How fast did your collection grow?

[Stevie-Ray]

Very slowly. The most prolific I've ever been was 3 guns over a one year period.

[Joe_Pike]

When I first started buying firearms again I averaged about one per month. Now I've sold off much of what I had and would sell most of the rest if it wasn't for the fact that they keep going up in value.

[Cosmodragoon]

Despite increases in permit applications, the anti-gun propagandists have long tried to write off booming sales by saying it's just the guys in this thread.

Whether collecting cool pieces of history, beautiful works of modern machinery, varied means of protection, different tools for hunting, or the next edge for competition; we are the enthusiasts. What else would you expect on a gun forum?

I grew up with guns and used to shoot on weekends with my grandfather. I inherited a couple of his guns when he passed. I bought one or two when I came of age. Just over the last seven or eight years, I've bought one every Christmas. Otherwise, anything new coming in has bumped something else out in trade.

[A pause for the COZ]

I also look at it this way.
I am now in my 50's, Kids are out, House about paid.
Just making up for all the Guns the wife made me sell when we needed diapers and payday was a week away.

My turn....
Safer any way than a Red Head and a new Mustang.

[Cosmodragoon]

Safer any way than a Red Head and a new Mustang.

Yeah, and the former usually ends up costing at least twice as much as the latter. That shiny new revolver is cheaper and a lot more reliable.

[Nathan c]

all I have to say I need to stop woching youtube gun videos lol

[weblance]

When Im on a roll... its one gun a month. Only twice in my life have I bought 2 guns in one day.

[bedbugbilly]

LOL All of us are afflicted by the sickness! There is no cure!

As my wife got near retirement, I knew it was time to get rid of a lot of my "long-guns". We wee hoping to do some traveling, etc. and after all, I didn't shoot most of them. So, I consigned and sold off my long-guns. That's where I went wrong. With the money I got from them, I made the mistake of looking at what the gun shop had "on line" that was disposing of my rifles, etc. So . . I purchased a new-fangled 1910 Colt Army Special. From there "it went downhill". That Colt lead to some vintage Smiths, then Rugers . . . it just became an addiction! sIs had shot black powder for 50 years and once I got the first Colt - I started re-loading. That's a whole other "addiction" unto its own not to mention casting and bullet molds!

But . . . it's a hobby. Now, I'm looking at thinning my hand-gun "herd" and just concentrating on a couple SA revolvers and the several CCWs that I carry.

If you "can stop at just one" . . . I have all the respect in the world for you. . . but hand-guns are a lot like potato chips . . . after the first one, you can't stop.

[Stevie-Ray]

If you "can stop at just one" . . . I have all the respect in the world for you. . . but hand-guns are a lot like potato chips . . . after the first one, you can't stop.

A truer statement was never opined!

[Marty8613]

Bought my 1st December 2013 after not having a gun of my own in 20 years. Looks like I am averaging one gun every 2-3 months. I have nearly all the ones I want, just 2 more (yeah right). Next up..... Motorcycles

[Grant D]

Five years ago when I got my CHL I had five handguns. Now I have thirty five!
I've also added a few rifles and shotguns to the mix, you know, for home defense. lol
And still looking for good deals on handguns.

[Webleymkv]

I got my first handgun a little over 11 years ago (dang it doesn't seem like it's been that long) and I'm now up to 22. The rate of growth, however, has not been steady as it's depended on what I'm interested in and how much disposable income I have at the time. The most rapid growth has been in the last two years because I graduated college and got a much higher paying job (I've added 9 in two years ).

[Skeets]

I was born loving to shoot and hunt.Then came a great job and becoming friends with like-minded people.Then came constant hunting trips and shooting activities.All the while,buying more and more specialized guns.Being fortunate to live a relatively healthy life led to my collection.

[Ryu825]

In September 2013 I bought my first gun for self defense, a beretta 92fs centurion. Not two years later, I now have 16. I plan on buying a ksg, a pocket pistol and a scoped rifle, and maybe a sa revolver to fill in the gaps and then stop for awhile.. See how long that lasts lol

[kilimanjaro]

My collection grew in fits and starts, I think the only limitation I placed on it's rate of growth was availability of discretionary funds, my desire to own a particular specimen, and the quality of the guns offered.

30 years active purchasing, over 150 guns.

It's not a bad thing to have limited funds. Could be looking at a new wing of the house, or some such thing.

