Any use for a gun ya can't knock around a bit?

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

spyke

Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
Messages
46
Maybe Im just young, dumb and poor but i really dont have much use for a gun that i would be heart broken if it got a scratch or a ding in it. Guns are supposed to be tools right? Supposed to be used/abused if needed right?

About the only firearm i own that i would get a bit bent out of shape if it ended up with some blemishes is my 1100. It is my grandfathers old shotgun and its is in great shape. He cherry picked this one my dad says. OTOH I think my grandfather would want the gun to get used.. a couple of dings here and the be damned! Its about the only thing I have that comes close to being a safe queen. But its not. I want it to stay nice but i also want it to be used and enjoyed.

Im all about utility in my tools. Gp100 its a shooter/tool. Sp101 Shooter/tool. AK and SKS shooter/tool. Marlin22 and my 410 shooter/tool. Nothing fancy here. All of these do have however massive sentimental value to me. But I feel they need to be used as they were intended and are not just there to look at and wipe down with oil from time to time.

I realize that these guns are not cream of the crop, crazy expensive, top of the line collector pieces. Maybe I would feel different if I owned one.
 
I agree. with ya there. I almost bought a Smith 357 that had most of the blue rubbed of of it. Was some old cowboys carry gun.
 
I own some very nice guns, but none are museum pieces. Most I've bought used. It's the same reason I buy used cars; a scratch or two will not make my blood pressure shoot sky high.
 
I try very hard to keep 97% of my guns in the shape I bought them in. There are a few exceptions for guns that get used for serious work. I do not abuse those, but do not worry about normal wear.
 
I also try to keep my guns in as good a shape as possible but stuff happens while in the woods, at the range ect. Also I never abuse a firearm just for the sake of abuse but i feel like a good quality gun should be able to put up with abuse if need be. What is normal wear? A nick here and there? Occasional Idiot mark?
 
I feel pretty close to every one else if not dead on. My husband wants me to carry my XD bc it's new and cheaper and bc it's going to be our son's heirloom.... Didn't bother to ask me about that but whatever. The Sig is my baby and I take good care of all of my guns BUT if they get a nick or scratch I am not going to go postal. Now if any one else puts a nick or scratch on it....not sure. I think guns are to be used and if you aren't going to use it get rid of it.
 
Maybe Im just young, dumb and poor but i really dont have much use for a gun that i would be heart broken if it got a scratch or a ding in it.
Click to expand...

After you get older, wiser and have some money to spend on hobbies maybe you won't feel that way.

Guns are supposed to be tools right? Supposed to be used/abused if needed right?
Click to expand...

Not even close, many guns are works of art as well as useful tools. I hunt with my gr. iii and iv BAR's all the time, although I do put a stock protector on them to minimize damage. And even my everyday shooting guns don't get abused.
 
All my guns are working guns. I don't want to scratch them, but wouldn't be heartbroken if I did.
 
when something is NIB it's nice....nothing wrong w/ collecting.

Honest wear is more practical, better yet get a nitride finnish Glock, XD, Walther etc. OR a hard chrome finnish and dont worry about it.:D
 
Most all of my guns have some wear it just happens. My 870 that I got 15 years ago when I was 12 has lots of dings and whatnot in the wood. But it's been well used, lots of hours in the woods, lots of time riding in the truck, etc. My deer rifles, same story, these guns still function perfectly, they just have some wear. My S&W 642 has quite a bit of holster wear from being carried. My Glock, even though it's been carried a lot doesn't show any wear, seems they are just made very well and that tennifer finish holds up well. I have a Ruger Mark II, my grandfather left me, it has quite a bit of wear and I try not to give it anymore just because it has a lot of sentimental value. Dad has a Browning Sweet 16 in the safe that I hope to get one day. My grandmother gave it to my grandfather Christmas of 1959, that gun is atleast 95%, gold is worn off the trigger but it is in great condition. Granddaddy took very good care of it and was known to clean it every time it was fired. I'm not saying that I won't use it but I won't beat it around and use it as a woods gun either. I think I consider these heirloom guns as just that, heirlooms, that happen to also be guns. I have my beater guns I use and then the ones with a lot of personal value that I would like to keep nice.
 
When my Grandfather gave me this old weapon he made me promise to never ever have it reblued and clean the belt & holster with saddle soap followed by mink oil twice a year. It's not a 'pretty' weapon but every ding in the handgun and scratch in the leather is a reminder of the work it has done for my family since my great Grandfather bought it in Denver sometime in the beginning of the last century. You be the judge.

attachment.php
 
I have a few scratches, dents and dings in most of my guns. Most of which I could tell you when and where they happend. They do not bother me and sometimes bring back memories of a hunting trip when I notice them while cleaning. I have a couple a few guns with idiot marks a couple caused by me some not. They kinda irritate me that just not thinking or being lazy damaged something I enjoy.

