Are the guns worth the trouble?

[ByAnyMeans]

I never had any trouble with my guns. It is very easy to aquire them, only need to fill out a PICS form if buying a handgun, FTF trades for longarms. I have no worries about any restrictions when carrying except if leaving the state leave it home and don't go to a school.

Getting a holster is as easy as buying a belt, You use a belt don't you or is getting dressed to much of a hassle? A safe is no different than shopping, search the internet for what you want, buy it and have it delivered. How expensive this is depends on what you want, just like a car or house or boat.

This also depends a lot on what you have. If nothing else I could get a Mossberg 500 combo for all my shotgun needs, A bolt action .308 and AR-15 with 22lr conversion kit to handle all my rifle needs and a Glock 26 with 22lr conversion kit. This is four guns and handles any need I can see from full size handgun to sub size for carrying, 22lr handgun and rifle for small game and plinking. Shot gun for hunting and defense. Bolt action for precision and hunting and AR for a fighting rifle. You can even condense this further depending on if needed. Maybe you don't like shotguns or your state allows hunting with a semi and the AR and bolt action can be combined to one rifle, etc, etc. You can even keep them fairly safe in a 300 dollar Costco Safe.

 

[ball3006]

Seeing that I live in Texas, I am wondering what trouble you are speaking of? Zero trouble here with guns.....chrirs3

 

[CodaSmog]

The only problem I have is time to shoot!

 

[LongTimeGone]

Just beware of "tragic boating accidents."

Yep, that phenomenon has claimed a lot of stuff .

 

[panhandle lefty]

IMO, It is a right that we have an obligation to exercise. They are tools that can feed and defend your family which you have an obligation to do. freedom is not free and we as a nation have paid a price for the freedoms we enjoy, but they come with price and part of that price is to full fill our obligations, to include defending the Constitution fromm all enemies forgien and DOMESTIC and protect every citizens rights, rights theat were listed in not given by the CONSTITUTION

 

[Rusty Luck]

+1 for being in Texas, no problems here.

 

[Resist Evil]

There is no liberty without working for it. Yes, guns are worth the trouble.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

I don't think it's any different in terms of the obligations and commitments one makes when deciding to own a dog or cat and many do that without seeing it as a burden. I could even argue it's easier to own firearms. I enjoy shooting and huting. Also, as I get older I have more comfot in something that can equalize a situation if I need to defend myself.

 

[BADUNAME37]

Guns to me are mainly a tool. They are a tool for protection and they are a tool for hunting game. Even if I do not happen to get any game, just being out in nature, in the fresh air and enjoying the outdoors is very relaxing to me. Sometimes it means exercize for me, if I happen to be doing a lot of walking.

Guns are also a hobby to me. I enjoy shooting, hunting and I enjoy reloading, every single aspect of it! When I am reloading, I am not hurried, I am completely relaxed and I go at my own pace. What I don't accomplish in one session, I will just continue whenever I feel like it! I started a batch of 500 Magnum cartridges, I really don't need them, I just happened to have the components and boxes to do 200 rounds. I got as far as priming them and that was about a year ago. I will pick up where I left off during some wintery, snowy-cold weather when the basement is nice and toasty-warm!

 

[alsaqr]

Guns are no trouble in OK. i just bought several from a private party with no paper work.

 

[Owen Sparks]

"Liberty means responsibility, that is why men dread it."

__ George Bernard Shaw

 

[Birch Knoll]

It seems to me that one of the best reasons to own guns is this:

The government doesn't want me to.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Is golf worth it? Not to me.

Is owning a boat worth it? Nothing bigger than a canoe.

Are classic cars worth it? Only if you have money to burn.

Are guns worth it? Like no other hobby.

 

[91 whiskey]

Ammo costs and range fees are the only problems I have.

 

[Strykervet]

Get married, then talk about trouble.

If you just own the things and don't shoot 'em, and you aren't a serious collector, then yeah, I can understand your sentiment. When I got out of the army, I went to the UW in Seattle. Had no time to shoot and nowhere to do it. The firearms stayed locked up for the better part of three years. I even considered getting rid of them and just keeping my beloved M4, G17L, and 686+6" (those three, we won't part, I'd prefer to be dead first). I did go so far as to part with a DPMS LRR (it was one of the first they made and had trouble cycling and couldn't do better than 2-3MOA) and my .300winmag PSS.

