This used to be more fun.

[Guamsst]

I am short on guns for the gunshow in Ft Worth. So last night I started cobbling guns together. Things like replacing the sporterised front sight on a 1917, fixing the floorplate alignment on another 1917, replacing a full stock set on a No4 Enfield sporter. That only got me 3 guns for the show so I started scrounging through my Arisakas that weren't worthy of being displayed on my wall. I quickly realised that my collection has gotten too nice. Out of about a dozen "crappy" or spare rifles tucked away in corners and closets, I realised about 11 of them were either rare, numbers matching with mum, or had some unique feature I wasn't ready to part with like my T-99 with the cavalry style sling swivels.

I decided I really need to go through my collection again. It's sad when you have trouble deciding which trainging rifle should go because they are all to good to get rid of.

[BOB LOUGHLIN]

I can relate. Years ago when I first started renting a table at the SAXET Gun Show in San Antonio, I didn't have a single firearm for sell. I had two table signs made up that read " I BUY GUNS" and " These Weapons are for Display Only" I think after the 4th month, I had one corner of the table with Carbines for sale. 2 of them. Sold a Winchester that was within 200 ser. number of another Winchester that is still in my collection. Anyhow, I made enough profit on the sale, it paid for the 4 months I had set up just to buy and that weekend that I made the sale. Sometimes I would buy a Carbine just for one part. It was a lot of fun and my wife found a new way to spend time together. She has her own table now. The show that Michelle puts on here in the San Antonio isn't till the 23rd and 24th of this month and being the Monster my Wife has become...She has more Weapons on her table than I do. She reminds me of that song that Gal sang way back when..." I CAN DO BETTER THAN YOU " If you can't find anything to part with, there is always tons of Firearms coming in to Michelle's shows. Just take a ton of money. You will go home with a bunch of new toys.

[Guamsst]

If you can't find anything to part with, there is always tons of Firearms coming in to Michelle's shows. Just take a ton of money. You will go home with a bunch of new toys.

That's the problem, My gun fund consists of money I made selling other guns. I have gotten to the point now where I am having trouble finding guns to sell. I have had good bad luck lately too. The sort of luck where you buy 5 guns real cheap, but it turns out that 4 of them are keepers so really, I was out $800 for 4 good guns which is great, but the 5th one I only got $300 back out of which isn't generally enough to buy 2 guns and increase my inventory. I get some good walkins at Ft Worth. May be junk or real low end but at $50 a gun has to be complete trash before I will pass up the parts value.

[BOB LOUGHLIN]

I think you and I may be alike. I still have the first comic book I bought, the first Mad Magasine, a lot of me Boy Scout stuff and my broken Red Rider. I had to really talk myself into selling my first Carbine, but with 2 exactly alike it came to be the only way I could pick up others that I want more for my collection. I did pick up a Jap Trainer with a unsharpened trainer bayonet about 2 years ago hopeing to sell for a profit, but I haven't found that buyer yet. One day soon I hope. I need to buy a couple of 22 rifles for my twin Grandsons.

[dave]

Like Guam my gun fund consists of what I sell. I buy little anymore but sell less so I'm getting low. Usually sell to upgrade or an occasional spontanious buy I decide I should not have gotten. Evey thing I collect goes up in price so I can't afford it any more! Not to mention condition is going down as the nice ones dry up into collections!
Guam---been meaning to ask, you must be stationed at one place/base for extened time? When I was in I was transferred everyyear (air dense command) One reason I decided to get out, wife one child and expecting twins (un-known at the time). I never would have collected much at that rate either, what few I had were at my folks home. Has AF policy changed or is it a bonus for career guys?

[Michaelp]

Over the years I basically bought pieces that I liked.
Accumulated lots of nice stuff and variations of same.
Now I am at the age and point where I think about thinning the herd and find nothing extra to give up.

There is a fine line between a hobby and a mental illness.

[Griff Murphey]

I look at it as a gun library. I bring one out and may not have used it in 20 years but it is fun to go back and work up loads, retest it, etc., maybe use it in a match or hunt it.

[Guamsst]

I think you and I may be alike. I still have the first comic book I bought, the first Mad Magasine, a lot of me Boy Scout stuff and my broken Red Rider. I had to really talk myself into selling my first Carbine, but with 2 exactly alike it came to be the only way I could pick up others that I want more for my collection.........

My problem is that I have allot of guns, but they all have variations that I feel are worth keeping. Some are basically crap. Training rifles or parts guns.....but they have markings from unkown manufacturers or rare makers or good kanji to the stocks. I took a very nice Mukden T-38 out and had no heartache about it. But I have another nice Mukden for the wall. Buying has just been really slow lately except for good guns I want to keep.

I never would have collected much at that rate either, what few I had were at my folks home. Has AF policy changed or is it a bonus for career guys?

While in England I stored about 70 guns at my moms house. They like to keep us at a base for atleast 2yrs now. 3-4 preferably. Someone figured out that if you move people less often, you save money and have happier people usually.