As I have gotten older, I find myself saying this quite a bit. I would rather have few quality weapons, then a high quantity of mediocre, or low quality weapons. I remember back in the day. I had two AK 47's and two AK 74's. I wanted to go out and buy damned near every cheap rifle and pistol they made, I just wanted MOAR. But now, having seen the error of my ways, I have reformed myself, and my plans for the future.
Now, by no means am I saying that I have slimmed the herd down to just a few high end pieces. Shit, I could only wish I could get rid of half the stuff I have not used in years. The main reason I hang on to a lot of stuff I still have is sentimental value.
I cannot even count how many times that someone has shown me their collection. They then ask me what I have and reply "Boy, I wish I could afford to have XXXX!". The truth is though, they could afford it if they really wanted to. Some of these people have five or six of the same gun. All decked out with an assortment of cheap optics that would make a gunshow vendor jealous. Once you add up the prices they paid, for duplicate guns, and the plethora of shitty lights and lasers, they could have had one or two VERY nice rigs.
If I could start it all over, start from scratch with no guns whatsover, here is what I would do.
That right there would be ten guns and would cover 99% of everything I could imagine having a need for. You may have noticed that I said two semi auto rifles, and here is my reasoning in that. In the chance that one breaks, or gets ripped off from your truck, you still have another that is identical to that one. No worrying about adapting to another platform, thinking if you have plenty of mags, etc, you already do.
The same goes with optics on everything. During a squirrel shooting trip this spring we had a whopping four optics go down in the course of two days. Mind you these were all rimfires they are mounted on. Cheap scopes, just like $20 Craigslist hookers are appealing, but you truly do get what you pay for. Later on I will do a blog entirely on this subject, since it is something that is its own can of worms.
Lets take my four AK's as an example. With the money spent on each of those rifles, I could have had a very nice Colt or Noveske AR, complete with something like an ACOG. Instead, I had 4 low end rifles, that I did not enjoy shooting much since they were cheap and lacked decent sites. Hmmmm, that could be a clue on my end.
If you are a collector of rifles, obviously this would not apply to you. For most that ask my advice, this is exactly what I give them. In my years I have found it much more pleasing to shoot once nicely setup rifle, than to bring 5 different rifles and ammunition types to the range. Afterall, you can only shoot one at a time. Unless you are a fan of the Call of Duty series and you like shooting two pistols at once without hitting a single thing. If this is the case, then may god have mercy on your soul.
EZ
I cannot even count how many times that someone has shown me their collection. They then ask me what I have and reply "Boy, I wish I could afford to have XXXX!". The truth is though, they could afford it if they really wanted to. Some of these people have five or six of the same gun. All decked out with an assortment of cheap optics that would make a gunshow vendor jealous. Once you add up the prices they paid, for duplicate guns, and the plethora of shitty lights and lasers, they could have had one or two VERY nice rigs.
If I could start it all over, start from scratch with no guns whatsover, here is what I would do.
- One full sized semi automatic pistol
- One midsized pistol for daily carry (preferably in the same caliber as your full size)
- One, maybe two, high quality semi auto rifles set up identically to each other
- One long distance bolt gun
- One .22 semi auto pistol
- One .22 rifle
- One defensive shotgun
- One hunting shotgun
- One lightweight hunting rifle
That right there would be ten guns and would cover 99% of everything I could imagine having a need for. You may have noticed that I said two semi auto rifles, and here is my reasoning in that. In the chance that one breaks, or gets ripped off from your truck, you still have another that is identical to that one. No worrying about adapting to another platform, thinking if you have plenty of mags, etc, you already do.
The same goes with optics on everything. During a squirrel shooting trip this spring we had a whopping four optics go down in the course of two days. Mind you these were all rimfires they are mounted on. Cheap scopes, just like $20 Craigslist hookers are appealing, but you truly do get what you pay for. Later on I will do a blog entirely on this subject, since it is something that is its own can of worms.
Lets take my four AK's as an example. With the money spent on each of those rifles, I could have had a very nice Colt or Noveske AR, complete with something like an ACOG. Instead, I had 4 low end rifles, that I did not enjoy shooting much since they were cheap and lacked decent sites. Hmmmm, that could be a clue on my end.
If you are a collector of rifles, obviously this would not apply to you. For most that ask my advice, this is exactly what I give them. In my years I have found it much more pleasing to shoot once nicely setup rifle, than to bring 5 different rifles and ammunition types to the range. Afterall, you can only shoot one at a time. Unless you are a fan of the Call of Duty series and you like shooting two pistols at once without hitting a single thing. If this is the case, then may god have mercy on your soul.
EZ
