Are you sick of people telling you that you have a lot of guns when you really don't?

[Euclidean]

I won't list them all, but I was born in the 80s and I own less guns than I am old. That's about as specific as I care to be on the internet.

Now I realize that I am fortunate enough to have more than some people have, but five of them are sentimental heirlooms, four are rimfires, and most of them are relatively inexpensive. Not cheap, just inexpensive. For instance my Mossberg 500 is as good a shotgun as I need at this point in my life and it's just not very expensive. My M44 isn't very expensive either. My NEF single shot was cheap, my sole AK specimen is Romanian, Etc. Etc. It all goes bang but there's nothing really special about it other than that it is mine.

My point is, I have an assortment yes but ultimately it's nothing to write home about. There's a lot of people who have about as many, or maybe not quite as many but they're nicer, etc. How many people here have a dozen or more nice centerfire guns listed in their signature? It's not unusual for someone to have this many.

But, people who know me and know me well enough to have business knowing I own these firearms, continually claim I have "boatloads" of guns or "enough guns to supply an army".

Sometimes I can shut them up by showing some pictures I squirrel away of some REAL collections that consists of dozens if not hundreds of pieces. I show them pictures of $10k+ shotguns, and AR15s with hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of accessories, rails, etc. And they don't believe me when I tell them how much a single Class 3 firearm can cost. Of course I've been told I own automatic weapons too...

But it always comes back. It's not really a disdainful thing either, it's just more of a genuinely held, genuinely wrong, belief. Then again maybe it's just all relative?

But it always grates on me.

 

[Standing Wolf]

As a matter of fact, I do have a lot of guns; I have a lot of books, too, and cameras, and...

 

[kengrubb]

If I only had 1 gun for every GigaByte of harddrive free space ...

 

[Jim K]

The best situation is for those who are not very close friends and gun-friendly as well to NOT know you have any guns. It is no one's business. If you are at a range, and are asked how many guns you have, you reply that you have this one (or these) and another at home.

Bragging about your collection or showing it off to people you don't KNOW you can trust is not a good idea. And that means keeping gun magazines, ammo boxes, etc., out of sight in your home. The meter reader or the dishwasher repairman doesn't need to know what your hobby is.

Gun owners are in the unenviable position of having to fear both crooks who want to steal guns and cops who want to make a big name for themselves by "seizing an arsenal." You can't trust either.

---------------------

"I've lived next door for ten years and he seemed like a nice person. Who would have thought that he had three guns in that house and they say he had a hundred bullets. Why that's an arsenal; I don't know if I can sleep tonight."

"This is Susan Blotz, KZZZ News, at the scene of a police raid this afternoon on the home of a man who owned an arsenal of guns and may have ties to terrorism."

Jim

 

[Stauble]

when people tell me that i tell them that if you know how many guns you have, then you dont have enough.

 

[Bruce333]

People in general just don't know how many I have, so it's not an issue. Friends and Family may hear about a new aquisition but never a total list of # owned.

Even with friends may response would be "More than I need, less than I want."

 

[Chris Rhines]

Bragging about your collection or showing it off to people you don't KNOW you can trust is not a good idea. And that means keeping gun magazines, ammo boxes, etc., out of sight in your home. The meter reader or the dishwasher repairman doesn't need to know what your hobby is.

Man, if this is the point that we've come to, then it's way past time for us to pick up our toys and find a new yard to play in.

I shoot and handload. I don't collect mainline crank or collect donkey porn. I refuse to act like my hobby is something to be ashamed of.

- Chris

 

[XavierBreath]

You guys have GUNS!!!!!!!!?

 

[Metapotent]

Well the average person who sees my collection would think I have too many, which is no surprise.

I do have quite the arsenal and I show it to everyone who comes over, regardless of how they might react to it.

 

[Will Learn]

I agree with Jim, don't tell/show them to people. Keeping your mouth shut about your guns makes them almost as safe as keeping them shut in a RSC (gun safe). The only guns that are visible in my house are a Mossberg 500($200), next to my bed and a Gamo pellet gun($120) for squirrels. It might be fun to show off new toys to friends but if it gets to the point that they're telling other people that you "have a lot of guns" I'd be a worried . good luck, be safe.

 

[vito]

Wasn't it the "arsenal" of firearms that "justified" the FBI raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas?

I had a neighbor who upon seeing my NRA window sticker on my car window asked me how I could possibly own a gun with children in my home. In addition to giving him my thoughts on the 2nd amendment, personal responsibility for the safety of myself and my family, I asked him why he seemed so proud to announce that he would never keep a gun in his house. I asked him to put a sign in his front window to that effect, if he was so proud of his lack of gun ownership. That made him stop and think, but just for a moment and then he said it was only because of the "crazies" with guns that he would be afraid to announce his gun hatred. I'm not sure if we ever spoke again before I moved about a year later.

 

[lee n. field]

My point is, I have an assortment yes but ultimately it's nothing to write home about.

Ditto that. High value per dollar guns, nothing that's really nice. I get vague when people ask.

Wasn't it the "arsenal" of firearms that "justified" the FBI raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas?

Less guns than the per capita average in Texas, so I've heard.

 

[Spinner]

My guess is that the only people who would say that you have a lot of guns are non-gunnies, right?

To people who aren't familiar with guns, a gun is a gun. They go bang, they kill people (seemingly by themselves), etc. One is as good as another. Kinda like cars ... they get you from A to B and its reasonable to have one to do that for you when you need it. But to have a dozen cars (for instance) is just excessive How many places do you want to get to? (how many bad guys/targets/deer do you need to shoot?).

