anyone else feel uncomfy around people who look like "gun nuts?"

[DeathByCactus]

I wear crappy clothes to the gun range. Worn jeans and maybe a torn up Pantera or Slayer shirt. I don't care what people look like as long as they act professional and safe with their weapons. If their behavior is off, then I get uncomfortable. If they just look funky, meh, I try not to judge.

 

[browningguy]

Those aren't "gun nuts". Just commando wannabes, we gun nuts favor shorts, tee shirt and either sandels or tennis shoes.

 

[SwampFox]

Wearing hunting clothes to the range is called "practicing in what you shoot in." It's nice to know that clothes won't bind or snag at the wrong moment.

 

[Big Daddy Grim]

I am always in Camo simply put I have Camo jackets from where I work so I am in them all the time. They do have a company logo but you have to look close. It's ok I know when I am in my biker leathers I look scary to some its just human nature they never know the big guy with the big beard and the leather vest is a LEO.

 

[augustino]

feeling weird around those decked out...

Don't feel weird for feeling strange around these types you've described. Although I do not like to stereotype I think that most of us feel far more comfortable around others we can assimilate with. For instance I feel real out of place around folks that wear business suits when they aren't conducting business. Not threatened, simply odd, out of place. Unable to relate to them and I'm sure they feel that way about me as well.
Someone said that most of those all decked out with no place to go are probably wanna-bessss. That's probably right to an extent. But most people feel odd or out of place whenever they are placed in a setting that they are unable to fit into or relate to. You're not crazy, you're simply a human being.

 

[ArmedBear]

You're not crazy, you're simply a human being.

Are those necessarily mutually exclusive?

 

[Glockman17366]

I assume most of us on here are very unassuming. I wear jeans, a regular t-shirt or polo, k-swiss shoes, versace eyeglasses, longish hair.

I just figured out the OP's problem...

Have any of those guys looked at you and said "You got purty lips" or "squeal like a pig"?

 

[Karl Hungus]

I get uncomfortable around people who are sporting camo (and are not about to go hunting), combat boots, a Glock or some other gun shirt, weird hair etc.

I'm glad you didn't mention ghillie suits. I'd hate to think I was making anybody feel uncomfortable.

Seriously though - loosen up.

we gun nuts favor shorts, tee shirt and either sandels or tennis shoes.

Well, I'm glad you've decided to speak for all of us.

Seriously - where do you shoot? If I wore shorts and sandles to the range, my legs would be cut up from walking down range through grass/thorns and I'd have two dozen ticks burrowing into my skin. Do you guys have some kind of country club range where the grass is like a big putting green?

 

[Boba Fett]

I've seen a few people at the ranges and at shows who are dressed up like something out of the movies with 4 holsters strapped to them. At the shows they look even more foolish since the police ziptie each of their weapons (and waste the police's time IMO).

The people in the camo, all blacked out fatigues, or gang wear are usually just trying to get attention. At the gun range, these are more times than not the people who get thrown out because they are doing something stupid and unsafe.

I'm actually glad these people dress this way so I know to keep an eye on them. They're the one's most likely do be fiddling with their firearms during a cease fire and get someone shot down range.


Not everyone who dresses like that is an attention grabber and I don't dismiss them as "bad people" right off. But I do tend to be more cautious and expect a know-it-all, in your face, unsafe attitude. I'm more than happy for them to prove otherwise but also not surprised when they don't.

 

[Mossberg88]

To be blunt, the most catastrophic domestic act of terrorism in the US was committed by someone with a military style haircut.

 

[General Geoff]

Frankly, I'm much more comfortable around a guy wearing camo pants and a Glock t-shirt, than I am around, say, an abercrombie-wearing player-type.

 

[larry_minn]

I always figure to treat folks like they dress. They dress like a dirtbag I will treat them as such. I normally dress in a way that does not draw attention. Basicly I (enjoy) hearing that they didn't know I was there untill they needed some help. (actually looked for me)
I showed up for a carbine class in jeans/shirt. Everyone else was in camo/vests/mag packs... So next day I wore camo. Still felt weird on drive to range/way home.

 

[Boba Fett]

Posted by Mossberg88:
To be blunt, the most catastrophic domestic act of terrorism in the US was committed by someone with a military style haircut.

