You're not a true American if you don't own a xxx

FMJBT said:

So ever since I got into firearms, I've always heard older generations say, "you're not an American if you don't own a xxx". Normally it's a 30-30, and now reading Uncle Nubbs post..



It got me thinking.

I own two CMP Garands. I am finally able to say I own a 1943 Winchester 93 in 30-30 as of today (well I'm waiting for the 10 days to be up. Yes I'm in California, yes it's sucks)

What are some other must have guns that scream "I'm an American"?

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The guns you've acquired are helping, but I'm not sure they've yet overcome the fact you live in California. (-:

Duck tape
Duba dee fordy
sheet rock screws
bailin' wire
.22lr
12ga(pump)
30-06
.45(acp or LC)
Dog(NO CATS!)
Brownin' Sticker on back glass of 4X4
..... No wait, thats Rednecks(Self described of course. I don't want to offend other Appalachian Americans)

In my opinion to be a true American you need to own at least one of these fire arms. Rifles : 1903 Springfield, winchester 1873/1894, marlin 336, M1 garand, m1 carbine, savage 99 and an ar of some sort

Shotguns : winchester 1897/12, rem 870, moss 500 , Ithaca 37, browning a5

Handguns: Colt and yes it has to be a colt SAA, 1911, Smith and Wesson model 10 and 29, any of the ruger .22 autos and also a ruger super blackhawk

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It's a nice collection but not all of those are made now. Pretty traditional old school stuff. There are other guns available for those with different tastes, and the owner are very much patriots in their views, too. Would it be fair to say that you are a true Patriot only if you have been trained on the M16, while in the service, in the last 45 years?

Patriots serve, the weapon of modern service is the AR. Over 25 million have been trained on it. As of DDay in 1945, only 12.1 million were in the Armed Forces and many were not issued a Garand nor trained on it.

http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-teachers/lesson-plans/pdfs/by-the-numbers.pdf

That's about a 2:1 ratio of experienced M16 users vs the Garand in comparison. After the war the Army downsized considerably and Korea recalled many veterans, additional troops trained don't make up enough to even the scales.

And as time has worn on, many of those WWII vets have passed on. The majority of service rifle trained veterans alive now in American were trained on the M16.

Not the Garand or M14.

A Patriot in America today owns an AR. It's the ones who haven't served and who have been buying the propaganda about them who won't. And that should raise flags about the depth of their patriotism.

Hoover's 1934 NFA act was meant to outlaw the public ownership of firearms and it is still causing problems to this day. I'm proud to say I have never owned an "evil black rifle." I don't let emotionalism and politics intrude on what is basically tool selection based on features. The AR does a good job and I'm not turning my back on it just because an opposition party uses it to buy votes.

I am a prior service retired Veteran, and I own AR's. Many patriots do.

There's no single thing you HAVE to own in order to be an American. It's all about who you are, what you think and what you do.

My wife worked with some old guys in the VA recently. These guys (mostly old WWII and Korean War vets), have nothing of value. It's all gone. Are they "Americans"? Yeah, I'd say so.

"I got a shotgun, a rifle, and a four wheel drive.
A country boy can survive,,,"

I don't think this is a dead serious topic. I thought it was more of a classic Americana kind of thread and just for fun.
Sorta like "You might be a redneck if you ...." topic. No need to get wound up. The best thing about being American is we are still free.

and I'll add a Red Ryder BB gun to the list. and a bundle of nylon zip ties

I am sure all of you have filed your income tax & used the return money to purchase another gun

You spelled Murican wrong.

You aren't really an American unless you don't really give a rat's patoot what other people say you must have to be a real American.

Officers Wife: Best answer ever, obviously edited to Highroad standards.

Hmmm. A true American.

So the whole hot dogs, apple pie, and baseball thing with, enchiladas, reubens, pizza, sushi, scrapple, kolaches, etc. thrown in the mix?

I do think of the AR15 as the 21st century American Carbine, but you don't have to own one to be a "true" American.

