How big of a collection is too big?

My brother in law unknowingly helped me out when he mentioned finding a rifle that he had been looking for. He then said that with this purchase he now is in the three digit range...so my collection now seems modest to my wife.

OldNavyVet said:

My brother in law unknowingly helped me out when he mentioned finding a rifle that he had been looking for. He then said that with this purchase he now is in the three digit range...so my collection now seems modest to my wife.

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I am also well into the three digits.

No way one could be "too big"...

When there's so much metal in your house, USGS satellites detect a magnetic anomaly in that part of MD.

Too much is when the National Guard turns out at your house when activated for an emergency.

Do you have enough money?

Are you as happy as you could be?

Is she as hot as she could be?

I don't see an end to your question to be honest.

67temp said:

When you go to sneak another gun into the safe when your wife isn't looking, only to realize there is no room in the safe. Now you need to sneak another safe into the house.

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That’s going to be me some day. If you ask my wife more than a muzzleloader is too much. I’ve got a 25-gun safe and I suspect when it is full my wife is going to tell me where to go, how to get there and where to leave half my money if I try to get another safe.

That said, I won’t say never. She’s okay with me getting an under bed storage safe. I figure if I get the right one I can squeeze 2-3 long guns in there also to expand my collection space.

Rifle rods could probably squeeze a few more in. If I collect the hell out of handguns that’s a few more...

I figure what I’ll try to work on in a few years is needing a smaller safe, that is much heavier built for my prized guns to keep them REALLY safe. And it might coincidentally give me space for another 8-10 long guns.

All that said, honestly unless money and time are no objects, my bucket list is around 16-18 long guns and about 10 handguns. Not sure I’ll ever own everything on my bucket list and a couple I can’t if I stay in Maryland.

I am sure I’ll collect a few guns that aren’t on my bucket list. Hell, I’ve got a JC Higgins .410 pump and a .410 isn’t on there anywhere. I’d like more than one 10/22...but I don’t need more than 1 to check off that on my bucket list.

So yeah. Oh and my wife’s uncle might end up leaving me his collection some year and he owns about 40 guns as it is. Maybe I can use that as the excuse for another safe “well honey, of course I’ll sell most of them, but I need a safe space to store them for now and I’ll probably want to hold on to a few choice items, so another safe really is necessary”. Or hell, maybe it means a safe moving company and a Uhaul trip and just bring his safe back.

A warehouse wouldn’t seem too many...

But I also feel like I’ve only got so much time in my life and even when I am retired some day I doubt I’ll really be able to get to the range more than once a week. Times 3-4 guns a trip. If I’ve got 40 guns, that’s 3-4 range trips per gun per year. Perfectly reasonable. More, maybe not so much. Other than maybe something I am holding on to for one of my kids to inherit, I don’t need any guns that are never shot. I figure if it can’t make it to the range at least once a year, I probably shouldn’t own it.

He who dies with the most guns wins.

dontpanic said:

If you have to lie to your wife or get into a financial bind, then you have too many. Otherwise, have at it.

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This is a legit answer, and alas, I think some people on this board exceed this limit.

The other problem I've found is that you simply don't have time to shoot all the stuff you've got. Hell, at a certain point, just maintaining them properly turns into a serious endeavor unto itself. Is there really a point to buying a gun you're just going to look at, unless it's a serious investment? (And be real, guns generally suck as investments unless you compare them to even more horrible investments like cars.)

erwos said:

This is a legit answer, and alas, I think some people on this board exceed this limit.

The other problem I've found is that you simply don't have time to shoot all the stuff you've got. Hell, at a certain point, just maintaining them properly turns into a serious endeavor unto itself. Is there really a point to buying a gun you're just going to look at, unless it's a serious investment? (And be real, guns generally suck as investments unless you compare them to even more horrible investments like cars.)

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Lot of truth in the emboldened. It's a fun hobby, but time is often the great rate limiter.

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ted76 said:

I think 100 is a nice round number to shoot for.

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I used to think that.... I used to think 30 was old too... I've since adjusted my thinking.

Doctor_M said:

I used to think that.... I used to think 30 was old too... I've since adjusted my thinking.

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Just remember: not everybody gets to be old.

Alan3413 said:

Just remember: not everybody gets to be old.

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Oh man... you are right! I need to buy some more guns quickly while I still can!!

I visit the range once a week and usually only take one gun at a time. Having more than four means shooting a certain gun less than once a month. Variety is nice but I think proficiency would suffer if you’re not constantly practicing with the same gun.

Kevnev said:

...Variety is nice but I think proficiency would suffer if you’re not constantly practicing with the same gun.

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There is a lot of merit in that statement, but I would also point out that good solid shooting habits allow one to be quite versatile and shoot a variety of firearm styles well, providing the fit is compatible. Poorly fitting firearms can be very challenging to shoot well, even if you only do have one gun (ugh...)

E.Shell said:

There is a lot of merit in that statement, but I would also point out that good solid shooting habits allow one to be quite versatile and shoot a variety of firearm styles well, providing the fit is compatible. Poorly fitting firearms can be very challenging to shoot well, even if you only do have one gun (ugh...)

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True. And I guess if my line of work was such that my firearms were constantly life or death for me I’d probably focus on practicing with just a couple, or at least take the same one or two along with whatever else with me when I went.

It isn’t. So I don’t sweat it. That said, I certainly have a couple that generally get taken along, or get taken more often than others. I tend to take my AR-15, either 16” or 20” every 2 or 3 range trips (they share the same lower). My 10/22 sees a lot of trips. My Glock 17 also sees a lot of trips. Shotgunning my 870 sees 90% of my trap, skeet and sporting clays use.

I won’t say everything is firm muscle memory, but I almost never find myself struggling to find a mag release or safety or whatever. Just like my CVA Wolf sees maybe the most field time actually deer hunting I am pretty intimately familiar with it after hundreds of hours afield or at the range with it.

In the fall I try to take my Sako .308 with me on most range trips and also why I decided to build a 6.5 grendel AR-15 this past year because of familiarity and heavy practice with the platform.

But having an M1 carbine or M57 or a revolver or whatever isn’t really going to mess me up and certainly lends a lot more enjoyment to collecting/shooting/life.

If I had to pick only 4 firearms to own I probably could, but I’d be a sad guss about it.

Kevnev said:

I visit the range once a week and usually only take one gun at a time. Having more than four means shooting a certain gun less than once a month. Variety is nice but I think proficiency would suffer if you’re not constantly practicing with the same gun.

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True, but honestly i'm more impressed with a shooter than can shoot numerous shooting disciplines well rather than one discipline extremely well.

IDFInfantry said:

Is there even such a thing when collecting guns?

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There is no such thing as having too many firearms.

If its a collection as long as you have the room and funds, unlimited. I fall into the category of not being able to shoot what I have. I am hoping that will change when I join a club/range closer to me and the kids are a little bit older. I am a collector by nature, so while guns may not be a "good investment" they generally hold their value if not increase. I have collected baseball cards, die-cast cars, and sports figures as for comparison. They almost all were losing value hobbies/collections. To me it is a good investment in that I am going to collection something anyway, so it might as well be something that holds its value. I am by no means a prepper or thinking we are on the brink of SHTF but the collection would really turn into a good investment if anything were to happen.

Correction too beaucoup!