Stuff
 

The wife has informed me that I have to much stuff. She refers to this as "clutter" and I regard it as "material to be used at a future date". If something doesn't have an immediate use in her mind it should be gone, if we need it in 6mos we will replace that item. I subscribe to the theory of It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

If your a gun nut like I am and a pursuer of game both feathered and furred just by the law's of nature you accumulate stuff. My stuff extends to antique furniture, collectible books and art work so it compounds the issues.

If you shoot a lot then you must reload which means stuff. I load 12-410 both 2 3/4 & 2 1/2 inch hulls so thats different presses. When I buy componets it's 5000 wads at a time for example. There are 6 totes of empty hulls in the basement of different guages. I probably have a lifetime supply of RST 16's and 20's but that doesn't stop me from picking up more at shoots. They won't rot and it's better to have them. Add centerfire rifles into the mix and now there is brass (more than I'll ever use), bullets, primers, powder for them also. Another press and eighteen sets of dies from .22 Hornet to .416 Taylor. Why do I still have the Taylor as I don't anticipate another trip to Africa? I like to shoot deer with it but in all honesty the last deer I shot with it was probably 6 years ago but it doesn't eat anything and maybe someday I'll get back to Africa but if not there are plenty of Whitetails around. I won't even get into the guns but I have more than I need/shoot but not as many as I want. You can never have to many guns.

I have one pair of dress shoes for work but at least 6 pair of hunting boots. There are two pair of light weight non insulated boots for early bird season. Why two pair she asks, well if one pair gets wet there is a spare. Two pair of medium weight insulated leather boots for walking around in late fall, early winter, felt pack boots for deer season and a heavy pair of Micky Mouse type boots for the late season on stand and muzzel loading season. Muzzelloading thats a good one. I haven't even shot my TC Encore in 6 years but I won't sell it because I might just need it some day along with the wool snow camo suit.

I still have the Columbia Quad 4 Parkas (2) I used for duck hunting. I haven't hunted ducks in 20 years but the coats are still good and came in handy once in 1999 in Alaska. Waterfowl hunting breeds stuff what with decoys for ducks and geese, calls, waders, boats, motors, specialized guns, non tox shot, Labs, trucks to haul the boat, i'm lucky i don't do this anymore.

I have every issue of Shooting Sportsman and DGJ. i refer to them as research material and evidence of the increasing value of our fine guns. I refer to my "stuff" as collectible sporting equipment and memorabilla. The wooden shell boxes that line the closet in the Gun Room are all put to use holding varying things from binoculars, hulls, slings, brass, knives (I can't sharpen a knife to save my ass so I have a lot of them), old cloth shell bags, I pointed one out to the wife at an Antigue store, they wanted $12 for it but the value was lost on her.

At the end of the day I do have a lot of stuff but my stuff gives me pleasure and I'd hate to die with $20 in my pocket, a vacation day and no stuff.

You shoulf tell your wife not to mess with your stuff, and be done with it. Women, cannot live with them, cannot live without them.

Massamoo

Rich, Danny said that "We have alot of shooting and hunting stuff" the other day as he was looking for something. I just rolled my eyes....I think I'll just have him read this....He'll understand....:)

Maybe us guy's should just print this out and keep it for future use.....more stuff....:whistle:

rich you have said it all.... i and all the rest of us guys want to thank you for reminding all of us whu we need all this stuff...i set here looking up in my little cubby hole and i see a pile of pld hunting shells a brand new 1949 chev steering wheel hanging on the wall a rabbit trap from australia.. a no4 jump trap a dr pepper bottle that is full from the year of 1958 my dads old bill fold a horse collier and the haynes and chains attached... a picture of a 39 packard and a 55 chev convertible a 24 ga single barrel a 40 inch barrel long tom...and a BIBLE....gosh the list could go on...thanks for reminding us it only matters to the person that this stuff belongs too what its worth.... charlie

sorry guys but all this stuff just confirms how lucky I already knew I was, and I love her for so much more than just because of this -- but

she has as many books and magazines as I do, mine do not bother her a bit.

we are constantly in antiques stores, we both add to the collection, although her finds tend to be for the house, example - I had just built a workbench for the rod shop when we found a great antique one, thats out there now as well.

she rode out with me last night to look at a potential boat restoration project, (and I sure as heck don't NEED another project) her only concern was did I have a place to put it until I can get to do it, so that is does not deteriorate any furthur.

