Useless advice for you whippersnappers from an old fool

[bedbugbilly]

dverna - I hear what you're saying , , , , I think as we all get older we go through the same thing , , , or will if you haven't already. Lost schoolmates . . . . some regrets as we look back . . . things we wished we had kept or experiences we wish we could go through again and feel the thrill of them and the magic of youth.

This past year, the wife and I lost seven good friends within about five weeks - two from Covid and the others from other causes - three of them were my Lodge buddies and I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. A week ago, my wife and I ordered our headstone - something I wanted to get done - I'm fine in doing that as I didn't want it to fall on my wife to do alone if I go first or somebody else as we don't have kids. Things like that do make a person reflect on a lot of things.

If it is one thing I have learned all these years it is to live my life with no regrets, focus on the good memories of things past and those we knew and loved and to look forward to the next day and the pleasures that God will provide . . . live the Golden Rule . . . . let those you love know it and the rest will take care of itself according to God;s plan for each of us. Smile, laugh often and enjoy what we have and can still do . . . .

[dverna]

I have sold a lot of "useless" guns over the years so I am not suggesting keeping every gun you every had. But some are special. You can buy another most of time but it is not the same as the one you originally owned.

Over 90% of the guns I have are "tools" or "toys". A very few are companions to be cherished...I lost many of those years ago and regret their absence. I would rather sell my K-80 trap combo (5 figure gun) than the beat up 55+ year old .22 my dad gave me. I walked the woods and fields for hours with that gun and our dog. Worked at the local grocery store stocking shelves and bagging to buy my first scope...a little Weaver V7 for it. Did my first bedding job on it. It will still shoot 1" groups at 50 yards too. As I type this, it is sitting near the front door in case the squirrels stage a peaceful protest or a coyote struts down the drive. The 10/22 might be a better tool, but the old Anschutz is a treasure.

When we are young we (well at least, when I was young) get into different shooting sports and when money is tight it is easy to sell stuff off to fund the next "toy". It is OK to sell toys but try to hold onto the treasures if you can. Keep the gun(s) your family gave you, the first gun you bought with your own money, your first deer rifle, and the gun you won your first competition with. There may be others in that mix but those are the ones important to me....now...decades later...YMMV.

[Char-Gar]

When I turned 60, I woke up and started turning some of my excess guns into the guns of my youth that I dearly missed. It worked and I am happy I did so.

[Butzbach]

Sometimes the babies need new shoes.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

If you're truly a gun nut there's more to it than just utility (which is important). There's the personally known/involved history of that particular gun (memory/sentiment). If you're also a gunsmith there is an appreciation of this or that model gun based on the form, function, and quality of manufacture. If you're a collector there is this or that feature or rarity that endears certain guns. If you are all of those things, you can end up with quite a few of them. Kind of like an art gallery, they continue to acquire, but seldom sell any of their paintings.

DG

[jsizemore]

2 old high school friends went to dinner after the funeral of one of their classmates. At dinner one got quiet.

The friend asked him what's up.

The quiet fella said " We don't have many classmates left and I'm worried that nobody will be at my funeral".

The friend said "Don't worry, I plan on being there".

[shooterg]

Have my first .22(JC Higgins stamped Marlin), first shotgun(no name 20 ga. single), first CF rifle(Ruger 77 .243 with low 4 didgit serial), and first revolver(Ruger Super Single Six) . The .22 and .243 were bought back for waaay more than value years after I follishly traded 'em off on a Dana 4.88 rear setup for a Roadrunner . All of the purchased first guns were 50% paid for by my Mom, who matched me dollar for dollar on birthdays. Still hate the fact I never recovered my first double barrel 20 ga. - tracked it down but the last owner loaned it to a "friend" that moved away w/o returning it ! Had the .22 Springfield 15Y Pops used on a trapline before WWII(he paid Sears $2.98 for it !), my brother "lost" it. You can't pick up pieces like these w/o a lot of memories coming back - of course, we only remember all the shots we made and never the misses !

[Kraschenbirn]

Like others, I'm not terribly sentimental and I've traded and sold through the years but looking into the big safe in my office/man cave there are four pieces that aren't going anywhere: the OM .357 Blackhawk that was the first NEW handgun I ever owned, the M12 Winchester purchased by my father in 1937 and traded to me in the early 1960s, the parkerized Remington-Rand 1911 that followed me home from southeast Asia in 1968, and the .243 M700 that I bought for myself in 1972 as a reward for my college graduation. The remainder of the guns in that safe...and the two smaller ones in my workshop...are, to me, simply guns to be used in the enjoyment of a lifelong avocation.

Bill

[NEKVT]

I don't think it counts..... Like a blind date you REALLY weren't interested in!

