How many guns is too many? 5-20-50-
As long as you are providing for your family, can you really have too many?
I know most of us here probably have more than the normal household per statistics.
I have a dozen 357/38 revolvers. Is that too many?
Then you might have some more of these
Shotguns
AR’s
Hunting rifles
Plinkers
EDC
CC
Family heirlooms
Flame thrower…jk… really
In response to firearms stats for Arizona.
All the numbers are skewed low. CWP holders don’t even get a background check. Aside from filing a 4473 that stays in the shop zero records of firearms sales get tracked by anything other than a multigun purchase and that is only a notification sent the CLEO (Chief Law Enforcement Officer) aka the county Sheriff.
Aditionally Arizona has no restriction on private firearms transfers/sales.
My personal thought is we may be 2×’s or more privately owned firearms in Arizona.
I owned 7 when I moved out of California. That is a very outdated number.
Edit to Add;
California considers all firearms to leave with you when you move out of state. With all the moutain of paperwork I was required to provide to the California Motor Vehicle Department to prove my vehicles, 4 at the time, were registered in Arizona, to prevent late fee dual state registration… lets just say I’m in doubt on any state to state communication reguarding what I own.
I don’t have too many, but I have enough. 
Do I want more? Sure. Do I need more? No. Will I aquire more? Yes, but they will be TOTALLY different than what I have now.
I have too many guitars. 
It’s a hard question. I have 34 now and there’s still quite a few I want, but on the other hand, I often feel like I don’t get to shoot many of them nearly enough. Most of the time I go shooting I’m practicing with my EDC and home defense pieces, so a lot of the rest are just there. Nearly all of my rifle & striker-fired handgun purchases have been purpose-driven whereas things I buy for collection or “just because” are usually revolvers or metal handguns.
At what point do you tell yourself, “eh, that’s enough?”
I’m not sure, but I’m not there yet.
(edit: I will say I’ve made an active attempt to not buy any new calibers…so there’s that.)
Yeah I have no way of verifying the stats, it’s just the first 2024 list I saw.
As someone who objectively does not have enough, I might be inclined to go overboard one day and have “too many”. But, then, what would that be, when we’re talking about a machine? Machines wear. Sometimes they break. Accidents happen. Thefts happen. We won’t even discuss having a firearm held as evidence. On second thought, we will. If my pistol were held after a DGU, I’d NOT be saying, “Hey! I own too many pistols!” Imagine telling a cabinet maker he has too many chisels or router bits, or a mechanic he has too many air tools. Even if I THOUGHT someone had “too many”, I would think twice and twice again before saying a word, because i’m probably wrong.
I’d say the limits really come down to questions like, are your arms purchases eating into other needs? Do you have space to store them (big issue!)? Are you buying firearms you don’t even like just to be shopping (another addiction altogether)? And, can I borrow that one Saturday?
I have a 50 year old Crossman 760. 40 some year old Glenfield/Marlin .22 and way too many times on the water.
“Too many” is exactly one more than you can afford. And that number can change based on your income to debt ratio. I personally have nearly no debt and a comfortable income so I buy several a year. The total is a moving target.
Yeah, that’s another thing. I choose to live a very simple low-maintenance life and that’s always afforded me the opportunities to own some toys - motorcycles, guns, 2nd cars, etc. But I also don’t have what a lot of others do with big homes, families, etc and I don’t spend much on things like clothes, furniture, decorations, etc. It’s all in what you value.
One of my best friends asked me what I estimated the total value of my collection to be - including safes, ammo, etc and when I told him he said “holy ----”, but I also drive a 10 year old car and he just bought a near brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee. 600 bucks a month in car payments over 6 years buys a lot of guns. 
At least 1 more
It’s the same as how many millions does it take to make a millionaire happy? One more million…
I always tell people the hardest gun to purchase is the first one. Do I want to join that world? Do I want to deal with the legalities? Second hardest gun is the second one. OMG, do I want to become a multiple gun household? What does that say about me? Every gun past that is purely a question of finances and storage space and maybe practicality.
I usually feel a little bit dumb when I buy more than one of the same caliber or class or similar. I like to expand capabilities, without having to stack 50 different types of ammo. But it’s the same as if someone asks you how tall you are. Only short people know exactly how tall they are. Us tall people have no idea. Same as gun nerds, which we all are. 
If you know how many firearms you have then you don’t have nearly enough. I don’t know how many I have but if i had to guess i could probably get within 5 or 10 of the actual number.
I keep a list with serials. Father told me to as soon as I got my first one - useful for reporting in case one ever disappears.
I don’t like cereals
Depends on how many the ATF states makes you a dealer or collector and requires you to get a FFL license. I have one less than that number. 
That’s not a thing yet but I suspect it will be common soon.
To be serious, I’m going to risk putting actual numbers to @Jammo post. I’ll put my high numbers where I think it’s “enough to meet any (excessive and probably unrealistic) needs”
Shotguns - 2 pump, 2 semi, 2 single or SxS or O/U
AR’s - 5 lowers, 10 uppers, at least 3 calibers
AK’s - I added this, but at least 1 so you’re familiar with AK’s, 3 is better
Hunting rifles - so specialized depending what you’re hunting… 5? Maybe 10 if you can afford to travel hunt?
Plinkers - 4 10/22’s or similar, depending on how many kids or grandkids you have, 4 handguns (at least 1 a revolver), and 2 should be beater tools you can smash around the woods with
EDC and CC (I combined them ) - 2 pocket, 2 compact, 3 full-ish size
Family heirlooms - if you’re not paying for them, as many as you can store. If you are, do those last one you meet practical needs. Then it’s purely a financial question.
Flame thrower…jk… really - let’s call this NFA items, so all the cans you can afford, and at least one more spicy thing of your favorite type. I really want to Form 1 a vodka bottle as a DD Molotov one day. Put the paperwork inside the unfueled bottle.
I keep a particularly detailed log. Where I bought it, for how much, receipt, pictures of all sides, close-ups of serial numbers, the works. If I sell, I take a picture of the buyer and their ID. I don’t want to be the last stop for the cops when someone sells it to a meth head down the road. And if I never sell it, or if I sell it to a store, that info never goes anywhere.
I think this is way overkill in terms of “need.” Not for a gun nut per se, but for your average person I’d say really there’s nothing they would need more than a 9mm handgun if they aren’t hunting, aren’t competing, aren’t into distance shooting, and just want something for home and self-defense. We all can wax poetic about the various advantages of a million different platforms and options, but in doing so we’d just either bore or overwhelm your average joe, if not both.
If they wanted something to train a child with, then a 10/22 or any .22LR bolt action would be fine.
Shotguns are extremely effective for home defense, but also very brutal and intimidating. Most are tougher to operate than a striker fired 9mm handgun too. I’d only classify one as a need for a hunter.
AKs are fun and cool, but even as a gun enthusiast I wouldn’t ever classify one as a need, not when ARs these days are cheaper, easier to use, and easier to customize. If someone expressed interest in a rifle, I wouldn’t steer them toward an AK at all.
Of course, we all know the positives and advantages offered by various types of rifles, but nobody who isn’t a full on enthusiast is going to keep 10 AR uppers of multiple calibers around, and I know many people that carry that don’t have 7 different weapons they rotate through, most of them only have one in fact.
You are absolutely correct with all points. I answered the “how many is too many” question , not “what is a normal need” question. Perhaps I should have phrased my description better. I edited my post above to reflect your feedback, which I appreciate.
So about 80 total between the two of you, hypothetically?
I’m just trying to see where I average out.
@Don_Keedix 34
@BradE 46