• ODT Gun Show & Swap Meet - May 4, 2024! - Click here for info

How Has Your Collecting Philosophy Evolved

For me building and repairing AR's is just a hobby. I am more into finding and buying nice older, good old high gloss wood and blue steel bolt guns and Lever guns. I am also picking up a nice 1911 here and there, nothing to expensive just good shooting well built guns. Here lately it's been a desperate search for particular lever guns and guns I owned when I was young and sold like a dope.
 
TheGman said:
Mom and Dad gave me a Remington 700 ADL 30-06 for Christmas when I was 15. Still my most cherished rifle.
Click to expand...
Mine is very simular, it was given to me when I was in the 8th grade. One of my uncles purchased the rifle, but passed away before ever getting to shoot it or hunt with it. Everyone wanted the rifle to stay in the family because of the obvious reasons, but none of my uncles wanted anything to do with it so they presented it to me. With the condition that I use it well and never sell it, DONE! says 13 yr old me bursting with pride. Something special about that rifle to me even though in reality it's just a plain vanilla wood ADL with a 3X9X40 like thousands of other guys have.
 
I started out buying anything and everything surplus back in 2004. I ended up having to sell most after the recession in 2009, having a roof over my head took priority, lol. I have been buying more and more for several years now but now I only focus on bolt actions military rifles. Still a pretty broad focus but I love the various ways that actions work. I got out of military semi-auto rifles due to them being more expensive and more finicky with ammo and what not. I never was too big into military pistols, I had a few but sold all of them.
 
Was more interested in the surplus military stuff about 10 yrs ago. Now I like nice original stuff - shotguns and rifles that were popular back when I bought my first gun in the 1980s. So a plain jane 870, 1100, 7400/7600, Marlin 30-30, or Winchester Ranger gets my attention more now...even though they don't have much collector value today. I worked at Kmart and walmart and sold them back then.

To me they have become guns that deserve to be saved, since they are what most people had and used back in the day.
 
I had a few rifles when I was in my teens. I got a youth model 20 gauge single shot shotgun from Sears and a semi-auto .22 from Sears the next year. Found a M-16 Lebel 8mm rifle at the hardware store and bought it for 6 dollars and he threw in one round. I fired it off and was happy to have only had one. I inherited a Mauser and a Nambu pistol and a few other arms when my grand dad died. Went off to the Air Force for 23 years leaving all my weapons behind with my mom and dad. Somehow my brother in law inherited all of them. Anyway, after I retired I started collecting and even got a C&R license, hit all the gun shows and had accounts with AIM Surplus and Century Arms and just bought one or two of everything they had in their flyers. Did that for a few years and then divorce parted me from most of my stock. I started again slowly and now, due to a heart condition that does not like recoil in the shoulder area and vision issues that make a lot of things in the scope look fuzzy, I am really considering what to do with what I have. I carry a Glock 30S in .45ACP and am pretty on target at 20 feet or so and carry it for personal and sheep dog duty at church. My wife got me a Dirty Harry .44 mag for Christmas but I have yet to shoot it and since it's in a nice wooden presentation box I may never fire it. I have enough home defense stuff and that will stay here. I just don't feel like having to decide what I'm going to shoot someone with if they make the mistake of trying to break into the house (which pistol, shotgun, rifle, pellet gun, slingshot, blowgun, crossbow or baseball bat).



As I age out, soon to turn 69 and not in great health, I spend a lot of time figuring what to do with the stuff. I don't want my wife to have to dicker with people over selling what I can't take with me and am seriously considering getting a table at the gun show meet up and divesting myself of most of it if I make it until next summer.

I have already divested myself of my coin collection. I have collected coins since the mid 1950s and even worth in a coin shop for over 5 years but find that I am lucky to be able to see what the coins are and no longer can deal with the nuances of grading so I gave the grandkids some, traded a lot of it for buillion gold and silver (I can feel it and don't have to try and grade it). All my other collectibles (baseball cards, comics, stamps, antiques and such I took major losses on but they aren't here to worry with). I still have my Lionel train collection but will never again having a working layout. I packed up my HAM radio equipment but did not take down the antennas. The HAM world is about as bad as CB now and the solar cycle sucks so there isn't much long distance stuff you can do without major coin for equipment and antenna.

All things turn full circle. I've got my 23 Ford T Bucket and the wife and I enjoy short rides and visiting with the other old farts at car shows but can't hang out in the sun all that long so that'll probably be on the way out in the near future.

Sorry I talk too much and relive the past too much. It comes with age.
Collect what makes you smile at the time and be ready to pass it on to someone else to make them smile.
 
"Collect what makes you smile at the time and be ready to pass it on to someone else to ake them smile"

-I love that.....very well said
:thumb:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Taladega Marksmanship Park has rack grades.
2 3 4 5
Replies
45
Views
3K
CTS Tactical
CTS Tactical

Featured Listings!

Back
Top Bottom