. Notice prices, rifles aren't getting cheaper. Resale value is tough get even in this market. Mark my words... Stay strong.

I’m with him. I have rifles I don’t even like but still won’t part with them.