Guns are tools?

I think when someone says their Glock, for instance, is a tool, and they don't care what it looks like, they just mean they aren't going to cry if they get a scratch on it. I don't think it means that they're going to throw it on the ground, never clean it, and treat it like crap. It just means they aren't going go baby it.

Som guns are tools, some are toys. My carry guns are tools. Used and taken care of. My deer rifle is a tool. Doesn't look pretty but performs. However, there are a couple (mainly rifles) I own that are strictly range toys. They get pampered. Maybe it wouldn't be too heavy for someone else to lug around the woods. Maybe someone else wouldn't think that particular rifle was so danged pretty and not mind dinging it up.

Everyone gets to treat their own guns how they see fit. My "safe gueen" might be your go-to deer rifle. My opinions are only valid for my guns.

Tools? I don't think so. Somewhere deep inside me there has to be a feeling of "love" for the pistol or rifle that I desire. Does that make me soft and less manly, I don't think so, after 4 wives and 5 kids, I am past that question.

It's like saying that your car or truck is just a tool to transport you from one place to another. We would all be driving the same model and brand, I am sure that will never happen.

It is more a reflection of what our personality is and what we think of ourselves as that reflect the model, type and caliber of our weapons. If there were no love for that next purchase, there would be no next purchase.

Do I need a 50 BMG or 300 Win Mag, no. Do I need 100 round mag for my AR, no. Do I need a 380, 9mm, 40 S&W and 45 ACP just for tools, no. Do I need 3 rifles of the same caliber, no. It is because I find something special in each one that makes me feel like I must have it, I don't feel that way about my real tools.

Now my wife thinks that all you need is one pistol, one shotgun and one rifle, she must think that they are just tools. (LOL)

Jim

some people don't take care of things, be it tool, car or gun, it takes all kinds man
Me, I love my guns and my tools but that has some to do with the fact they can be dirty and scratched up and just not give a darn, they are tools sure but not disposable ones

"Guns are tools" gets brought up often.

The majority disagree. Guns are weapons. Why? Because that is what they are.

A weapon is a specific type of tool.

A weapon is a specific type of tool.

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Indeed. Saying a gun is a weapon not a tool is like saying that a ratchet isn't a tool because its a wrench.

When I hear people here say their guns are tools, I hear them saying they aren't magic- they aren't talismans; therefore: "Mindset, Skillset, Toolset- in that order."

"You can judge a man by his tools". True.
The old Japanese carpenters spent a dedicated and set-aside two or three hour block of time each day to tend to their gorgeous and wonderful tools. They did good work.
Choose your tools carefully and don't scrimp on thought or money in your choice/s.

An F15 is an airplane, it's also a weapon. Same can be said for an 870 being a tool or a weapon. A steak knife is a tool used for eating until it turns into a weapon.
Man has been using weapons as tools of survival since the begining of time.

I know the NRA is big now on NOT calling handguns weapons. I went through an NRA Instructor Course earlier ths month and I had to pay a quarter to the pot every time I refered to a firearm as a weapon.

That was tough for me because I got the opposite in basic training, if you called your M16 a gun you were going to do pushups, and of course there is that little rhyme "This is my weapon, this is my gun..."

Exactly. Army has it right. All guns are weapons.

A F16 is a FIGHTING airplane. It is not a normal airplane.

Even a TARGET pistol is still a weapon. You can target "shoot" with a rubber band gun. That a target gun shoots bullets makes it a weapon.

calling it a tool, as noted, is a push by the NRA and such to stop "assault rifle" talk. No. A gun is a weapon period. I have lots of guns. But I am not going to pretend any of them are not weapons. There intended purpose is 1st off a weapon. I can never load a gun with non lethal objects and use it with non lethal consequences. It is always lethal in nature no matter how I use it.

The army has it right for them. For the army, the primary purpose of a gun is to attack or defend with. In that context, a tree limb, a wrench, a glass bottle, a passenger plane, etc., are all weapons. Even though the original purpose of the gun was to kill or injure, most are probably not purchased with that in mind. Most are used as a piece of sporting equipment and many are bought as collectables. Some are certainly used as tools, particularly in farming or ranching areas. I don't really consider my .22lr guns to be weapons, but would use them in that application if that is all I had. From the NRA standpoint, it is more reasonable to define guns as something other than weapons since the majority of those purchased are probably not intended to be such.

Guns are weapons, not tools. Tools are designed to perform work. Guns are designed to kill.

