Do you feel products like this can cast a negative or violent image of gun owners?

I would hate to have something like that in front of a jury in the event that I had to use it in self-defense!

It's a 1A - 2A crossover. Better yet, a tans-amendment AR.

Wish I had thought of it.

Woody

eh, anything can cast a negative or positive light on anything, depending on the person observing. i'm sure a lefty would be just as horrified by a butterfly on a gun as a skull on a gun, it's the gun that's the issue to anyone who would see this and think 'violent gun owner', not the design.

Dang, that's COOL! My 10 year old would love one!

Negative image? Meh...yeah, not what I'd want on my self-defense gun, obviously, but that would be pretty awesome on a competition 3-gun carbine or something. Pretty much all human pastimes with an element of aggressiveness, competition, and/or testosterone involved have absorbed a bit of the "bad-arse" imagery, be it motorcycles, rock-n-roll, sports, trucks, hot-rods, hunting, etc.

How does this make hunting look?

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Pretty stupid, of course, but does it make hunting or hunters seem any worse to a non-enthusiast? I'm not sure.

Excellent point. I always told my clients who were going through a divorce to act and make day to day decisions as if a judge was watching their every move. Why someone would want to possess anything that suggests depraved or morbid mindsets is beyond me, it's sad enough that firearms themselves are held in such a negative light by so many.

In our society the mere possession of a gun of ANY kind can cast a negative light on us.
I think it's cool looking but I don't think I would really want one.

Do you really think that a rabid anti-gun person cares what it looks like? It's a gun there fore it's bad.

Does anyone think that if we all be very, very quiet people will forget that guns are by nature violent and brutal objects?

I think it is kinda hokey, for reasons that are entirely cultural. The skull motif isn't really a touchstone for me the way it might be for someone who grew up celebrating Dia de Muertos. I fact within my culture skulls have been so commercialized and juvenilized that you may as well machine a 3D bust of Eddie Munster's head, or a shark, into the magwell of your AR.


I think from a technical/crafting point of view it is neat.

As for negative lights... Somewhere there is a person who believes the rifle shaped bottles of "Tommy guns" vodka casts neutral spirits in a negative light.

Cool creativity, not really up my alley though. As to antis.... my gut says they are already so fixated on the evil that is a scary black rifle that they would hardly notice (or perhaps would think something along the lines of "oh, how fitting!" considering their already made up mindset).

It won't win an awards for subtlety. Does it have a death-metal theme music feature?

I'm fairly certain a 10-year-old would love it though.

Personally, I think it is rather silly looking and most definitely ugly.

But hey, different streaks for different freaks.

[snark]Does it come with a scythe blade bayonet for true Sons of Anarchy fans?[/snark]

Negative or violent? I think it teeters between tongue-in-cheek and out-right-silly.

Freedom of speech does not mean that what you say, do, wear, etc., will not have social consequences.

People are going to form opinions about you, your credibility, character, values, or beliefs based on how and what you say, do, wear -- or embellish your gun.

Having a gun like that might enhance your image with your buddies, but it won't help in the community at large.
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BINGO!!!!!

It's kind of related to the difference between what you CAN do vs. what you SHOULD do.

I think there are products that do, but this one doesn't seem any more offensive than any other custom alteration. There has been some (I would argue deserved) controversy over Black rifle coffee company ads that disparage other groups of people, and I think that does more damage to our image. Or how about the "liberal tears" gun lube? While I admit the idea gave me a chuckle the fact that it is an actual product doesn't do anything to help us break down the conservative/liberal wall. Whether they want to admit it or not there are plenty of liberals that are on our side of guns, and in my observation that is a characteristic of a good percentage of my millennial generation.

The receiver looks more stupid and immature to me than violent. I can see how others might view it some other way though.

MartinS writes:

Does anyone think that if we all be very, very quiet people will forget that guns are by nature violent and brutal objects?

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I get what you're saying, but I think it's worded poorly. As "objects", guns cannot be brutal and violent. But I do agree that we should not lose sight of the fact that their mere existence is partially borne from brutality and violence.

However, even if mankind had never turned weapons on each other, we would still likely have continued advancing our hunting technology, and some sort of guns would still have come about.

Personally I don't like anything that trivializes what a gun is for.

I'll weigh in to say that I wouldn't own one as I do feel it sends the wrong message. I don't wear holsters featuring the Cross, don't engrave silly (or classic) quotes on firearms, and I am not a "bone collector", animal or otherwise.

Just as I rarely agree with those the ACLU defends, I often feel the premise of such cases is worth protecting or at least within the scope of the law, and so I say own it if you must.

Personally I don't like anything that trivializes what a gun is for.

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But what's a gun "FOR?"

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Sure, they're all "weapons" but they aren't all really FOR killin' baddies. When we take ourselves too seriously, we make ourselves more vulnerable than we need to be.

Carl N. Brown said:

[snark]Does it come with a scythe blade bayonet for true Sons of Anarchy fans?[/snark]

Negative or violent? I think it teeters between tongue-in-cheek and out-right-silly.

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Pretty much my thoughts on that as well.

I think it can cast a negative impression on already anti types, while at the same time some indifferent people would like it and see it in a positive way.

In the end you can't worry about what others think, you'll never please some people so let them have their opinion and do what you want.

Certainly not my cup of tea and might cast a negative image to some folks but a relatively minor disturbance in the overall scheme of things.

Perfect for an Austin Coffee House.