The Serious Gun Owner

I personally don't care what purpose a person owns guns for, be it hunting, self defense, target shooting, or simply to hang them on the wall. Frankly, the biggest problem we face is the attitudes we see of each different "group" seeing another "group" as owning for the wrong reasons. We need to combine as a whole to fight those who wish to end private ownership of firearms for whatever reason.

The founders included just the basics of why they felt citizens should own guns, to defend our shores against enemies, and to have the ability to stop a tyrannical government. It was considered a given that people owned guns for hunting purposes, as many in their time fed their families by hunting whatever game animals they could harvest. There has always been a rich history of gun owners competing to see who was more proficient at shooting, back then more in competitions where the winner got a head of livestock. But it was seen as a right assured a free man by his creator, not something granted by government.

My thought is that I could care less about what anyone else thinks about my reasons for gun ownership.


I never saw the point in the whole "serious" vs. "not" argument. Who cares? If it makes you feel better to call yourself a "serious" gun owner, that's great - but don't think that being one of the so-called "serious" makes you any more important or special than the rest of us who may not fit that mold.

It reminds me of something I heard on the radio this morning with regard to driving.

it went something like this:
Anyone driving slower than you is a moron, and is wasting your time. and anyone trying to drive faster than you is crazy, and is going to kill everyone....

It's all about perspective.

It's insulting, is what it is.

I just don't see the point. There are so many hurdles that we as gun owners need to overcome, that stupid chest-thumping like this seems even more silly than it is.

The idea that someone who owns guns for sporting purposes only is somehow "less worthy" of those guns than someone else who plays all the tactical games and keeps up with the NRA press releases...I don't follow.

We're ALL important. We ALL have a job to do. Dividing ourselves up into camps is just what the anti's are hoping for.

I've also seen "Armed America" on a bookshelf, about 6 months ago.

Kingpin008, I understand what you're saying; however, it seems to me that many of us span the gambit in terms of what laws we want in place. We all believe in the second amendment in terms of the basics, but some of us greatly differ on what constitutes a reasonable restriction, i.e. the repeal of the licensing system for select-fire weapons, restrictions on carry and possession for both minors and felons, and the legality of the CCW permit system in general.

We are divided on a lot of things, and I will say that forums like this help in exploring different sides to arguments, which does help. But I think the single number one thing we can do is teach new people to shoot everyday. I can't remember where I was going with this, but to address the OP's comment, I never really have a problem with those who own for sporting purposes only, as long as they don't interfere with my right to own 'non-sporting' firearms. Some people like gun sports but don't feel the need to arm themselves for self-defense; different strokes for different folks...

the reason you own is your reason. the reason i own is my reason. the fact that we are born with the right to do so is what matters. we hold these truths to be self-evident.
if it harelips the pope or ticks off nancy lugosi, that's their problem.
that's the difference betwixt a privelage and a right. a right doesn't require justification.

What in the world is "the serious gun owner". I bought my first handgun for SD/HD purposes. I have bought several since then because I discovered my wife and I enjoy target shooting. I have a shotgun from my bygone hunting days. I don't hardly think one discipline is more "serious" than the other and don't regard anyone who participate in them any differently. We're all gun owners. We all handle deadly weapons and we all need to take it seriously, whether is hunting, sport shooting or personal/family defense.

Sporting use is a perfectly legitimate reason a person may choose to own a firearm, and if all they have are O/U scatterguns and wood-stocked scoped rifles, that's fine.......just as long as they don't tow the "There's no need for EBR's" Fudd nonsense. As an avid hunter, a good share of my firearms are dedicated to game getting and varminting; I just have others for defense, plinking and competetive shooting. There are plenty of people who only have guns for one of those reasons (or something entirely different). Whatever the logic, so long as they support 2A, they're fine by me.

Anyone driving slower than you is a moron, and is wasting your time. and anyone trying to drive faster than you is crazy, and is going to kill everyone....

Click to expand...

Anyone driving faster than me is crazy (and better funded)

If you look on your gun collection in the same manner that someone who's into golf looks at their bag full of golf clubs, you're not a serious gun owner.

Some people have classic muscle cars or expensive European cars that never see the north side of 70 mph or never get driven at all. Some people have guns that are like that. In the end it doesn't matter; you can buy whatever you want for whatever reason you want. You may do as you darn well please, and let the nay-sayers say what they will. There's no moral high ground either way.

