how many guns does one "need"?

[Rakso]

I wish I had more firearms.

[k1dude]

How many shoes do you have?

Do you use black polished dress shoes for backpacking?

Do you jog everyday in your cowboy boots?

Do you wear your hiking boots with your suit?

Do you wear bowling shoes to play golf?

The same holds true for guns.

There's no such thing as one gun that can do everything.

So figure out what your current and future requirements are. Self defense? Elk/Moose hunting? Long range competition? Deer/Pig/Antelope hunting? Bug-out? 3-gun? Survival? Bullseye? Dove/Quail hunting? USPSA? Duck/Goose hunting? Sporting Clays? Long range varmint hunting? CCW? Squirrel/Rabbit hunting? High Power? African Safari? I could go on and on.

What if a single purpose gun breaks down? Do you need a readily available back up?

[jigenax]

Hey OP, I'm in a similar situation with my kids. They're not into firearms either so I'm planning to thin my collection before I retire. I'll keep my rigs for competitions, CCW, hunting and home defense. At the bare minimum, three handguns, one shotgun and two rifles.

[foreppin916]

https://images.app.goo.gl/HjD11GuRh8GqNTjg9

[theLBC]

x+1

[dchan521]

I have two guns, one for each of you.

[warbird]

keep what you want because odds are once you sell them you will never get them back. I consider mine to be a hobby and i do not care if i fire them or not. I have a couple of go to weapons if immediate trouble arises but the rest are for enjoyment even if i do not see them but once a year. Do what makes you comfortable. I own guns from 1820 to know and enjoy them all because they show the progression of firearms down through history. You will do what is right for you. Money comes and goes but your guns will go and never come back with today's laws.

[SoCal326]

when my Dad passed away he was a pretty big collector verging on hording. some nice stuff and a lot of stuff he just had fun buying for cheap.

I was young at the time and not well established so managing that on my own was a challenge I was unprepared for.

I took a few, sold some and took losses on the rest because they were out of state and I didn't have the time or knowledge to do it on my own without knowing the laws. This was before calguns so I just figured everything was illegal and wasn't willing to take an uniformed risk.

Some stayed with his family but I didn't really meet them until his funeral so I guess they're enjoying them now but who knows.

My point is, it's not easy todeal with it if you don't know what your doing. I guess they could sell the whole lot to a dealer...which I is what I should have done if I'd known better.

you can't shoot them all so unless they give you enjoyment why keep it. You have to accept that after you sell them there will be times where you wish you hadn't but that's okay. Buy that one back if you want too.

[I Swan]

Like my Dad used to say when asked "how many he had"

"More then one but less than one thousand"

I've known of private collections in the thousands. I know another of around 1000. I've known a few in the hundreds including mine but I've downsized a bit.

I've known of people only owning one or a few including a guy that worked in the gun industry and only had one gun. I knew FFL that only had 10 his wife would not allow more than that.

[The War Wagon]

how many guns does one "need"?

I like a MINIMUM of 5 of everything. Including the stuff I DON'T own... yet...

[wpage]

Since my dad and his dad my father in law and his dad collected and I had a couple. They are all gone now. So like the tools and other things like coins from all the collections its a sentimental thing to consider.

Beside that like silver and gold coins. Guns have intrinsic value and are useful things that are worth keeping.

[Calamity Sue]

I don't know about the guns, but I do know that enough ammo is never enough ammo.

[T6pilot]

[baih777]

Hey OP, I'm in a similar situation with my kids. They're not into firearms either so I'm planning to thin my collection before I retire. I'll keep my rigs for competitions, CCW, hunting and home defense. At the bare minimum, three handguns, one shotgun and two rifles.

Don't thin your collection before you retire.
When I retired. I started shooting a lot more.

[baih777]

Look at the different calibers you have. Is there a odd ball caliber that you don't want to shoot anymore. Get rid of those first. At least that's what I did.