But then school ended. And I moved out of Seattle. Now I am VERY close to a range, I am disabled due to service and it has gotten to the point I can't hold down a normal job that requires standard hours. I do what and when I can.

So, I found myself with a lot of time and little money. Then at the request of my wife, I got checked out for disability, figured I'd get denied, but they approved it in only two months. My back is worse off than I thought I guess, I still want to suck it up, but I know I'm no commando anymore, my door kicking days are over.

I found myself bored, real bored, and so I pulled out the reload gear, joined a local range, and now I can load when I feel up to it and go shooting when I feel up to it (it's open from 7am to 10pm, indoors and out complex). I go shooting only to find that I still have it --like riding a bike. My only complaint is there aren't any 1 mile UKD ranges to go shoot at like there were in the army, man were those FUN! Sometimes ringing the gong at 200m shooting faster than they allow gets boring... 200m is as far as our range goes without closing the whole thing down to open the 300-600 lines. The desert is a half day drive through the mountains. So sometimes, I just pull out my pistol and shoot IT at the rifle range. People look at me like I have something growing out of my forehead when I shoot a Glock G27 at dinner plate size targets at 100m, but that is what I have to do for a challenge on your normal firing line. When summer kicks up, I plan on shooting all the matches I can, so look out.

Keeping yourself challenged, that is the key in shooting. That is how it stays fun and you get better.

Glad I didn't unload all the gear, yes sir. Now I'm in a new collecting mode --or building mode rather, I build most of my own gear now, I have nothing but time.

If you are collector, and you've lost that desire, then yeah, perhaps it is a hassle and you should sell if you can't keep 'em or what you own isn't gonna go up in value. If you are a shooter that has lost the desire, perhaps, but you could end up like me, just an unintended hiatus.

 

[DammitBoy]

No trouble at all, thanks for asking!

 

[Onward Allusion]

Amadeus
Are the guns worth the trouble?

Funny that you ask at this moment in time... I am leaning toward - NO. At least C&R guns acquired with one's C&R are not worth it, especially when purchased from idiots who do not know the law.

As with any hobby, it takes an investment in time and effort to enjoy them. When the costs outweigh the benefits, then it is time to move onto something else. Does this mean I will get rid of my guns anytime soon. No way. It might mean that I start thinning out the herd and focus on a dozen or two valued pieces.

 

[Strykervet]

Ammo costs and range fees are the only problems I have.

I load everything save a few carry rounds that are high pressure (I don't like pushing the envelope in handloading much) and my range fee is $91 a year plus membership in the NRA (the NRA built our range and spends more on us than we spend on them, they also totally fund junior smallbore, jackets, rifles, safe, everything). The range is open 7am to 10pm 365 days. Finding one like this close by is best.

When I was in Alabama, I grew up hunting birds with my dad and a springer spaniel in Swan Creek Wildlife Mgt. They had range there, just a couple of big berms in a clearing. Over the years they've added rules, benches, cops, closing times, etc. They probably charge now too, and I bet it is packed all the time now. Not so when I was a kid. Hard to find a REAL unsupervised range anymore.

Luckily I have a giant national forest real close by, but I haven't found a good place to do any serious long range shooting yet.

I suggest finding a free place to shoot and take up reloading, if you have the time for it. Or finding a shooting club, but I understand how difficult finding one close by can be. Reloading also should not be an endeavour you take up just to save money, you'll regret it if you do. If you have the time though and want stellar ammo, then yeah, in the long run you do save money. You can also shoot, say, 6.5 Grendel for next to nothing. I load M855 ball (same components, but more accurate) for about $300 per 1000 I think, and that is with all new components. I reload them for half that.

So when I go to the range, I seldom shoot less than a hundred, few hundred rounds (but I'm there all day) maybe more with a pistol. It costs less than 30 cents per day to go shooting in range fees, and my ammo is better quality than the most expensive match ammo, for less than the price of the junk stuff that doesn't work.

Where there is a will, there is a way I suppose.

 

[BADUNAME37]

Get married, then talk about trouble.

If you just own the things and don't shoot 'em, and you aren't a serious collector, then yeah, I can understand your sentiment. When I got out of the army, I went to the UW in Seattle. Had no time to shoot and nowhere to do it. The firearms stayed locked up for the better part of three years. I even considered getting rid of them and just keeping my beloved M4, G17L, and 686+6" (those three, we won't part, I'd prefer to be dead first). I did go so far as to part with a DPMS LRR (it was one of the first they made and had trouble cycling and couldn't do better than 2-3MOA) and my .300winmag PSS.

