Who Hunts, Shoots, Collects ?

pwl44m · Post by **pwl44m** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:52 pm

With the wide range of Posts I started wondering how many here actually Hunt or don't Hunt? How many just Collect for the sake of having a new Piece ? and how many actually Shoot what They acquire ?
While I don't Hunt anymore I still have a Love affair with Guns in General. It doesn't really matter what Brand,caliber or action while I prefer Leveraction (that's why I'm here).
Shooting is a no Brainer, what with all the Range reports. I would Love to get out and shoot more just to hear something go "BANG"
Just a thought going through My feeble Brain.
Perry

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 2:02 pm

Who Hunts, ME!
Who Shoots, ME!
Who Collects, ME....sort of....but not as much as some of the guys here!

damienph · Post by **damienph** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 2:11 pm

I Hunt, although I don't have enough free time (away from work) to hunt as much as I would like to. Deer, turkey, rabbit, squirrel are my main quarry. I do like to shoot and am an admitted firearm accumulator, rifle, handgun, shotgun; there are very few firearms that don't interest me in some way.

I pretty much like them all, plus I handload for everything that I own except 12g, 410 and 22LR/Mag; I would have to count but 28+ different calibers/loads

Borregos · Post by **Borregos** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 2:15 pm

RIHMFIRE wrote:Who Hunts, ME!
Who Shoots, ME!
Who Collects, ME....sort of....but not as much as some of the guys here!

Same here

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 2:16 pm

I hunt and only buy guns I can hunt with now.

adirondakjack · Post by **adirondakjack** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 2:32 pm

This past fall I didn't buy a hunting license, missing for the first time in 20+ years. I simply didn't feel like it.

I shoot CAS, but missed the last two shoots our club held during the same period of time. Again, just was't feeling it. Depending on how events unfold, I might not shoot a whole lot this year either. I still love it, but not with the single-minded passion I once did.

J Miller · Post by **J Miller** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:01 pm

Who Hunts, ME!
Well, at least I used to till the finances fell through. Then I moved here and that put the end to it. I just can't find a place to hunt. No free land to hunt on, I don't have the wherewithal to pay a land owner.

Who Shoots, ME!
But nowhere near what I used to do. Last year I think I made it to the range once. And I'm not even sure of that.

Who Collects, ME....sort of....but not as much as some of the guys here!
I'm not a "collector". I'm a shooter. I guess you could call my toys an accumulation. And yes, I shoot them all. Well I used to and I hope to again ... someday.

Joe

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:06 pm

no time or place to hunt, with the exception of occasional bird hunts.
Most often too busy fishing - it's 12 months/year in s. Texas.

I do collect fishing tackle, but I also fish a whole bunch of it.
But love to shoot and so does my daughter.

Don't exactly like to say it's a handicap, but shooting .22 and .357 is both challenging and economical on 75- and 100-yd ranges.
And it makes it a lot more fun than shooting high powered rifles. 300-yd ranges are hard to come by.

Ray Newman · Post by **Ray Newman** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:23 pm

Not being able to get around in the woods ended my hunting days a good while ago.

As for shooting, except for a few really nice original/older rifles and pistols, I shoot what I own. Shot the originals a few times, cleaned them, then into the safe. I have a few modern firearms that I have not shot yet because they are a bit don on the load development list. Sooner or later, they will get to the range.

Since the rifle range is a short trip, I try to make it there two to three times a week weather permitting.

madman4570 · Post by **madman4570** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:24 pm

Hunt------ a ton!
Shoot----- a ton!
Collect??????????----------only if you consider the ones I have bought multiple numbers of same ones for a fear I would wear my favorites (same models)out from over use.

so yes I suppose I collect some!
Do I buy guns to collect and "plan" on never shooting them just for some type of a collection purpose ???------------No!

Post by **Old Savage** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:28 pm

Hunt and shoot. I shoot everything I get but I have a couple I haven't shot.

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:35 pm

Hunt primarily but that does not explain the need to have the ones I have.

Triggernosis · Post by **Triggernosis** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:41 pm

I don't collect anything. If it doesn't get hunted with or I don't use it to compete with, it gets sent down the road.

