Priorities and minimalization

[Salamander]

Excellent discussion. I don't really have a good answer, just a few random thoughts:

I've spent much of my adult life accumulating things. Now I feel like it's a weight, and I'm shedding stuff at a slow but steady pace, as time allows. It's not about money, I have little debt and have a good job and could easily buy more.

The rifle collection has been mostly pared, it's the handguns that are still too prolific and I'm struggling with deciding what to get rid of. That's ironic, because none of the ones sold in the past have been missed. I feel like if all those guns weren't in my safe it wouldn't be hard to get by with replacing just a couple. I have at least stopped buying more.

That said, there are a few guns I'm keeping simply because I enjoy them. I don't "need" them, they're simply fun to shoot.

There are days that I envy the fictional Jack Reacher, wandering around with just a toothbrush, a debit card, a passport, and a few dollars cash. I couldn't do it without hurting those close to me and I'm way too responsible anyway. Still, there's the fantasy and curiously, a couple of close friends have told me similar stories.

[GardoneVT]

Minimalism with firearms makes a lot of sense when one considers some things.

While the Jack Reacher stage may be a bit much , the other extreme is as conceptually excessive as it is common. Stockpiling arms until the floor joists warp under the weight of the safes is socially accepted in the gun community. It's a shame most of us are logistically forbidden from ever being good with any of them.

All of us have a logistical limit to the time and money we can spend building shooting skill. Whether the limit is far out(Robbie Leatham) or not (single parent with a used gun and a pile of bills) , none of us have infinite time and money to spend on building skill. Once one owns more guns then they can effectively practice with, its like owning concert tickets to a show youll never go to; why bother owning them?

I remember visiting a nearby gun store to see a .50 BMG rifle for sale . List price $10,000 .Who has a valid, reasonable use for that kind of hardware beyond being the largest paperweight known to mankind?

I can hear it now. 'Murrica, Capitalism, I'm a commie sympathizing antigun yellow stooge for even daring to ask. But pithy BS aside, what ordinary member of the public loads up a .50 BMG and dry fires it regularly with the serious expectation that it'll be a legally and usefully deployed tool?

How many folks have entire college funds tied up in metal boxes? Thousands of dollars in metal and plastic accumulating dust, for what? If The Walking Dead come you won't be marching through the Post Apocalyptic Wilderness with a Liberty Safe strapped to your back .If some armed jerkoffs kick in your door, you'll be solving the problem with whatever gun is next to you . They're unlikely to wait outside while you run to the safe to pick out what you wanna shoot them with.

Then there's the legal risk. All of us assume risk in owning firearms, just like in some ways what banks do when they make and hold loans. What if next year the government says you need to pay the ATF $200 per Mean Looking Long Gun if you want to stay out of jail? Could you afford it ?

What happens if your state legislature says you can't have mags greater then 15 rounds ? 10 rounds ?OK so you live in a state so remote its got mountains on the license plate, so it can't happen to you. But just the same -will your collection become a legal liability ? What if keeping what you already have involves a tax? Say your boss offers you a job in California and your kids eating depends on you saying yes. Could you afford the $20 per gun registration fee? Or, if you're the type prone to boating accidents ...could you afford bail and an arrest for a firearms ordnance violation?

I realize many will be offended to even know I posted this, to say nothing about what I've written here. My goal isnt to denigrate folks who own a lot of anything. My goal is to implore them to ask themselves why they have what they have , and to seek an honest answer bereft of stock phrases and SHOT show marketing buzzwords. There is enough delusional BS in the world as it is.

[tanner]

It costs me about an AR a month to keep my kid out of the public school system. Vacations are nice; being able to avoid the BS that goes with PS is priceless.

This made me chuckle. It costs me about two and half ARs a month for child support!

Even with the grief caused by the ex, wouldn't trade them for anything, and I place a high priority on making memories with them during the time we get to spend together. My boy wrote a story at school about how much fun he had the first time I took him shooting.

[BehindBlueI's]

Minimalism with firearms makes a lot of sense when one considers some things.

While the Jack Reacher stage may be a bit much , the other extreme is as conceptually excessive as it is common. Stockpiling arms until the floor joists warp under the weight of the safes is socially accepted in the gun community. It's a shame most of us are logistically forbidden from ever being good with any of them.

All of us have a logistical limit to the time and money we can spend building shooting skill. Whether the limit is far out(Robbie Leatham) or not (single parent with a used gun and a pile of bills) , none of us have infinite time and money to spend on building skill. Once one owns more guns then they can effectively practice with, its like owning concert tickets to a show youll never go to; why bother owning them?

I remember visiting a nearby gun store to see a .50 BMG rifle for sale . List price $10,000 .Who has a valid, reasonable use for that kind of hardware beyond being the largest paperweight known to mankind?

I can hear it now. 'Murrica, Capitalism, I'm a commie sympathizing antigun yellow stooge for even daring to ask. But pithy BS aside, what ordinary member of the public loads up a .50 BMG and dry fires it regularly with the serious expectation that it'll be a legally and usefully deployed tool?

How many folks have entire college funds tied up in metal boxes? Thousands of dollars in metal and plastic accumulating dust, for what? If The Walking Dead come you won't be marching through the Post Apocalyptic Wilderness with a Liberty Safe strapped to your back .If some armed jerkoffs kick in your door, you'll be solving the problem with whatever gun is next to you . They're unlikely to wait outside while you run to the safe to pick out what you wanna shoot them with.

