Are guns your passion?

[Bazoo]

I generally eat sleep and breath guns. I carry a gun. But long before I started carrying a gun, guns was pretty much all I thought about. I read about them, I watch movies about them, I go to stores that sells them, just to look at them. I come on this gun forum to talk about them. I take my guns out just to admire them. I read about the history of their development, and the companies that made them. I reload and cast as an extension of my passion.

I do have other things of interest. Scrabble, reading, knives, camping, hunting, yardsales, cast iron, woodworking. The reading, camping, yardsaling, and hunting all fall into the gun category.

My wife says I have no life other than guns, that I’m obsessed. I’m fascinated by them that’s for sure, and they are my only real interest; my passion.

It’s not any different than a car guy who eats sleeps and breaths cars. My uncle was like that. He spent all his time and effort doing car stuff. From building hot rod cars, racing them, to reading and collecting car magazines, watching nascar. Society views the car guy as normal, and the gun guy as a nut though.

So do others here share the passion? Or are guns just a tool to you, or somewhere in between?

 

[Choctaw]

Yes sir, guns are definitely a passion of mine. They blend nicely into my love of the outdoors and history.

 

[Bazoo]

It’s hard to have a love of the outdoors or history and not have a solid appreciation of guns.

 

[borrowedtime69]

Guns & knives. I started young on knives, tools & weapons. Then I got to 18 and I started in on guns. Mostly .22's, I've had great ones and not so great. I finally started getting extra money and getting good quality.
Now I have "enough" decent handguns and rifles where I feel "comfortable" that should the economy go bad, I'm set up for a bit. The thing that really matters is quantity of ammo that can wipe out your accounts and pockets.
Though I found the perfect knives, for me, I gave away most of my collection to family that needed them. I still look at knife mags and on line knife dealers I just don't need them. At my age and especially in my poor health, I don't think I have enough adventure in me anymore.
I WILL NEVER travel anywhere without at least one rifle, one pistol, and one of my user knives. My wife would like to fly but I'm not going to risk losing them or not have them at the airport when I've landed. Yes, in answer to your question, I am "paranoid" to some degree.

Edit cause I should proof read no matter how tired I am! LOL

 

[IJ1981]

They were. But now that I have entered my 8th Decade the bloom has become somewhat off the rose!

However, I still love all my firearms. I will slowly bequeath them to my gun friendly children and grand children.

A legacy to keep them spiraling down in the family circle.

 

[WisBorn]

I have a passion for the outdoors. I enjoy hiking, hunting, fishing, shooting at the outdoor range, and an occasional round of golf.
Guns are a big part of the passion for being outside!

 

[General Geoff]

They are a passion, but not the passion of my life. They have to share time with my other hobbies

 

[Ironicaintit]

I sure appreciate their utility and they're neat as heck, but I'm not "passionate" about them.

I am, however, passionate about our right to keep them

 

[Mark_Mark]

Love Guns Too

but there is more to life: My other passion is nutrition and conspiracy theories (alway true after a few years). Fishing! can’t get enough of it. I don’t like traveling anymore! been around the world and back, now prefer all resorts.

 

[Bazoo]

I don’t really have an interest in hunting unless I can use my guns. I never understood how a person could go on a hunt and borrow a gun. To me, the whole point is to build on the relationship you have with your gun. I guess there’s folks that are hunters and not gun people. To them, a gun is just a tool to use on the hunt.

 

[Old Dog]

I am seriously fond of some of my firearms, but my passion is in my activities. I am a passionate shooter (and I loved competing in shooting and instructing firearms as well); it's one of my favorite activities -- but if one goes by a dictionary definition of passion: "a strong and barely controllable emotion" -- maybe passion isn't a word I want to use (mostly my passion would be restricted to alone time with the wife) about firearms, However, I do enjoy looking at firearms with respect to their engineering, design and artistic appeal and I enjoy reading and learning about firearms. I love history, especially history of Western civilization, so I am interested in the role of firearms in history.

But yeah, my real passion is being outdoors, especially if I'm in the mountains (downhill skiing! Hiking. Hunting.) or on or in the water, boating, fishing, water-skiing, diving. Passionate about sports, playing (until not long ago, still played rec league softball and flag football, can't hoop anymore but still ice skate) and watching (Go Blue/Tigers/Wings).

 

[IJ1981]

I am seriously fond of some of my firearms, but my passion is in my activities. I am a passionate shooter (and I loved competing in shooting and instructing firearms as well); it's one of my favorite activities -- but if one goes by a dictionary definition of passion: "a strong and barely controllable emotion" -- maybe passion isn't a word I want to use (mostly my passion would be restricted to alone time with the wife) about firearms, However, I do enjoy looking at firearms with respect to their engineering, design and artistic appeal and I enjoy reading and learning about firearms. I love history, especially history of Western civilization, so I am interested in the role of firearms in history.

But yeah, my real passion is being outdoors, especially if I'm in the mountains (downhill skiing! Hiking. Hunting.) or on or in the water, boating, fishing, water-skiing, diving. Passionate about sports, playing (until not long ago, still played rec league softball and flag football, can't hoop anymore but still ice skate) and watching (Go Blue/Tigers/Wings).

Sports Life has been sparse for you lately!

 

[.38 Special]

I'd say they were totally consuming for twenty years or so, but as @IJ1981 says, passion sometimes fades.

Guns now are kind of a comfortable and comforting "constant" in my life, occasionally sparking when something catches my attention - I'm having fun loading for a new-to-me-Garand, for example - but other times fading into the background when a different hobby comes to the fore. At the moment, for instance, sailboat racing is absorbing a great deal of my spare time and money.

