What is it about guns that hooks you?

[bigalexe]

What is it about guns that hooks you?

For me personally its the search for absolute perfection. I am an engineering student and have spent some time around machines capable of producing tolerances down to 0.0005" which is one ten-thousandth of an inch. Guns are an example of something where those variances can make a difference.

I think about it like this:
1.) Take a piece of metal (lead, copper, ect.)
2.) Shove it on top of an explosive in a brass or steel casing that has been stamped.
3.) Insert into a fancy pipe
4.) Hit the back with a glorified nail, detonating the explosive.
5.) Somehow we got from there, to a point where those set of steps can accurately and consistently place that chunk of metal into a circle smaller than the palm of my hand at 600 yards.
6.) Then it can be done AGAIN, thousands of times.

 

[Robert Wilson]

I think that for most men it is about extension of power. I know that idea is frowned upon, perhaps even by members of this fine forum, but I think the ability to affect our surroundings beyond arms' length is very alluring.

 

[mesinge2]

When I was a kid I worked with cars with my dad. I think it is that they are complex and simple at the same time and I find there history amazing from Hook guns and arquebus guns (actually a matchlock, I think) to wheellocks and matcklocks, to flintlocks, to precussion caps single shots and revolvers, to brass cartrige rimfire (invented by smith and wesson), and to centerfire.

If you want a good read, that is brief for the working man read Gun: A visual history.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bo...ISBN=9780756628482&ourl=The-Gun/DK-Publishing

 

[Rontherunner]

I think guns are associated with a feeling of wellbeing and security. We're programmed to like things secure and in control, and guns help us to achieve that perceived need.

Beyond that, I agree with the original poster that most of us like gadgets, and you have to agree that mechanically most guns are pretty cool gadgets!

 

[Kevin5098]

Depends on the gun. With some, like my Garand, it's the history or what they represent. Shooting the M1 I feel connected with my father's ("the greatest") generation. With my Remington 1100 it's the personal memories of hunting with my Dad. I still enjoy using this gun on the trap field. With my Ruger GP-100, it's the solid feel in my hands at the range. Every gun is different. I'm not in love with "guns" in general, but there are specific models, including the few I own and the few more I intend to own that strike a special chord within me.

Kevin

 

[rojocorsa]

I think they look cool. Seriously, I view them as "functional art."

It also doesn't help that I like mechanical engineering and science (physics, chem, bio, etc.)

 

[chevyforlife21]

i like all that power in my hands and the fact that it can serve so many purposes defense,survival, food,fun,collecting etc...

 

[mm1ut1]

History, the challenge of hitting a small target target at long range, an appreciation of finely machined equipment, plus I'm too old to go skirt chasing.

 

[Mooseman]

I like mechanical devices of all types. I've always especially liked them if I can actually use them like cars, guns, tools, etc. I'll admit I like knowing that a gun can help me protect myself and my family but it goes beyond that. I have firearms such as my Nagant revolver that I would never want to carry but I bought it simply because it's cool.

 

[MattTheHat]

Idiots. They go BANG. What else is there? Geeze!


-Matt

 

[TXHORNS]

Gun go BANG. Me like BANG.

 

[Deus Machina]

Well, I appreciate them in that I, at 5'8" and all of 135 pounds soaking wet in my clothes, will be able to rely on more than my wits and failing legs when push comes to shove.

But what hooks me? I'm an engineering student. What else, more than a hundred years ago, was designed to withstand bursts of 90,000 PSI stress, thousands or tens if not hundreds of thousands of times, and put a hole in paper in the exact same spot every time.

Also, see TXHORNS' above. The exact same reason we like cars with some grunt in them.

 

[Clifford]

As a child I was allways fascinated by mechanical devices. I would take everything apart just to see how it worked. Even in my job as an automotive technician for the last 12 years, I am still intrested and dare I say excited by mechanical devices.

To me firearms are the pinnacle of mechanical design, no wires, no sensors, no ECM, BCM, TCM or any other smart tech stuff. It's simple nut's and bolt's, a thing of beauty

 

[DSAPT9]

I am like many folks here in the fact that I like the mechanics of them. The fact that a lot of the measuring tools used today came from the firearm industry, thing likes micrometers and calipers where crudely designed by today’s standards and used to make parts interchangeable from one firearm to another. The fact that they go bang and as I think Colt put it they also make a great equalizer are just icing on the cake. I also like the cool factor that some firearms just have.

