I am ramping back into shooting but focusing more on rimfire. I still have my centerfire fun but rimfire still gets me going. Gopher season is allegedly approaching out here. Didn't take many pictures but cracked out the KK UIT, Model 99, Stevens Marksman and a Belgian Browning SA. Cold as all h3ll but it needed to be done.
Losing interest in firearms?
- Thread starter nomas
- Start date
I went to the range last weekend for an hour and blasted through 200 rounds without really enjoying it. I shot my G17 first for a bit, always a solid shooter, then put it aside. My Elite SC was next, and I realized how much I don't enjoy shooting it; my thumbs fall in a weird place and the trigger, while 'nice', is too light for my tastes. I also have no need for a sub-compact pistol so I'm wondering why I ever bought it in the first place. My M&P always feels good in my hand and the grip angle is perfect but it has far too much trigger take-up and the break is a bit light. I wish I liked shooting it more. My P320 shoots well but I still haven't gelled with it. Changing the grip module and trigger helped but it still is not the pistol I want it to be. Finishing up back with the Glock, while not perfect, made me want to sell off the other three and thin my collection down to just the one pistol.
I wish I loved this hobby like I did five or so years ago. It just isn't as fun or interesting to me as it used to be.
I'm the exact opposite. Shooting is the one hobby I never got away from, and always came back to throughout the last 50+ years. When I was younger I had motorcycles, boats, ATV's, watercraft, etc.
But the interest came and went quickly with all of those play toys. (As did partying and chasing girls). The depreciation, insurance, and maintenance grew to be an enormous and constant pain. And it was worse with women!
You pay good money for all of that crap, and even if you take immaculate care of them, you take it in the shorts when you sell. And you don't spend anywhere near the hours with them you think you do either.
But firearms are different. Other than a cleaning and wipedown, they require no maintenance. No spark plugs, batteries, tune ups, or replacing expensive parts on a seemingly constant basis. They can and do last several lifetimes with minimal care.
Most go up in value, not down. And guns have a certain appeal to men, much like expensive jewelry does to women. It's hard to explain, but they do.
I shoot nowhere near as much as I should, in relationship to the amount of guns that I have. But I don't have to in order to extract pleasure from owning them.
After a lifetime in machining and manufacturing, I can appreciate what goes into building a good, finely finished firearm. I don't have to shoot it to get that enjoyment. I'll never sell a gun. That will be my wife's job when I'm gone.
But until that day comes, I will enjoy them all for as long as I can.
But the interest came and went quickly with all of those play toys. (As did partying and chasing girls). The depreciation, insurance, and maintenance grew to be an enormous and constant pain. And it was worse with women!
You pay good money for all of that crap, and even if you take immaculate care of them, you take it in the shorts when you sell. And you don't spend anywhere near the hours with them you think you do either.
But firearms are different. Other than a cleaning and wipedown, they require no maintenance. No spark plugs, batteries, tune ups, or replacing expensive parts on a seemingly constant basis. They can and do last several lifetimes with minimal care.
Most go up in value, not down. And guns have a certain appeal to men, much like expensive jewelry does to women. It's hard to explain, but they do.
I shoot nowhere near as much as I should, in relationship to the amount of guns that I have. But I don't have to in order to extract pleasure from owning them.
After a lifetime in machining and manufacturing, I can appreciate what goes into building a good, finely finished firearm. I don't have to shoot it to get that enjoyment. I'll never sell a gun. That will be my wife's job when I'm gone.
But until that day comes, I will enjoy them all for as long as I can.
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2021
- Messages
- 191
That is what I tell people as I contemplate retirement at 50...
"I finished the main storyline playthrough... now I am going to go work on side quests!"
wemay
Site Donor 2023
At one point I owned 3 firearms and went to the range once a month or so. I've lost interest with age as well and no longer own any. That and fast cars just don't do it for me anymore. We're all different.
I like guns much more than I like a lot of the gun people. That's what caused me to lose interest. I still have a few for concealed carry and home defense but I really don't consider it a hobby anymore.
I've lost all interest. I don't have a modern sporting rifle, I don't have any AK or SKS. only thing I got is enough to go to battle against a buck or a deer. cost, time and energy. it's just not as exciting anymore especially since grandparents are gone. I might go skeet shooting occasionally if my legs don't hurt. sometimes I even lose interest in this forum but not because the people, maybe more so the same old having to explain that seafoam does nothing, don't put marvel in your fuel, and any car that has fuel dilution issues and especially a turbo have no business running a 20 weight oil.
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
For me, too many have lost sight of the fact that guns are just tools. It's not a statement about who I am or where I stand on any social issues. But for many it has become such an identity thing that it just pulls the fun out of it for me. I have no desire to entertain conspiracy theories or listen to bravado. Last time I sold a couple of my guns and the last time I bought a couple of boxes of ammo that was the types I ran into.Me too..been in the trenches too long in the gun business.
Just as @fisher83 said...
Old and tired and the ammunition nonsense not so long ago turned me off. The customers...well nuff said
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2021
- Messages
- 591
I can respect that. In fact, I like most dogs better than most people.
I still enjoy shooting at my gun club. Mostly I have a range to myself but occasionally others show up. The membership screening process is well designed and most goofballs get weeded out. The
"tactical" fan bois that feel the need to yak about stupid stuff...like at most indoor ranges, are almost non-existant. As a retired state cop, guns are part of my life and yes, they are tools but I don't feel any need to yak about them with strangers.
It takes a large component of personal insecurity to pontificate how much of a "patriot" you are to strangers and even more insecurity to preach to others how much of a patriot they need to be.
No shortage of those types out there...and here too.
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You can say that about most any hobby or sport. Cars, boats, motorcycles. Idiots like all things that fun can be found in having and doing. Go to a ball game or a boat launch ramp. You'll see your fill of them in no time.
I’m 65 and have grandkids throughout the house. Gave my son most of my firearms. Kept a Winchester 12 gauge pump, Mossberg Home Defense 12 gauge pump, and a (1917) Smith & Wesson .32 revolver. All up on a top shelf in my closet 7 feet high. Both the S&W and Winchester were gifts from my dad so they are keepsake guns. The Mossberg is truly for home protection.
Who you talk to and what you talk about can vary by state. Nothing wrong with talking to gun owners about the current state legislation. Especially numb and ignorant examples.
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
I know exactly how you feel. I let go a lot of my designer firearms, including a beautiful custom Wilson Combat AR. Sadly, the whole aging process has come full circle. Even so, I regret letting them go, I’m not sure why. I guess they were like family to me.
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2021
- Messages
- 591
Of course. Or with friends that share the same interest(s).
Girlfriends are better than guns, but girls are much more dangerous to handle and use.
They are just nice to have.
And way more expensive
I spend more on woodworking tools than guns but enjoy both
In retirement I end up shooting less because I have so many more things to do!
