i shoot all the guns I have. some are identical (gunsmithed by me) duplicate backups. my only purpose is self-defense from griz or humans (i do not eat meat or fish so i do not hunt or sport fish). although i am known for my magnum short barreled revolver speed and accuracy with short barreled magnum in flathead valley MT and am setting new world records for speed and accuracy, i do not compete. My skill is to be prepared, just as I physically train and condition myself. all the guns i have are custom built or tuned by me and I only have what I need for self defense purposes and no more. if for some reason a gun is not being used i sell it, however i have not had to do that in many years. if a gun gets worn out I simply rebuild it. I carry 24/7.

There are people who collect guns and although I am not one of those I would not say they are addicted. The closest I would say I have seen to someone being addicted to guns was a billionaire who buys hundreds of guns of all kinds and has them more for the cachet than anything else.


GUNSLINGER

 

(i do not eat meat or fish so i do not hunt or sport fish)

Sport fishing has nothing to do with acquiring flesh to eat. Thats a sad assumption most of the world makes. I don't hunt but imagine hunting has little to do with filling a larder either.

 

I would say at this point you're "passionate about a new hobby". That's how I spin it, lol.

 

+1!

There should come a time when you think you have enough, but maybe 'just one more' every now and then. That's okay.

For example, I am a 1911 fan. At one point I had 17 of them. (Not to be confused with my friend Dave who recently passed away with 73 in his posession!)

Now I've pared it down to a total of 10 . . . unless I find that deal I just can't pass up. But I don't hover over the classifieds like I used to.

Now my '93 Wrangler and '66 El Camino are getting some long deserved attention. Just another addiction!

 

Thanks Guys, I guess it is just a phase, I just never been engrossed with something.

I started to worry when I was fieldstripping and lubing , clean guns time and time again

Remember when you were a teen ager and girls enter your mind every few seconds, the same is happening to me now except guns is on my mind.

I did some research and there were "Gun Addicts" who were acting like real substance dependent individuals (selling personal belongings such as cars and furniture) just to buy a gun that they will never fire. At least I am not yet at that stage

 

Remember when you were a teen ager and girls enter your mind every few seconds, the same is happening to me now except guns is on my mind.

Good one... always temper your purchases with finances in mind. I made a purchase I really didn't need to make over the weekend... my eyes got a little foggy when I saw a new P225 I just needed.... kids are just going to have a lot of spaghetti for a few weeks.

All jokes aside do be careful... you can get sucked in.

 

You might be addicted to guns if...

you sleep with more than one gun under your pillow.

you use the Dewey Decimal Classification System to keep track of your guns.

the guns strapped to your body weigh more than you do.

your spouse slaps you on the head in the middle of the night and says, “honey your shotgun is poking me again.”

the guys at the gun store have your phone number on speed dial.

the men in black visit your home more than once a year for inspection.

you’ve ever expanded your home to make room for another gun safe.

you’ve ever purchased a gun but couldn’t pay the electric bill.

you know the purchase date of more than one of your guns put you can’t remember your spouse’s birthday.

on family road trips you have to stop at every gun store you pass.

you have to push really hard on the safe door to close it.

your debit card pin number is 1911.

And...

You might be addicted to guns if... when the officer standing next to your car asks, “sir, where is the gun located,” and you answer, “which one!”

 

Cute and worth repeating.

 

A guy at the gun store/range I shoot at works there every other weekend has it. I was there last Sunday & I asked what's new. He said when you're done I'll show you. I looked at him & he said yes I have a problem. So after shooting he showed me a model64 Winchester that had a scope & a CZ 75 that he paid a total of $400 for. He showed me a picture of one of his safes. I have been told he has like 100 glocks. He puts owning some guns into a different light for me.

 

There was an estate auction in my town a few years ago. The total amount of guns was over 3,700, from one collector. Not counting the hundreds of lots of parts, ammo, edged weapons, etc. (The auction house had to space it over 6 weekends.)

https://lasvegassun.com/news/2007/sep/20/one-man-and-his-guns-guns-and-more-guns/

IIRC, he had 80+ Mosin/Nagants. Everyone has their quirks!

 

I'm sure there are plenty of huge collections around & the guy at the gun store really is a great guy to converse with & discuss guns I just thought what he said about having a problem fit into the thread title. By the way he buys the guns from people that come to the shop to sell them & offers lowball price & a lot of them sell to get the instant cash they need.

 

WE ARE ALL ADDICTS. Stop the lies. This is a disease and the only cure is more.
Do I need another gun? No. I want it I want them all. Give me more!!!!!

I am currently taking bids on one of my kidneys to finance my next purchase. There is a black market for healthy organs. Check it out.

 

As my wife always asks, "Is it a want or a need?" If it's not a need but you want it and cannot resist the desire, you are addicted. "Hello, my name is Mac and I'm a gun addict."

 

Yeah....guess it is. But aren't MOST hobbies? Isnt that why we do them?
Reloading is addicting too...but to me, that is part of the SHOOTING hobby...I also love bicycles and am always riding or tinkering on them too. Amateur radio as well....been a ham for 50 years...got as many radios as I do guns...:rofl:

 

A passion or large collection does not an addiction make... when you can't make ypur mortgage because you just HAVE to have another gun, its a probably...

