PDA

View Full Version : Perceived Dilemma of a Gun Addict


jdg30
07-07-2012, 9:28 PM
I have a situation that has been on my mind for some time and I can't figure out what I should do so I'm asking for a little advice or suggestions. I have quite a few guns (mostly handguns) in all the popular calibers and I literally have a type of gun that could cover every type of situation that I would ever need a gun(self defense, CCW, recreation, teaching others to shoot, home defense, offensive assault etc.). I've been working up my collection for about 12 years now.

My problem is that I have guns that are similar to others and share the same purpose that I don't really use, but I still like them. I've sold some guns before and have regretted a few sales, but others I haven't even given a second thought about. I recently posted a few guns for sale that I don't really use but have significant money invested in. Part of me wants to sell them and get the money, but part of me just wants to keep them because they are real nice guns.

It seems that you will never get the money you actually paid for a gun back when selling it. I don't have a problem losing a little money on a sale after I used the gun, but I struggle with the decision to sell some guns at a loss or keep them because I like them, but never shoot them and probably won't shoot them much in the future.

Some people here would probably say they want to have my situation and I'm crazy, but I really would prefer to have only guns I shoot on a regular basis and not ones that I like but know I probably won't use anymore. I figure that my bases would be well covered with a semi-auto rifle, shotgun, a few revolvers and a few semi-autos in the most popular calibers (.45, .40, 9mm).

My problem is that I have duplicates and similar guns for these that aren't getting used, but I still like. I don't have kids yet or anyone to hand these down to so it makes me wonder "what's the point of having a lot of guns and only using a few?"

What would you guys suggest is a good solution? I have my favorites and if I sold some of the others I may regret it a little but it won't ruin my life. On the other hand, I like all the guns I have and have consolidated to the ones I really like but don't use all of them. Advice please:)

shooting4life
07-07-2012, 9:43 PM
I have a saying when it comes to guns. I can own every gun, just not all at once. I have no problem selling things I don't use to purchase other guns I want. My taste and desires change. My collection has moved more to low production and hard to find s&w's. The more common, easier to find items have been sold to pay for other guns. At this point if more than 1k of said model is made I am not really interested.

Snoopy47
07-07-2012, 9:46 PM
Are you a collector or a hoarder? Pretend they aren’t “guns”. Pretend they are something else.

Example: I kind of live with this. My parents (dad mostly) hangs onto everything. I’m on my own so I don’t deal with it on a day to day basis, but my dad has a bazillion model cars. To the point he has closets full of them still in the box. To what end I wonder. He also hangs onto junk cars (being an auto mechanic), so he will buy this junk that DOES have value, and then hang onto it until it rusts out and is worthless.

If my mother passes away first my brother and I are jacked when dad finally goes.

What do you display? What are you proud to show off? What do you shoot often? What will be worth more down the road? If you can’t answer yes to the these questions you might be better off without it.

Here’s a funny thing about my dad. He has this box of ammo for his Japanese Army Rifle. He was all defensive about the actual “box” for the ammo and saving it because of its age. Now, when I went and bought more ammo for it, guess what. THEY STILL USE THE SAME BOX 40 years later. The stuff made 40 years ago is still being sold.

Some stuff is worth something, most other stuff isn’t. Learn to walk away. It’s something I’ve had to teach myself having grown up in it.

I have guns I am proud to show off, and shoot once in a while, and then my competition guns I shoot A LOT. Then ONE gun I would use for home defense.

scglock
07-07-2012, 9:50 PM
There's gotta be some more guns you want. Sell the ones you don't use and put it towards something you really want. I know I have a whole list of guns I want but I don't have the budget for all of them. So after a while when I figure out which guns I really want to keep, I hope to sell the ones that I don't shoot as often to fund for another

gunslinger387
07-07-2012, 9:56 PM
I say sell a few. I'm going through the same thing right now. I made a commitment to myself to not spend any new money on guns. What this means is to buy new stuff I have to sell old stuff. I sold my first gun ever today, not as painful as I expected. Actually it was kind of liberating and I took a few hundred dollars and bought a light for an AR.

