Do you love a gun?

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I’ve told this story before, but this seems an appropriate thread in which to tell it again:

When I was a 16 year-old rifle crazy kid, my then girlfriend’s dad was best buddies with a well-known writer for a popular outdoors magazine and had a beautiful, custom 308 Norma Magnum. It was probably a Model 70, 30-06 that he’d had rechambered and a new stock built for – rechambering 30-06s to 308 Norma Mags and opening up their bolt faces a little was popular back in those days when the magnum rifle craze was in its infancy.

At any rate, I loved my girlfriend’s dad’s rifle – he even let me shoot it once. And when that girlfriend broke up with me, it broke my heart because I knew I’d never get to see and hold that rifle ever again.;)

So many, many years later, with the full approval and understanding of my loving wife, I ordered a custom 308 Norma Magnum from Montana Rifle Company as my retirement gift to myself. I guess you could say I “love” that rifle because of how it shoots – it’s fast, flat, accurate, hits hard, and I actually like the way it kicks. I know when it goes off, but it doesn’t hurt like the 300 Win Mag I used to have did. But I mostly “love” my 308 Norma Mag because it makes my wife (of almost 48 years now) smile every time I tell the story of how I “loved” the rifle that belonged to my girlfriend’s dad when I was 16.:)
 
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Officers'Wife said:
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. ...
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Possibly a 40-50 year-old Pontiac GTO? :)
 
Officers'Wife said:
My grandmother told me never to be so foolish as to love something that would never be capable of returning that love. While she was referring to Bill Parker, a firearm would also qualify.
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I like that, words which reflect wisdom. I have guns which I am fond of and enjoy shooting more than other guns I have but there is no one or group of guns I have which I would say I love. I guess it's more a choice of words. :)

Ron
 
GBExpat said:
Possibly a 40-50 year-old Pontiac GTO? :)
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Since I do my best to avoid the machine I've never had the chance to carbon date it. But yes and I believe he said the year was 1965.

Reloadron said:
I like that, words which reflect wisdom. I have guns which I am fond of and enjoy shooting more than other guns I have but there is no one or group of guns I have which I would say I love. I guess it's more a choice of words. :)
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Grandparents tend to share a lot of wisdom if they aren't charged with raising their grandchildren. Many of the lessons can be applied to subjects other than the original. Anything further I say will drift into political so I'll refrain.
 
My first gun revelation came 10 years ago when I was just learning to shoot as an adult. I was new to the sport, having not shot firearms for more than 30 years since I was a kid. I was struggling to shoot revolvers in double action, and using my then new 329PD, I was practicing with .44 specials to understand and control the N-Frame. It was still a somewhat squirly proposition for me.

My mentor saw I was having trouble keeping a group on target and said, "Wait a minute, try this". He handed me a Colt Single Action Army in .45 Long Colt. At first I scoffed at the obsolete, antique design. Cowboy guns weren't my thing. I had no interest in cowboy shooting. But I gamely took the iron in a two-handed combat grip and addressed the target. The thing shot exactly to point of aim for me, rolling beautifully in the hand as the muzzle flip dissipated the recoil. As I carefully thumb-cocked each round and let them fly, I printed 5 shots that were all touching each other at 20 yards.

I stood there dumbfounded for a minute, as an epiphany started to take hold in my mind. The ancient plough-handled grip and pinky-wrap gripping technique allowed the gun to become an extension of my hand. Its 150 year-old design was not obsolete as far as ergonomics went. It felt right. It felt and performed exactly as a big bore revolver was supposed to. It spoke to me and I was instantly connected to it and transformed by the experience.

It was my first revelation about how guns and their design could could be a transcendent experience. Instantly, I felt a oneness with the history and performance of a firearm I didn't know was possible. It was not a frustrating experience, like shooting the double action N-Frame had been. It was a shooting experience that was pure joy.

This was my first truly meaningful gun epiphany. It was deeply moving and shook me to my core in terms of deepening my understanding and opening my heart to an ecstacy of firearm rapture. I was in love. I became a believer in Colt SAAs and I bought that one on the spot. In the fullness of time I decided that .44 special was "my caliber" instead of .45LC, so that gun was replaced by a gift from my brother on my 50th birthday of a well made 3rd generation Colt SAA in .44 special. I've treasured that Colt to this day. In turn, I discovered USFA single actions and I collected a few more in .38 and .44 special before USFA discontinued production. With each step along this path I have deepened my affection for the sport and the guns themselves.

Epiphany. Rapture. Revelation, Affection. Love. These deeply moving emotional states are intertwined in our human experience and yet so poorly represented as word symbols in the English language. Compounding our inability to communicate well with these words is the rigidity of definition that we use to circumscribe these terms. You can love a person but you can't love a thing. You can love freedom, but you can't love the Second Amendment. You can love your country but you can't love the Constitution.
 
Part of the challenge of delving into the metaphysical aspects of love is recognizing that the received “wisdom” should be interrogated and compared to your experience. All I ask is to suspend posting the pithy rote responses and engage in the discussion.

The charge of idolatry presupposes that your worldview is the only legit one and all others are illegitimate. It attempts to tar with a prejudicial and authoritarian brush an idea that only challenges the orthodoxy of pre-ordained ideas.

I’m not worshiping the gun as one might worship an idol. I’m reaching for the metaphors that describe an extraordinary experience.
 