Her answer to the last Osthaus print I was actually going to leave hanging in the shop where we saw it was -- "have you seen it before and when will you see another one."

When our breeder emailed the group a few years a ago that a pup was available, she said "did you tell me we'll take him?" I laughed and told her I had not finished reading the email yet :). so a second setter joined the family.

Even the last Parker was only met with "its a good deal isn't it"

I know some guys are only enjoying making wife jokes, and for some they are unfortunately not jokes.

but no jokes here - I make sure every day she knows how I feel.

Throw in Rocks for me, go figure. I really admire the people who lived by the rock. Bean picken up neet rocks a long time then I found a rock tool and....

She really doesn't give me to much grief as long as I take care of my stuff, it's the clutter she can't stand. I refer to my pile of clutter as organized chaos.
I did add to the antique furniture collection with an ice box and a small camode. I can use the camode as a TV stand in the cabin and the ice box well I have been looking for a small one for years now I can search for something else. I bought 5 boxes of factory .22 Hornet ammo the other day just because it was a good deal at $20/box. Now I won't have to reload any when I go to shoot Prarie Dogs. Another hobby that adds to the stuff. :shock:

If it weren't for the "Stuff" this wouldn't be interesting

You guys don't want me to start participating in this discussion. I don't think there is anything that has been mentioned so far that I don't own at least two of, and that doesn't scratch the surface.

Wives should tread lightly on this subject. When the question arises, "It is me (the wife) or your guns". The answer is not an easy one.

I went to a gun show once and a fellow was off loading a nice collection of SMLE's. I bought two. He said his wife had issued an ultimatum and his guns had to go. I thought, "Man she must be some chic!" I'll bet they broke up anyway and he lost one very nice collection in the deal.

My wife and I have been hitched for a long time and she finally gave up complaining when I returned from a gun show with a new find, but it was a long and hard fought battle. I do try to restrain myself however, because I have so many guns that I almost don't need any more.

There is a collector mentality and one either has it or not. Collectors will collect almost anything, from shot glasses to shotguns....and then there is everything else. The mania can get out of hand, so we must be careful.

I collect guns, books and Old West tintypes. My tintype collection is out of this world, but so are my guns and books....oh well.

I call it collecting, others refer to it as hoarding.

As I consider your post I conclude that a hoarder hoards everything, even garbage. They fill their homes with stuff of all kinds of unrelated things. This is a sickness. People who do this need help.

Collectors collect certain catagories of things. A gun collector will pass by a '55 Chevy for instance....okay; the Chevy has to come along too.

So, I think there is a difference between a hoarder and a collector. Hoarding is a mania.....collecting is not - sorta, but I do think the two are related to some degree.

Perhaps those that refer to my "collecting" arn't that well informed. Somehow I haven't convinced anyone that two totes of 16ga empties are collectible :whistle: I defer to the rationale that they won't spoil, don't go out of style, have future use and don't cost or eat anything. Therefor they have value and therefor are "collectible":rotf:

Paper or plastic?

Plastic. 2 1/2 inch Purple RST

Gene Hill, perhaps.
 

I am certain that I have read several pieces by the late Gene Hill dealing with all the postings herein. There is a comfort level with older, well-worn and well-used, but cared for: guns, decoys, calls, dog collars. Maybe we all want to return to the by-gone days seen by Nash Buckingham, Havilah Babcock, Corey Ford and now, Gene Hill too! I think Gene expressed part of this "collecting" best in "The Stranger"!!my favorite!!

What a coincidence. I almost don't need any more either, and on the exact same day as Steve. Imagine that.

