I will agree that firearms are indeed tools, and typically it is good to have a variety of tools in your toolbox. However, a firearm is not a $5 wrench that you can just toss in a little chest or bucket in case you need it down the road. Firearms require training, practice, commitment, care, etc. Not to mention that each firearm is hundreds of dollars, not including the amount of rounds needed to not only verify a lack of manufacturer defects but also to gain proficiency with the platform. These "tools" are money pits if you get too far down the rabbit hole on the "WHAT IF" game, which effectively turns them from being tools, into being financial burdens.
RIFLES
RIfles can be one of the more expensive weapons you own. Of course we are talking about price per unit. There just seems to be endless amounts of crap you can lash and bolt onto a rifle rail that promises to make you 5% sexier looking or 2% better at shooting. I get that you have to try out certain things before actually knowing what will work, like optics and mounts. However, I think some things get a little nutty when you start throwing things on like IR lights and lasers when you don't even have night vision and wouldn't even intend to learn how to fight at night. Things like white lights on your rifle are useless to you if all you are gonna use it for is finding TP during a power outage.
There is a heavy desire for people to have "Purpose Built Rifles" that can do a certain task really well. Things like a designated marksman rifle, long range sniper rifle, CQB rifle, hunting rifle, Plinking/Competition rifle, etc. This, in my mind is the most asinine thing one can do. This is how these rifles turn into ridiculous money pits. The best thing you can do is avoid all the garbage, have one or two different caliber rifles like a .308 and 5.56, and load them out LOGICALLY and within YOUR CAPABILITY!!! John Wick is a movie, not a training manual for the fat and lazy wannabes. If you never practice more than shooting one round at a time at a bullseye, don't bother getting out of the bolt action realm because that is all you are training to be proficient in.
SHOTGUNS
Shotguns are an interesting defensive weapon to discuss. I can't argue that there is a place for them in close quarters defense, but having a huge amount of them may not be even necessary. In my mind, if you can decide what kind of action you want to have, whether semi auto or pump action, you can go from there. Now there are some out there who will want more capacity, like that seen in the Keltec KSG. Point is that there are several options out on the market on action types, designs, and different shot you can use. The shotgun is undoubtedly versatile, but it has limitations, a certain requirement in manual of arms, and can easily be substituted by a rifle or pistol caliber carbine. At this point, you could argue that a shotgun is not even necessary in your arsenal today, unless you are hunting.
PISTOLS
This is one of the worst as far as a potential money pit goes. Pistols are one of those things that you might want a few of them, but you need to be careful not to keep around the ones that have limited to no usefulness. You may want a pistol dedicated for home defense that you carry around everywhere in the home, one for year around carry, and a combat pistol. You don't need too many pistols, but this is hard to do when you become emotionally attached to these guns. You just have to keep the big picture in mind. Remain proficient in a few firearms and save the dough for ammo, training, and parts. Don't get wrapped around modifications and fancy parts to decorate your firearms.
CONCLUSION
I am currently working on thinning out my pistols collection due to the fact that I am not into having a bunch of wasted space. Also, I like to throw rounds through few pistols in order to get better with that one platform. This is one of the best reasons to lower the gun count. Some people may argue that you may want more guns in order to arm other people, but I am not a militia commander looking to live for the coming apocalypse. You all can decide what to do with your money and the space in your safe, but I think it would be wise to narrow the collection and keep proficiency in a few guns.
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