Where you live affects your interest and participating in guns....right?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Frankly, I got more shooting in when I lived in south central Los Angeles than I do here in South Texas... .

I worked there for 20 years for the phone company (1981-2000). Wild place at times (lots of good people too), especially during the Rodney King Riots.
 
It happened to me too. I used to live in Northern California and went hunting with my friends pretty regularly. Frankly, I got spoiled by the amount of public land that was available. The shooting was also easier. I could just go out to the backyard. There was also a nice membership range available, interestingly enough, it has no web presence at all.

Then I moved to Kansas. There is nowhere nearby for hunting and it is against the law to even shoot an airsoft gun in my backyard. The city has closed the public range. Now the nearest place to shoot is, what used to be, a dump about 45 miles away.

I am also finding that I don't shoot as much as I used to.
 
Riomouse911
If my teachers knew what I was thinking about during class downtimes I’m sure I would’ve been sent to a re-education camp until I was “cured” of my “sickness.”

I use to sit in the back of the classroom and propped up my textbook so I it looked I was studying it while all the time I was reading the latest Guns and Ammo magazine!

The risk factor added to the fun and excitement of doing it!
 
What the OP describes is the reason for the increasingly anti 2A sentiment in this country.

Move from a rural area to an urban area while young, in order to find a job. Find there are few options for hunting and target shooting, and you don’t have an interest as much. Find that your offspring have little affinity towards firearms and might even regard them as bad due to inner city violence.

Or, a variation of the above, just by staying in place and being engulfed by urban sprawl.
 
Or, a variation of the above, just by staying in place and being engulfed by urban sprawl.
Yep. We've been in this same house for 42 years. It's sad to wonder whether or not "urban sprawl" is going to stop us from going shooting at our favorite "range" (the county gravel pit about 2 miles south of the house) before we're gone. "Urban sprawl" has already put an end to the great deer hunting we used to have in the hills just 5 or 10 minutes east of here.
And pheasant hunting??? We used to do that from the house. Nowadays, pheasant "hunters" around here belong to "clubs" that pays local farmers so that they can plant a bunch of cage-raised pheasants on the farmers' land for the members to shoot over their $500 German wire-haired super pointer-retriever dogs.:barf:
BTW, our daughter and son-in-law, and our grandsons (all of whom lived in the "big city" of Pocatello) used to come out here to go shooting. I hope they'll still be able to do that as long as my wife and I are still around. But that's kinda iffy because of how fast this area in "building up."
 
As oppressive as San Francisco is today, when I was a child, excluding pawnshops there were five gunshops there. We had a range nearby in Pacifica, CA that was operated by the City Park & Rec. I developed an interest which was a fun hobby in college. There was no shortage of literature then (and it's much better today). Even got into muzzle loaders in SF (because of a fascination with early riflemen in combat) and began taking classes on how to build them. Since then I moved to Coloradostan to escape the extremism of SF and CA. Now CO has been turning into Californiastan.
 
I live in the highly anti gun state of Massachusetts. Go figure seeing MA is the cradle of liberty. If our forefathers could see it now they'd be disgusted. I'm a huge gun guy but I'm fairly alone in my hobby in our group of friends and family. It has curbed my enthusiasm for going to the range. Sometimes it's more fun in a group then just going by yourself. But I'll never give it up. What I find now is that I'm more of a collector then a shooter. While I still shoot, I find the hunt and purchase of a new to me gun of quality just as fun. I'm currently on the hunt for an early model S&W 29 in it's original configuration. Enjoying the hunt so far.
 
As oppressive as San Francisco is today, when I was a child, excluding pawnshops there were five gunshops there. We had a range nearby in Pacifica, CA that was operated by the City Park & Rec. I developed an interest which was a fun hobby in college. There was no shortage of literature then (and it's much better today). Even got into muzzle loaders in SF (because of a fascination with early riflemen in combat) and began taking classes on how to build them. Since then I moved to Coloradostan to escape the extremism of SF and CA. Now CO has been turning into Californiastan.

