James B

To make reloading a lot easier now that I have tried most of the guns that I wanted to try, I need to scale back. I did however enjoy the ride and would do it all again. I am sure that I have had 75 rifles or so and almost as many handguns. Whatever spare money that I have ever had has gone toward hunting and fishing gear.

DM

I'm left handed, and as a kid, my father encouraged me to use bolt action rifles. Now, fast foreward to my 20's, and i was STILL wrestleing with being left handed and owning right handed bolt action rifles.. (no LH bolt guns those days!!) FINALLY, one day i decided to get "a" LH bolt gun "just to try", and i did!! I bought a Rem. LH 700 BDL in 7 mag. , and after shooting more than 40 boxes of ammo through it, i was hooked!!!

I had over 45 RH bolt guns at "that" time, and i started selling them, replaceing them with what i REALLY wanted in LH.. Building EXACTLY what i wanted, instead of liveing with what was available...

Now, fast foreward again to the day i managed to see a dream for me to come true!!!! I was about to buy my first drilling!!! It took me a loooooong time to realize, that i'd rather have one or two really fine guns, than a closet full of "just guns".

"If" i could go back, i'd work on getting "better quality" rather than quanity, at a eariler age.... I'd spend all the money i saved by doing so, on hunting trips, and ammo to shoot them more!!!

Drilling Man

WisHunt

If I had to do it over again,,,, Well I'm lucky enough that I have been given 4 of my guns as gifts, pass downs, etc. So I couldn't change them they have a different value even if they overlap.

But Here is my Christmas list if my wife is looking, ha ha ha

1. Ruger Volquartestn (sp?) Tricked out 10/22
2. AR-15
3. 220 swift Varmint Gun
4. .243win in browning BAR
5. .45cal M-Loader bbl for my T/C Encore
6. .338win
7. .416 rigby (I have no clue why but it just sounds coooool)
8. .50 cal for long range target shooting
9. Bennelli Super Black Eagle
10. Kohler O/U 12ga
11. Baretta 391A tricked out for sporting clays
12. 12ga slug gun? unsure which to choose here.
14. .17HMR
15. Pistols You choose I'm OK with any.

Merry Christmas folks!

USMC PMI

I am also of the opinion that you can never have too many, but if I had to get by on the absolute bare minimum this would be my choice.

17 HMR (plinking/varmit)
25-06 (longer range varmit/thin skinned game)
30-06 (anything else on the face of North America)

I love my 270 but think that the 25-06 in this case fills the void more efficiently. An article was published in Rifle Shooter I believe about this.

Smokem Joe

nice choices to par it down to three guns (rifles).

here's my three:

22lr plinking, small game (rabbits, squirels, gophers)
243 Deer, varmits
300 Win mag Black bear, elk, etc.

(could do a 338, but I don't like the recoil and I'm not going to Alaska, but I wish I could)

gorse

I, like many here, have had a variety. Most just sat in the safe, while I used one or two "favorites" most of the time. When I moved, a while ago, I decided to cull my "collection". I now have just ONE rifle (.308 bolt-action) and ONE shotgun (12 guage). I am happy with this simplified arrangement. I have enjoyed each of my guns - each for slightly different reasons. If I had it to do all over again, though, I would probably not have aquired so many - and used the money for other things. "To each his own", though.

PaJack

I started in 1981 "going crazy" with Remington Classics! I love to shoot,reload and hunt but I can NEVER get the money that I put into my collection and I still buy a gun if I want it...[]

ELKINMTCWB

I have way to many guns. WELL that is what some people say.I buy my guns only when i find deals.Like if friend needs $ a lot of people buy a gun every year to hunt with than sell it at the end of each hunting year. I am not sure if you can have to many. Every year I loan guns to people that do not have yote guns or elk guns. I allso have given guns to kids that would never have gotten them,becouse there famly or friends do not hunt. I just give low cost 22s run me around 50 to 100$ but so far it has made hunters out of every kid i have given the guns to.

BareBack Jack

WK,
Never start over,keep guns that mean something to ya and trade,barter,sell and get new one's,I have had many,many diffent calibers and guns.Now my arsenal looks like this.
22lr Marlin 60
22 WMR Marlin bolt
.220 Swift Muaser 98
.223 Rem Rossi Single shot
.22-250 Rem VLS
6mm Rem Rem 788
25-06 Ruger MkII
25-06 Winchester Sporter
270 Win Rem 721
7mm-08 Rem Mdl 7
30-30 Marlin
30-06 Rem 7600
300 Ultra Rem LSS
.338 Win mag Winchester 70 S/S
416 Rem Mag Ruger No.#1 Tropical
Now I have sold 2-300 Wsm,1 300 Win Mag,2-338 win mags,1-375 H&H,3-25-06,2-270's,1-7mm-08,1 7mm Rem Mag,3-300 Ultra's,1-340 WYB,450 marlin,264 Win and 1-7.82 War bird.
This list dose not include my pistols or shotguns.
Now there are somany more I wan't to add and some for sale.
So just mix and match.
BBJ

mule1028

Being in the Midwest and hunting everything that moves around here this is what my "Dream" arsenal would look like

12 gauge combo (for water fowl and slug barrel for deer)
20 gauge semi auto (for pheasant and quail)
.50 cal Black Powder
.22 (plinking and random varmints)
.223 (for yotes)
.308, M1A and Remington 40X, (deer, elk, moose, etc.)
Colt 1911 (range shooting, protection)

I dont think that there is anything else I "needed", but alot more that I would like to have lying around for the fun of it.