What's new

Have your tastes and needs changed when it comes to firearms over time?

Steel...wood...leather
As it was then
As it is surely waning today
As who knows what it shall be tomorrow......
 

martym

Unacceptably Lasering Chicken Giblets?
I have been hunting ever since I can remember. I have been carrying professionally for 32 years.
I have been teaching firearms for more than 20 years and have fired some incredible weapons.

I own 1 12 gauge shotgun, 1bolt action .308, 1 bolt action .270, 1 Rock River Arms .308, and 2 Ruger LCP’s.
That’s it.
I purchased the 2 Rugers.

THE REST WERE GIVEN TO ME.

I don’t know why but I am not a weapon collector or even a weapon guy. I love instructing and smithing and shooting but I have no desire to collect.
If someone wants to talk weapons I usually have to research what they are talking about.
 
I have been hunting ever since I can remember. I have been carrying professionally for 32 years.
I have been teaching firearms for more than 20 years and have fired some incredible weapons.

I own 1 12 gauge shotgun, 1bolt action .308, 1 bolt action .270, 1 Rock River Arms .308, and 2 Ruger LCP’s.
That’s it.
I purchased the 2 Rugers.

THE REST WERE GIVEN TO ME.

I don’t know why but I am not a weapon collector or even a weapon guy. I love instructing and smithing and shooting but I have no desire to collect.
If someone wants to talk weapons I usually have to research what they are talking about.
Pretty good!
 
OK I will throw my .02$ in on this subject.
I started carrying at the ripe old age of 20. And have carried everyday of my adult life. Never missed a single day, not once, not ever.
I am 52 now. Wow, that seems odd to say that I am a 50 year old guy, I don't feel a day over 25!
In those years I have carried the following in no particular order;
A Colt Double Eagle Officers Model in .45 ACP, a Colt Mustang in .380ACP, Glock 23 .40S&W, Glock 26 9MM, Taurus PT111 Slim 9MM, Kel-Tec PM-9 9MM, Ruger LCP .380, Beretta Nano 9MM, Ruger LC9 9mm, Beretta Pico .380ACP, S&W model 36 .38SPL,numerous 1911 in 9mm, .45ACP, and even .357 Sig.

Several Taurus and Rossi .38 and .357 revolvers. And numerous .22 cal revolvers, pistols, and even a folding rifle for a few months once.

In those years of carry I have learned two things; 1.) If you aint prepared to use it don't carry it. 2.) If you don't test it regularly it will fail for you when you need it.

While I have never needed to use my weapon on a human, I have had to use it on other "aggressors" such as a wounded hog that came out of nowhere, and several elongated scaly creatures that start with an s that others seem to think are pets.
I have also dispatched wounded animals on the roadsides hit by cars, up to a cow, and as small as a tiny dog.. In every case the weapon has been more than adequate for the job and the weapons have performed perfectly with a few notable exceptions involving my not having cleaned a weapon often enough and it being unreliable due to lack of maintenance.
Also some of the guns mentioned above never proved to be reliable and thus were only carried for a short while. But like my two lessons state if you want to bet your life on them you have to be ready and willing to use them, and you need to have maintained them and practiced enough that you can use them well.

As I age, the number of shots does not matter quite as much as it used to, and the weight and recoil of the gun matters more to me. While I still enjoy shooting .44Mag for fun I would never carry that boat anchor unless I had nothing else. A nice .380 or 9MM in somewhere around 7-12 rounds is plenty of gun for me. And if you can make it thin and light as well that's even better.
Put some sights that I can see on it and I'm a sucker, take my money now.
I have kept a sweet 1911 Officers model in 9mm that I love to shoot and carry occasionally. But it's too heavey for everyday
Anyhow thats my .02$.
 
No, my tastes have never changed, but only become more rigidly anchored in the "guns of my youth," both what was new in makers' catalogs then and the used gun inventories commonly seen at that time. I'm not through playing with those guns. I'm still enthused to own them and use them. Current firearms are irrelevant to me. I'm a hide-bound and narrow-minded fogy who greatly enjoys staying that way.
 
Id say mine have changed. I used to be all about hunting guns, just rifles and shotguns and found handguns to be pretty useless.
Now, I dont hunt anymore (hunting opportunities in Ohio are not what they were in Wisconsin), so Ive gotten more into target shooting and now Im more into handguns than I am rifles or shotguns.
 
My tastes and needs are pretty much the same as they've always been: Buy what I can afford, own what I have a purpose for and not to excess.

Meaning, I don't own a firearm that doesn't have a specific purpose and isn't just a collection piece.

Though, I do have to admit there is one exception to this rule. The early production AR-7 that I received from my parents. Part of family history, as one of them worked for Armalite in Costa Mesa back in the day. I used to shoot this when I was a kid. But, it hasn't been fired in well over 30 years.
 
40 years ago (or thereabouts) I carried a Raven .25.
Today it’s a S&W 640 .357
Guess that says something
 
Last edited:

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
My tastes and needs are pretty much the same as they've always been: Buy what I can afford, own what I have a purpose for and not to excess.

Meaning, I don't own a firearm that doesn't have a specific purpose and isn't just a collection piece.

Though, I do have to admit there is one exception to this rule. The early production AR-7 that I received from my parents. Part of family history, as one of them worked for Armalite in Costa Mesa back in the day. I used to shoot this when I was a kid. But, it hasn't been fired in well over 30 years.

I purchased an Armalite AR-7 a few years ago, from an advertisement in the Sunday newspaper for $85. Sold it at a Gun Show for $325. :)
 
Top Bottom