[ScottRiqui]

I realize that most of you probably had this realization many years ago, so please forgive the ramblings of a relative "newbie".

My first pistol (and still my favorite) was a S&W M&P .38 from 1930 or so. It literally had to "do it all" - I took it to the range, I carried it, and it stayed loaded in a lockbox in my bedroom.

I bought a Glock 19 with the idea of having a smaller, higher-capacity carry gun that would still "do it all". I ended up being so impressed with it that I gave it to my father because I wanted him to have something that was reliable and easy to shoot well.

Then came the Springfield EMP .40 S&W. It was another "do it all" gun, and it's my current EDC. The S&W .38 still stays loaded in the lockbox, because it's the gun that my wife feels most comfortable with if anything goes wrong while I'm gone.

Then a change happened - I started buying guns that weren't necessarily an "improvement" over what I already had.

First was a Beretta 84BB. It has a light frame, and 13+1 of .380 isn't bad at all for a carry gun, but I've never actually carried it. But it's a beauty, it's reliable and I shoot it well at the range.

My wife was interested in a "pink" gun, so a Walther P22 joined the stable. It got her interested in shooting, and it works well enough, but she's since taken over the Ruger (described later), so the Walther sits in the safe. I still bring it out as a non-threatening "first pistol" for friends who express an interest in learning to shoot, so it's not useless.

Of course, I had to get a Walther PPK eventually - it was an "early love", dating back to when I watched my first James Bond film. At 6+1 of .380, it's no high-capacity powerhouse, and frankly, it's a heavy chunk of steel for a pocket gun. But I still love it.

At this point, I started feeling bad that I didn't have a 1911, so I bought a Remington R1. Dimensionally, it's identical to my EMP except for the extra two inches on the front, It carries one less round than the EMP, but in a slightly larger caliber. So, it really didn't fill any kind of empty "niche", functionally-speaking, but I like the way it looks and feels, and it also gave me an excuse to start reloading a new caliber.

Somewhere along the line, I also got a Ruger MkIII "Hunter". With an 8" barrel and being chambered in .22lr, it was never going to be anything other than a range toy, but I'm okay with that now. That also means that if I want to hang a red dot optic off of it, that's fine - it's not as if I'm going to be concealing it.

Finally, I picked up a Browning Hi-Power. This was another "purchase of love", although I told myself that with several thousand pieces of 9mm brass lying around and the Glock long gone, I should really have *something* chambered in 9mm. But when I was looking at buying extra mags, it dawned on me that the 10-rounders would be just fine, since I'm probably ever only going to shoot it at the range.

So while I don't have a "collection", I'm well on my way to an "accumulation", and it's liberating to be able to buy something without having to convince myself that I somehow "need" it, or that the prospective new purchase is somehow "better" than the guns I already have.

Long guns are another story. I'm still at the "one shotgun, one .22, and one AR" stage. But I'm starting to think it would be nice to have another AR, this time with a flat top for an optic of some type...