BigSky56 · Post by **BigSky56** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 4:10 pm

Perry, I hunt and do alot of ADC (depredation) shooting. There is a nice range (use to be) in the Spenceville wildlife area plus some prime deer,turkey,quail,hog and predator hunting there too. dont kick any ordnance you stumble across The SWA use to be a WW2 armor,artillery & bomb training area that the gov seized from the ranchers and promised to sell back at the same price after the war

that never happened. danny

Pitchy · Post by **Pitchy** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 4:18 pm

A little deer hunting but not as much as i used too, shoot quite often at targets, and have collected to many guns.

madman4570 · Post by **madman4570** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:09 pm

Guys I re-thought this

Have I bought em thinking their cool,I like em,planning using them somehow/someday???
Have I got quite a few sitting in a gun vault collecting dust(YES

)
So I am a Collector

6pt-sika · Post by **6pt-sika** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:16 pm

I have "accumulated" a "few" guns , I shoot them all and hunt with most of them !

Now the fact that I have two dozen plus 444's may make one consider that a collection . However I prefer to think of it more as an accumulation

MrMurphy · Post by **MrMurphy** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:27 pm

I shoot everything I own.

Only collect a few.

My hunting days are just starting, so far the record sits at 1 coyote. Severe lack of time and places to hunt make it tough.

Mike D. · Post by **Mike D.** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:42 pm

I do collect Winchesters and I do hunt with and shoot them all. They are tools, plain and simple, and meant to be used as intended.

FWiedner · Post by **FWiedner** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:43 pm

I hunt.

I shoot.

I don't 'collect', but I do have a sizable 'accumulation'.

wolfdog · Post by **wolfdog** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:49 pm

I hunt, not that well but I still go out.
I shoot, again not all that good at it, but I have fun.
I don't collect but I do buy firearms I think I would like to shoot.

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:57 pm

when you start hunting around for cases to store and/or display them (I think gun safes count), you have officially reached collector.

1/more...
the topic comes up on the tackle boards all the time.
The I'm a fisherman, you're a collector argument, is rarely made by satisfied people. Quite the opposite, they're in denial, are usually the most covetous, and eventually end up as vehement collectors.
Always reminds me of the Ray Charles line in Blues Brothers when the kid wants to touch a great guitar.
I hate to see a good boy gone bad.

tman · Post by **tman** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:24 pm

Hunter,shooter. too poor to be a collector

6pt-sika · Post by **6pt-sika** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:26 pm

It is quite simple actually !

I buy ,

I shoot ,

I hunt ,

I kill ,

I accumulate ,

THERE FORE I AM

BenT · Post by **BenT** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:29 pm

Hunt - as much as I can.

Shoot- as much as I can , I reload to feed this addiction

Collect - a small collection of levers, no safe Queens , I shoot them all.

Tinker - I tinker will my guns , from just changing sights to building a rifle.

But there is never enough time for it all.

6pt-sika · Post by **6pt-sika** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:34 pm

bulldog1935 wrote:Don't exactly like to say it's a handicap, but shooting .22 and .357 is both challenging and economical on 75- and 100-yd ranges.
And it makes it a lot more fun than shooting high powered rifles. 300-yd ranges are hard to come by.

While I respect what you're saying I also do not agree with it !

I shot the majority of what I shoot at 100 yards . And then later I use the 200 and 350 yards berms at out club when checkinf drop at different yardages .

22's have never held my intrest for logn because there's nothing to do but buy ammo and shoot !
You can't cast or load for a 22 LR which some folks hold in high regard but to me it takes a good portion of the fun out of it !

A hundred yard range is about all I really need for the majority of what I shoot and the majority are all "high powered rifles" be it cast bullet lever actions or fire breathing magnums . The most fun for me is seeing how small a hole I can make at 100 yards for 3 or 5 shots . After that going to our longer range and shooting at 200 or 350 yards from the bench is not that big a deal .

InTheWoods · Post by **InTheWoods** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:41 pm

I guess I do all three, although I profess I have to have a fuctional need to purchase a firearm before I pass the cash. Some of the needs are pretty flimsy, though.

I retired a few years ago and figured I would hunt more than ever. In reality, I hunt about the same number of days but do get to pick the nicer days now. I hunt small game, quail, doves, deer, and (this time of year) coyotes.

I shoot often, but do not expend lots of ammo at any one time. Having my own backyard range helps. For example, I fired just 20 shots from my SW 41 this afternoon for a function check. No need to fire more, but I will probably shoot a few shots from something else tomorrow.