Big and bad...the American way...44 mag or larger revolver or an auto with a "high capacity magazine"

Barry the Bear said:

In my opinion to be a true American you need to own at least one of these fire arms. Rifles : 1903 Springfield, winchester 1873/1894, marlin 336, M1 garand, m1 carbine, savage 99 and an ar of some sort

Shotguns : winchester 1897/12, rem 870, moss 500 , Ithaca 37, browning a5

Handguns: Colt and yes it has to be a colt SAA, 1911, Smith and Wesson model 10 and 29, any of the ruger .22 autos and also a ruger super blackhawk

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Don't agree with all your choices, but I couldn't help but notice what you listed as your "location" right here in Texas' capitol city . . .

The Yellow Rose

Hope you're enjoying yourself.

WestKentucky said:

Big and bad...the American way...44 mag or larger revolver or an auto with a "high capacity magazine"

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The American way... that's something I can get behind.

Over Dad's fireplace there is a glass fronted presentation box with a Walker Colt pistol that a distant grandfather carried in the Civil war because he believed preserving the union was worth dying for. To it's left and slightly above is a saber that one of that grandfather's brothers carried following General Lee because he believed the right of states trumped the Union enough to die for it.

Beneath that is an ancient double action Colt in 45 that my great grandfather carried in WWI because he believed enough in our country to die for it. To the right is another glass fronted case with some medals & ribbons & an AA military patch that was my Grandfather's when he was in France and Germany because he believed our way of life was important enough to defend from National Socialism with his life.

The American way is to believe enough in how you live to risk the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that way of life continues.

(My name is Selena and I am a ranter.)

Added thought: when you sit at my table and I serve you abodo, you can bet the recipe may have come from Cebu but mine is as American as my butterfly knife. Argue at your own risk

Pretty much a textbook "No True Scotsman" fallacy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_true_Scotsman

People can own whatever they want and are still "true Americans". There are guns that I consider classics, but for any one that I can think of I can think of a ton of people - even gun enthusiasts - that don't own them.

I will say that I personally view the 1911, BHP, Remington 870, and Winchester 94 as "classics".

True Americans don't need to justify what guns they own.

Silly thread is silly.

I can think of several forearms, most of which are mentioned here. The only thing I don't like about this approach or line of thought is that it makes individuals feel pressured to own firearms that are on some list that they really don't care to own. I've done so and didn't care for some of the firearms and ended up selling them (at some loss). It felt like I wasted money. As I get older there is less and less of what I want to own. I could easily get rid of half of my meager collection without missing them. I'd rather then take those funds and buy some backups go the ones I do like or funnel the money into another hobby.

Of course, having said that, a 30-30 lever was on my imaginary list. After several decades I bought one, fell in love with it and could happily get rid of all my other rifles. Based on that, maybe shooting a friends firearm first or renting one a few times is a prudent approach to see if you really like/need/want one.

Some firearms are more iconic than others but the idea that owning a particular type of gun makes you "more American" is absurd.

Fella's;

First, let's realize that the comment that you aren't a real American unless (and then supply the rest as necessary to the point you're trying to make) is, or at least should be, totally tongue-in-cheek. Anybody that takes it seriously is foolin' themselves.

With that said: .22lr, 12 gauge pump gun, and a huntin' rifle.

Myself, I am above the required minimums.

900F

I see your zip ties.....

I see your zip ties and raise you a tube of super glue. Between that, WD40, duct tape, and maybe some silcone caulk, i can fix any gun that is broken.

CB900F said:

Fella's;

First, let's realize that the comment that you aren't a real American unless (and then supply the rest as necessary to the point you're trying to make) is, or at least should be, totally tongue-in-cheek. Anybody that takes it seriously is foolin' themselves.

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Good point.

Still, an AR has to be on the list.

This is all in good fun , no need to be uppity about it.


And HankB the Yellow Rose is in San Antonio

... if you don't own at least a couple of camo items of clothing.