Question for some of you folks, especially the retired ones. And, I suppose that it will vary tremendously, based on individual circumstances. How does the retired lifestyle fit in with collecting fine shotguns, etc? I’d be perfectly happy with that really nice VH being offered at the Southern at $1800–it has me drooling—but I fear retirement might make the acquisition of an $1800 shotgun a bit of an accomplishment, let alone the higher end stuff that is rare and has condition.
It seems that retirement is a trade off. You now have the time but your means are more limited being on a fixed income.
I think this thread was created as I approach retirement and am a bit disappointed in myself. I’ve done okay, so I’m not seeking pity, but I went to college thinking I’m doing this for the peach corporate job that provides for everything—think Madison Avenue and Gene Hill and Ed Zern. Much to my surprise, my newly minted—and now seriously patinated—college degree never yielded a corporate job at all, and, right out of college, it became painfully obvious, at least at first, that I was worth little more than minimum wage. My fault entirely, but I had no idea how COMPETITIVE the real world was. I guess I figured I would waltz in the door and work with a bunch of like minded individuals, a work environment that shut down for the Southetn and other similar events and we wandered back into work, shared some good stories, brandy, and passed around our new haul of fine shotguns to admire.
I think if such a lifestyle ever existed, it couldn’t survive in today’s day and age, not to mention having alcohol and firearms at work is a fast ticket to getting fired in today’s day and age.
Craig Larter shared that he’s been retired now 25 years, having retired at age 50 and not coming from money. Well done! And, I’m guessing to do that he formed a successful company from the ground up. I think that is what it takes to do this, and he likely had a vision, something I didn’t have, and founded a company despite not coming from money and probably worked very long hours doing so.
But I’m also pleased to see that everyone on this forum isn’t able to drop everything and go to the forum and return with a bunch of high dollar shotguns. So, I’m by no means unique. But I actually stated that in a wrong manner, as I’m not really pleased to see this in an absolute sense as, as I get older, life is precious, and it’s disappointing we all can’t drop everything several times a year and do this, and not worry about how much leave we have left the remainder of the year and how the funds we spent on fine shotguns might impact the bottom line once we retire.
And, this should be no surprise to me. Most of my older family members and associates didn’t magically hit retirement and transition into a life of expensive trips, fine acquisitions, and no financial concerns. Some were certainly “comfortable” but nothing was over the top.
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