Good news, Linda never gives me grief about the wood decoys because her Dad carved every one of them. Well, almost all of them. There is a trophy pair that represented my previous ability to shoot good skeet, and a McGaw canvasback from a good friend's massive family rig. It was a present from him after I presented him with his last bring 'em back dog. Linda is not fond of the non wood decoys in the basement, though, since they haven't been in the water since her Dad passed away about fifteen years ago. I guess I could let them go. As for calls, even though I shouldn't be allowed to use them, they take up very little room and I don't think Linda knows about them, except the few that hang next to the kitchen door. They are there in case of the flyovers that happen regularly during the early resident Canada season. Linda thinks I own three calls, all three goose calls. I hope no one will ever accuse me of hoarding. Well, I guess there are the bird vests.

Probably an accumulator, somewhere between a collector and a hoarder, mostly due to a procratinatory tendency; slow to suck up and get rid of the useless.

Fred, hardly any of my stuff is useless, except to me. There are many people who would find my stuff useful. I just don't happen to be one of them.

Not to make fun of wives BUT.....this is a true story. On the day my father was moving into the alzheimer's wing of the nursing home he was asked by a nurses aid if he was married. He replied " no, I am intelligent" :rotf: He had a lot of stuff too.

I just hate to throw something away because as soon as you do then it's going to be needed. An extra pair of bird pants, a vest or two, the boots with the worn souls (I have a pair of Red Wings I just had resoled after I bought a new pair of Danners) a couple 3 orange hats, the gloves with the trigger finger worn out. In a pinch a little duct tape will put those gloves back in the hunt. Well you get the idea and this is where stuff comes from.

You don't throw away anything orange. When going to a preserve or an out of town hunt of almost any kind, your companion will not have realized the requirement for orange. What, you want him to have to buy a new piece of hunting apparel without careful study? Of course not. You dig through your stuff and give him something orange. Throw it away? Give me a break. After the hunt, do you let your friend keep the orange stuff? No way, you take it back to lend to others and you send your friend shopping. After all, he needs to accumulate some orange stuff himself. Let me know if my take on hunting equipment is somehow flawed. I wouldn't want to do the wrong thing. I repeat, I am not a hoarder, certainly not a hoarder of shotguns or vests.

I don't think you can hoard shotguns these (at least the good ones) fall into the collectible catagory as do rifles and handguns. I'm not much up on the handgun catagory, I own a couple of Colt .22's and a S&W M29, a Browning (Belgium) Hi-Power 9mm, a couple other .22's and a .45ACP but thats about it.:):)

I own a couple of dozen pistols, from old Navy Colts to a modern 1911, but I am a big fan of the Browning Hi Power and own one. Mine is a newish pistol and is a very nice shooter.

I have no interest in handguns, don't shoot them and don't own any. Well that's not entirely correct. I do have my Grandfather's 1916 DWM Luger, my late (Viet Nam 1967) wfriend Captain Boyd's 1903 Colt USMA graduation award gun, a Sig 225, my H&R dog training gun, Linda's 5 screw Combat Masterpiece, a couple of model 17s, and my old Highway Patrolman. There is a little Beretta .32 in the safe somewhere. There may be one or two more, but not any that interest me. I'm just not a handgun kind of guy.

I like pistols because I shoot them pretty well and over the more than half century of my collecting I've gathered quite a few. When I was buying a lot of guns my proclivities would change from .22's to milspec to shotguns and back again.

I have been shooting skeet weekly, usually three rounds and I am not doing as well as I'd like. My shooting buddie breaks almost all of them always and without batting an eye. I'm working on trap now which gives me an opportunity to shoot my Parker which I enjoy.

In addition, I find the new, post 1952 shoulder mount, pandering to high scores. When young, we all used the low mount which resulted in lower scores and I think a greater challenge. We shot trap to practice for hunting. Breaking 25 with the high mount and breaking 25 from the low, are two very different things. However if people like the high mount that's their biz, it is no skin off my nose.

I also think that the European game is better than ours, because it is more difficult due to their low mount, faster birds and delayed launch. Why don't we do that too? It is because it is too hard? That doesn't sound like the American way to me. Okay, I am getting old and slow and crotchetty and how we shoot will remain unchanged no matter what my opinion is...just say'n.