To be equally blunt, some of the most helpful domestic acts of heroism in the US were committed by someone with a military style haircut.

 

[HuntAndFish]

Even at a gun range, I get uncomfortable around people who are sporting camo (and are not about to go hunting), combat boots, a Glock or some other gun shirt, weird hair etc. When I see these people at Wal Mart or a gas station I get a little wary. I just can't help but think they're about to pull something crazy.

Is this stupid on my part, stereotyping, or valid?

Not stupid, but yeah I'd say that you have a little touch of the hoplophobia. Doesn't mean that you shouldn't be ready for something crazy to happen though. You should never ignore your instincts.

 

[gripper]

Except for a few tat's,I tend to be rather nondescript;nothing to stick out of any particular crowd where I live...OTOH,I HAVE been to shoots wearingan old misfits Tshirt;or some of my old OD's jungle fatigues that got turned into cut-off utility shorts in the hot weather.I could not even tell you what I did with my last set of camo BDU's(must of given them to my cousins kids.
I think actions,demeanor and general behavior "tell " me whether or not I want to be in the other folks AO.

 

[CPerdue]

OK, I gotta fess up. I've worn a chemical warfare suit skiing. I knew that it would keep me warmer and drier than anything else I owned, might even keep the snow out as I tumbled down the hill.

Seriously though, I've spent a lot of tax dollars developing good outdoor gear for the military. Why shouldn't I wear it?

Maybe it's just because I'm a farm boy- old, dirty, even odoriferous does not put me off if a practical reason is evident. Baggy ass pants make me very nervous.

 

[Kind of Blued]

Whether you try to or not, everyone expresses something about themselves through their clothing.

Some people dress in a certain way that screams "I'm different" with any number of other perceptions possible. Why they see it necessary to stand out, I don't know, but I wouldn't guilt anybody for stereotyping them and feeling uncomfortable around them.

The average person is law-abiding and has agreed to abide by their society's collective values. By demonstrating that you're different by your clothing, demeanor, personality, or whatever, all that you tell people about yourself is that you're "different". All that people have to go by is their personal experiences, stereotypes, fears, etc.

So what's the point? If you demonstrate that you're "different", you'll probably be treated as such, and that's the reason a lot of people dress uniquely in the first place in my opinion; for attention.

Considering that "normal people" abide by the law and agree to society's conventions, trying to garner attention by dressing in a way that says "I'm different, and I have a gun" is certainly a legitimate cause for attention. The thing is, it usually makes me give those people the "bad kind" of attention, and obnoxiously, I think that's probably what they want; for people to fear them for some reason; to be seen as "tough".

 

[HammerheadSSN663]

yeh, mark me down as being a bit nervous around dudes with totally accessorized AR-15s dressed in camo from head to foot at the local plinking range.

 

[FM12]

Hi HammerheadSSN663, welcome to the forum from a TM3(SS)/Cold War era sub sailor!

It's the attitude/talk that sometimes worries me. And the absolute ignorance of safe weapon handling. Also those who bring their girlfriends and attempt to impress with their "knowledge and experience".

 

[Sixtigers]

I'm not bothered by these types.

I'm also not a gun snob.

As long as they're safe, I don't care how they dress or purport themselves.

I'm sure I don't fit somebody's idea of an 'ideal' gunowner/user, but I'm never going to be a poster child for anything other than birth control.

Pardon myself and others for not meeting someone's fictional GunOwner ideal, and then get out of the way so we can shoot, too.

Respectfully, Sixtigers

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Different is good if we are all the same it would be boring as hades.

 

[chris in va]

Yes, it makes me nervous. But in reality most of those guys are just really into firearms.

Some though are...a little off. I know of one guy personally that loved to open carry his two 1911's in shoulder holsters and purposely make an effort to show everyone. He also kept a couple more in the car along with a kitana of some sort.

 

[Strings]

[Weapon's Police]

It's spelled "katana". That's the long sword: the short one is a "wakazashi". Not going into the oddballs like the naginata or the no dachi...

[/Weapon's Police]

 

[flrfh213]

hell, i thought cammo was daily wear around here, cammo pants and boots are the norm for 16 to bout 28 yr old male and female both...

 

[WTBguns10kOK]

The older you get, the more you realize that the guys who seem "a little off" are the ones who tell the best stories, are into hilarious hobbies, and can help you in ways you never imagined.