 

I no longer browse indecent websites, motorcycle websites and automotive websites but instead my browser history consists of firearm manufacturers, gun reviews, bullet reviews, training articles, police shooting stories etc. etc.

How do you determine if your gun hobby is an addiction?

After reading the bolded statement, I'd say you are dangerously close to crossing the line into addiction territory!

 

I suggest that if you already own several guns and find yourself borrowing or using layaway to buy another, that's probably a sign you're extending yourself financially and making a poor choice.

 

So nobody caught that the op no longer browses indecent websites?
When you give up porn for your gun habit I think you're definitely addicted. :rofl:


Edit: looks like TxAggie caught it.

 

Decide if you are a collector, or a shooter. Proceed accordingly.

 

I only have 17 guns

Around here in Arizona, that's what's known as "a good start". :rofl:

 

I'm old. I spent 30+ years collecting dozens & dozens of guns. Then I came to a realization.

The whole thing was pointless. You can't "win" in the Collecting Game without literally owning every gun on Earth. It's a time money suck with little benefit.

Nobody's impressed. We all know many guys with bigger, better collections than you will ever have. Nobody cares about five stuffed safes.

But here is what IS impressive: Becoming an amazing shot with what you DO have.

Gaining mad skills. Attending multiple classes until you are expert enough to teach your own classes. Out-shoot everybody. Now THAT'S badass!

Because just owning more stuff is a yawn.

If you are going to obsess, you should obsess about improving YOU.

I sure wish I had taken that route long ago. But I just amassed a pile of wood & metal, with little talent to show for it.

 

Right on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I cycle through the hobbies I'm passionate about. I'll go through a hunting/fishing/camping phase, then motorcycle or truck, guitars, then guns, in no particular order. Right now the bulk of my time & money is going into a kitchen remodel, not really a hobby but something I needed to do & happy I have the skills to do the drywall, flooring, electrical,painting,plumbing, & carpentry-only thing I've farmed out is the cabinets being made locally & the quartz countertops. As soon as I make it through this project I'll be shopping for a new gun, I like reasearching the next acquisition almost as much as purchasing.

 

I have to admit, it's an addiction. When months go by without having bought a new gun I start to feel a bit down in the dumps. When a gun shows up at a LGS that's a great price or it's something I like I go nuts thinking about how I'm going to pay for it. I have duplicates of some of my favorites, just because something *might* happen to the first one. And then there have been times when I bought something identical to what I already have because it was in better condition, and then sold the old one to partially recoup the costs.

My name is DSK, and I'm an addict. There, I feel so much better now.

 

My name is 7.62 and I share your addiction. Welcome to the group.
Something internal clicks in me every couple months that makes me crave a new gun. Can't explain it. Don't want to either. But I need help.
This place has not been much of one I tell ya.

 

Yes, I am recovering addict. I haven't bought a new gun in over a year, although it had a wait period of seven months, so I haven't held a new gun in my hand since just before Christmas. I am getting itchy. I want a new 1911 real bad. When it all started I was buying 2 or 3 guns a month, but I'm over that now (gulp).

Totally agree with magazineman's post.

 

I'm not recovering, and don't plan to !

 

I have been buying guns all my life at 77 years old i have just started to slow down a little. Years ago i was not making a lot of money so you bought a gun and then traded it for another. In the last 25 years having some money i bought to many guns that i have two safes.I only bought four guns this year. Sold five guns that were just collecting cob webs in the safe they were guns that were less than $600.00. At the old age i only like gun that are over $1500.00 and up .

 

There are much worse things you can be addicted to. There are also much worse hobbies. With guns, unless you only buy run of the mill hardware store guns, and cheaper mass produced new production guns, you will have investments that can build in value. Unlike those beanie babies some people are in to. Very few of those things fetch a high price, and even the most valuable ones have no historical significance, unlike some of these collectable guns. Sorry if I offended any beanie baby lovers, I am just trying to make this addiction more pleasant sounding.

 

I spend almost all my discretionary income on guns and accessories. If I ever had to I could sell them and get most of that money back. My brother by contrast loves to go on trips. He spends as much, if not more than I do on food, gas, car rentals and hotel fares. If he ever needed money he'd be stuck, because what he blows on traveling can never be recovered. At least with guns the money is going into something that can be turned back into cash, even if you take a small hit.

At least, that's how I justify it anyway. Collecting coins and stamps is similar, but a lot more boring.

 

My brother by contrast loves to go on trips. He spends as much, if not more than I do on food, gas, car rentals and hotel fares. If he ever needed money he'd be stuck, because what he blows on traveling can never be recovered.

this is interesting (tidbit info only). many of the mental health/psych folks agree among themselves (and others who agree with them) that life experiences (travel, events, variance, etc) is what humans should spend their $$ on. when life ends, you have a collection of metal handed off to someone else, your brother has a lifetime of worldly experiences.

 

there's also wanna-be addicts

i tend to stay on the side of buy it because its different and will be used. last few years my small collection has been somewhat idle, some rifles not in the woods hunting, and a couple of my smaller pistols needing to be used again. life sometimes also gets in the way. next up is a Mossberg 20ga semi for some skeet, and a new ar15 300blk build. my ar1522 is fun and all, but a 300blk is what i want next. however, i have plans to change all this downtime, will be handling firearms on a daily basis

 

I am hooked