The big picture, I suppose, is that decades of playing with guns has nearly satisfied my curiosity, and I can't recall the last time something genuinely new and exciting came out of the industry. (That's not an attack, by the way: there are only so many variations on a theme possible when the primary purpose is to expel tiny bits of metal from a steel tube.)

Regardless, my primary interest has narrowed down to a tiny niche - fighting revolvers from about 1850 to 1950 - and I guess I have or have had all the example I need, so...

 

[Riomouse911]

They are a passion, but not the passion of my life. They have to share time with my other hobbies

Same.

Between two kids motorcycle racing and the other dancing, scouts, JROTC, camping/boating at the River, etc. guns have a lot of competition for my time and $$$.

I do love the design, engineering and craftsmanship that goes into them, especially the pre-computer/calculator era gun designs of the 1870-1930 eras

Stay safe.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I am seriously fond of some of my firearms, but my passion is in my activities. I am a passionate shooter (and I loved competing in shooting and instructing firearms as well); it's one of my favorite activities -- but if one goes by a dictionary definition of passion: "a strong and barely controllable emotion" -- maybe passion isn't a word I want to use (mostly my passion would be restricted to alone time with the wife) about firearms, However, I do enjoy looking at firearms with respect to their engineering, design and artistic appeal and I enjoy reading and learning about firearms. I love history, especially history of Western civilization, so I am interested in the role of firearms in history.

But yeah, my real passion is being outdoors, especially if I'm in the mountains (downhill skiing! Hiking. Hunting.) or on or in the water, boating, fishing, water-skiing, diving. Passionate about sports, playing (until not long ago, still played rec league softball and flag football, can't hoop anymore but still ice skate) and watching (Go Blue/Tigers/Wings).

You know you’re going to miss the outdoor mountains of Washington! I will too!

 

[Paul R Zartman]

No...
But they come in a very close 2nd to my wife.

 

[Mark_Mark]

No...View attachment 1075032
But they come in a very close 2nd to my wife.

is that a Walk in closet? That’s what I’m talking about!

 

[Old Dog]

Of course, the elephant in the room is that, on a public forum, few folks are going to feel comfortable admitting they're crazy passionate about firearms... The sad reality is, that should a member be involved in the use of a firearm that becomes questionable, one's history on social media -- and the rest of the internet -- becomes discoverable in court, but especially in the court of public opinion. While some of us may wear the label of "gun nut" proudly, others remain in the closet for very real, and practical reasons.

I've been fortunate all my adult life to work in occupations in which firearms were tools of the trade, conditions of employment and generally thought of as normal, useful, accepted and often, fun. For most other folks, though, an interest in firearms has to be discretely acknowledged. Wasn't always this way in the USA, 'tis a sorry pass we've come to.

Sports Life has been sparse for you lately!

Ah, rub it in... although UM football ended up #3 in the country, basketball made the Sweet Sixteen, women's hoops the Elite Eight, and hockey the Frozen Four...

 

[AJC1]

I am passionate about reloading and casting, but it's more about the mystery and the problem solving. I do enjoy spending time with my son shooting, but him having fun is more important than me shooting.

I also enjoy fishing at that's more of a me thing. I taught my son and daughter how and they use my enthusiast gear so I don't spend time fighting their gear...

 

[Bazoo]

Of course, the elephant in the room is that, on a public forum, few folks are going to feel comfortable admitting they're crazy passionate about firearms... The sad reality is, that should a member be involved in the use of a firearm that becomes questionable, one's history on social media -- and the rest of the internet -- becomes discoverable in court, but especially in the court of public opinion. While some of us may wear the label of "gun nut" proudly, others remain in the closet for very real, and practical reasons.

I've been fortunate all my adult life to work in occupations in which firearms were tools of the trade, conditions of employment and generally thought of as normal, useful, accepted and often, fun. For most other folks, though, an interest in firearms has to be discretely acknowledged. Wasn't always this way in the USA, 'tis a sorry pass we've come to.

Ah, rub it in... although UM football ended up #3 in the country, basketball made the Sweet Sixteen, women's hoops the Elite Eight, and hockey the Frozen Four...

That’s a good point.
I read a lot about the old gun people, and the tone set by them and their love of guns is much different than today.

 

[Paul R Zartman]

That’s a good point.
I read a lot about the old gun people, and the tone set by them and their love of guns is much different than today.

Who's calling me OLD...

 

[Meeks36]

I love guns. Not as much as my family. To me it’s a tool to feed and protect them. I do not collect them. Well not yet. And going to the range is a stress reliever. Like working out.

 

[WrongHanded]

I cannot deny being passionate about firearms. But if it weren't for my desire to spend time in the wilderness, I doubt I'd be nearly as interested in guns. They would still have a place in my life, but I suspect I'd consider them more of a tool and less of an interest at this point in my life.

To illustrate how much the outdoors has influenced my interest in firearms: Were it not for a perceived need to own and practice with a .44 Magnum revolver - for carry in Grizzly country - I would never have taken up reloading, and so never have joined THR.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I'm passionate about learning.
Guns are just one of the things that I'm learning about.

 

[TarDevil]

My parents told me I was that passionate about horses when I was very young. I was - still am - quite passionate about airplanes, and very much so about boats. God and family rule supreme over all of them.

A thought that has rolled around my brain for years is... a gun owner should be more than enthused. He/she should have enough passion to learn all aspects of guns, from safe handling to laws and consequences of their use. A gun owner should also have enough passion to recognize when it should be measured in respect for those who are innately afraid of them... like the kids in my neighborhood who ran in terror from my dog. Tender efforts eventually won them over.

I'm passionate about most things I do. But not maniacal (or seemingly) of any. Guns are a part of my life, but not my life.