Guns for the most part are like trucks. They are meant to be used not babied like some classic car. No need to tear them up but if they get a scratch its a truck get over it.
 
I'm the type of guy that if it is to purty to use I do not buy it. Whether they are custom made knives, rifles or handguns. There is pleasure in using great pieces of furniture in your firearms. As far as idiots marks and wear and tear it brings character. Heck my brothers could not believe I took my brand spanking King Ranch F150 the same week I bought it and got it all scratched up in the mountains hunting. Just loved the way the interior looks and will enjoy it for a long long time.
 
I cringe every time I scratch a wooden stock. Sue me. Thats why I prefer an oil finish, you can buff out a scratch pretty easily. That's also why I switched to a plastic stocked stainless rifle for most of my big game hunting.
 
I've got hunting rifles that I know are going to collect some honest wear, that's just the way it is. That's why I go squirrel hunting with a Norinco JW-15 instead of a Winchester 52 Sporter.

OTOH, I have a mint Colt Python that's never going to see the inside of a holster as long as I own it.

It's just a question of horses for courses. I don't feel obliged to follow some platitude like "guns are tools" if it doesn't make sense. Some guns are tools, and some are collector's items.
 
Nearly every one of my firearms is a "working" gun. I buy guns only which I intend to shoot and use. However, whether its my WASR-10/63 or my Winchester Model 70, my guns DO NOT get "abused" and anyone taking such liberties with my firearms will not be handling them again. I don't "baby" my guns, and some honest wear isn't going to bother in the least. However, IMO, theres a world of difference between "using" a gun and "abusing" it. I won't aown a firearm that can't be "used" but in 32 yrs of life have never found it necessary to abuse a gun in any way. All my guns get routine cleanings and proper care. I don't spend anywhere from $100 to $1000 on something I'm not going to take care of, aka "abuse". To me that makes as much sense as buying a car and never changing the oil. A well-cared gun holds its value pretty well....the same can't be said for something tossed behind the pickup seat and beat all to hell for a decade.....
 
All of my guns are "workhorses."

Just happens that some of then take much longer shifts.

My FNP 45, FNP 40, Beretta 92FS and the two K3-AT's are the front line.

The Winchester 1300 does sentry duty in the closet.

And when it's war... my AR, named after the Poet of the Downtrodden, his holiness St. Dio of the Mountain's opus...

Holy Diver.
 
I have no "safe queens" all of my guns are bought for shooting and that is what I do with them. Now if I had more money I have no doubt that I would buy some guns just to admire their beauty, workmanship, or what ever you call it. I could see me framing a gun just to look at and never shoot. But fact is I have to many shooters I want to buy. I try to keep mine in good shape but stuff happens.
 
People collect coins they can't touch, cars they can't drive, wines they can't drink, etc. To some people, guns are something to collect. Nothing wrong with that, to each his own.

I fall somewhere between. I don't collect, but my friends tease me because I will buy a gun that I see and like, but then I don't have much time to shoot, so it will sit in the safe and get pushed to the back and forgotten about.
 
Any use for a gun ya can't knock around a bit?
Click to expand...

I got a visual of someone tossing their gun into the back of their pickup that's loaded with gravel and driving over a bumpy road on the way to the range lol.

I don't have many guns, but all of them are shooters, even the ones I don't shoot. I take care of my guns: I clean them when needed, I keep them in appropriate containers for storage and travel, and I don't toss them around. I don't worry about normal wear and tear, but I prefer not to hasten the process by careless handling.

That doesn't mean I don't WANT a safe queen... just that I don't have one. Yet.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
Using Blue book in gun shops
Replies
6
Views
433
hotpig
H
T
  • Locked
Toy guns and your kids
2 3
Replies
61
Views
2K
Agouti
A
General Geoff
  • Locked
Children and guns
Replies
17
Views
703
ArchAngelCD
ArchAngelCD
InfoLoader
  • Locked
Unsafe Advice from nearly every video i've seen? Your thoughts...
Replies
21
Views
2K
Sam1911
S
S
  • Locked
Any study proving that Kellerma(n) & Reay study on gun is BS ?
Replies
21
Views
1K
Carl N. Brown
Carl N. Brown
Back
Top