Like I tell most folks “I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I just buy guns we all have addictions of some kind and mine is Firearms”

 

[goofy grape]

I love my Garand, because it's a part of history and it served in the Korean conflict. It is a wonder of engineering genius, created over 70 years ago and still performs better than any M-16 I was ever issued. The same with my 1911. The pistol served in Vietnam and is still punching holes in the x ring. They're like women, you take care of 'em, scrub 'em regularly, hold 'em just right, squeeze 'em, don't jerk 'em and they'll take care of you every time. My wife just read that over my shoulder. Rolled her eyes and muttered, "God, you men are delusional."

TXHORNS is right too. Gun go bang! Me like bang!
Also, I love the smell of cordite in the morning! It smells like.......VICTORY!!!

 

[mustang_steve]

I see a nice flameburst when firing a 9mm. I like fire. Fire is fun.

Now where did my matches go?

Seriously....I like the skill it takes to get good groupings. I'm more of a plinker than anything.

 

[WinchesterAA]

It's just another one of those things humans came up with that distinguishes them as something more than nothing.

Much like electronics and the medical field, society, bic lighters, and language.

I love it, because it's a part of me, and what I am. It's the mind that thinks in a way that would allow the idea of a firearm to come to fruition, My ultimate goal is to finally get the models I came up with put into something I can hold, and shoot. Once I do that, anything else I'd ever want to do should also be possible at this time.

This = happiness for me.


That's why I like firearms.

Also, there's a more natural respect for it, as well, such as the intense desire to not be shut down by anything that I could otherwise avoid simply by having the ability to inflict great damage from any distance that I can see.

 

[PandaBearBG]

It provides an unprecedented level of power to an indivual. It is a finely engineered piece of work from the brutally simple flintlocks of yesteryear to the high precision rifles today. But for me above all they are a tool. A tool that accomplishes it's goal unbiasly and reliably. As with any tool it requires a certain skill that some possess and some cannot seem to really grasp. The continue desire to master this skill that always continues to stay one step ahead of you is like chasing a wisp of air. But the fun and challenge is in the chase not the final catch. Because with guns there is no finale, you can always shoot farther, faster, more precisely, a tool that always challenges you and always is there for you.

A bit dreamy but I put some thought into it.

 

[AStone]

Interesting question.

Gonna have to read some and think a bit before answering.

 

[cyclopsshooter]

with OP, i have more fun with the mechanical aspect than sending lead down range

typed one handed while reaching over a detail stripped S&W Model 41

 

[coloradokevin]

1) They provide protection
2) They provide entertainment
3) They provide food
4) They look good
5) They are mechanical devices that you can manipulate with your hands. I think it is a guy thing on this one.
6) They make loud noises and can flash at night. It is like a firework, but better!

I am also intrigued by the things that the OP said. The level of precision that is required to make a device that can propel a piece of copper jacketed lead to a point the size of a tennis ball, more than a few hundred yards away, in less than a second, is intriguing. And, like someone said earlier in this thread, they are functional art

 

[mbt2001]

Kev, if you are in Colorado, you are either up REALLY early, or had a very late night!

 

[TOTC]

I think that for most men it is about extension of power. I know that idea is frowned upon, perhaps even by members of this fine forum, but I think the ability to affect our surroundings beyond arms' length is very alluring.

But how do you use that power? Like Peter Parker's uncle said "With great power comes great responsibility." Anyone who holds a gun in their hands literally can have the power of life and death over another living creature. Exercising that power responsibly is to me, a part of the allure. Not giving into some base instinct to harm something needlessly. That's cruelty and makes you a monster, not a human.

Also, I enjoy the ongoing mastery of a particular piece of equipment. Each of my guns shoots just a little bit different. Becoming competent with each of them is part of the challenge. Obtaining perfection is a goal I'll strive for, but never achieve.

The scientific aspect as well. The violent chemical reaction initiated by a mechanical force that imparts energy upon a projectile is fascinating.

There's probably more to what I like, but those are the major ones.

 

[MT GUNNY]

Any thing that takes skill to master is something that is appealing to Most People.

 

[Officers'Wife]

When I was a foster child of the city of Chicago, I was helpless depending on the 'benevolence’ of an uncaring system and the ‘goodwill’ of the neighborhood(s) I was placed in. When my Dad seized custody of me I learned the benefit of depending on myself. The knife, the arrow, the skill with firearms amplifies this benefit. With a rifle at hand, I never have to worry about being hungry, a condition common when the state is your parent. With a rifle at hand I’m not condemned to abide with whatever perversion my neighbors decide to inflict on myself or my children. When the barbarians are at the gate, the rifle gives me the chance to convince them another gate would suit them better.

In short, I learned to like guns because of gun control.