THR members who are single and are dating, read on ... especially on this Valentine's Day.
Nice!
In my 20s when I was dating, I found out most of my dates really did not care for rough camping/hiking in mountains/deserts, riding dirt bikes/quads in deserts/sand dunes, off roading in BFE, fishing in high sierra lakes and particularly shooting guns. While many "pretended" to like these activities, one by one over time, admitted they really did not like them. To me, these activities highlighted my life as I got to get away from the stress of urban life and relax with stunning vistas of nature of mountains, desert and ocean/dunes (And why I wanted to retired in Coos Bay/Winchester Bay, Oregon with largest rideable coastal dunes) . As I got to my late 20s, I thought about marrying one of them but I resisted and decided to wait for someone who liked these activities as I figured our differences would likely end up destroying the marriage as I have seen in my friends and coworkers.
When I was set up by a mutual friend who knew me well saying, "Oh, you will like her" ... I was skeptical but found out my date grew up riding dirt bikes with her brothers and rough camping/hiking and shooting guns. Several dates later, I told her that us coming together was fateful destiny and it was "love at first sight" and that I had to marry her. Laughing, she asked me why and I told her, "Do you know how hard it is to find someone who grew up riding dirt bikes, rough camping/hiking and shooting guns?"
(And believe me, they exist ... Just ask those who participate in these activities if they have sisters/cousins who do
)
Three years later, we got married and now will be celebrating 25 years together. When we got married, we bought his and hers Glock 17s and went on quad riding and camping on the beaches of Pismo/Oceano Dunes.
And while my friends/coworkers/neighbors had arguments/fights over buying guns, reloading equipment and going shooting with their girlfriends/wives; I had a girlfriend/wife who looked forward to going shooting with me and wanted her versions of guns I bought. When we were making camping plans, we always factored in whether we would be able to shoot as well (Hence many quad/dune buggy trips to the desert dunes).
While others fought over cost of shooting/reloading, wife never disagreed with what I wanted to buy as we had an agreement that she could spend double whatever I spent on shooting/reloading. So when I went on a $7,000 shopping spree in 2014 and spent over $10,000 in 2017, there was no argument from my wife. (After 25 years together, we spent over $175,000 on shooting/reloading related expenses, mostly on reloading 600,000 rounds but I tell my wife I saved her like $150,000+ by reloading while she gives me the, "I am not convinced look"
)
And when her friends/neighbors complained about money spent on shooting/reloading, she told them that I always came out of the reloading room happy and came back from the range happy. She also asked them if they checked the bottom of the shoes for dirt when their husbands returned from the golf course as she told them she knew exactly where I was when reloading and shooting as I reloaded at home and she was often with me shooting. Interestingly, after 25 years, none of her friends/neighbors are still married to their husbands as every one of them have divorced.
I retired last year and I have a monthly shooting/reloading budget factored into our retirement budget and wife don't mind if I go over my shooting/reloading budget as I factored in $1,000/month "Do whatever honey" fund for my wife. (BTW, our quads and toy hauler were gifted to my sister/BIL so my teenager nephew and niece can ride them)
As to my other retirement hobbies? Good thing my wife also likes fishing as I am restoring 70s vintage 18' and 21' Starcraft boats for salt water fishing and she is looking forward to fishing/crabbing with me along with her friends and family. And if you think shooting/reloading is expensive, it's nothing compared to ocean fishing. One decent salt water fishing pole/reel will cost more than a typical gun (And of course, you need many fishing poles/reels depending on the type of fish you are fishing for) and decent fish finders along with down riggers will make reloading a cheaper hobby. And outboard motors? They start out at $14,000+.
So as Hookeye posted, make good decisions in choosing your girlfriend/wife. Your decision could result in decades of happy shooting memories or decades of sad regretful memories.
Choose wisely!
Happy Valentines Day!
