I have maybe 30 of the guns you describe. Some will be parts guns, some may get restored or upgraded, some will be sold as is when I die if I have not gotten to them. Years ago I bought 40 plus double barrels from a old guns shop when they closed. It took years to find guns to put them on but I have almost finished using up the entire inventory. Many guns have been restored to shooters or made into two barrel sets from this one big buy.
It is about the same with stock blanks with me. I have over 150 stock blanks and have no real reason to think that I will need anymore but I still buy a few more each month if I find ones that I like.
Busted stocks are no big deal in my to me as I do not shoot the guns with 3" drop that well anyway. If the gun is worth restocking I am willing to do the job. External pitting does not bother me as much as internal pitting. Like me guns should have wrinkles and a few pits in non vital areas.
Guns I bought as project guns five or ten years ago now cost two or three times as much to buy these days. So if you want a decent supply of parts or project guns you need to buy good ones when you come across them. I use to pass on 16 and 20 bore Fox project guns ten years ago when they were in the $400-600.00 range. Now they are well over a grand for a decent gun with no major metal problems. My biggest weakness and biggest fault is that I do not have just one brand that I like. In my shop are half a dozen or more of each from Fox, Lefever, Baker and Ithaca. Add the odd Parker, Smith, and others and it gets to be a big inventory.
Heck if I am not going to get to use them at least the next person will get a cleaned gun with no new rust to fight. And if I do last long enough then I will get to enjoy making them a little nicer before I leave them behind.
