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........guns you'll probably never shoot? o_O

What is this crazy concept you speak of?

I much prefer keeping spare parts for things that are known to be breakable or wear out quickly. Especially for arms that are modular, punch it out put the replacement in.
Don't get me wrong, I have multiples of a number of weapons, AR's, SKS's, 10/22's. I don't have "extra" pistols, simply because I have a lot of pistols, (and a few revolvers). Really the multiple rifles aren't "multiples" I shoot them all because I enjoy them all, no storage guns! Just mt $0.02.
 
Storage guns?
No such thing in this household.
We have some we beat on less than others.... because some are more fun to shoot!

And if I EVER decide to try and sell any of them, please pretend you didn't read this post. LOL
 
"Storage guns" - This was my habit some years ago, I would get newer/better guns and my old guns (a lot of milsurp rifles I bought "back in the day") ended up as safe queens. I had various mauser rifles I bought, chambered in .308, 8mm, 7mm, (nothing fancy, mostly yugo or turk mausers). A few years ago I finally went and sold them all off to friends who were in a similar position I was when I bought them (young, not a lot of money). Then took that money and went and made upgrades to my current stock, got a new pistol, some new scopes for existing rifles, etc.

Whenever possible, I sold these guns off with the reloading components and got a few extra bucks for the whole lot. I think I had sat on these rifles for an extra 5-10 years under the rationalization that "I might need to give these away at some point". Instead I sold them and upgraded the guns I'll actually use.

The only one I kept was a late model (1950's MFG) .303 Enfield No 4 royal navy sniper rifle that was in unissued condition. That's one I'd like to pass on to my kids, and wouldn't feel as weird about passing on to someone who needed a rifle, as it was something someone with a lot of skill could really get some work done with. But more importantly, it's a hoot to take out and shoot. I like taking it out to long range service rifle matches and doing my best to scare the crap out of dudes shooting national match M1A's.
 
I have a buddy of mine still with a ton of Yugo Mausers, some stock, some rebuilt.

Don't get me wrong, they're solid well built rifles, but at some point, it makes more sense to trade them in for some higher dollar shooting technology. To a point, I think having a M4 and an SPR upper is a bit of over-kill. But there's no such thing as "one gun" that does everything you might want. A Mk 20 SSR is a damn fine rifle, but it's not an entry gun, nor is it a 1500+M anti-material rifle.

Some of this comes down to your environment. Most of us in the southwest can take advantages of stand-off distances that are simply impractical for other environments. Open desert means if you have a gun that can make a 2000+M shot, it's likely you could both acquire a target at that distance, and have a clear field of fire to it. In the PNW, there are places where 50 yards is a long shot, in fact that may be the longest shot you get.

Personally, I'm getting ready to dump both .22LR, and .308. 22LR just no longer makes sense cost wise, the ammo is still hard to get, and expensive when you can find it. It's cost competitive with reloaded 5.56, and it's at parity with reloaded 9mm. .308 by comparison, is fairly cheap for what it is, but it doesn't have the legs of say 6.5 CM, but none of the cost or weight of .338 Lapua.

I am debating the purchase of a .50BMG upper, not necessarily the range, but for the punching power.
 
Didja know there is a kit to reload 22lr? Works, too, but a PITA.

Don't get me started, I'll cut you.

FedArm is currently selling .22LR components, so you can make your own .22LR, or if you want you can purchase production capacity on one of their machines, all for about the same price you can buy .22LR for at retail.

.22LR is out for a few really good reasons: It's too damn finicky, if a manufacturer puts out a modern gun that "won't shoot federal" or "only works with CCI". Or has some other set of weird arbitrary constraints on it's use as a firearm it wouldn't exist in the market. The .22LR has slid for so long no one even bothers making excuses and at $.02/rd that makes sense, a cartridge doesn't feed or fire, *meh* eject it drop it on the ground, it's not worth bending over to pick up. At $.05-.10/rd that math changes and changes quick. I've had some semi-auto .22s that will only shoot certain brands, and still maybe top out at a 95-98% success rate with. I've had others that will eat literally anything, but will never manage more than a 90% reliability with. However, at $9/brick literally who cares if you throw away $.90 on ammo that doesn't work. But now that brick is $25, and about 2/3 the size, now you're talking about throwing away $4 on ammo that doesn't work.

Economics matter, and I think we're getting to the point that .22LR may actually die here in the near future as a major market cartridge. I still have not seen .22LR in brick form on the shelf since maybe 2008-2009 without some outrageous pricetag attached. One place still has 1 brick on the shelf for $100. (I think they do it as some kind of statement)

Yea, at this point .22LR is dead to me. I've been working on and off with a group to develop a telescoped replacement for the .22LR using a plastic case, and using a bridgewire instead of a primer. However, we still need funding to get tooling made.
 
