Down Sizing the shotgun collection as we age

I'm pretty well in the same situation, possibly given the same number of autumns we've both been on this earth.

I've downsized a fair bit, mostly I believe because my tastes continue to evolve. But, the total number has, at least for the last several years, remained more or less static, although the individual items have changed. Not just in shotguns; however, in that department only doubles remain. It has been thus for the last 30 years but the numbers of those have also dropped from a dozen to two, both in 12 bore. I have not had another gauge in ~30 years.

In rifles, I find myself drawn more & more to light-recoiling single-shot rifles, especially those from a century past. I found in the last few years that recoil from the big boys were/are no longer fun, so sold my .500 N.E., my .458 Lott, 3 .458 Winchesters & 3 .45-70's.

I suppose I may get that way with the .375 H&H's & the 9.3x62's at some point in the future, at which point, down the road to the next caretaker they'll go.

But in the meantime, as long as I'm having fun & learning something along the way, I'll keep on doing it.
 
Ashcroft said:
I’m with Reddog, sort of refining the choices, less guns total but more focussed on quality and specific features. At 82 I still shoot trap fairly regularly, sporting clays occasionally and skeet once or twice a year. I always have a quality Beretta over/under or two for the range although most of my Westley Richards family get exercised a time or two per year and they are my choice for hunting, although I’m more selective about hunting now. Yes, ability wanes and expectations as well as you age but I still love to challenge myself, I’m not THAT old!
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I'm a couple of years your younger, Ashcroft, and I admire your love of guns and shooting. I've been downsizing for a few years---but, I had far too many guns---but it was fun---would do it all again, if I could.
I'm slowing down but just signed up for my fall waterfowl hunt and can't wait do do a spring snow goose hunt in a few months.
 
I welcome myself to the same club, too many treasures, not enough daylight. I spent years looking for each one of them, very picky and in no rush. I have very few new guns, most are old walnut and steel. Trouble is, I like these guns too much to abuse in a marsh, or beating for deer. I am fortunate to have two kids who either hunt or married a hunter, and now have grand-kids, plus nieces/nephews. I have already supplied the kids with a decent stock, one .22lr, one 12ga and a .303 cal, but have keep all the fancy stuff. Lately I have been been shooting and hunting with most of them, and are starting to understand which ones they like, and can shoot. I then give to them, with the understanding, if Grampy needs to borrow back his 870 Upland Special 20 ga, for a nice walk in the fall with an old dog, he can, but the kids have to come too. What no one wants or can't shoot, will be sold, and put towards the next find.
The old stuff needs to be used, just like us. No sense hiding it away, let them use it now.
 
I had 11 shotguns and I am now down to 3. I still have 300 decoys to deal with.
I have very much enjoyed shotgunning over the past 51 years (63 now)but it is harder to find buddies and birds.
Too far to drive to do trap and skeet.
Down to the grouse pursuit. It was fun while it lasted.
 
I am down to very few firearms now, I got rid of almost all that I do not use and only have my main guns left and family heirlooms.
The only one I have left that I am selling is a Berreta 300 year Centennial muzzle loader, and tat is for sale.:cool:
Cat
 
ianthomson said:
I welcome myself to the same club, too many treasures, not enough daylight. I spent years looking for each one of them, very picky and in no rush. I have very few new guns, most are old walnut and steel. Trouble is, I like these guns too much to abuse in a marsh, or beating for deer. I am fortunate to have two kids who either hunt or married a hunter, and now have grand-kids, plus nieces/nephews. I have already supplied the kids with a decent stock, one .22lr, one 12ga and a .303 cal, but have keep all the fancy stuff. Lately I have been been shooting and hunting with most of them, and are starting to understand which ones they like, and can shoot. I then give to them, with the understanding, if Grampy needs to borrow back his 870 Upland Special 20 ga, for a nice walk in the fall with an old dog, he can, but the kids have to come too. What no one wants or can't shoot, will be sold, and put towards the next find.
The old stuff needs to be used, just like us. No sense hiding it away, let them use it now.
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Did the same thing ,Each one got a shotgun ,rifle and a .22 for all 4.They got some decent stuff and have upped their own but got them started that was my intention.
 
An interesting subject. Too many international moves over the past 40 years prompted me to sell many guns I would dearly love to still own, but oh well. In recent years, in my search for knowledge and understanding, I started collecting a range of early pump guns, as they are relatively inexpensive (really good quality repeaters for $200-300?), and a delightful blend of mechanical ingenuity and manufacturing skill to appreciate. But even these had to go to fund the occasional pin-fire game gun that crossed my path (goodby, Remington Model 31 in 16 gauge, it was fun while it lasted). Like many here, as I get older I have kept the hunting/clay guns to a quality few, and I can never find enough time to enjoy them all as one should. The ones that stayed had to be special, interesting, and beautiful in one way or another, and preferably all three. Some have been life-long companions afield. I couldn't possibly whittle it down any more.

It is the collecting bug that is hardest to control. Not being able to afford to add to my pin-fire collection doesn't seem to have as much sway as I hoped... Having decided several guns ago that I would stop, the occasional treasure turns up, and I find myself calculating yet again if another will greatly improve my quality of life... (it does).

One aims for targets and fulfilling achievements in one's life. Several of mine have been gun-related, and I have no regrets on that score.
 
Pinfire said:
An interesting subject. Too many international moves over the past 40 years prompted me to sell many guns I would dearly love to still own, but oh well. In recent years, in my search for knowledge and understanding, I started collecting a range of early pump guns, as they are relatively inexpensive (really good quality repeaters for $200-300?), and a delightful blend of mechanical ingenuity and manufacturing skill to appreciate. But even these had to go to fund the occasional pin-fire game gun that crossed my path (goodby, Remington Model 31 in 16 gauge, it was fun while it lasted). Like many here, as I get older I have kept the hunting/clay guns to a quality few, and I can never find enough time to enjoy them all as one should. The ones that stayed had to be special, interesting, and beautiful in one way or another, and preferably all three. Some have been life-long companions afield. I couldn't possibly whittle it down any more.

