What percentage of your total savings should be "invested" in guns and ammo?

[SISKIN]

The only firearms worth any real money are the ones that i got in the 80's

[GeeBee49]

I buy one gun a month which usually costs between $700 and $1000. If I find a rifle I like I'll add it to the handgun invoice. Every time I pick up a gun I buy 4 or 5 boxes of ammo. This money comes out of my checking account because I never touch my savings.
I'm single so when I buy a gun I don't have to answer to anyone except the CA DOJ.

[CheapBloke]

Answer: Yes.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[Librarian]

However, if you want one serious answer ...

(Realizing 'funny' is the original expectation)

Depends on what you plan to defend against.

For example, suppose we would be in less exciting times, and your intent is CCW. Your range of engagement would be expected to be under 25 yards (I personally expect under 25 FEET, but YMMV)

Using round numbers ...

You can do that with a $600 Glock and a $100 holster. Add $500 for a class, $200 for 200 rounds of self-defense ammo and you're up to $1400.

That's about the minimum for that purpose; there are cheaper guns - used, milsurp, the new Remington RP line, etc - and cheaper holsters, and of course more expensive instances of both.

If it's in the budget, soft body armor $600 - $1000-ish.

So, somewhere between $1000 and $3000 probably gives you the capability for the task.

As an add-on, covering 0-100-200 yards, a S&W M&P15 Sport is $800. Add a red-dot optic for about $400 or a 3x-9x scope (leupold on sale for 200) and you might go up to $1200. Add another class @500. Ammo is a broad range - 27 cents/round for cheap range ammo, up to $1/round for match. So, somewhere around $2000 gets you into the rifle game.

So, maybe $5000 for both, and probably $500 or so for annual practice/classes/ammo.

Again, easy to justify spending more. But you don't have to.

What % of one's wealth might $5K be?

[Sure Shot 45]

I don't waste money on children I don't have, fancy restaurant meals, extravagant vacations, drugs, alcohol or cable TV to name a few so about 25% of my free resources.

[Killer Bee]

I don't waste money on children I don't have, fancy restaurant meals, extravagant vacations, drugs, alcohol or cable TV to name a few so about 25% of my free resources.

so you're boring as hell with a possibly impressive gun collection

[GeeBee49]

Single and debt free is how I came into this world. I plan on leaving the same way.

[Barang]

when guns & ammo live in the house and you sleep outside with the bugs, that might be a clue that the % you're spending on them is way too high.

[Librarian]

Single and debt free is how I came into this world. I plan on leaving the same way.

...as well as naked and wrinkled and crying and getting slapped around a little

[GeeBee49]

...as well as naked and wrinkled and crying and getting slapped around a little

That sounds about right.

[norcalplinker1]

Firearms are not good investments. Most will sell for a loss or break even.

But ammo always seems to go up.

[GeeBee49]

The only firearms worth any real money are the ones that i got in the 80's

I also purchased guns in the 80s and 90s that I could sell today at a substantial profit. I won't though because none of my guns are for sale.
At the time I did not buy them as an investment and never considered what they may be worth some day.

[Quickdraw559]

C'mon, who are we kidding, guns and ammo aren't investments. That's just what we tell the wife.
As for how much to spend, large enough to buy something decent, but small enough that your wife won't notice.

[Killer Bee]

Firearms are not good investments. Most will sell for a loss or break even.

buying glocks from turners perhaps.. collecting winchester, browning, colt, smith, etc. will very likely increase in value..

[sealocan]

Originally Posted by GeeBee49 :
"Single and debt free is how I came into this world. I plan on leaving the same way."

...as well as naked and wrinkled and crying and getting slapped around a little

If we're all that lucky!!!

You guys are freaking hilarious!

And just when I thought moderators were trained / highly paid to never be that funny.


On top of that, thank you Librarian , your first sentence in your post boosts my confidence that reading comprehension here is not completely lost.
(It doesn't boost it a lot but it's something.)


But when you state a person could outfit themselves from as little as 3,000 to $6,000 makes me think you're going to get a lot of guys in trouble with their significant others.



The answer to the thread question is...

" When do you get to that point where enough is enough?

When it's True guns,

Never... Never. "

Anything else is gun culture blasphemy, gun owners budget heresy and general firearms skullduggery.

Not really sure what skullduggery even means but you're probably guilty of it with those low-ball cost estimates.

Thanks for the laughs guys.