How fast did your collection grow?

[Lee6113]

I purchased my first handgun a few days ago and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. And yet I already seem to be looking at getting another. And another.

Anyone have stories like this?

[JimmyR]

My first pistols came after my father passed away, and I inherited 2 of his guns (also roughly the same time I joined TFL). That was back in 2011. In the 4 years since, I have purchased more guns than I care to count, and sold quite a few of them to buy more. Now, I'm up to about 13 handguns and rifles.

[Blindstitch]

I had and was satisfied with owning 2 rifles and a shotgun till two years ago. I had enough on hand to shoot deer and birds. Then I was given the chance to buy guns from my grandpa's estate. I bought 8 rifles and was gifted 2. Along with that my dad gave me a 22magum rifle and I bought a 20 gauge shotgun. With a big portion of my safe being filled I bought three hand guns.

So what's that. 3 to 18 in mostly a year.

[peggysue]

Over 40 years and over 300 firearms.

[A pause for the COZ]

hehehe you poor lost child.

I seriously made a commitment to having purchased my last fire arm until ( what ever it was I decided was appropriate at the time)
That was 7 or is it 10 fire arms ago?I loose count.
I blame Ruger.. They found my button. Then Palmetto decided to sell an AR10 for $699 Oh Lord help me.. I am weak... And who the heck would sell a Smith Model 14 target Masterpiece for $400?? What ya gona do, have to buy it.
Then i decide I need a little more caliber in my carry piece. Hence the XD's 45 on layaway.
Its hopeless.

[SaxonPig]

It snowballs. Got my first pistol around 1969. By 1990 I had maybe 20 handguns. Now I no longer count how many guns I have, I count how many safes I have.

[BigJimP]

I inherited a few guns ( shotguns, rifles, handguns ) thru the family over the years...maybe 6 guns total ...( from 1960 thru 1999 ) or so....

In about 2000, I decided I needed a few more shotguns for competition ....and I just wanted a few more handguns....but my focus was on higher quality guns that I really wanted to collect ... S&W revolvers, Sig Sauers and 1911's...../ and in the last 15 yrs I've added about 25 handguns and 25 shotguns...( accumulating the guns that I want - prior to retiring in a couple of years )...

[MFitz]

2 years ago - more or less to the day - 1 owned 3 firearms:

Ruger Mk II pistol I had just inherited from my father-in-law
An old Remington bolt-action .22LR my FIL gave me about a year earlier
A Lee Enfield No.4 Mk 1 I purchased myself back in 2006 but had not actually fired due to some health issues.

Today, 2 years on the collection stands I think at 19 and until a recent accident I shot regularly.

[Cheapshooter]

Although not so "enabling" nowadays, just don't get a C&R FFL! When the milsurp distributors had lots of variety, and really low prices, I seemed to be seeing the UPS driver deliver a gun to my house at least once a month!!!!!

[aarondhgraham]

In 2007 I owned a .22 pistol,,,
It's 2015 and I now own 54 firearms.

That's a loose approximation of one every 2 months.

I've slowed down quite a bit,,,
It's been three whole months since I got my last one.

Aarond

.

[lee n. field]

I purchased my first handgun a few days ago and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. And yet I already seem to be looking at getting another. And another.

Anyone have stories like this?

I can't afford to buy like that.

Mine started very slowly, from simple personal poverty. It took literally years to stash away the $200 a Taurus 66 cost in the late '80s, when I bought mine.

These days the collection is in slow churn. I might one per year, and I try to have at least some justification for what I might acquire.

[skizzums]

I had one gun from 18-28 years old, shot it once. in the last 4 years since I actually started shooting have went from 1 to 13. for the first time I am satisfied with my collection and not seeking anything else. I know I want to build an expensive long-range rifle, but not now. I don't feel I have the experience yet to know what I would really want out of a custom long-range build, i'm thinking maybe 1-2 years from now. after that, I think i'll truly be "done". I always drool and dream over awesome revolvers and custom pistols, but I would never actually buy one.

[Dragline45]

I usually only buy a gun a year. I am only 27 and school loans on top of other bills limit how much I can buy, and to make matters worse I am going back to school for my masters degree in the next year or so. On top of that I am making a career change from business to education, I find office jobs miserable, and High School teachers don't make a fortune so even in the future I won't be buying more than 1 or 2 guns a year. I only own 7 guns now, but I have owned about 20 in total since I buy, sell, and trade alot. I don't consider my guns I accumulated a collection since I am not a collector, each one serves a specific purpose, as will any gun in the future I buy. I Don't believe in safe queens or buying guns solely for collectors value.