Kevin

Budtheweiser
07-07-2012, 9:56 PM
Keep them all.

pyromensch
07-07-2012, 10:23 PM
I say sell a few. I'm going through the same thing right now. I made a commitment to myself to not spend any new money on guns. What this means is to buy new stuff I have to sell old stuff. I sold my first gun ever today, not as painful as I expected. Actually it was kind of liberating and I took a few hundred dollars and bought a light for an AR.

Kevin

that would have to be "some" expensive light, or a cheap gun :)

gunslinger387
07-07-2012, 10:30 PM
only part of the sale went to the new light, probably more than I should have but at least it wasn't "new money" ;)

AK all day
07-07-2012, 10:38 PM
Yeah, I haven't experienced selling a gun yet, but I did put a gun for trade up for the first time a few days ago. I have a gun I NEVER use, but still think its good to have (Ruger Mark II). But think about what someobody else said, are you a collector or a hoarder? I proudly admit I hoard. I even collect my steel casings to put in bags for absolutely no reason.... Comes down to:
1) how much you use it
2) is it special to you
3) do you need to sell it

If you can put the gun away and not touch or use it, or think about using or looking at it for 2 months, chances are it can go...

IVth Horseman
07-07-2012, 10:47 PM
I don't fit in with the hoarder type, until it comes to pistols and ammo.

I can understand needing some cash but can also see that my tastes change constantly, who knows if I'm selling a model or specimen I'll really want back in a year or so. And our "safe roster" is only getting more prohibitive and can make it tough to get them back.

You can regret selling them, but I doubt you'll regret keeping them. But in the end its REALLY a personal choice.

jdg30
07-07-2012, 10:48 PM
Are you a collector or a hoarder? Pretend they aren’t “guns”. Pretend they are something else.

What do you display? What are you proud to show off? What do you shoot often? What will be worth more down the road? If you can’t answer yes to the these questions you might be better off without it.


Some stuff is worth something, most other stuff isn’t. Learn to walk away. It’s something I’ve had to teach myself having grown up in it.

I have guns I am proud to show off, and shoot once in a while, and then my competition guns I shoot A LOT. Then ONE gun I would use for home defense.

I'm not a collector or hoarder. I've bought guns and used them and discovered ones I like better over time. I'm to the point that I have my definite all-time
favorites but also have others that I like but don't use anymore, as well as some that I really liked, but once I bought them I realized I didn't have the desire to use them as much as I thought I would because I shoot my favorites more. I still have money tied up in them though, so that's where I struggle with the decision to keep or sell at somewhat of a loss.

I think that over all, selling some off may be the best choice because it will reduce my collection and allow me to focus on my favorites instead of worrying about which guns to shoot or leave behind the next time I go out shooting.

Mr.1904
07-08-2012, 12:15 AM
Keep half. Sell the other.

lrj812
07-08-2012, 5:52 AM
I sold 3 guns in the past year. I thought they had sentimental value because one was my first gun I bought in 1979 and the other my little snubnose. Reality was I shot them rarely and they sat in a safe. It felt good to sell them to people with the same excitement that I had when I first bought them. Used the money to help with other aspects of the hobby.

Don't get me wrong, I have favorites that will always be mine. But I have flings with guns and when it's over I can move on. It hurts for a little while but I keep telling myself the guns are in a better place.

In the end you have to ask yourself if you own things or do they own you.

bruceflinch
07-08-2012, 6:17 AM
I'm not an addict, I can quit anytime I want......;)

You sound like a pretty rational Guy, jdg30. If you have room to store them & don't feel any pressure to to sell for whatever reason, then keep them longer.

Keep in your mind which ones have the least emotional/dollar/use value. When you come upon a situation where it's prudent, you will be able to let it go. I said emotional & not personal because that's how I feel about my guns. Someday I want them to go where they will be loved by someone else that I cared for.

