Secretive about guns, ammo, etc.?

The family and I spending time together. Nothing to see here.

My neighbors are too far away to see what's in or near my mailbox. If it's really heavy I use a hand truck since my driveway is 200' long. One time my UPS driver asked me what I was signing for, being a rectangle from cabelas. I said it was a black powder revolver on sale. He just smiled, this being Texas after all.

I'm not secretive but I don't have vehicle decals or wear logo gear off the range.

It's not something I make a conscious effort to hide, but not something I intentionally draw attention to. My lifestyle choice is my business, not the whole world's. Just wish certain others would take notes.....

I don’t flaunt it, but I don’t hide it.

I don’t have a huge ...



... sticker on the back of my truck or anything. However I have a few gun and shooting logo shirts and a couple hats. I wear them sometimes. They tend to be the more obscure ones like Noveske or BCM rather than Glock or Colt though.

I try to be a good ambassador, but if I get someone who’s mind is made up and is incredibly hostile then that’s fine.

It’s their problem, not mine. Whatever.

I don't flaunt it to my neighbors. No stickers on vehicles or hats or shirts. I don't hide it from my friends. Some of my whitewater kayaking friends know, I've taken a few shooting for their first times, a few others have asked me to take them and I will soon.

I try and hide it. I pop my head outside and make sure no one is outside and then take long guns to the car. If I’m taking them into the house I make sure everyone is gone and no cars are coming down the road. I’m on a 35mph township road and I bet 6 out of 10 times when I walk up the driveway 30ft from the front door someone looks my way and somewhat stares. No gun decals, shirts, etc. I don’t want knowing I have guns cause I don’t want my house or car broken into. I sometimes don’t take my gear tote or hunting gear out of my truck bed and cover it with a tonnue cover. I bet if I had stickers on the truck that stuff would have disappeared years ago.

neighbors don’t need to know. I like my neighbors but it’s a hey, how you doing type relationship and not buddy buddy. Hell some friends don’t even know. My GF had a big mouth when we got together and told everyone a few years ago I was in the police academy and I carried a concealed gun on me 99% of the time. I told her I don’t want anyone knowing I’m in the academy or carry a gun. She asked why and I told her some people don’t like that stuff and unless we are close they don’t need to know.

Howland937 said:

It's not something I make a conscious effort to hide, but not something I intentionally draw attention to. My lifestyle choice is my business, not the whole world's. Just wish certain others would take notes.....

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My feelings exactly. Others...even some friends don't understand my hobby. To each their own.

I'm of a Robert Frost frame of mind in that vein:

"... good fences make good neighbors."

Be they literal, conversational, virtual or merely attitudinal; the fences.

Good fences DO make good neighbors.

Be they *next door*, across the field, down the lane or on the screen; the neighbors.

Good fences make good neighbors.

Todd.

I am selectively open. My co-workers know me as an engineer who keeps impressive targets in a frame on his desk, talks internal ballistics, and teaches new shooters. My neighbors don't know.

No vehicle decals, no logo gear away from the range, club or field.
If I come home from the range, club or field, I don't particularly worry about hiding the guns and/or gear, I just promptly and efficiently offload it into the home.
Ditto the sentiment that my lifestyle/hobbies are not up for random discussion with strangers. I hunt, I gun, but I'm not an evangelist for the shooting sports.

Yes I am these days. My business isn't theirs.

RockRat64 said:

I commented (and was surprised) how heavy it was.

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There was your mistake. Your second was not coming up with a better response to the neighbor's "Car parts?" inquiry. I would have gone with something like "No , just metal stock for my work bench." See how nice that is? Not even a lie. Better yet - "Parts for my vice." Get it ? Some people drink , some gamble , some reload.

I don't post how much ammo, or what kind I have on social media, or to any of my family or friends. Doesn't matter what I have, so, why should I say anything?

Like others, I don't flaunt it but I don't go out of my way to avoid people seeing it, especially my friends. At work I am "the gun guy" and I have several coworkers who have asked for my input on optics, handguns, the CCL process, etc.. Now that I have that reputation, kind of hard to hide it.

On the other hand, I don't have anything on our cars or on/in our house (except at my gun bench, of course) that would indicate I'm into firearms. I mean, except my gun safe in the bedroom, but the vast majority of people that come into our house don't see our bedroom.

If you're neighbor didn't recognize the ORM-D shipping label, he's obviously not a golfer.

I dont necessary make efforts to hide my shooting hobby. My neighbors can hear my frequent shooting sessions. Passersby can see my steel gongs and my target stands.
However, I dont have gun related stickers on my vehicles or clothes. When conversations turn to conceal carry, a dont disclose any information. My carry habits are strictly confidential. (Ironically, no secrets on thr)
I'll talk hunting anytime.

Listed below is everything people need to know:

I live in the "boondocks" and you can hear folks shooting in the distance all the time. The folks up the hill, the folks next door and the cattle across the road know I shoot and have some guns.
They don't know what or how many...

I don't know anyone who doesn't own a gun including my neighbors. No reason to try to hide anything from them. But I don't advertise with any bumper stickers etc. And I try to not advertise how many or what type of guns I own. None of my neighbors care, but if I were to open my safe's and start showing off what I have to even a trusted neighbor a casual conversation overheard by the wrong person could lead to someone else targeting my home for a theft.

I live on the back half of a 20 acre parcel, and shoot in the yard. Some neighbors shoot, and a local gun club is a mile away. We know each other shoots, but that’s as far as it goes. I work in the city so no identifying stickers or badging on the car, and nothing on the truck either.
Friends know my hobbies, and some participate. Acquaintances do not unless I see the need/opportunity to bring them in. Strangers need to know nothing.
Opinions are changing, and some folk likely would opine that I have an “arsenal”, or believe I have an excessive amount of ammunition if they new.

No. Why? I'm not doing anything wrong.

Neither do I advertise, though. Like anything else expensive or desirable I might have.

Howland937 said:

It's not something I make a conscious effort to hide, but not something I intentionally draw attention to. My lifestyle choice is my business, not the whole world's. Just wish certain others would take notes.....

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There are times I flaunt it. Several of my graphic Ts are from the IGold (IL Gun Owners Lobby Day) rallies in Springfield, one from Illinois Carry (dot com), the NRA, and more. On several, I had a local shop put some text on the backs for me.
I have no idea why this is turned like this. The original picture isn't.

I live in a court in the middle of the Silicon Valley, 4 of 5 of my neighbors are of foreign origin. Not the exactly what you would call gun friendly good ole boys. I kinda keep it private.