Hello Bruce! Nearly all of them were purchased sometime between 1965 and 1997 or so. I had a thing for Mausers, Enfields etc, when I was a kid. My Dad would bring home a Field & Stream or Sports Afield once in a while, and I would order catalogues from various companies.
As soon as I was on my own and had a few dollars, I would buy rifles. Most of the real dillies, though, I bought in the 80's and earlier 90's, when I was in business. We sold guns out of our shop, but it was all a cover to fool our wives. Three of us went together on a firearms dealer licence. I'm sure I don't need to explain where a good portion of the guns we ordered in landed up!!
I also bought lots of guns at gun shows, back when "them old army guns aren't worth nothin". Now, I'm not saying that these are a wonderful investment. I say that because I have mostly
bought guns, not
sold guns! True enough though, some of them are worth some meaningful coin nowadays. Plus, I have had a fantastic time collecting, shooting, researching, and bs'ing about these firearms. I spent the whole day in my gun room, cleaning, checking with a magnifying glass, and just plain soaking up the history and workmanship.