Then there's the legal risk. All of us assume risk in owning firearms, just like in some ways what banks do when they make and hold loans. What if next year the government says you need to pay the ATF $200 per Mean Looking Long Gun if you want to stay out of jail? Could you afford it ?

What happens if your state legislature says you can't have mags greater then 15 rounds ? 10 rounds ?OK so you live in a state so remote its got mountains on the license plate, so it can't happen to you. But just the same -will your collection become a legal liability ? What if keeping what you already have involves a tax? Say your boss offers you a job in California and your kids eating depends on you saying yes. Could you afford the $20 per gun registration fee? Or, if you're the type prone to boating accidents ...could you afford bail and an arrest for a firearms ordnance violation?

I realize many will be offended to even know I posted this, to say nothing about what I've written here. My goal isnt to denigrate folks who own a lot of anything. My goal is to implore them to ask themselves why they have what they have , and to seek an honest answer bereft of stock phrases and SHOT show marketing buzzwords. There is enough delusional BS in the world as it is.

Anything can be ridiculous if taken to extremes. You could ask very similar questions about people who drive lifted Jeeps to the mall, a new Corvette Z06 that never sees a track day and the owner has never taken any racing classes, or daily drive a 3/4 ton diesel 4x4 and never haul anything heavier than a lunch box. Most people would be better with a Camry and some driving schools. But, if you've got the money and you're in to that sort of thing, why not? A .50 is cheap compared to a Harley that never gets ridden or a house that's 1,000 sq ft bigger than you need just to impress or have room for your stuff. What's the difference between owning a lot of guns and living in a bigger house?

I don't need the same level of proficiency with all my guns. How much practice does it take to use a pump shotgun to kill squirrel or a bolt action rifle to kill deer? Not much. If I have collectible or historical firearms that I don't intend to use in OH POO situations, who cares what my proficiency with it is? Tickets to a concert? Very poor analogy. A ticket gives no enjoyment just by owning it, and once it's used it's worthless. No, guns for collecting are sculptures. I don't "use" them for anything. I just like to look at them and to own them. It might even appreciate in value over time.

Now personally, I keep all my handguns on the same platform. Everything I own is a Sig DA/SA, with 2 exceptions that I have for sentimental reasons and that aren't fired. I have options of size, caliber, and capacity based on what I want. I don't have to carry the same gun jogging as I do on duty. On the revolver side, everything is Ruger. So, when I practice with any of my Sigs, I'm practicing with all my Sigs. When I practice with any of my revolvers, I'm practicing with all my revolvers. I am given serious consideration to selling my AK so that every time I practice with a semi-auto rifle I'm practicing with all of them. Just waiting to see if Hillary gets to be a real contender so I can sell in the next panic.

As far as legal liability, etc. etc. I don't spend much time worrying about that sort of thing. Could it happen? I guess. I could be hit by a dump truck, too, and probably at greater odds, but I still go outside.

Anyway, I've been the minimalist when finances dictated. I decided I'd rather have one really nice gun and money to practice then a bunch of guns. Now I'm in the financial situation where I don't have to make those choices. I don't have to worry about "gun vs training" because I can do both. I don't have to worry about "gun vs vacation" because I can do both. I'm smart with my money, put 10% back for retirement plus have a pension that's healthy and not yet raided by the politicians, have no non-mortgage debt, contribute monthly to my son's college fund since before he was born, take routine vacations, etc. and I know what I can spend on play toys. If a revolver catches my eye because it's pretty, and its in the price range I know I can buy it without trading off anything of higher priority, why not?

[dbateman]

What would you consider to be a "good rule of thumb" to have on hand for a responsible prepared person? Everything from EDC pistol to precision rifle, carbine, shotgun could be covered. Just looking for some outside input.

For day to day normal type stuff my min is a 22lr rifle, 12ga, 223, and a 308 as well as a pistol of some sort.
Then I'd double it up. You know the whole two is one thing.
I'm in a similar position as yourself, I have been thinking of thinning the heard.

[Josh Runkle]

I wouldn't sell anything. I've played this game before.

[dbateman]

I remember visiting a nearby gun store to see a .50 BMG rifle for sale . List price $10,000 .Who has a valid, reasonable use for that kind of hardware beyond being the largest paperweight known to mankind?

A. $10k isn't a lot of money, thats about what I budget to go to a new rifle in a new caliber.
B. There are matches set up specifically for 50BMG, those guys spend a bit of time dryfireing them.

[Peally]

A. $10k isn't a lot of money, thats about what I budget to go to a new rifle in a new caliber.
B. There are matches set up specifically for 50BMG, those guys spend a bit of time dryfireing them.

C. They don't need a reason. People don't buy Yachts because they want to start a ferry business up.

For some people guns are a collectible hobby to spend excess cash on.

[Clobbersaurus]

To the OP; check out a web site called Mr. Money Mustache. The dude blogs mostly about early retirement through getting rid of the extraneous stuff in your life, but he's got some pretty interesting posts about stoicism, reducing material accumulation, and a bunch of other debt reduction stuff. It's an extreme view of an alternate way of living for sure, but it does get you thinking. His posts about car choices are interesting as well.