What to do instead of buying a new gun,,,

[dlbleak]

Did someone say eat n shoot?

 

[Jason Freeland]

Did someone say eat n shoot?

I'm up for another one, it's been a while.

 

[Perplexed]

“What to do instead of buying a new gun?”

For me, it’s “buy a new roof.” Priorities.

 

[El Pablo]

I cured the problem of my wife saying I could buy no new guns by buying used ones.

 

[dennishoddy]

So here I am,,,
Recuperating from a surgery,,,
And finding that boredom is very dangerous.

A clean credit card and on-line gun stores,,,
They are the devil's work no doubt.

A few weeks back I got the itch for a new rifle,,,
So I posted that I was interested in purchasing a Chinese SKS.

I had one back in the mid 90's,,,
Purchased at a gun show for a whopping $99.00.

I just remember it being a very fun range toy,,,
And ammo at the time was very affordable,,,
Alas I had to sell it to make ends meet.

Anyways, I already own 41 handguns and 16 long guns,,,
I don't have any kind of need for a Chinese SKS,,,
I just liked the one I had and wanted another.

Fortunately for me the prices have gone way up,,,
One gentleman on this forum offered me a nice Norinco,,,
His asking price was very fair by my research but still wowed me a bit.

After I added the price of the rifle ($400.00 minimum),,,
Along with the cost of a crate of ammo for it,,,
I decided that I really should pass on this.

Then the thought hit me,,,
I don't really want to own another SKS,,,
I just wanted to have the thrill of shooting one again.

It's the same for me with a lot of rifles,,,
I really would like to put a bunch of rounds through an M1 Garand,,,
Same for many of the classic WW-I & WW-II rifles I have owned in the past.

In short, I came to the realization that I don't need to own any of these rifles,,,
I just need to entice my friends who already own them to share a bit.

How to do that?,,,
Well here's how I'm going to do it.

I texted a friend who happens to own a nice Yugo SKS,,,
I asked him if he would like to go to the range,,,
And shoot a couple hundred rounds on me.

He said "sure."

So I went to sgammo.com and ordered,,,
240 rounds of Privi Partisan mil-spec ammo for $159.50 + shipping.

We'll go to the range,,,
Punch some holes in fun targets,,,
Both of us get to have some good range fun,,,
And I'm only out the cost of ammo I would have incurred anyways.

Another friend of mine has a very fine M1 Garand,,,
I haven't contacted him as yet but I'm positive he'll be happy to do the same.

I was at my range (Stillwater Rifle & Pistol Club) one day,,,
Some one down the line touched off an absolute cannon of a rifle,,,
Turns out it was a beautiful double rifle in some HUGE cartridge I can't remember.

I introduced myself and expressed my sheer admiration for that double-barreled beauty,,,
And offered to pay for the ammo if he would let me touch off a few rounds,,,
It cost me $20.00 for four rounds but man was it worth it,,,
And having done that I never need to own one.

In the past I've had friends ask,,,
"If I buy a box of rounds may I shoot your .44 Magnum?"

I've always said yes to them,,,
It's not like they are going to wear it out.

I've had friends ask,,,
"If I buy the ammo will you take my kid plinking?",,,
Again, I've (almost) always said yes to that and was very happy to do it.

I do own quite a few fiery-arms,,,
But very few "exotic" guns.

A friend who wanted to do a project rifle,,,
Bought 40 rounds of 8mm Mauser ammo for my K98,,,
He wanted to "feel" the rifle before he actually bought one to trick out.

Anyways, I do think this is a viable solution to just wanting to shoot a particular gun,,,
Not unlike renting that FN P-90 on my birthday for several years,,,
Just firing a couple of hundred rounds through it,,,
Satisfied my P-90 Ya-Ya's very nicely.

Just an idea to ponder on,,,
Certainly not a new idea at all,,,
But something that's a potential win-win for all involved.

Whaddaya think?

Aarond

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I read about a guy that owned a hardware store. He said he never bought vegetables. When planting season came along, he would gift his best customers with some seeds at no charge.
Said he would get sacks of veggis all summer and fall brought into the store for him in return.
Sounds like your plan!

 

[dennishoddy]

That's certainly the way to go if your friends have variety. Sure seems there's a huge chunk of "enthusiasts" who can't branch out past the AR/Glock combo.... and that's just not all that exciting.

I feel I have a pretty wide assortment and have offered anything in my safe to shoot...and people just generally seem disinterested. Very strange to me.

I think some feel/act disinterested because they do not want to shoot someone else's ammo.
I know at that ENS in Medford I wanted badly to dump a belt out of that 1919 of yours but didn't want to spend your money.
On the other side, I have tons of ammo and love to watch others shoot it through my guns.
Sounds wierd I guess.

 

[adamsredlines]

I brought it to share and nobody played. Oh well.

 

[Dmc707]

I thought you were going to say something truly foolish, like

pad the retirement or emergency account a bit more , or pay off a credit card

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

What to do instead of buying a new gun,,,​

Wait... I don't understand. Do you mean buy a used gun instead?

 

[aarondhgraham]

Wait... I don't understand. Do you mean buy a used gun instead?

That would work but it costs more in the long run,,,
My way you are only out the ammo you would have had to buy anyway.

My friends all know they can shoot any of my guns,,,
For the price of a box or two of ammo.

It doesn't always work like that though,,,
This past summer a friend and his son came shooting with me.

The boy wanted to shoot handguns,,,
So I hooked him up with my Ruger SR-22,,,
After 50 rounds of the .22 I let him shoot a mag from my 9mm EC9s.

He didn't want to shoot the .22 anymore,,,
He said the 9mm was way much more fun to shoot.

It became apparent he was not into trying to hit the target,,,
He just wanted to turn money into noise.

I told him he could shoot the 9mm all he wanted,,,
He smiled and reached for the pistol.

But then I added,,,
As long as you pay for the ammo.

When he found out this particular box was 26 cents per round,,,
He decided that he was happy shooting the SR-22.

We were popping Federal bulk at 7 cents per round,,,
He was loading another mag of .22 when his dad stepped in.

Apparently his Dad was just a bit miffed at his son,,,
The kid (13 years old) was showing quite a bit of an entitled attitude.

His dad made him agree to pay for the 50 rounds he had shot,,,
And also pay for any he would shoot the rest of the day.

He's actually a decent enough kid,,,
But he got taught a much needed lesson in economics that day.

Normally I'm happy to front the cost of .22 ammo,,,
And a few rounds of stuff like the 85 cents per round .44 Magnum.

I was perfectly willing to do it that day,,,
But Dad got miffed so I accepted his judgement.

I did tell the kid I would take him shooting again,,,
Any time he wanted to buy some ammo,,,
So far he has never asked to go again.

Aarond

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