But then school ended. And I moved out of Seattle. Now I am VERY close to a range, I am disabled due to service and it has gotten to the point I can't hold down a normal job that requires standard hours. I do what and when I can.

So, I found myself with a lot of time and little money. Then at the request of my wife, I got checked out for disability, figured I'd get denied, but they approved it in only two months. My back is worse off than I thought I guess, I still want to suck it up, but I know I'm no commando anymore, my door kicking days are over.

I found myself bored, real bored, and so I pulled out the reload gear, joined a local range, and now I can load when I feel up to it and go shooting when I feel up to it (it's open from 7am to 10pm, indoors and out complex). I go shooting only to find that I still have it --like riding a bike. My only complaint is there aren't any 1 mile UKD ranges to go shoot at like there were in the army, man were those FUN! Sometimes ringing the gong at 200m shooting faster than they allow gets boring... 200m is as far as our range goes without closing the whole thing down to open the 300-600 lines. The desert is a half day drive through the mountains. So sometimes, I just pull out my pistol and shoot IT at the rifle range. People look at me like I have something growing out of my forehead when I shoot a Glock G27 at dinner plate size targets at 100m, but that is what I have to do for a challenge on your normal firing line. When summer kicks up, I plan on shooting all the matches I can, so look out.

Keeping yourself challenged, that is the key in shooting. That is how it stays fun and you get better.

Glad I didn't unload all the gear, yes sir. Now I'm in a new collecting mode --or building mode rather, I build most of my own gear now, I have nothing but time.

If you are collector, and you've lost that desire, then yeah, perhaps it is a hassle and you should sell if you can't keep 'em or what you own isn't gonna go up in value. If you are a shooter that has lost the desire, perhaps, but you could end up like me, just an unintended hiatus.

I'm glad you shared your physical problems, I also have extreme pain nearly always from several things that happened many years ago. Long story short, degenerative arthritis of my spine and nerve damage of left intercostal nerves between ribs in the area of rib 5 (T-5) and constant severe pain, and I mean SEVERE!

 

[thorazine]

Does anyone here ever wonder, even in passing, whether owning guns is worth the trouble of owning guns? I'm not trolling. I've been shooting for 20 years and I've occasionally considered this issue.

Worth the hassle for me.

If you don't like it you could always take up golf instead.

 

[valnar]

I don't want to say I'm a "late comer" as I did start 10 years ago with a single SIG P229, but I have to admit my reason for doing so was BECAUSE of all the hassle. I've since increased my hassle factor.

What do I mean?

The Left will try to throw up many road blocks to gun ownership and they will never stop. One day it may be impossible to buy a gun. Before that time comes, I will try to buy & own all the ones I want - and pass them down to my family when the time comes. At least right now in Ohio, my guns don't need to be registered so they aren't going to come looking for them should the pendelum ever reverse in the opposite direction.

Honestly, if there was no problem walking into a store to buy a gun, I wouldn't feel the need to hoard the ones I want. You can say...their tightening of restrictions has actually Increased gun ownership, at least in my case. Isn't that funny.

 

[rondog]

When I've gotta schlep alla my crap up from the basement to go shooting, and then schlep it all back down when I come home, then yeah, they're a lot of trouble. Can't wait until I get the garage better suited for gun and ammo storage! I also need the garage for a jillion other things, so I need about triple the size I have now. I'm afraid I've gotta move though, there ain't no place to expand nothing where we live now.

 

[Ringolevio]

"Worth the trouble"?

Owen Sparks:

"Liberty means responsibility, that is why men dread it."

George Bernard Shaw

I suppose it would be a lot less trouble to be a peasant...or a serf...or a slave.

I believe it is part of my responsibility as a citizen of the United States of America to own guns and to be competent and prudent in their use.

 

[FLCowboy49]

I could name many greater hassles...
“Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.”

 

[HammerheadSSN663]

yes. that's why I sold off most everything except an AR, shotgun, 22lr, and a 9mm pistol - and couple of K rounds for each in ammo cans.

If push came to shove and I had to select only one, it would be the 22lr Ruger 10/22.