Approaching a stranger-- is he 'one of us'?

[Pax Jordana]

Well the old lady down the street died a few months ago, and the new couple moving in have really cleaned up the place. The only cause for a raised eyebrow is that the guy (30s-40s, caucasian, short hair, civilian build and mannerisms) has a great big H1 and it's all chromed out. So I was going to just live and let live.

Except that, today on the drive home, I passed him unloading a floor buffer and he had a T-shirt on with the giant flaming phoenix thinger, trademark of Sturm, Ruger & Co.

Wizened Elder (may his beard grow ever longer) doesn't like the idea of 'bragging' to people we don't know, for fear that the BATF will come serve us a heaping helping of No-Knock in the middle of the night. But I'm interested to talk to this guy, see if he's on the level.

Anybody think this out more than I have already? Thoughts?

 

[tepin]

Don’t talk to strangers?

 

[kirby]

Go over and say hi.
Wear a logo, maybe even the Ruger one. If you want to keep low profile don't wear a Nation of Rifleman or other obvious shirt;. I've got an HK hat I really like (took a while to find one without the "No Comprimise" slogan on it, I really don't like that slogan). My wife swears know one notices but people who already know (kinda like vests or fanny packs, right?)

 

[Punkermonkey]

Was it this? :

Or this? :

Cuz the first one is a clothing company. and the second one is the firearms company. The both look very similar.

Either way you should chat him up to make him feel welcome to the neighborhood.

This is my favorite T-shirt:

 

[Bob F.]

That's why I like my Molon Labe hat; only those who know.........

 

[crofrog]

Where can I buy that ??

 

[LiquidTension]

Yeah I'd like one of those with the HK trigger group on it as well.

 

[hso]

You're afraid to talk to a new neighbor?

Think about how that sounds for a minute.

Go welcome the guy and his family to the neighborhood, regardless of whether he's a fellow gunnie or not. You'll have another set of eyes on the block to watch for trouble and you may have a new shooting partner.

 

[ilbob]

It is just plain polite to go say hello and introduce yourself.

 

[DCR]

Hope this isn't too much thread drift, but what exactly do you mean by "civilian build and mannerisms?" I honestly don't know.

Anyway, go visit; guns don't have to come up right yet.

 

[Bruce333]

Agreed. Go say hello, compliment them on the way they've "cleaned the place up"...

 

[Kharn]

Find a sort-of gun related T-shirt (ever get a free T-shirt when you a sight or other accessory? I know EOTECH shirts are pretty common), not a "Kill'em all" one, and just go over and say welcome to the neighborhood.

Kharn

 

[nucstl1]

MP5 Shirt is on eBay.

 

[techcowboy]

Approaching A Stranger

[/COLOR Can U B more specific"One Of Us"

 

[SkyGuy]

Wizened Elder (may his beard grow ever longer) doesn't like the idea of 'bragging' to people we don't know, for fear that the BATF will come serve us a heaping helping of No-Knock in the middle of the night. But I'm interested to talk to this guy, see if he's on the level.
Thoughts?

Here's my "thought": You come across as paranoid......and probably delusional.
.

 

[Art Eatman]

Just be neighborly. The idea about the compliment for the cleanup is a great ice-breaker. Let the subject of guns come up later, if at all...

Art

 

[DWARREN123]

Strangers are not friends/friends are not strangers. Talk to this person and maybe you can turn a stranger into a friend. The best majic trick I know.

 

[Bubbles]

DH and I just moved into a new place. Last weekend one of the neighbors dropped by just to introduce herself, and she brought along a basket with homemade chocolate chip cookies... ummmmmmm.....

So, my vote is to say hi, introduce yourself, compliment on how great the place looks, and bring cookies/brownies/etc. as a "welcome" gift.

 

[Boom-stick]

I think you may need to sit back and take a 'chill-pill'....


Offer the guy a beer and say 'welcome'


either that or turn up with wine, chocolates and flowers and tell him you've been watching him from across the road.... then 'wink' and when he starts 'flapping' say....just kidding these are for the little missus.

He'll never forget you that way.

 

[Low-Sci]

Generally, I don't post if I start writing and it turns out to look just like every post before it, but here I'll make an exception, because I think something needs to be emphasized.

A firearms-oriented T-shirt does not equal an ATF raid. The idea that it could is paranoid beyond the kind of paranoia that I'm used to hearing, and I live in a liberal as hell town, on a college campus, while Bush 2 is in office. I'm used to extreme paranoia.

You won't be doing any harm by introducing yourself and having a simple chat.