I believe in the firearm world to "love a gun" simply means that gun went past "it's ok" then past "I really like it" and finally to "I love it". People reading into physical connections and delving into what love means and inanimate objects and blah blah blah are to me, a joke. They're looking for an argument that isn't there.
 
Officers'Wife said:
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.
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I seriously hope this sarcarsm. Owning a "goat" (Pontiac gto) is a freedom an American can enjoy, with or without the nostalgia that may come along with it.
 
Mn Fats said:
I believe in the firearm world to "love a gun" simply means that gun went past "it's ok" then past "I really like it" and finally to "I love it". People reading into physical connections and delving into what love means and inanimate objects and blah blah blah are to me, a joke. They're looking for an argument that isn't there.
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+1
I "love" your post Mn Fats!:)
 
Mn Fats said:
I seriously hope this sarcarsm. Owning a "goat" (Pontiac gto) is a freedom an American can enjoy, with or without the nostalgia that may come along with it.
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With all due respect, nowhere in the post did I say he should not have it. However, while the prose may be tongue-in-cheek the message is quite serious. I'm sure that even you will agree that a seventy-year-old man sliding around S curves on gravel roads, noting his speed in the quarter mile and a few other atrocities I do not care to mention is either suicidal or attempting to relive his childhood. Since he bought the car when he first got out of the Army back in ancient times I predict it to be the latter.

While you are correct that the objection to the word "love" referred to an inanimate object is semantics, I choose to believe that words have specific meaning in that particular word is not appropriate in that particular usage. In the case of that rolling junk heap, the old man might appreciate the performance of the automobile or admire the styling… Even be awe inspired by the classic engineering. Using the word love for the object is (in my opinion) intellectual laziness, no more and no less.

If you are objecting to the tongue-in-cheek language of my post… That's also my right as an American. Just as it is yours to object to it. But please remember – if you pick on the prose it will never heal.
 
Officers'Wife said:
With all due respect, nowhere in the post did I say he should not have it. However, while the prose may be tongue-in-cheek the message is quite serious. I'm sure that even you will agree that a seventy-year-old man sliding around S curves on gravel roads, noting his speed in the quarter mile and a few other atrocities I do not care to mention is either suicidal or attempting to relive his childhood.
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Sliding around an "s curve" at 70 years old and noting a quarter mile speed and a few other "atrocities" is either suicidal or an attempt to relive ones childhood? Ma'am, you are severly un informed. Paul Newman raced until his final years. So no, I do not agree on your 70 year old man sliding around corners comment. In fact I find it condescending to seniors who collect American Muscle and push thier cars to thier limits.
 
Mn Fats said:
Sliding around an "s curve" at 70 years old and noting a quarter mile speed and a few other "atrocities" is either suicidal or an attempt to relive ones childhood? Ma'am, you are severly un informed. Paul Newman raced until his final years. So no, I do not agree on your 70 year old man sliding around corners comment. In fact I find it condescending to seniors who collect American Muscle and push thier cars to thier limits.
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I would be quite worried if everyone agreed with me. But since this thread is on the subject of emotional attachments to firearms it might be meat to get back on topic.
 
Officers'Wife said:
I would be quite worried if everyone agreed with me. But since this thread is on the subject of emotional attachments to firearms it might be meat to get back on topic.
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It would be neat to get back on topic. You were the one who scewed this off into cars. I retorted in a respectable way I feel.

Again, "love" is a relevant term. I honesty feel no one here is in love with thier firearm. Just a term used to express better than good.

Edit: low road fix.
 
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Love? No... they are just tools, things - not objects of affection, worship, or idols. But like VERY much? - yes. My P-42 spends time with me every day and goes where I go. It is the fulfillment of money well spent in my mind and serves a very useful purpose. My SAKO Swede waits patiently for annual treks to the woods and provides me with a way to meaningfully enjoy the outdoors. My .22 AR is a RELAXER, pure and simple. I enjoy it out on the range on a warm and sunny day with friends and then meal and drinks after the shooting.
 
To be perfectly honest there is one gun that I loved

It was a pain in the ass to shoot.
The recoil was INSANE
It was a pain in the ass to load and it was about as low capacity as you could get.
The ammunition was expensive as hell.
It was a pain in the ass to clean.
It was a pain in the ass to lube.
It was a pain in the ass to conceal.
It was always rusty.
And it always stunk like diesel fuel and hydraulic fluid.

But I have to admit that I did love her and she was accurate as hell. And it was the only gun that I ever fired that actually add stopping power.

FB_IMG_1527040007621.jpg
 
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I love the 1911 government model. When you hold it in your hand, it feels the way a gun should feel. At the same time, I would never carry one.

When it comes to shooting, .17 HMR Savage all the way. No recoil, pinpoint accuracy, a great trigger, and very cheap ammo. When the bullet doesn't go where I want it to, I never have to wonder whether it was me or the gun.
 
I guess I'm too fickle to really "love" a gun. Any infatuation with one tends to wear off rather quickly and refocus on another one; the first gets a lot of attention for a while, then I get distracted by another. The displaced one goes back in the safe; it may sulk in there for all I know. Like as not, it will re-emerge again at some later date, when need or interest pushes it back to the center of my affection. The "collection," such as it is, is now broad enough to let me cycle through without significant interest in adding to the number. But that could still happen ...
 
In my case, the closest thing to that feeling would be my Manurhin MR73 revolvers.
They are fantastic firearm, shoot great, but I also love their history and esthetics.
mr73s.jpg
 
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