I can easily believe that. My wife was born and raised in San Diego, and she’s told me many times that her high school had a rifle team in the late ‘60s. However, my wife was not allowed to join her high school rifle team because her hoplophobic mother wouldn’t allow it, and her dad preferred peace to standing up to his wife.
Consequently, my wife (who never was a “California Girl”) had never even touched a gun until she married me in 1971. She took to guns like the proverbial “duck to water” though, and now has as many as I do.
I still remember though how my mother-in-law would look when she and my father-in-law would come for a visit, and my wife would drag out her latest gun acquisition to show off to her dad. My wife’s mom would sit there with the strangest look on her face. I figure it was probably akin to the look I’d have on my face if I was watching someone show off their pet tarantula.:eek:
BTW, Idaho’s Boise Valley (aka Idaho’s “Treasure Valley”) where I grew up, is also mostly Californian nowadays - thanks to a couple or three microchip manufacturers moving in there. I probably won’t be around to see it though when this side of the state becomes like that - no matter how hard the idiotic city dads push “growth.”o_O
 
Riomouse911


I use to sit in the back of the classroom and propped up my textbook so I it looked I was studying it while all the time I was reading the latest Guns and Ammo magazine!

The risk factor added to the fun and excitement of doing it!
When I went to Catholic elementary and prep seminary in Chicago in the '60s and '70s, fully half the books in my book bag were firearms books and magazines. I got my first copy of "Small Arms of the World" between 7th and 8th grades (or 5th and 6th, I forget).
 
Your premise, "Where you live affects your interest and participating in guns," is certainly true for me.

I spent a long time living in upstate NY, where I hunted regularly and eventually wrangled an unrestricted handgun license. Couldn't carry at work due to employer policy but carried everywhere else. I was a member of a nearby club that had a 300 yard range, an indoor handgun range, and a great sporting clays setup. I hunted public and private land regularly, taught hunter safety to kids, and generally had a lot of time outdoors. Despite NY State's crazy restrictions, I probably shot more regularly while living there than anywhere else.

Pennsylvania for a decade after that. I still hunted a lot, both in PA and NY. I joined the local range that had a 200 yard rifle range, several well-maintained pistol ranges, as well as trap and skeet. Did a bit of IDPA. Carried daily, even at work. I had a number of friends from work and church who were into shooting sports, so there was plenty of opportunity to shoot. Got into serious reloading in PA, too.

Most recent move was to Texas. I haven't hunted since moving here. No criticism directed toward anyone else, but I'm not going to pay lease fees to shoot comparatively scrawny deer over bait. I'd like to do a hog hunt sometime, and might do a guided hunt out in west TX before I retire and move back to the northeast. Got my carry permit straight away. Once again, can't carry at work due to employer policy but still carry frequently elsewhere. Joined a local club that had a 200 yard range at the time, recently extended to 500 yards; lots of well-bermed combat ranges for handguns and shotguns; no skeet, trap, or sporting clays (though there is another range a bit further away that does). The club has been putting on what I'd call "PRS Light" matches that have been fun, and I'm looking at NRL22. Unfortunately, my work responsibilities and schedule have kept me from enjoying the opportunities I have as much as I would like.

Much as I enjoy the other shooting sports, I consider myself a hunter at heart. From that perspective, I miss PA and NY.
 
Luckily I grew up on the north side of Cheyenne Wy and so it was a VERY "gun friendly" area. We'd get home from school, grab our .22's and go shoot cans/bottles at our ad hoc shooting range about 1/2 mi from our neighborhood. Once we hit about 6th grade we'd use our .243's and such and ride our bikes about 2 mi away and shoot "dirt dogs"(prairie dogs) instead. We moved to rural Wisconsin while I was in High School and when I joined the Navy, I ended up in urban areas on the west coast NOT conducive or "friendly" to gun enthusiasts. BUT, although I kept my fledgling collection with my parents I always had at least a pistol for protection and a rifle to hunt with. When I got out, I moved to back to Wisconsin, where again I was amongst "my" people here in a relatively rural part of the state.

