Upgrading in quality vs. number of firearms

[waspocrew]

Boy, that's a long wait. But gives you time to prepare. Took me 2 trips to Alaska and 22 days of hard hunting. In the end well worth all the preparation and all the dinero.
Good Luck!

Definitely a long wait! Could go sooner to Alaska, but wanted to up my odds a bit since the sheep have had rough winters in Alaska recently. Other outfits I was considering are booking into 2028 and some as far as 2030! 2026 sounded much better haha.

 

[ducky]

I try to only buy heirloom quality guns. I appreciate the craftsmanship and I enjoy the pride of ownership of having higher quality and unique guns.

To me heirloom guns are the guns that I've made memories with, or given to me by people who were important to me. So to me it isn't about the money spent or the craftsmanship. However, I can appreciate both of those factors.

Right now my most precious heirloom gun in the safe is hot pink laminate Cricket .22 lr that my daughter learned to shoot with 16 years ago. She was 5 years old when she picked it out at the gun store. It's there until she has kids of her own that need to learn to shoot. There isn't much craftsmanship in that rifle, but it's priceless to me.

 

[westexhunt]

I've tried to go the quality/custom route but can't resist buying a bargain every single time. I do try to buy more of the standards (223, 308, 22-250, 300 win).

 

[dfitz7604]

I have slimmed down my rifles. Still have two more to go. I have since bought a few semicustom or high end factory. They all come outshoot me. And cover everything in North America that I have a chance at. Ohh and suppressors have caught quite a bit of my money lately.

 

[Chase723]

I certainly went through this…still am. I purged my safe of most of the firearms that I never shot and/or never took hunting (still have a couple to go) and consolidated those funds into rifles/optics that I really enjoy shooting and am committed to shoot a lot. They are also rifles that I happily pick up to take hunting. Most everything in my safe now gets used routinely. While upfront cost was steep, now when I shoot out a barrel I just spin on another high quality prefit in my garage and continue to have a rifle that I love versus buying something else hoping that will be it. It also consolidates the reloading situation, which is great.

 

[ducky]

USAFRet already has some pretty nice rifles. A Ruger No 1 .270 Win and a Custom MacBros 6.5 CM come to mind pretty easily. He's had others but it's hard to keep up with. He's definitely been bitten by the bug pretty hard, and has been trying a lot of different things like most of us do.

We've talked quite a bit on another forum where I've encouraged him to do a WY cow elk hunt instead of buying a new rifle. I'd like to get out to NC or meet up with him. Possibly in WY when he can finally do the elk hunt he wants. From the interactions I've had with him, he'd be a great guy to spend some time with. He really has a passion for his family, and is quickly and wholeheartedly becoming a firearms looney.

 

[USAFRet]

USAFRet already has some pretty nice rifles. A Ruger No 1 .270 Win and a Custom MacBros 6.5 CM come to mind pretty easily. He's had others but it's hard to keep up with. He's definitely been bitten by the bug pretty hard, and has been trying a lot of different things like most of us do.

We've talked quite a bit on another forum where I've encouraged him to do a WY cow elk hunt instead of buying a new rifle. I'd like to get out to NC or meet up with him. Possibly in WY when he can finally do the elk hunt he wants. From the interactions I've had with him, he'd be a great guy to spend some time with. He really has a passion for his family, and is quickly and wholeheartedly becoming a firearms looney.

You are too kind, my friend! I am hoping to get out, but you know the family and medical situation. One of these days, there, or if you make it this way.

I went through retail therapy for a few years after we lost Andrew, as you and I have discussed. I am trying to come down from that and focus on the Bible verse, "For where your treasure is, your heart will be also." Also, I just need some simplification. You know how I bounce from one thing to another.

God bless.

 

[USAFRet]

USAFRet already has some pretty nice rifles. A Ruger No 1 .270 Win and a Custom MacBros 6.5 CM come to mind pretty easily. He's had others but it's hard to keep up with. He's definitely been bitten by the bug pretty hard, and has been trying a lot of different things like most of us do.

We've talked quite a bit on another forum where I've encouraged him to do a WY cow elk hunt instead of buying a new rifle. I'd like to get out to NC or meet up with him. Possibly in WY when he can finally do the elk hunt he wants. From the interactions I've had with him, he'd be a great guy to spend some time with. He really has a passion for his family, and is quickly and wholeheartedly becoming a firearms looney.

Oh, and that 270 was a horse kicker. Also, with the scope having to be mounted so far forward and my neck issues, I just could not shoot it. I had just always wanted a No. 1 because they are beautiful rifles. But, as my wise wife says, having pretty shoes is great, but if they hurt my feet, I won't wear them.

The Mack Bros is a 7mm-08. If I get to do the cow hunt, that with a 140 Nosler AB ought to do the trick. Haha.

 

[unclecroc]

To me heirloom guns are the guns that I've made memories with, or given to me by people who were important to me. So to me it isn't about the money spent or the craftsmanship. However, I can appreciate both of those factors.

Right now my most precious heirloom gun in the safe is hot pink laminate Cricket .22 lr that my daughter learned to shoot with 16 years ago. She was 5 years old when she picked it out at the gun store. It's there until she has kids of her own that need to learn to shoot. There isn't much craftsmanship in that rifle, but it's priceless to me.

I completely understand and agree. I still have a Henry mini bolt that was my very first rifle I got when I was 11. I've killed a lot of cans with that thing. I will never sell it because now my boys will learn on it and hopefully theirs too.

 

[USAFRet]

In my quest to fix my cheapness, I ordered a Grayboe stock for my Mack Bros Rem 700 in 7mm-08. I went less expensive with a KRG Bravo Chassis and the rifle feels more like a bench gun than a hunting rifle. I wanted the Grayboe instead. I should be able to partially pay for that selling my current stock and a Boyd's I have for a short action CVA Cascade.

 

[LRNut]

Forgot to attach pic.
(made Boone & Crockett)

I have killed 5 sheep but never one that good! 12 years old?

 

[Turpentine21]

When I had my FFL and ran a sporting clays range I always tried to influence a customer to ere on the side of quality. I found that if they bought a cheap gun and it crapped out in short order they would bring it back and be mad that it broke and demand that I fix it. I didn't stock mediocre brands and It got to the point that I would tell them straight up. I'll order it and you can buy it but it's not going to hold up. So don't bring it back in here wining to me and mad when that happens. I would much rather sell a quality firearm that I know without a doubt that I can stand behind. There is a lot of pure junk out there these days even from the big companies and it doesn't take long to figure out what it what when you shoot and work on guns every day.

 

[TontoDean]

I have killed 5 sheep but never one that good! 12 years old?

 

[TontoDean]

Yes. If my memory serves me correctly (could not locate paperwork) he was 41 & 5/8"
and scored 161 B&C. Full mount on top of my office in the trophy room.