I have to go in the other direction on scopes. I have 2 nice expensive scopes on guns but have $250 to $500 scopes on others. For my go to deer rifle that only sees deer from 25 to 200 yards, it has a Burris $250 dollar scope on it. Never had a problem with it and it has been abused a lot. I would not put one of my high dollar scopes on it with the possibility of messing it up by banging it around or dropping it out of a tree. You do get spoiled with high dollar scopes but I just don't take the chance of messing an expensive one up.

I used to be a "churner" would buy a cheap gun, shoot it for a while and then trade it off or sell it and buy a another cheap gun. Finally realized that was a losing proposition, at least for me, the resale value was usually less than what I bought as it was competing with the other 1000s of Savage Axis that were for sale and that I couldn't afford to go hunting as much as all the fun money was being spent on guns.

Finally decided that I got much more satisfaction from taking hunting trips than I did fondling guns so sold everything off other than inherited guns and bought what I consider a nice rifle. I've got plans to buy/build 3 others on the same action with good wood and optics and that's going to be it for my gunbuying. The rest of what used to be the "gun budget" is now the "hunt budget".

I agree.

I agree as well. Fortunately there are several $1000 scopes (and less) that hold zero/POI, and have great glass (Vortex ain't one of them). That's the route I've gone, after owning several Swaros and S&B. Same goes with my rifles. I use to own Sako's, Steyr's, etc and realized they didn't do anything my sub $1000 rifles (Tikkas) wouldn't do. Also had a few semi-custsoms and am down to only 1 now. You take a beating trying to re-sell these types. Rifles and scopes are just tools to me.

If banging an expensive scope messes it up, then you bought the wrong expensive scope. (cough... Swarovski) I choose to invest in a single expensive scope because just the opposite is actually true..... I can have confidence that it will work even if it does get handled roughly in the field. Time and experience has proven this is a truth. I wouldn't even blink an eye if I dropped my ATACR out of a tree. It certainly wouldn't cut my hunt short.

I don’t collect guns I only own what I need. If I purchase a gun and don’t like it or realize I have no real use for it I sell it. All the guns currently in my safe will never be sold as I love them all.

I think it depends on what your reasons are for owning a gun(s) is to begin with. For me I am a hunter that cares next to nothing about shooting targets. A $600 Remington ADL and Leupold Vari X II is going to work just as well as a $6K custom with a $2K scope on it. But I can own 10-12 of those ADL's and Vari X II's for the price of that one custom that cost $8K. And if you ever get in a bind where you need quick cash its going to be a heck of a lot easier to move those 10-12 ADL's than it is to move that $8K custom.

I will take a whole bunch of the middle of the road kinda guns over 1 high dollar custom any day of the week. If I liked to kill paper and steel it might be a different story.

This discussion kind of reminds me of a fishing trip a few years ago. They guy in my boat couldn't stop bragging on how great his gear was all the while I was kicking his rear end up and down the lake with my middle of the road gear.

Quality here, but that's not how I started out. I started out with what I could afford. Learned most of my capabilities with inexpensive guns that I learned how to squeeze the most out of. If I couldn't get them to shoot to suit me, I ditched them. Usually at a loss. Not to mention the time I wasted, betting on a loser. As I have aged, I figured out it is often more economical long term for me to get quality from the start. I pissed a lot of money away learning, you can polish a turd all you want. What you usually end up with is just a shiny turd. By my own judgement I don't own a lot of rifles, some are beaters to look at. The ones I do have are all shooters that are set just up the way I like though. Most are blue steel and walnut, cause I like it. When it comes to shotguns and bird dogs.....I am weak.

I own some pre-64 Winchesters, a couple of Ruger #1's, a few JM Marlins, a couple of Belgian Brownings and some P&R Smith and Wessons. NONE of them are "Safe Queens".
I have traded away or sold some firearms that I wish I still owned.
When deer season rolls around, I have at least 8 calibers of rifles to choose from, that's my argument against selling all of them for one firearm that is too valuable to shoot.

^^That's what I'm talkin bout!