Anyone else know a 'collector' like this?

[92FSTech]

My "collection" is pretty practical as a whole. It all gets shot, and just about everything has a purpose. The only real exception to that is my milsurps. My goal in milsurp collecting isn't to amass an example of every variant of a particular rifle...I just want a single example of each rifle that I'm interested in so I can shoot it and see how it performs and compares to it's contemporaries. As such, those get shot a lot too. None of them are pristine, and most aren't even 100% correct, but it's fun learning the different actions and sighting systems and seeing how they perform on paper and steel.

Just owning them and caring for them is kind of a chore...the fun lies in shooting them!

 

[Max Volume]

Can not say I've heard of someone going to that extent and not firing at least some of them. I've heard of someone who is a business owner who carries for protection that has never fired a gun which is rather ignorant.

I will fire anything I own and the only reason I haven't is because of time but that has changed. I don't own any wall hangers that are unsafe to shoot. I have an unfired Winchester commemorative Chief Crazy Horse and it is on the range list along with an unfired Colt blackpowder series revolver. All my U.S. military have or will get fired which includes an original Civil War Springfield which has been fired.

If ammo is difficult to find for the ancient ones a point has been made to at least have enough for a range trip or dies and components to reload for them. Give me an original Hawken from the Cody museum and I'll shoot it at least a few times if it is
safe to do so but along with that comes the responsibility to keep them clean and in good shape. Now an exception could be made
for something like an unfired original first year Winchester 1873 or Colt Patterson.

 

[Sigblaster]

My "collection" is pretty practical as a whole. It all gets shot, and just about everything has a purpose. The only real exception to that is my milsurps. My goal in milsurp collecting isn't to amass an example of every variant of a particular rifle...I just want a single example of each rifle that I'm interested in so I can shoot it and see how it performs and compares to it's contemporaries. As such, those get shot a lot too. None of them are pristine, and most aren't even 100% correct, but it's fun learning the different actions and sighting systems and seeing how they perform on paper and steel.

Just owning them and caring for them is kind of a chore...the fun lies in shooting them!

Yeah, this is mostly me too. I have bought and sold SO MANY tactical guns that my practical gun collection is pretty much settled. Now I'm looking for more fun guns. I really like my Enfield No 4 Mk 1, and I LOVE my S&W model 1-1/2 in .32.

 

[92FSTech]

Yeah, this is mostly me too. I have bought and sold SO MANY tactical guns that my practical gun collection is pretty much settled. Now I'm looking for more fun guns. I really like my Enfield No 4 Mk 1, and I LOVE my S&W model 1-1/2 in .32.

I've actually got a No4 MkI on order right now...impatiently waiting for it to ship, hoping it turns out to be a decent shooter. I'm on a journey down the .303 rabbit hole. My son got a No1 Mk III a couple of years back and it's an excellent gun. I recently "rescued" an abused No5, and now we just need the No4 to round out the set.

And yeah, we shoot them!

 

[Leo]

I've actually got a No4 MkI on order right now...impatiently waiting for it to ship, hoping it turns out to be a decent shooter. I'm on a journey down the .303 rabbit hole. My son got a No1 Mk III a couple of years back and it's an excellent gun. I recently "rescued" an abused No5, and now we just need the No4 to round out the set.

And yeah, we shoot them!

I had a buddy that enjoyed the Enfield camp and hand several variants. He even had some rare British accessories like special sights and scabbards and things. I had multiple Russian items, firearms, jump watches, flasks, hats, medals, coins etc. It was all fun at the time. I shot everything that was in usable condition, for the experience. None of them were used for hunting, competition or anything serious.

Side note, there used to be a company that would drill out bad barrels on Enfields to shoot .410 shotshells. I thought that was pretty unique. BSA "martini" rifles were pretty cool too. God Save the queen!

 

[92FSTech]

Side note, there used to be a company that would drill out bad barrels on Enfields to shoot .410 shotshells. I thought that was pretty unique. BSA "martini" rifles were pretty cool too. God Save the queen!

The barrel on my No5 is almost there. There's rifling in there, but not much. I managed to work up some loads that it will stabilize, but it was a process getting there. The shotgun conversion seems like an workable solution to breath some kind of life back into an otherwise worn-out gun.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I had a buddy that enjoyed the Enfield camp and hand several variants. He even had some rare British accessories like special sights and scabbards and things. I had multiple Russian items, firearms, jump watches, flasks, hats, medals, coins etc. It was all fun at the time. I shot everything that was in usable condition, for the experience. None of them were used for hunting, competition or anything serious.

Side note, there used to be a company that would drill out bad barrels on Enfields to shoot .410 shotshells. I thought that was pretty unique. BSA "martini" rifles were pretty cool too. God Save the queen!

The barrel on my No5 is almost there. There's rifling in there, but not much. I managed to work up some loads that it will stabilize, but it was a process getting there. The shotgun conversion seems like an workable solution to breath some kind of life back into an otherwise worn-out gun.

The .410s (single shot) were also used as prison guard guns.