The rate we acquire doesn't really matter, time is the key. Valuable collections are built over decades by knowledgeable collectors spending significant sums. That could be $300 or $3000 each time, persistence is what gets you there. Just two nice pieces a year for 25 years is fifty guns.

[JWT]

Owned three long guns and one revolver for about 40 to 50 years. Then I retired, took up trapshooting and target shooting as hobbies. 'Collection' has grown mostly in the last 15 years. Fortunately my spouse is very tolerant when she hears another has joined the 'family'.

[unixfool]

I went from zero to eleven handguns in seven months. I've been idle since then (at least with gun purchases).

[pgdion]

There's always a long wish list. But mine grew at a slow steady rate of about 2 per year. Nothing wrong with knowing what the next gun will be well in advance though. : -)

[Dead]

8 in one days. they are all gone now, off to a better home

[highpower3006]

For many years I only had a few as other interests gobbled up my time and money. Then I picked up a '03 Springfield that needed some help and my intrest shifted over to US military firearms.

Since then the collection has waxed and waned depending on whether I needed money for a big ticket item like a house. For the last five years it has enjoyed a steady increase. Then I moved to Nevada and I bought something like 17 guns in five months.

I have slowed down a bit lately though...

[22-rimfire]

I was in my early 20's when the handgun bug bit me. I was out of college and working with enough money, but not lots of money. I started with a H&R 22 revolver and moved to a Colt 22 revolver in a couple years. I didn't know much about handguns then. Those were my only two handguns for about five years.

Things got more stable and I started going larger caliber and buying at a rate of about 3-4 firearms a year. As time progressed, when I got the bug again, I was generally averaging about one gun a month.

To this day, I still think center fire ammunition is expensive. I go out shooting, come home, and think to myself, I just shot away $50 or $100 worth of ammunition.... that pained my sense of proportion.

If you don't sell them, they pile up pretty quickly. Buy good stuff. Don't sell unless you have no use for the gun, don't like it, or have very hard financial choices to make.

[Cyanide971]

Originally Posted by bedbugbilly

LOL All of us are afflicted by the sickness! There is no cure!

If you "can stop at just one" . . . I have all the respect in the world for you. . . but hand-guns are a lot like potato chips . . . after the first one, you can't stop.

I've an addiction lol.

Mine started after the first time I separated from active duty. Nothing fancy, just a plain-Jane Beretta 92 FS like the M9 I had carried. Over the next several years I also picked up a Beretta 96 D Centurion, Stoeger 8040 Cougar, Ruger P95 DAO, and Ruger P95 DC.

Unfortunately, after a couple of very bad life events I had to get rid of them all. Fast forward a few years after getting things squared away and back on track, and I've gone hog wild the last couple of years!!!

Current (includes those on layaway awaiting their freedom):
• Gen 4 Glock 19
• (2) CZ 100 (Adj. & Fixed sight model)
• Sig P320C
• Sig P250C
• Beretta PX4 D
• Beretta PX4 SC (*Layaway)
• FNH FNS-9 (*Layaway)

Prior acquisitions (all 9mm unless noted):
• (2) Walther PPQ (9mm & .40 model)
• Walther P99 AS
• Walther P99C AS
• Walther P99 QA
• S&W SW99 QA
• S&W M&P Shield
• Ruger SR9C
• Beretta 8000 D Cougar
• Gen 3 Glock 19
• Gen 4 Glock 26
• Taurus PT-111 Millennium Pro
• Taurus PT-111 Millennium G2
• Taurus 24/7 G2 Compact
• Steyr C9-A1
• Steyr S9-A1
• HK P30 V2 LEM
• (2) HK P2000 V2 LEM
• HK P2000SK V2 LEM
• Grand Power P1 Mk7
• Sig P229 (*Unplanned, emergency sale)
• Sig P250 SC (*Also an unplanned sale)
• (2) CZ P-07 (Duty & 2014 Model)
• CZ P-01
• CZ 2075 D
• Tanfoglio Witness P (Small Frame)
• Sar K2P

[Morgo]

Around 5-10 handguns a year for 10 or so years

[leadcounsel]

It's an addictive hobby. Just when you have enough, you stumble on a deal you can't resist.

[22-rimfire]

"Enough" is usually just a temporary lull in the storm. Yes, to finding something that you couldn't resist and its often something you really have no idea of the value.