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I disagree that guns are designed to kill. There are many guns that are not designed or intended to kill...such as one of these:



Guns are tools because they are designed to shoot projectiles. Nothing more, nothing less. They can also be used to kill. Many tools can be used as a weapon in order to kill. How someone uses a gun is the key to whether the that tool is used as a weapon or not.

^
Are you kidding? That's the best small game killing machine ever devised.

Certaindeaf, are you suggesting that type of rifle sees more "small game" use than "target shooting" use?

How about this rifle?

Arguing semantics like this reminds me of the caliber wars. Not much comes of it.

Yet many anti-gun supporters base their opinions entirely on these "semantics"...

My guns........yes are tools. I don't have the kind of money to run out and buy lavish firearms. Believe me if I could I would! So my guns are for business.

However I take care of them. They stay clean and functional. I don't toss them around carelessly or anything. Yet I know they probably accumulate nicks and wear over time. I'm ok with that.

I think it just depends (for me) on the situation. My guns as of now are merely for a SHTF situation. They aren't 'sexy' like some of my former custom 1911's etc. in a way they are cool looking but I don't think I have anything special. I mean my HK USP 45 and G30SF..... I mean pretty standard stuff

I do like the way my guns look and my method of thought was to start with guns that were tough and reliable. Then move to more unique ones over time when I can.


VoodooSan

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Creature said:

Certaindeaf, are you suggesting that type of rifle sees more "small game" use than "target shooting" use?

How about this rifle?

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Offhand, I'd say you're jerking my chicken. heh, see what I did there?

Slogans take on a life of their own in internet gun forums

A gun is a gun. Using "tool" to describe some kind of category into which guns fall is meaningless because it's so broad and generic that it can be applied to just about anything one does something with--cars, Baccarat crystal, beer cans, bows & arrows, torque wrenches, etc. "Firearms" is about the highest-level generic descriptor that makes sense to those who aren't tied up in their own rhetoric and slogans. "A gun is just a tool" is one of those slogans that certain types of gun-owners and especially internet gun forum-dwellers like to indulge in, partly, I think, because it involves an implied "My perspective is superior to yours, which is also wrong if not downright stupid" put-down component. One of the more intriguing things about the "gun is just a tool" slogan is that it seems to pop up most from those who view much-used and dirty guns as some sort of a badge of honor in discussions about how often to clean guns and about "safe queens."

Tools? Okay; maybe we can start calling ourselves "tool enthusiasts". That's more politically correct than "gun nuts".

Check out my tools. They are in superb shape and get used often. None of my pipe wrenches are newer than 100 years old (Trimco wrenches were and still are among the best) yet they are clean and undamaged. My Williams socket wrenches are always cleaned before I put them back. I don't treat them as consumables. Unlike a car, which is expected to wear out, my tools should out last me if I properly care for them. They don't get left out in the rain. They do get cleaned before being put away - and many of them are unchromed.

I've always wondered about those who talk about their being tools and then brag about abuse. I believe in owning quality tools and firearms. I also believe in taking care of them. That is why my 70 year old Savage 720, which has killed ducks and rabbits, still looks good, ditto for my 40 year old Western Field 550 pump shotgun, 70 year old bolt action Mossberg .410, or 30 year old Pedersen 3500 rifle.

My forestry tools have more wear, but they should when they get dragged through mud, dirt, briars, and the like. Even so, their mechanics are spot-on. My compass and increment bores look almost new, still, because they are protected in my vest when I cruise timber.

Some finish wear is to be expected, of course, but "tool" seems to be code for "trash" for some guys. Just today, a guy at the Natchez gun show was bragging about a Glock attached to a truck bumper firing like it was new, kept calling it a tool. He wasn't rude or arrogant or anything like that, wasn't some arm chair commando type, but what he described is not how I was taught to care for a tool.

My grandfather, at 80 years old, rebuilt his Ford Tractor - at the time some 60 years old itself. His pride lay in the fact that even though he had used it for decades, the cylinder walls still looked clean. He took tremendous pride in his tools lasting - but then, his generation saw tools as a once-in-a-life-time purchase. You bought a wrench and took care of it. He did, I have some of his tools. Heck, I have the Colt 1849 Pocket Pistol my great-great grandfather bought in Camilla, GA, before enlisting at Forsythe and marching to fight in Atlanta.

To me they are just tools. I really don't care what they look like as long as they shoot reliably, accurately and comfortably.

That said, I keep them clean and functional by cleaning after every trip to the range....not for looks but to ensure they function properly.