By Everyday Gunner
Don’t bother lying… we all know you have an “arsenal” stashed in your gun safe. (If you don’t know why I use the sarcastic quotes, just search “Zimmerman Arsenal” in any search engine and peruse the plethora of firearms and stockpile of ammo that caused the media to determine that “arsenal” was definitely the best descriptive noun.) What factors made you decide on the guns you did when you began your collection? My process was simple and very goal based at the beginning . . .
If you’ve read An Idiot’s Guide to Becoming a Gun Guy you’ve heard the story of my first firearm, a Beretta 92G. My second was a Rossi R35102 .38 Special that my girlfriend (now wife) loved to handle and shoot. I really don’t consider either of those the start of my collection though. That began years later with the purchase of my trusty FNH FNX-45, and continued with the rapid additions of another Beretta (this one a 92FS), a Sig Sauer P938, an Arsenal SAM7SF, and a Springfield Armory XD-S, in that order.
For myself, with protection of my family a primary concern, I had an outline of what “roles” I wanted my early firearm purchases to fill. My wife and I are legal to carry both openly or concealed in our state, which means that a service-size handgun can fill the role of both a “nightstand gun” (hate that term by the way, insinuates that having a method of carry is unnecessary) and open carry pistol.
So right away, four roles were defined: my full size gun, her full size gun, my conceal gun, and her conceal gun. With the decision about types of guns out of the way, it just became a matter of research on the specific tools I was willing to spend my all-too-hard-earned cash on. Those four roles became the FNX-45, the Beretta 92FS, the Springfield XD-S, and the Sig P938.
The choice of the Arsenal SAM7SF AK-47 was somewhat separate. It came from the desire for a home defense long gun that could also be used for medium game hunting at relatively short ranges. That and the fact that I’ve wanted an AK-47 ever since my brother-in-law let me fire his AK when I was a young teenager. It is, after all, the finest battle rifle ever designed (that’s right AR fans, come at me).
Pretty basic, huh? That’s the blueprint that dictated my first several firearm purchases. However, the beauty of a free (relatively?) country is that you can choose whatever you want for whatever reasons you want. You like beautiful things and think that classic Henry, Winchester, or Colt absolutely has to be the keystone of your nascent collection? Awesome, I’d love to see it. You’re like me and had a pre-determined plan for each purchase? Let’s hear the specifics of what you settled on. Just play too much Call of Duty or Counter Strike and had to get your favorite load-out in real life? Was it everything you had imagined?
Either way, having a plan is a great idea. Figure out what you want your collection to look like and don’t be afraid to save for the best. Oh, and make sure you account for the cost of “…well over 100 rounds of ammunition.” Very important to have more than 100 rounds of ammo to qualify as an arsenal…apparently.