Do you love a gun?

Like others I consider firearms tools but some I'm more willing to part with than others.

I use the word when talking about guns sometimes, but the answer is no, I don't love any of my guns.
The closest thing to it would be an old single barrel Winchester 16-gauge that has been passed down in the family. I'm the 3rd Paul to have it, and hopefully not the last.

I love my family. I love my friends. To a very slightly lesser degree, I love my dog.
I don't love things, though I do have strong feelings for a few.

Officers'wife writes:

Imagine if you will, a warm day in early April, a clumsy, shy thirteen-year-old girl full of self doubts at the rifle range with her grandfather. For three magazines out of an old Winchester the old man stoically shakes his head, corrects the child's stance, breathing and posture until finally the last three shots ring the metal plate behind the center of the target. The old man takes the carbine away from the girl opens the action and inspects it that hands her back to his adopted grandchild saying – "you might as well keep this, girl, you do better with it than I can." I'm sure you can see that while the object is now a prized possession, the love that possession engenders is for that old man with the hard, gruff exterior and a heart as warm as that spring day. So now understand, I do not love the gun, but the gun reminds me of how much I was loved when the old man was alive.

Click to expand...

A wonderful reflection and tribute indeed. Thank you for sharing..

Using the word "love" for a gun (or any other inanimate object) is asinine to me. Here is an idea for you: Imagine some omnipotent being has told you to either throw the gun you "love" or the your child over a 1000 foot cliff into a bottomless sea. If you throw the child, then maybe you really do love the gun.

I wont say love, but i know the feeling of holding a gun that causes some emotional response. For me holding my old marlin 39 just feels so good, none of my other guns come close. Its nothing but perception and it isn't logical but i can't help it. The look , feel and memories of that gun make it priceless to me.

I wouldn't say love, but this one and I were in a few serious social engagements, we're still here.

Last one I would ever let go.

Only thing I love are my dogs; everything else in this world is expendable.

Well, over my life, I've found firearms to be more predictable (occasionally reliable) than women.
Both are as complicated to sleep with, what with being ice cold unexpectedly, and having all sorts of sharp, pokey edges.

CapnMac said:

Well, over my life, I've found firearms to be more predictable (occasionally reliable) than women.
Both are as complicated to sleep with, what with being ice cold unexpectedly, and having all sorts of sharp, pokey edges.

Click to expand...

You need to find a better class of woman....

My ugly self and my "Bad Bitch"---Queen of the safe but not a safe queen. 75 years old this month and 25 years with me.

CapnMac said:

Well, over my life, I've found firearms to be more predictable (occasionally reliable) than women.
Both are as complicated to sleep with, what with being ice cold unexpectedly, and having all sorts of sharp, pokey edges.

Click to expand...

Similar experience

No... I have my favorites but Love is reserved for my family and friends.

Strangely enough the firearm that I feel is an extension of my hand and I seem to not miss with is an old beat to crap S&W 5906. I own three of them and that one is hands down THE most accurate 9MM pistol I own out of about 14. It looks to have about a half million rounds down the tube and the factory grip is worn smooth but it's a shooter in my hands for sure.

I agree with others in that no, I do not love or have strong emotional feelings for any of my guns. I value my guns, some more than others, and I enjoy my guns, as possessions that provide a sense of security for me, and a useful tool should I need food or protection. I can understand someone being strongly attached to a material possession, but that is still not the same has the multifaceted "love" emotion, the way one human being can love another human being, or another group of human beings, etc.

jamesjames said:

When you guys can stay focused on the intent of the thread, you reveal and discover the deep emotional connection the firearm provides. When it’s a story about a conduit to a gradfather’s legacy, it can move the reader to tears. We have strong and complex attachments to these things (one of the reasons critics call us “gun nuts”).

Thank you for sharing your insights and digging in to the meat of this.

Click to expand...

What makes things complicated, the attachment is not just to guns. Many objects become mementos for different people. One of my home care patients has a piece of steel that was probably some sort of sliding knob that she appears to have a deep, emotional attachment to. When I asked her about it she told me of when her husband was driving a truck and had been broken down somewhere in Iowa. He had found the device along the side of the interstate and put it in his pocket. When he got home he gave it to her saying it had looked "lost, lonely and afraid" and it needed her to take care of it. The object represents to her of how the man was in the middle of nowhere in a bad situation yet still took the time to think of her.

My dad has this ancient automobile he calls a goat. It's overpowered, requires a special fuel with some really nasty chemical additives. The safety restraints are medieval and when he gets behind the wheel he and the machine are an insult to the peace and dignity to the state of Indiana. But deep in my heart I believe that that old red convertible reminds him of when he was in his 20s and just home from a war that no one wanted. It is his symbol that even though he left part of his leg in another country he could still operate his machines with the best of them.

Then comes a certain unnamed idiot who shall remain my brother. In a place of honor in the shop is a homemade drill press/milling machine and something called a turrent lathe. As well as another machine of mass construction called an induction furnace that is essentially a spiral of copper tubing with a clay pot in the center that if he throws enough electricity into it will melt even tungsten steel or platinum. When you see this idiot caress those machines the reasonable person would wonder why his wonderful and long-suffering wife isn't jealous of them. But I know that the idiot helped my long gone and much loved uncle build those devices and rather than objects of affection they are symbols of one of his hero's industry and creativity.