[BigMikey76]

I inherited an old martini action .22 and a Win 94 when my FIL passed back in 2010. They were my first. Within a couple of months I had purchased a semi-auto .22 and a 7mm08. I got into deer and rabbit hunting, and I thought I was done. Then I decided to open a food truck, and CC moved onto my radar. I sold the Win 94 and the 7mm08 (I only went deer hunting a couple of times, and I don't enjoy it nearly as much as bagging the bunnies) and bought my first handgun. Before I even received it through my FFL, I was looking at another. Two months later, I owned 2 handguns. It is now about 3 months since my second handgun purchase, and I have 3 more that I am looking at for my next purchase... It never ends.

[Cousin Pat]

Might be fun to set some "parameters" then collect as budget (wife?) permits, e.g. "collection limited to 22lr rimfire, 3 revolver calibers (38/357, 44m, 45lc), 3 pistol (9m, 40sw, 45acp) and these quality names of SW, Ruger, Browning, Beretta, Colt, Sig and HK". You could go further to some classic specific models, eg., Browning HP, SW 27, Ruger Redhawk/Blackhawk, Colt SAA, Sig 226, etc.

[Lee6113]

So far I'm looking at buying a second gun so my wife has one also, and then I'd like a gp100 .357, and an HK. If my wife likes the XD mod 2 enough maybe that'll be her gun and I can get an HK USP compact for me as our second gun. If nothing else, it certainly is fun to window shop.

[FairWarning]

It's been mostly gradual over many years for me, although there have been a few surges inspired by too much time spent on gun forums. That temptation didn't exist in the past!

I've already got at least one of most every general type of gun I could want, although I've got my eyes open for a nice Sig Sauer 1911 in .45 ACP, Sig 220 in 10mm, a black Desert Eagle in .357 Mag and with a .44 Mag conversion barrel, Ruger Bisley Super Blackhawk in .44 Mag, and either a Weatherby or Sako bolt gun with beautiful traditional wood stock in one of the 7mm Magnum class calibers....just because....

Nevermind, guess I'm not done after all!

[coolbreezy]

my collection always stayed at around 10, my favorite calibers are .44 mag and .45 acp so I have two guns in each cartridge. 22 lr, 9mm, 40 and 357 I have one of each and a couple of 12ga shotguns. My collection at 22 (6 yrs ago) had a 500 s&w and a 454 casull. Might replace those someday.

[sgms]

I'm like SaxonPig, after after 40+ years I now count safes rather than individual guns. I keep a current inventories of everything but no longer try to keep how many of each in my mind.

[boondocker385]

In my 20s and 30s I acquired a bunch. ....now, less than 6 handguns and less than a dozen rifles and shotguns, having a collection was never my intention. ...

[BornToLooze]

My collection shot up pretty fast at first, but then I realized I would rather have a cherry pie tomorrow than a cow pie today. I have a couple that I just bought because they were good deals (Beretta 92s and Swiss K31), but I've pretty much been using my gun money to customize the ones I have to how I want them.

[boatdoc173]

once the addiction hit-- the buying never stopped. My wife wants to know when it does-- " when I am dead" is the answer. Of course she neve r complains about the choices I have made for us. She shoots all of them and enjoys most of them.

They call me from the case @my lgs-- the owner is friend and is very "in tune" with what I want. I am very specific about my bucket list. BUT being an addict, I can be swayed by an unexpected " great deal" on something I was considering anyway---oh the shame!!!! NOw I have gone over to the "dark side" bought a Wilson combat 1911-- I hear they multiply lie rabbits--we will see!!!--LOL

enjoy your toys!! I sure do!

[boatdoc173]

to make things (worse for her) better for me-- my lgs opened up a range. So I see all the eye candy every time we shoot. Now that my wife has seen how my addiction has taken over--she is resigned tot eh facts-- new toys will come home when the right moment presents itself--like the Ruger gp100 match champion that KNEW my name the other day--it call me-- I grabbed it--one mor e off the bucket list for 2015!! HOORAY!

[Ozzieman]

How Fast?
Good question but hard to answer. The problem when I first started out was that I was stupid. Sold some things that I shouldn’t have (5 inch S&W 27) and bought some things that I shouldn’t have (Luger non matching SN’s and a badly pitted barrel that couldn’t clear a magazine). And don’t even get me started on the HK rifles I owned and let go.
I started working part time at a local gun shop and started learning about buying and selling and started buying “good” guns. That was when my collection really started. To me the collection is those guns you won’t let go. I started with N frame S&W’s. I picked up a Charter arms bull dog and became infatuated with the 44 special round. My collection has more N frames than anything else and most are 44 specials.
Then I purchased a Grand from another gun shop owner from Indy that stopped by. And that started me on buying military long arms.
Then the BP craze bit me and Colt reproductions are a hard thing to stop buying.
My suggestion is to think about where you want your collection to be in 10 to 20 years. People talk about how expensive guns like a S&W 24, 25 or 29’s are right now. True, but think how expensive they will be in another 20 years.
Best suggestion, read, read, and read more on firearms and learn everything you can.

[Dragonflydf]

30+ years, I did not plan to end up with the collection I have, it just happened. My collection spans from the Civil War to present day.