The first blind date I had in high school was my last.......we just hit 47 years!

I still have most of my guns. One I regret not keeping was my first CF handgun a Ruger BH 6.5" 357. I once knocked down 9 of 10 turkey silhouettes at 150m with it while standing. Missed the last one just over the top but by that time the whole place was watching.

[WRideout]

The only gun I really regret losing was an old-style Savage 99 in 300 Sav. It had the safety on the lever. I traded it for a Browning Buckmark .22 pistol, which wasn't a bad deal at the time. Shortly after that, Savage quit making the 99. Used ones are worth a mint.

Wayne

[imashooter2]

Solid advice.

[JM7.7x58]

When I moved from California to Washington state my Surfboard Shaper, (the equivalent of a Custom Gunsmith in that trade) gave me the same advice. He looked me in the eye and told me about all the men in their 50’s and 60’s who would come to him with old photos of boards they had surfed in their youth that they wanted recreated. That would be like trying to duplicate the exact dimensions of a custom rifle stock from an old photo. It might look right from across the room but it wouldn’t feel exactly the same.
He told me to save them. They can’t be replaced, they are hand made and unique. Some of these boards I have spent thousands of hours paddling, riding, and sitting on. I might only surf a few times a year now. But, Someday I might spend three months a year in Costa Rica after I retire, if I do I’ll take a few of them with me.

I can’t see selling any of my guns that I’ve had for twenty to thirty-five years, or any that I inherited. Now modern plastic handguns I’m just not that attached to. Those can come and go.

[reddog81]

I've gotten rid of a number of guns I didn't like. There's no reason to hold onto a gun you won't ever shoot and no longer want to own. I'm at the point where I'll need to buy another safe in order to increase the number of guns I own. It's worked out for me to sell one or two for each new one I buy. I don't regret getting rid of any of them and the guns I've replaced them with are guns I actually want to own.

[fivegunner]

Yes Sir; been there done that, I never thought I would get old!

[myg30]

The one thing we do have and will never trade or loose is our fond memories ! Either it’s a car, gun, the first red head girlfriend, something you did with your dad or mom, sister or brother. We always have those great memories.
Went that time in life comes, and if we lost those memories, I’m pretty sure we won’t know it and we are preparing for our new life with the Lord. The only thing that’s important then, our new life with him.

Most of us have been in a near death situation at some time or another and that’s when we realize we are still here for a reason. For me, that’s when all those great fond memories of the past came to me again as real as the time it happened.
Why are we here still but lost so many loved ones ? Some day day we will get the answers.

God Bless, stay healthy and be safe and enjoy those memories.

Mike

[Markopolo]

wow.....

I still have my first gun... a bolt action 12g from sears I got for Christmas when I turned 11... well, my son has it.. LOL . I do have a 30-30 my dad gave me. i love old guns... even rusty ones banged up ones.!!!!

[MrWolf]

I have never sold any of my guns. My Father on the other hand sold my first one. Whole nother story.

[BamaNapper]

Not selling that first gun is good advice. Guns that we start out with tend to be timeless. And there is indeed something special when you can go out hunting with a gun that you first carried through the woods more than 50 years earlier. When I have it out I spend more time remembering past years than I spend watching for critters to shoot.

Mine is a little 1906 Winchester 22 pump. I'm the third generation in my family to carry it.

[Char-Gar]

In my old age replacement of guns I seriously regretted passing on, I was content to replace only three handguns.

1. I kicked myself for selling my 1911A1 Rem-Rand. I refused to pay the price for a true replacement, so I came as close as I could.
bought a minty Colt made early 50's replacement "hard" slide with all the internal parts. I bought from the same guy also a minty 1994 Colt parkerized frame, again with all the internals. I had a Colt barrel in my parts bin and a mainspring housing (flat) with the lanyard ring. New springs, a good mag and it all went together like it has just been taken down for cleaning. The finish on the slide and frame both Colt made 45 years apart matched. I installed a set of King Hardball sights I had laying around the shop and all it good. It is a tight, accurate pistol that is a worthy successor to my old Rem-Rand.

2. From the same guy, I bought a minty mid-70s Colt Gold Cup frame with all the internals. I found a same vintage 22 LR Colt conversion unit at Bud's and now I have a replacement for my long gone Colt Ace.

3. I have long regretted trading off my mid-60s vintage Smith and Wesson Model 19 (Combat Magnum). The first one I shot came out of Bill Jordon's holster one day on the Rio Grande River. I managed to snag a minty 1966 Model 19 and put on a pair of Bear Hug Skelton grips made by Deacon himself. All is now good on that front as well.

I did manage to hang onto some long guns from the early days.

[Geezer in NH]

My academy class 1978 of 29 guys. 4 of us left.

Know how you feel.