L_Kilkenny · Post by **L_Kilkenny** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:53 pm

All my long guns are for hunting and that's about it. I may practice with em but I don't plink with em and they definitely ain't collectors. The only long guns I have that don't get hunted with are a couple that sit in the safe for the sole reason they ain't worth enough to justify sellin em off. Handguns can be a bit different. While they may also hunt that's getting kinda rare for em and their main role is for shooting. But in general I'll take a day in the field over any day (or 10 days for that matter) at the range and handguns are getting less and less important to me as time goes on.

LK

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:56 pm

As a kid - shooter.

As a grownup (sortof) - collector; initially what I could afford, then the EBR stuff, then leverguns. First quantity, then gradually shifting to quality (not as in high-grade pieces, but just sound, practical ones that may not be the biggest or baddest).

As a geezer (almost) - back to shooter; thinning the herd now down to the ones I've found are 'keepers'; the leverguns seem to be my favorites (of course).

jdad · Post by **jdad** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 7:20 pm

I went from being a pretty serious collector, to just a "shooter of vintage collectibles". I'm trying to get down to just a handful that I really like to shoot. If it doesn't get shot I've been getting rid of it.

I've never had the opportunity, to hunt, but that is on my bucket list.

FLINT · Post by **FLINT** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 8:25 pm

I hunt - so by far, I'm primarily a hunter - the other two are byproducts of that.

I don't shoot much because I can't hardly afford to anymore with ammo prices getting out of hand. I shoot enough to know I'm good for hunting that year. Most fun shooting I do with my sheridan air rifles (much cheaper and quieter).

Again, too poor to buy ammo, so too poor to collect guns.

win7094M1 · Post by **win7094M1** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:21 pm

I don't have time to hunt anymore due to work and family responsibilities and musical performing engagements.
I get to the to my gun club range 2x a year on average for personal recreational shooting.
For my job, I qualify 1x a year with the issued Glock 23 and Remington 870P and occasionally get to serve as a firearms instructor.
Like many others here, I am an accumulator of firearms. They all have been shot by me except the Springfield Armory 1911-A1 38 Super that I bought from an estate last year and haven't taken it to the range yet.
Hunting may reenter my life if I can ever retire from law enforcement (One more child to send to college starting this fall....).

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 10:05 pm

i hunt;

I shoot;

I collect that which enables to do the first two!

Shrapnel · Post by **Shrapnel** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 10:25 pm

Guilty on all counts...

ollogger · Post by **ollogger** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 10:56 pm

shoot alot
hunted Deer & Antelope this year, as far as big game goes
all guns get shot mostly with lead tho.
ill buy when i can & sell if theres a profit to be made
use to love to trade, but i think them days are gone like my youth
do have a few old Winchesters that ill hand down, but not any
time soon im hopeing

ollogger

pwl44m · Post by **pwl44m** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 12:10 am

Wow ! quite the mixed bag -no pun intended- Some Hunters, lots of Shooters and everyone cept a Handful that are accumulators (which is what I actually had in mind instead of Collector although we do have some Collectors. What constitutes a Collector anyway ?
Some have said that if it doesn't get shot it gets sold. I can't do that, it would break My Heart. Take My S&W mod 29 silhouette that My Wife bought Me for Christmas in 1985, it has yet to be fired. I know it is nuthin special but I have just not gotten around to it.
Big Sky, You have spent some time around here to have the information You have. My 38-55 range report last week was at Spenceville. I have used that Range for Years and even Hunted Deer and Pheasant there.Never took either one though. Not that They aren't there , I never seen em while in season. As far as armorment never saw any of that either.
Perry

shooter · Post by **shooter** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 1:00 am

I LOVE hunting. I LOVE shooting, and I LOVE collecting (when the extra funds are available, which isn't that often). Having said that....I think I am more of a shooter than anything else. I would shoot even if I couldn't hunt. I just love sending lead down range. Love the smell of gunpowder. I love reloading and experimenting for new guns. Don't underestimate my love for hunting. There is not much I enjoy more than a good walk through the woods with a good gun, or sitting in a stand with beautiful scenery on a cold winter morning, except maybe enjoying my guns at the range or on a piece of land just letting loose and having a good time with friends.