As far as "is he one of us?" You're going to have to be more specific. Did you mean is he a gun owner, or is he a CCWer, or is he a paranoid screw-job who will help build a fallout bunker to prepare for armageddon, or is he a decent guy you might have a barbeque with sometime?

Because its worth noting that there are some of each of those on this forum.

 

[Evil Monkey]

Find a sort-of gun related T-shirt (ever get a free T-shirt when you a sight or other accessory? I know EOTECH shirts are pretty common), not a "Kill'em all" one, and just go over and say welcome to the neighborhood.

WHAT!? No "kill 'em all" logos?

Personally, I would NEVER advertise that I might own guns. I dont need the attention. For the new neighborhood, say hi and maybe comment on his shirt to see if he's really into guns.

I remember when I found out that my next door neighbor was into guns. Me, my bro, and his freind were tossing a football around on the front lawn and my neighbor was messing around in the back trunk of his SUV on the drive way. He took something out, I asked "is that an HK94?" He said, "Yep, come check it out". Then I heard heavenly music playing from everywhere as my body slowly, but freely and happily glided across the wonderful air, to the waiting HK94. Then he brung out his Glock 19 and one of those krinker plinker ruger 10/22's and for 15 minutes we(myself, bro, and freind) engaged in an orgy of:

"chick-chick, click, clack, snap, chick-chick, chick, tink, clack, clack, click, etc"
Neighbors are great.

 

[Mauserguy]

I agree that it is not a good idea to advertise that you are a gun owner these days, but, having said that, it is kind of rude not to introduce yourself to a new neighbor. Just say, "Hello," and ask him about his Hummer. If he is a gun guy, you will soon find common ground and will have an opportunity to talk to him.
Mauserguy

PS: I want a fallout shelter and I'm not paranoid. You're paranoid. You're all paranoid. Everybody is paranoid but me!

 

[Boom-stick]

In all fairness I can see the basis of Pax Jordana's paranoia, just a very slim slither of a basis, mind...

I generally surround myself with pretty open minded people, but I remember when my next door nieghbour found out I had guns, his face went from a smirk of laughter as he was thinking "yeah right.... you don't have guns" to a look of absolute horror as the realisation dawned on him that, I was infact, a gun owner. In fact, I though he was going to have another heart attack!!

He's better now, but a lot of people are so nervious at the thought of firearms alone.

 

[Ed from Maine]

not advertising gun ownership...

I live down towards the end of a private gravel drive...the neighbors from the end were out walking the other day, I was in the garage, door open, cleaning my 6" S&W 586 after a session at the range, I walked out to say hi, still wiping the revolver, but not handling it in an unsafe manner. Not a smart move, I should have put it down, they were visibly startled, very uncomfortable, even after my explanations about target shooting and trying not to shoot anything that bleeds. I am altogether too proud of that piece.

 

[sterling180]

My next door neighbour,or anybody outside of my family or work,doesn't know that I have any firearms,but my girlfriend wants them gone from our house,because she hates them,but puts up with them because of me.My mother hates guns,despite the fact that her father owned shotguns,hunting rifles and a Luger pistol.She was such a natural shot at target-shooting that she beat a gun shop owner,during a PR match,at an army range-using an AK47,L1A1 SLR,Sterling Smg and a SA80.

She also used various pistols and proved to be a good shot,indeed.

The gun trader protested,but the soilders counted my mums target and told him to shut up and get lost and to accept that he was beaten.

Whereas,on the other hand,my father is pretty useless at shooting and cut himself with the bolt of a bolt-action L42 sniper rifle. Both of my parents did their shooting,with those guns,because my dad had a company chauffer,who took him to work each day and he told him that the army were hosting a firearms open day and that his brother was a serving soilder-so he could get them into the event easily.Note that this was open to the shooting press and gun club members only,during a cold winters day in the late 80s.

My mother now calls me a moron,because I own guns privately,despite having a serious natural talent,passed down to her,from her father and grandfather.This doesn't help when mother visits me and the women start to chat ..She also attacks the American NRA and calls me a gun nut and she thought I was nuts,like the Hungerford murderer-but I told her to chill out and to stop getting over-reactive about nothing.But the weird thing was,she said to me-years ago: If you like guns so much join the Army,Navy or Airforce or even a gun club-so I joined both the Navy and my local small-bore club.

I first saw her hostility towards guns when she and I saw a Browning HI-Power handgun,being surrendered-on breakfast tv in 1997-after Dunblane.I thought that when she attended that open day,she was a pro-shooter.One of her brothers-my uncle,used to shoot .22 rifles in the basement range,of the headquarters of the Royal Mail,in London-during the late 1960s-and his wife wasn't too bothered about it anyway.So now I just talk about target-shooting with my friends and my uncle and ignore my silly mothers comments.