Is it collecting or hording?

[old goat]

There is certain type of hoarder, extremely rare fortunately, whose motivation is seemingly a desire to remove as much of a rarity from circulation as possible so that it gives them a sense of empowerment. They have no real collector's interest in their booty, and it is largely kept secretly and never sees the light of day. I know of Webley Mark 1 rifle, air-cane and BSA Military pattern hoards, going back as far as 40 years. Sadly, I unknowingly contributed one of my own Mark 1's many years ago.

Yes there are all sorts of people in the airgun world, and I have met a lot of them over the years

My own collecting has changed as time went by, when I started I think I was more interested in the English gun trade and the different companies that produced airguns and researched them as well as finding their products ending up with 50+ guns, most of which I seldom shot
Today I have around a dozen rifles and pistols and shoot them all, getting as much pleasure from a Bsa Cadet Major as a much rarer gun, take your point about secrecy and empowerment the best way to gain knowledge is by sharing, and we are lucking to have enough collectors who are happy to do this