lol Chazy I can say you that you are one mentally sick individual and are prone too a life of misery. Why? Because you think an awful lot like I do!!!
As a kid and young adult I must admit that I thought of my guns more as tools/equipment than I do now as posessions and yes, I am guilty of FONDLING them much more than a grown man should! Condition wise they are all pretty well taken care of. Now I use them, don't get me wrong. But I am very careful with them. I also have "inclement weather" guns so if I know it is gonna be nasty outside the pretty stuff stays at home and the all weather guns get the callout. So that is probably why most of my guns look like new or near new.
I only really have one gun that looks like it was in Pearl Harbor. It is a special steel Browning Citori that my step-father gave me many years ago. LOL in all honesty the reason he gave it too me is because I had used it for a couple weeks of dove hunting and didn't take care of it so it got some rust and pitting on it and he said to hell with it and gave it too me for Christmas that year. Then one day I forgot it and left it standing on the bumper of my truck and drove off (gravel parking lot) naturally it fell off and scratchedand dinged it up pretty good! [:@]But it shoots like lightening has never failed me once.
I keep thinking about having it professionally restored, especially since my step-father passed away lastyear. Half of me thinks "restore because it would be such a beautiful gun" and another half thinks "leave it like it was because that is why he gave it too you". When he gave it too me it wasn't that bad, but the incident with the parking lot left several gouges and scratches that detract from an otherwise great firearm.
Every couple of weeks I go into my trophy room, open the safes up and FONDLE my collection!!! I figger what the heck? My wife doesn't care, she says that as long as she is the ONLY woman that I fondle she doesn't mind my guns, Harleys, boats, trucks and other "boys toys". I also like to show them too mysons (5 and 10yrs old) and they always ask a million questions and it's a good time to go over gunsafety and hunting with them.
Besides my own guns I have guns that belonged too my own grandfather and of course my step-father so I always think about them when those guns come out.My step-father alsoleft them several guns as well so they like to get them out when I have the safes open. LOL I guess you could say I am teaching my boys the fine art of "gun fondlin"...
There is MUCH worse things we boys (old and young alike) can be playin with than our firearms!!!
RA