Enfield RFI 410 Guard ShotGun REF

Ishapore .410 SMLE

www.forgottenweapons.com

 

[snapping turtle]

I have shooters and I have collector pieces. 22lr 22 mag 222 223 7.62x39 44 mag 38/357 35 rem 243 308 12 gauge 20 guage that get shot. I have a safe for shooters and a safe for collecting. Lots of my shooter have a collector twin.

That is a wide enough range to keep me happy. I have others that I will never fire but I cannot say they have never been fired.

 

[snapping turtle]

I do know a guy who has 100's of cast iron skillets that after he cleans them never get used.

He sells and buys many at cast iron meets and I can only imagine how much weight he hails around for those shows

 

[OneBadV8]

I have a buddy that collects and has never fired probably 90% of his collection. And has probably only shot once or twice in the last 4-5 years.

 

[Leadeye]

Over the years I've met a number of guys who collect Colt SAA. Original boxes with guns that have never had the cylinder turned going way back.

 

[KARP]

My father used to buy guns and never fire them. He would load some and put them in different rooms of his house.
My brother and I would beg him to go to the range with us, nope no way.
When he passed away the first thing our mother said was " come over and take those damn guns out of the house ".
We did and we shot the heck out of them.

 

[MCgrease08]

I was married for ten years and my now ex father-in-law probably bought two dozen or so guns during that time and never shot a single one of them.

He isn't a collector, just a crusty old dude who bought a bunch of stuff at the height of the panic around 2012-14 because "Obama is gonna take our guns."

 

[Michigan Slim]

OP, I believe it. My brother has a beautiful lake house with the best fishing I've ever had right off his break wall. He hates fish and fishing.

 

[BigMoose]

*raises hand*

Yep.. I have the proverbial stash room...

Its full of things I will likely rarely if ever use.. but want to have around.

Wont detail it, but its like a walk in gun safe deal, hidden too.

In it are a couple old lounge chairs and an old table between them. The walls have some old china cabinets. All mismatched stuff yard sale I got for cheap from yard sale.. In them are various me things. Hordes of single malt scotch ($200 to $40 value stuff), all manner of Beretta pistols, Beretta shotguns, Grandpas war bringback guns, carbide lanterns, coins and metals, a few cigars, even a couple Gibson guitars. In the corner is the gun safe with my tactical guns.

I am not made of money, but I like having the stuff around.. so I rarely do anything with the things in there.

I just go in there and sit, while I drink the cheap Clan Mcgregor scotch from Krogers and just sit there and take it all in.

I did end up putting a TV on the wall, I do use that.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

I don't know how else to describe this guy. He has a lot more guns than I do, several suppressors and SBRs, but probably wouldn't call himself a collector more than an enthusiast.

What's the weird part you may ask?

He's never shot a gun. Not once according to what he told me quite some time ago.

I don't know a lot of firearm people outside of those I've met on here and my family was never into any when I was growing up but this can't be normal, can it?

I know there's probably a lot of Americans who own A gun that have never fired it and just "bought it for protection" thinking they'll magically be proficient should they ever have to use it. But we're talking mid double digit numbers of various firearms, double digit numbers of NFA stamps, and ammo surpluses I'm jealous of.

Has anyone encountered someone like this?

Some of my higher end SES friends, yes.

ER doc, shoots handgun a lot, but has been to exactly one carbine class, but owns the entire S Tier (like that, I know that because of GenZ nephews) spectrum of ARs, oh, and optics, oh man, new Audi in optics.

I asked him at a NYE party just a few months ago, as we were oddly in the gun room, he said that handgun is priority for him and his wife so they train that and everything else is hobbyist.

Also have attorney-realtor friend that out does me on Colts, but shoots the snot out of BCM and LMT. "Oh, no, Kirk, that's too beautiful to shoot."

Each to his own said the old lady as she kissed the cow.

 

[Trigger Time]

I can see it.
I have some nicer collectable guitars including 2 les Paul Jr's from the 1950's and a gold top, which are my baby's but I can only play chords lol. I think they're pieces of art and music history. The best I'll ever give them is nirvana and green day lol.
For guns, I'm not into collecting guns But i do have an ancestors rifle from the civil war and some other inherited pieces ill pass to klmy kids, and ive never fired most of those. The 1861 springfield i have.
Guns are just tools to me for self defense and hunting. I don't enjoy target shooting and if I do it it's a social thing to hang with my friends.
I do enjoy historic guns though. But I don't know enough about them, so I'd be a fool separated from his money if I tried buying any.

 

[Bugzilla]

He has a lot more guns than I do, several suppressors and SBRs, but probably wouldn't call himself a collector more than an enthusiast.
He's never shot a gun.
Not once according to what he told me quite some time ago.

I steel, uh collect ash trays and never smoked. Have around 80 or so. They seem a lot harder to come by now.

 

[Expat]

I thought it was weird when I bought a pistol off guy. He said he had been carrying it for several years but had never shot it. but this is next level.

 

[crewchief888]

i had a former co worker like this. several hundred new and used guns, 10,000's of rounds of ammo, had only shot his 2 carry guns and a couple others. ive shot all my guns, 1000's of rounds through my competition guns, i do have a couple guns that my dad owned that have had less than 200 +/- rounds through them, and havnt been shot for a long time.