You guys are all worrying about what your wives think of your stuff. I've got that one by the short hairs, I don't have a wife. Hah!

The girlfriend is a little baffled by my stuff, but at least she sort of collects a few things herself. A girl that has the flea market urge isn't as hard to get along with when it comes to stuff as a woman who just wants everything new and useful.

My worst problem is shotgun shell hoarding, I have no idea how many rounds I've got but it's scary. Just bought a box of 1 1/2 #2 and #4 Remingtons at an estate sale the other day because hell they were only $5 a box! I'll add them to the two cases I have of the exact same loads.....


Destry

He who dies with the most TOYS wins, me 7 cars ,three trucks, over 100 guns, 6 generators, some stuff is missing but eventually I will find it, NO WIFE, been there done that finally learned my lesson.

Massamoo

..6 table saws,2 lathes ,over 200 carving tools,60 woodworking planes,8,000 feet of walnut lumber,1200 gun catalogs and 2000 hardback books and bermuda shorts I've had since I was 16.I'm not married anymore either.

Well, Destry (rides again?) you have a couple of things working for you. If your girlfriend buys something at a yard sale then you have an excuse to buy a few more boxes of shotgun shells. Neat, eh?

Concerning collecting shotshells.....can you bring yourself to shoot them? That might be problematic.

I'm afraid of the anti-gun backlash from the Colorado shooting. They are trying to limit the # of shells we can have. As all shotshell users know, we buy them by the case. We have to because we shoot them by the case.

I have yet to buy some through the mail, but I want to.

Say, I've got a few boxes of old shotgun shells that go back to the 60's. I'll list some if you are interested, before I shoot them up that is. I've shot almost all of the old Win AA's at skeet/trap. The rest are 2's and 4's, etc. A bunch of 3" 20's that I'll never shoot. Some are quite old.

list them steve a lot of us are interested in old shells....espicall shotgun...some of my shells that are old i shoot on game espically squirls but most are just for looking at... charlie

Steve,

I've got what I call a "collection" and that's out on display. Then I've got what I call "the horde" and that's stashed in the closet and under the bed. Anything in "the horde" is up for grabs as far as shooting. There's everything in there from 2 7/8 paper 10 gauge to .410 buckshot loads for The Judge. I shoot paper shells at squirrels, preserve pheasants, and stuff like that. I ain't afraid to put a paper shell to the use it was intended. I did sell some recently though, a full factory 20 box case of Redhead skeet loads in 12 gauge. I bought them for $2 a box at an estate sale and just didn't have the heart to break them up.


Regards,
Destry

When plastic shells came out I thought that we'd gone to hell in a handbasket. They told us that the new plastic wads shot better, but I couldn't figure out why. Plastic shells didn't smell right. I missed watching those wads fly out there. I'm trying to get into loading 2.5 inch brass 12 gauge shotshells. I haven't loaded a shot shell in decades. I want to shoot them in my GH, sounds like fun to me. Anyway I'm stuck with plastic, just like the rest of us.

if you are not loading now, RST make paper hull shells , fiber wads and even a roll crimp version.

federal still sells paper hulls....them old paper hulls do smell good.... charlie

Thanks, I'm going to try to find them. Does it cost a bundle to have shotshells delivered via the mail...or UPS or whoever does that? I have hesitated to buy through the mail since I can buy shells in the local sporting goods store, but RST have to be delivered. I've never seen them for sale in stores.

I'm going to research those Federal paper shells.

Currently I'm loading for rifle/pistol rounds and with my new Rock Chucker it is going very well and I am having fun. I reloaded with an RCBS Jr. press for half a century! I neck resized which meant that often times I could only shoot a round in the gun I had first shot it in, since they resized to the chamber of that rifle. Especially vexing when shooting in autos. With the Rock Chucker it's a piece of cake to full case length resize. Why didn't I spring for one when I was in my 20's?

Shotshell reloading comes later.

Thanx