By definition: Serious Gun Owners would include the

1 : thoughtful or subdued in appearance or manner : sober <a quiet, serious shooter>
2 a : requiring much thought or work <serious study> b : of or relating to a matter of importance <a serious shot>
3 a : not joking or trifling : being in earnest <a serious hunting question> b archaic : pious c : deeply interested : devoted <a serious reloader>
4 a : not easily answered or solved <serious 2a antis> b : having important or dangerous possible consequences <a serious headspace problem i.e. case seperation>
5 : excessive or impressive in quality, quantity, extent, or degree <serious rifle collection> <making serious tactical moves> <serious range time> <serious trigger control>

So, are you saying that people who own guns for sporting purposes are not firearm fanatics who live and breath guns ? I'm just not following this thread at all.
My grandfather and my father owned shotguns. They loved to hunt birds. When they returned from hunting, they put their shotguns on the rack. Their guns were tools for hunting BUT I've also seen them grab their shotguns when they heard a noise outback.
But, they didn't talk firearms with everybody they met and guns weren't the center of their lives. However, I consider them (and their kind) a lot more serious than some kid who hangs out on internet forums and owns every tactical tupperware product known to man.
But like I said, I don't understand this thread at all.

I have a hard time taking people who own solely for sporting purposes seriously.

Click to expand...

Some people may say that; but, in your heart-of-hearts, do you really believe them?

Many people collect different things for different reasons. I like to BBQ/grill so I collect BBQ recipes and accessories - by the way my waist looks, I am a very SERIOUS BBQ/grill owner!

I am glad we have the freedom to collect, among many things, guns.

I love this country - sniff -

I read where a man claims is neighbor, a concentration camp survivor, keeps an M1 and a shotgun. He said that the old man told him that he keeps his guns so that no one comes and drags him and his family off as that very thing has already happened once in his life.

We have to start somewhere.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect everyone I know to be as serious about guns as I am. Look at it this way. It's easier to get someone who owns a gun to buy a DIFFERENT kind of gun for defensive use, than it is to get someone who doesn't own any guns at all to buy an AR out of the blue.

Let's take what we can get and not worry too much if people approach it from a different direction than we do. We need to back up ALL gun owners who use them for ALL (legal) purposes.

About a year ago I started a thread in here asking if it is ok to ditch a gun friend because I didn't think he was serious enough to keep up with me. Not unsafe, not anti, just that once he HAD his guns, he wouldn't commit to training and being serious about using them defensively. I was chastised thoroughly for being judgmental and forcing my views on a fellow gun owner. The truth was, the friendship was falling apart for a lot of other reasons, I was just looking for justification.

Maybe the criteria mentioned in this thread is exactly what divides us as gun owners, and frankly it makes no sense at all. If you own guns simply to say you have them, you're still a gun owner. If you own them and use each and every one regularly, you're still a gun owner as well. If you own them to harvest game for your table, again you're a gun owner. If you own them and only make holes in a piece of paper, same deal, still a gun owner. The rub here is that we all have to combine as an united force fighting those who would attempt to take private ownership of guns in this country away.

What makes the difference in why a person owns a firearm? Nothing, but those who want to take the right away revel in the fact that they see many different factions in the shooting arena, and are happy as all hell that there's infighting between us.

The "Serious Gun Owner", IMO, is any who won't sell his fellow gun-owner, regardless of why each owns iron, up the river when the Bradybutts try their "Divide & Conquer" crap.

If "Elmer Fudd" will stand with me when the Bradys target my "Evil Black Guns", I stand with him--if he says "they'll only ban XYZ but not mine and who needs XYZ anyway?", then he is at best ignorant and in need of a reality-check before he experiences Niemoller's Lament for himself, and quite possibly a tool of The Enemy.

hunting, self defense, target shooting, or simply to hang them on the wall

Well I own for multiple reasons

hunting~ ok so my son does my hunting for me these days but he uses my rifle sometimes I do feel a 'need' to own a good hunting rifle because I live in a rural area where deer are plentiful and the meat is good.

self defense~ I'm not certain I could kill someone but I could certainly disable someone who tried to hurt me or my kids. As I said, I live in a rural area, on the one hand owning a gun may make me a target for a thief cause they know I have something they can sell fast, on the other hand if they know enough to know I got a gun, they know I know how to use it.


once we let them start banning one 'group' from owning, they'll have a foothold to come after the rest.
target shooting~ ok yes, shooting my K22 at glass bottles is GREAT stress relief, enough said.

simply to hang them on the wall~ don't have any hanging on the wall, I have kids, thus weapons are hidden safely away. However I own one rifle that my son is the 4th generation to shoot, not a valuable rifle money wise but priceless to me.

I don't own for any one reason, I own for many reasons and I figure I'm not the only one who is like me. It's hard for us to judge one 'group' over another 'group' as we belong to more then one 'group'. So what 'group' do you put us in??

once we let them say one 'group' can't own, they have a foothold to come tell the rest of us we can't own. Stand together or devided we fall

I have fun shooting all my guns. Therfore all my guns are fun. Kinda leaves me SOL in the serious department.

I own because I can. Because, as the founders believed, it's a God given right for any free man to own a firearm for his defense, to provide for the defense of our country if need be, to assure a tyrannical government doesn't force us to cede or rights. And I could care less why you want to own a gun, I'll give as much effort to defending your right to own a firearm as I will my own right, be it in treasure, advocacy, or whatever it takes.