Anyone apply this philosophy to their firearms, or is it just me? Any platform I have an intended use for long-term and/or SHTF, I basically get two so I have an automatic built in "spare" or complete set of spare parts if the supply chain is not operational.

What do others think?

I have done the same. Every firearm I own, I have 2 of. Try to get the same era to keep parts compatibility same. Have a little variation in a couple (one std ruger 10/22 and one set up for appleseed, a MATEN with 18" bbl and one with 14.5" pinned/welded). Otherwise, exactly the same with same controls/grips/etc. Cannot afford to duplicate optics so I have work to do there...
 
Don't get me wrong, they're solid well built rifles, but at some point, it makes more sense to trade them in for some higher dollar shooting technology. To a point, I think having a M4 and an SPR upper is a bit of over-kill. But there's no such thing as "one gun" that does everything you might want. A Mk 20 SSR is a damn fine rifle, but it's not an entry gun, nor is it a 1500+M anti-material rifle.

Some of this comes down to your environment. Most of us in the southwest can take advantages of stand-off distances that are simply impractical for other environments. Open desert means if you have a gun that can make a 2000+M shot, it's likely you could both acquire a target at that distance, and have a clear field of fire to it. In the PNW, there are places where 50 yards is a long shot, in fact that may be the longest shot you get.

Personally, I'm getting ready to dump both .22LR, and .308. 22LR just no longer makes sense cost wise, the ammo is still hard to get, and expensive when you can find it. It's cost competitive with reloaded 5.56, and it's at parity with reloaded 9mm. .308 by comparison, is fairly cheap for what it is, but it doesn't have the legs of say 6.5 CM, but none of the cost or weight of .338 Lapua.

I am debating the purchase of a .50BMG upper, not necessarily the range, but for the punching power.

Your original comment was posted April 29, 2017 and it is now February 19, 2019 so I'm curious if those who have posted about quitting on the ..22LR and .308 cartridges have changed their minds on the topic.
.22LR hasn't come down to the prices of BEFORE the big hoopla, but it is within a few cents each from what I've seen.
Same with .308. That round has never been "cheap" unless you happened upon a bunch of surplus ammo some widow or
not-interested-in-guns-or-firearms
kids liquidating Pops or Gramps' stash of guns and ammo, but you CAN still find decent prices.
As long as you aren't talking ammo loaded with premium projos from the likes of Berger, the newest Sierra MatchKing versions with the fancy nose cap and etc.
Reloading of surplus Ball projo's CAN make shooting costs reasonable but still not FREE, dangitt! LOL
Me? I'll continue to buy and set aside as much .22LR and .22 RFM factory rounds and various projo's in the calibers I routinely shoot, but I admit I don't have the discretionary cashish any more since I've been medically retired and funds are well and truly of the Fixed Income type.
But if it weren't for surplus goodies, my shooting days would come to a screeching halt.
As for your musing about acquiring a .50BMG, is that just an upper for an AR lower or a complete rifle you mentioned?
Either way, should you pull the trigger on the purchase (pun intended) surplus components, including powder, CAN be had for a far more reasonable price than for, say, components to reload for a .300 WinMag.
When I was still buying components for a BMG, I found I could load one round using pulled down components (projo being an AP, once-fired cases and surplus powder) and the ONLY "new" part being the primer, for right at $0.85/round.
Hell's Bells! I darned sure cannot build loads for my .300 WinMag for that even using a 180 Sierra GameKing BT projo.
So they aren't outrageously expensive, unlike .338 Lapua for but one example, but my advice is to buy IN QUANTITY for each purchase/component.
Primers are, unfortunately, still pricey and going up but that's the price you'll have to swallow to shoot with the Big Dogs.
If you need a source for components, drop me a PM and I'll send you my source. He has, and still IS, very reasonable, but I suggest you jump on it because prices will continue to rise and the damned gubment will continue to demonize the caliber, guns and owners/shooters, so get off the proverbial pot, Folks.
OK. Overnout for now.
 
That definitely doesn't sound worthwhile :p


Oh, I dunno about it not being worthwhile. If you are familiar with the kit, it has the tools to reload empty .22LR cases, which can be found laying around at your local range or shooting spot.
Add some of your own supplies and time allotment and SHAZAM! More .22LR ammo on the cheap.
While I'm not of the opinion that we will suffer a catastrophic crisis that will be apocalyptic in nature and all guns/ammo dries up, those kits might just have your bacon. Doubtful ot will.come to that but hou never know, right? LMAO
 
One is none, so I now have one AR....

Done brother and sister completed.jpg
 

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