Collecting comes in a distant third although I thoroughly enjoy it.

kimwcook · Post by **kimwcook** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 5:19 am

I love to hunt, but haven't had the time the last five years or so. Plan on going hunting this year and have started planning with a good friend. Love to shoot, but again time the last few years just hasn't been there. I don't buy guns just because their available as I used to. I buy more to fill niches that I feel need filled. I shoot everything I have, but I have one I haven't shot yet. Again, time seems to just get away from me. I do have a gun safe.

Leverdude · Post by **Leverdude** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:21 am

Heck I do about anything you can do with guns.
I hunt, though mostly bowhunting these days, I shoot, I collect or accumulate, I reload & I restore them sometimes.

bdhold · Post by **bdhold** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 9:12 am

awesome photos, Shrapnel.
Gorgeous game and levers.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:34 pm

I'm a big shooter and try to shoot a little every week. Doesn't always happen but I make some noise a couple times a month anyway unless it is the dead of winter. I have been lucky enough to hunt all I can since I was a wee lad. I am not a real collector since I don't enjoy not shooting a gun but am easily tempted by a gun I like.

2X22 · Post by **2X22** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 6:40 pm

I collect, shoot and hunt. In fact, I shoot everything I collect

This past season I took an antelope, mule deer, blacktail deer and bull elk all with Leverguns and only 1 with a jacketed bullet.

2x22

Lastmohecken · Post by **Lastmohecken** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:49 pm

I hunt, but not as much as I have in the past. I used to deer hunt a lot, but have not been very serious about it for a couple of years, because it just doesn't excite me as much, anymore, I guess.

I shoot, but not as much as I used to, and my interests have changed over the years, sometimes I shot pistols a lot, sometimes .22's or big centerfires, but this year I have mostly just shot shotguns, because I love to pheasant hunt.

I am not really a collector, but the guns I shoot are boarderline collectables, and I do shoot most everything I buy, but I have accumilated several guns. I am not afraid to take a beautiful piece of blued steel and walnut hunting, I try to take care of my stuff, but safe queens they are not, although some do sit idle for extended periods of time, just because I don't have the time or inclination to drag them out and shoot them, but I am not the kind of guy that won't take a beautiful gun hunting, because I am afraid of scratching it.

olyinaz · Post by **olyinaz** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:11 am

Collect to shoot. Have a few too many and need to thin the herd a bit.

The only hunting I do is sky rats in my back yard with an air gun and that's really just shooting...at targets that poop.

Oly

rangerider7 · Post by **rangerider7** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:33 pm

All three!

WyoShooter · Post by **WyoShooter** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 3:02 pm

I hunt big game but I'm not a bird hunter. Although I do own shotguns.
I shoot as often as I can and reload my own.
I guess I'm a collector with the number of guns that I have.

Paladin · Post by **Paladin** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 9:01 pm

I hunt as much as I can.

I shoot almost every chance I get (not much lately).

I don't 'collect', but I do have a sizable 'accumulation' from years of working with them.

Streetstar · Post by **Streetstar** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 8:47 am

I deer hunt primarilly, but would love to do a buffalo and elk hunt in the near future

I don't "shoot" my hunting arms much, other than to retain proficiency , make sure they are zeroed, etc. -- but i shoot piles and piles of 5.56 NATO (zombie training maybe? ) and love to shoot my .45 Colt levers for fun -- minimal recoil and noise, great plinking accuracy within 50-75 yards.
Handguns are mainly shot a few times a year to maintain a modicum of proficiency, but i manage to send a fair number of 45 ACP's downrange all year pretty consistently thanks to a nearby indoor range

I guess i collect too to an extent --- but other than my moderate fascination with later model Colt double action 357's , i dont really have anything most people would consider "collectible" -- but i shoot everything i buy if anything, just to make sure it shoots

I even paid a modest premium (not too much tho) to buy a NIB 6" nickel Python a couple of years ago just to have the pleasure of putting the first shot downrange with a 35 year old firearm --- it was fun and i'll do it again if the right one comes along again

The rest of my collection really falls under the accumulation category - miscellaneous shooter grade leverguns fighting for gunsafe space with a bunch of black rifles and side levers

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:44 am

All three of the above with the addition of competing. I don't hunt as much as I used to but I still like to woodsbum. -----------Sixgun

Boreman · Post by **Boreman** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 7:38 pm

All three !!!!!!!!!!!
I love to hunt !
I love to shoot !
I collect in my own modest way( I just collect GUNS) !