It is the collecting bug that is hardest to control. Not being able to afford to add to my pin-fire collection doesn't seem to have as much sway as I hoped... Having decided several guns ago that I would stop, the occasional treasure turns up, and I find myself calculating yet again if another will greatly improve my quality of life... (it does).

One aims for targets and fulfilling achievements in one's life. Several of mine have been gun-related, and I have no regrets on that score.
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One of the most important lessons in life i have learned is it is the doing, not the having, that is the secret to happiness. That's why I probably won't stop buying and restoring suitable candidates. I love the future possibilities more than the completed reality.
 
I'm 70 this year, and in great health (so far) and still passionate about hunting but I really only consistently use one deer rifle and one bird gun though there are others in the locker. Nothing in my possession is really worth much and would earn me much less if I put it on consignment and it is too much of a pita to sell things so I guess I'll let my wife or daughter deal with them and the guitars and basses and amplifiers if I leave this planet before they do.
 
Same here - I'll downsize if and when needed, to save my family not knowing where, how or for how much. My curated gun collection is a constant work in progress, and they come and go regularly so I'm not amassing a huge number - I can still fit it all in 3 safes. :) A few will be willed to my son. The rest can come and go as needed.

I am a big proponent of others downsizing tough... namely, someone needs to downsize a nice .410 o/u to me. lol
 
canvasback said:
I think it helps that I’m not married. If I was to drop dead to tomorrow, I don’t really care much what happens to my stuff. My son will get as much as he wants and just for fun I may will the rest of my gun stuff to my ex. A headache would be good for her. Hahaha.
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Great thread guys. I'm behind alot of you in the age # but can relate to alot of it.
And this post had me laugh out loud and almost spit water onto my computer screen hahaha
 
I'm not sure if I'm downsizing or upsizing at this stage. While the number of shotguns in my collection has decreased slightly, the value of the top end ones are steadily going up. In the past, I always had to inject new funds to buy those that I had my eye on. These days, I sell a couple and buy something nicer. The overall value of the collection appreciates with inflation, but otherwise it has become relatively static.

My focus now is on acquiring my dream gun. This has proven difficult, as the definition seems to upscale every time I get there. But, as many here have so eloquently said, the fun is in the doing. To that end, I've become a self-taught gunsmith. Repairs have become somewhat routine, so I've turned my focus to restorations and refinishing. There's a heap of satisfaction to be had bringing vintage firearms back to life and/or upgrading guns to a level of fit and finish better than they were originally, let me tell you!!

I doubt that I will ever sell off my collection - it will go to my daughter (she has her RPAL). I keep an extensive database of all the details of each one, along with current values, so she won't be in the dark if she doesn't want to maintain the entire collection.
 
Falconflyer said:
I’ve helped out 3 or 4 widows get rid of their husbands gun collections in the last 5 or 6 years and it never ceases to amaze me how often they get approached by a friend of the diseased husband offering to purchase one or more of his guns for pennies on the dollar. It makes one wonder how often these women get taken by a so-called friend when they don’t have some one knowledgeable to look after they’re best interest.
I’ve been on a bit of a selling spree lately but I’m replacing almost as fast with higher quality ( priced) firearms. Not ready to downsize yet although with the price of things these days it makes me wonder if I’m doing the right thing.
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I hear you. Some of the so-called respected dealers aren't any better. I know a guy who "helps people dispose of estate items". Some major hosing going on there.
 
My goal is "rightsizing." Have the right number of guns for what I want to do plus backups. A 12 gauge o/u for targets, a 12 gauge semi for waterfowl, a 12 gauge sxs for upland, a 20 gauge semi and a 12 gauge pump for the controlled deer hunt and farm gun. The 12 semi is my back up clay gun, the 20 is my back up upland gun and both semis are used as loaner guns when I bring a new shooter out. The number stays more or less the same but the quality has most definitely improved over the years. :d
 
I am 65, and have actually been downsizing for over 10 years, albeit gradually. I still buy the odd gun, but sell far more than I buy. Like others have stated, I am leaning more towards quality than quantity, and thankfully don't really have the "collector" mindset. Shotguns have always been a fairly casual area of interest for me; I am first and foremost a rifle guy. I usually shoot a bit every day when I am home...and now that I am retired and no longer away from home for weeks at a time for work, I get to shoot a lot more. I am finding that shooting becomes much more enjoyable when you shoot what you want to shoot, rather than guilting yourself into making some noise with a gun that you don't really love but feel you should use to justify keeping it. When you spend an afternoon shooting Rifle A and find yourself regretting that doing so made you miss the chance to really enjoy shooting Rifle B...it's time to say goodbye to Rifle A.
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A bit over a decade ago, I was planning a trip...which I realistically knew was going to be a one-time-only thing...to hunt Africa. I had the finances in place, was arranging the dates and trophy wish lists...and I was struck by the fact that I had about a dozen heavy rifles, all perfectly suited to the hunt. I bit the bullet and sold off several of them, along with a number of other assorted guns, and the cash generated went into the hunt planning. It helped to turn a great hunt...into a GREAT HUNT! Believe me when I say that a mount on the wall, which you see every day and which still makes you smile more than a decade after the fact, is far more enjoyable than the knowledge that there is a bunch of old rifles locked up in the back of the safe which you haven't actually handled in over a year and which are difficult to find ammo or components for.

More experiences and memories will always trump more wood and metal.
 
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