I believe a number of people say they love the car, love the gun, love the machines, love a host of other inanimate objects. Many times they don't bother to realize it is not the objects they love but what the objects have come to symbolize. So perhaps the thread should not be "Do You Love a Gun" but "What Is Your Gun the Symbol of"?

I love what certain guns represent. For me there are 2.
1. A model 50 Winchester.
2. A S&W 38/44
Both guns were my grandfathers. I will die with them in my possession. No ammount of money could ever make me part with them. And I sincerely mean that.

Not love, but respect. When we were told we were changing over to semi-autos from revolvers, it didn't mean much to me. However, after going from a 5 shot revolver to an eleven shot small 9mm semi-auto, I was impressed.

We had a three day class/ range training period and I was more impressed. My Glock 26 never skipped a beat, had great sights, and, wow, they glowed in the dark! It carried better than my Chief Spl. and I felt well protected.

After many years of annual re-qualifications and range time on my own after retirement, I am still very impressed with the gun, and it certainly has earned my respect.

I like (or have a strong attachment to) all my guns. The ones I don’t like get sold.

I have a couple that stand out for me. I would say that I do love these guns because if I lost them I would be heart sick.

S&W 327 NG - I just dig the hell out of this one.
Winchester 94 Trails End .357 - My first Cowboy Action rifle.
Winchester 94 30-30 Carbine - it is “the one gun”.

I really like the rest of my guns but these 3 are special to me.

I ‘love’ the curves on Corvette’s...never owned one and don’t care too....My wife always teases me when she see me ogle a Corvette...Then one day at a gunshow I saw a beautiful older Weatherby. She watched me fondle it and caress it....she goes....”oh gosh, another Corvette!”
I enjoy so many different styles of guns,,,, if you are going to get all righteous,,,,I won’t use the word love.. My wife says now she knows why I was single for 30 years before her.......had to run thought the choices..

I don't "love" any of my (many) weapons, but I do love the security, freedom
and confidence they provide....

jamesjames said:

Many of us seem to be working in the confines of the definition of “love” that we received in traditional and orthodox contexts. A college freshman in Philosophy 101 learns that there are a couple of different kinds of love and operates on that received wisdom without questioning it. The English language is quite dynamic, but strangely limited in this one area.

The idea of loving a gun seems anathema to many here. Many love their freedom or their 2A, but can’t bring themselves to love a gun. Or maybe the gun has been acquired as a tool, isn’t a high end, high quality or otherwise meaningful piece, and therefore has never approached the level of a truly unique, high performance, historic, or beloved heirloom. But that doesn’t mean that deeper meaning or connection is not possible.

I appreciate the responses of those who have experienced a more deeply moving and meaningful connection, dare I say relationship, to the object of their affection.

I thought there would be a more commonly held level of fascination here. But there may not be a lot of writers who can put into words the depth and breadth of their feelings (or are even aware of them). Fair enough. Maybe that’s why good gun writing is so hard to do.

As anti-gun legislation rolls out on the public stage, we do need to step up our game in being able to communicate about the value, importance, and legitimacy of gun ownership. Understanding and sharing our relationship to firearms is part of that.

Click to expand...

Please see post #13 as it describes three different types of human love for other humans, also, my post #39 describes love as multifaceted, that is, love has many layers, and much of it depends greatly on context. I understand what you are trying to achieve here, you are asking other posters here if we have the same emotional attachment to a gun that you do, and if yes, how would we describe it? Unfortunately, our culture, IMHO, over uses the word "love" far too much, we use the word flippantly, and without much thought. I believe another poster made a great point in that, if you had the choice between tossing your gun (the one you love) over a cliff, or someone you love over a cliff, which would you choose? That might be a good way to separate one type of love from another type of love?

As for the depths of your love for your gun, I suggest you keep trying to describe it in your own words, perhaps put pen to paper, or type something out on a computer? Then, try sharing that with someone you trust and will give you an honest opinion of what you wrote?

jamesjames said:

Thanks for the suggestions, Ly, but I don't need a writing assignment. I have posted my thinking on this subject at length and am looking to see if others think and feel this way or not. I am finding that there are as many approaches to thinking about one's relationship to the object of their desire as there are members here. Many members are not engaging with this thread because they don't think this way. Many stoic gun owners are not given to reflection, not willing to think creatively about how they feel about this deep fondness, affection, or obsession (constructive, not destructive) they have, or simply not gifted in writing about this.

More the pity, because we need to be able to express ourselves in thoughtful ways so that we can understand our sport better and have a more varied, nuanced, and meaningful way of discussing the value of firearms with the general public and antis. So far, I have been impressed with the reflection and gift for phrasing that Officer's Wife has contributed to the discussion.

Click to expand...

I think you are clearly expressing your personal, emotional, creative, almost mystical affection for your gun, I encourage you to keep posting in this creative way.

JR24 said:

I might say it to get a point across occasionally but no. Even great guns are just tools to me. Good tools, but still tools. Same way with cars or similar, I just dont get emotionally attached to them. Never named a car or anything. That said, a few of my guns have emotional memories attached to them, and I'd be sad to lose that memory.

Click to expand...

Ditto...I appreciate, and admire my guns but have never felt love for them or any other object...but that's just me.