In the last 15 years, I bought a crapload of guns. Some I really wanted for a reason, some only because it was a smoking deal I couldn't pass up. ( It's nice when you have extra cash laying around. ) then as time passed, I sold some of the "deals" & reinvested in guns I really wanted. The downturn of the Economy slowed my purchasing to the point of just buying C&R rifles. Now I have pretty much all the C&R Rifles I want. I think I have a pretty well rounded collection for: Fun, Training, Competition, & Investment. I'm almost out of storage space as well. I figure I got about 15-20 years before starting to dispose of my Collection. At least half will go to Family. The other half will go to Shooting Buddie's Children/Grandchildren and the NRA.

rkt88edmo
07-08-2012, 6:50 AM
I don't understand, I'm pretty sure I could sell half my guns for more than what I paid since prices have steadily increased and I buy used as much as possible at a discount.

If you would take losses on most of your sales it makes me think you are paying full retail in the first place plus tha CA premium?

In any case, what will make you happy now? what do you think will make you happy 10-15 years from now?

Guns are just things. If you mainly like guns because of shooting them, then anything not being shot should get cycled out, IMO.

ih8ca
07-08-2012, 8:06 AM
With the way the gun market is right now and could get in November. I would list the guns you have no attachment to at about what you paid for them. I would then take that money and buy better guns.
I come from a free state, so every few years I would do a gunshow. My goal was to leave the show with the exact amount of money I went in with and less guns. I got a lot of my high end guns doing that and I had fun. I know that gunshows in this state would be a nightmare. So I would list them on Calguns. The Calguns market is crazy how fast stuff sells. Good luck

jdg30
07-08-2012, 8:59 AM
I don't understand, I'm pretty sure I could sell half my guns for more than what I paid since prices have steadily increased and I buy used as much as possible at a discount.

If you would take losses on most of your sales it makes me think you are paying full retail in the first place plus tha CA premium?

In any case, what will make you happy now? what do you think will make you happy 10-15 years from now?

Guns are just things. If you mainly like guns because of shooting them, then anything not being shot should get cycled out, IMO.

Some of my guns I've bought new and those are the ones I would take a loss on if I sold because of tax and DROS, but that's to be expected. Depreciation to a used price from paying for the gun new is also somewhat of a loss but if I sell the gun, I view the loss as sort of a "rental fee" for the times I shot it so it's not really that big of a deal.

Buying used is the best way to break even if planning to sell in the future because you deal with the actual value of the gun instead of new gun mark up but sometimes it's hard to find certain guns used and it's always nice to get a brand new gun.

jdg30
07-08-2012, 9:09 AM
I sold 3 guns in the past year. I thought they had sentimental value because one was my first gun I bought in 1979 and the other my little snubnose. Reality was I shot them rarely and they sat in a safe. It felt good to sell them to people with the same excitement that I had when I first bought them. Used the money to help with other aspects of the hobby.

Don't get me wrong, I have favorites that will always be mine. But I have flings with guns and when it's over I can move on. It hurts for a little while but I keep telling myself the guns are in a better place.

In the end you have to ask yourself if you own things or do they own you.

This sounds just like me, especially with the snubnose revolvers. I think selling off some guns is a good idea because it will keep things in check as far as owning my guns instead of them owning me. Sometimes I feel like that troll with his "precious" in Lord of the Rings:D Plus it feels good to sell a gun to someone for a good deal that they are excited about even if I don't make top dollar for it. It seems that karma works that way and when you give someone a good deal, a good deal will come back around your way later on.

SilverTauron
07-08-2012, 9:23 AM
Downsize.

Like an old man once said about his own gun collection,you can't take 'em with you.Your guns one day WILL belong to someone else eventually.Either you sell them now,or you take care of them until you're on your deathbed and your family sells them later.All our treasured toys are a temporary possession no matter how you look at it,so make sure the guns you own you REALLY like.