As in the real estate business....it's ALL about "Location, location, location" for sure. From LGS's to ranges to actually shoot at. I'm only about 5 mi from a range I could shoot at but prefer one a bit further just because it has nicer facilities and longer distances. Location definitely affects gun ownership/enthusiasm.
 
I own a fifty acre woodlot so I hunt, growing up I had access to a couple a hundred acres of family land but still hunted public land also.

As a young man it was about success now it’s about the act, would I still hunt if I didn’t have the land to hunt? No

I’ve always been blessed with a place to shoot my guns for free and without oversight, would I still own guns if I were limited to a range? Yep but only a SD firearm.
 
I grew up in rural Idaho on a small horse ranch. Guns and hunting were just as normal as jeans and boots.

Ironically, was talking to a new co-worker yesterday and he grew up in Las Vegas and Portland. He said his worldview for most of his life was that only bad people and cops carried guns. Now, at 33 years old, he realizes that's not true, but has zero interest in owning guns.
 
I know what you are talking about, I left my roots & went working in DC a while &
other large cities.
I never met so many people who didn't know about guns or hunting.
I never fit in but the money was fantastic so me & the wife spent almost 2 years
on the road. Not going hunting one time during that space didn't cross my mind
until one Xmas we came back here for a visit.
I never went back, I belong here it is my roots & they fit perfect here. I can't imagine
living in a big city these days with all the hate.
Down here we wear S&W hats & shirts without any comments against them.
If you feel the desire waning just hold on to your roots with pride.
 
I use to live in KY on 20 wooded acres, could shoot in my backyard; now, I live in a nice suburb and go to an indoor range.
In KY I didn't carry smaller than a Glock 19, nor do I in FL; when people post "its hot I can't carry ___" o_O that likely should be* "its hot and I'm unwilling to ___"
*Applicable to when/if not limited by work attire.
 
I think we're almost always going to be a product of our environment, whether it's because of our physical location or the folks we share it with (or both). We adapt by either finding those who share our interests or our behavior evolves into things our environment supports.

I think most all of us have at times done things we wouldn't have considered otherwise, because it was the popular thing to do amongst the people we were exposed to. "Peer pressure" is what they call it when it comes to certain things. A lot of new shooters have likely been introduced to our world because of it, but we also lose some gun people to other interests at times.
 
I think we're almost always going to be a product of our environment, whether it's because of our physical location or the folks we share it with (or both). We adapt by either finding those who share our interests or our behavior evolves into things our environment supports.

Well said. I grew up in Southern California in the 60s and 70s. My friends and I did alot of surfing and skateboarding. A couple of us bird hunted. I raised my now 20 year old grandson in Southern Utah. Him and his friends are hunting, fishing and shooting fanatics.
 
Last edited:
I was born and raised in VA.

Every state has infringements on the 2A. Whether its having your CCW to buy a gun without a NCIS check or waiting months for court appearances and cleark approvals.

VA is soon to become the next NY or CA once fast Terry is stolen into power.

I will be following the mantra of "become ungovernable".

Anyone else in an unconstitutional state should do the same.
 
Big cities will poison your soul and are to be avoided. If you must go to one of them, stay for the shortest possible time. Any time I am in New York City or some other similar form of hell, I get the impression that the people there are only about 80% alive. City people in general are not able, or even willing, to take care of themselves. That is why they vote the way that they do. They want to elect a mommy that will provide them with everything they desire and tell them how special they are. There is nothing at all that is good about the big city.
 
What is the cure?
Take up a shooting competition!
Trap, skeet, sporting clays. There is a shoot every weekend somewhere within driving distance.
Not into shotguns? Try bullseye, three gun, idpa.
No? Go hang out with those eccentric old coots shooting bp! You'll never meet a finer bunch of misfits.

There is surely a shooting sport near you....SASS?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top