Now, car people recognise that a Toyota Corolla gets you from A to B and to have a dozen Toyota Corollas might be excessive, but to have a Corolla as well as a '64 Mustang and a Hummer, and a Lamborghini Countach, and a Harley, and a half dozen other vehicles .... well that's just cool! They each do things differently ... sure they all have an engine and you drive them from here to there and back again (just like all guns go bang and things zoom out the end of them) but they all have a different purpose.

Its only ignorance about guns that would cause people to think that a dozen guns is boatloads. I mean, a pump shotgun, an O/U shotgun, a .22LR rifle, an air rifle, a .30-30 lever action rifle, a .308 bolt action rifle, a .223 semi-auto rifle, a .22LR revolver, a .22LR semi-auto pistol, a 9mm semi-auto pistol, a .45 cal semi-auto pistol and a .38 spl snub nose revolver .... already you're at a dozen guns and you've only just covered the basics of shooting sports (both target and hunting), teaching, training, HD and SD situations. They each have different strengths and weaknesses and do things differently .... but to those who are ignorant of the differences, man that's a boatload of guns.

Spinner

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Are you sick of people telling you that you have a lot of guns when you really don't?

Nope.

The ONLY person on this planet who knows how many guns I own is me. It isn't any of anybody else's business. What they don't know ... won't hurt me.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

It's nobody's business except immediate family (and only those who are gun-friendly and know to keep it to themselves).
If the person owns tools ask them why they own so many. You have FIVE phillips head screwdrivers? WHY??? Oh a different tool for different jobs? hmm.
The news calling anything more than 2 guns and a dozen rounds of ammo an arsenal doesn't help their understanding.

 

[mp510]

Metapotent,

I thought that it was verbotten to actually attach a suppressor to firearm in Washington, or am I mistaken?

 

[AJAX22]

First off, I don't think anyone needs to know exactly what you have.

However occasionally when I have a decent number in the same place, like cleaning them after coming back from the range, the question will come up.

I typically explain that each one does something unique, or has a feature that the others don't. I then point at my toolbox and explain how I need different sizes of screwdrivers and different sizes and types of socket wrenches.

Most people get it, and to those that don't I usually ask, 'How many pairs of shoes do you have in the closet?' why do you have so many pairs, you can only wear one at a time.

'different ones are used for different things... oh'

and the lightbulb clicks on

 

[Tamara]

I think I have lots of guns (2.6x my age), but I'm a piker compared to my collecting mentors.

Then again, most of them have serious head starts on me...

 

[B.D. Turner]

How about the people who say "If anything ever happens I'm going to your house" I got so tired of hearing that. Sure pal make it through the mine field and come on in.

 

[Taurus 66]

Chris, the hobby is definitely not something to be ashamed of. I think the point was 'safeguarding your possessions from strangers'.

The meter reader or the dishwasher repairman doesn't need to know what your hobby is.

is a very good point. So Chris, if you're that trusting of just anyone looking over your possessions, you should trust people enough to never try and take them. I strongly recommend you sell your gun safe(s) and keep your doors unlocked whenever you along with everyone else in the house step away.

 

[ARTiger]

How you store your guns can make a difference. I got lucky about a dozen years ago and found a large fireproof gun safe very cheap (the built-in variety) from a high-roller type homebuilder who went bankrupt halfway through building his "dream house". When my wife and I built our home about 10 years ago I had the safe framed in at the back of our walk-in bedroom closet. It has a door in front of the actual safe door that matches the drywall and is hard to see if you're not looking for it.

Since I've had that no one other than myself has been in the safe and I can't ever remember taking more than 2-3 guns out at a time. Also, I never brag about my collection (I hate the term arsenal - it's not applicable at all) to anyone or list guns in bulletin board signatures, etc. Heck the way I buy and sell guns, I couldn't even tell you how many guns I own accurately without going in there and counting 'em. Yes, I have a few rare ones that are worth something, but overall most every one has been shot a good bit and the average worth of all of them probably comes out well less than $500 per gun.

Guess my point is "stash your stuff" and what all you have is nobody's business. I fail to see any advantage to doing anything else.

 

[espanola]

Originally Posted by Euclidean
Are you sick of people telling you that you have a lot of guns when you really don't?

No, I'm sick of not having all the guns that I'd like to tell people I had!

Frankly, no one knows how many guns I have. A couple close friends and some family members know a lot of what I have, but not everything! Other than my wife, it's nobody's business.

 

[evan price]

Spinner:

Now, car people recognise that a Toyota Corolla gets you from A to B and to have a dozen Toyota Corollas might be excessive

I have more than a dozen Toyota Celicas, are you saying that is excessive?


As far as "How many guns you have", why tell anyone? I've said it before (and been accused of tinfoil hattery) anybody who publicly posts a list of their collection (Or worse yet, a photo!) is just opening themselves up for trouble.

Would you casually tell someone how much jewelry your wife has? List your real estate assets in your sig line? Print up a bumper sticker listing the dollar value of your 401(k) account?
Situational awareness also includes what NOT to say.

The only way someone can find out you have a lot of guns (and enough to make comments) is you told them. IMHO that's bragging.

The only people who know what I have is me & God and he ain't talkin'. Not even my close family or my own wife knows exactly what I have and that includes cars, guns, ammunition, cash, tools, etc. and that's the way I like it.

As far as my gun collection goes, they were all lost in a mysterious accident some years ago and never recovered. No I didn't report them stolen, because they were lost. No I never filed an insurance claim, because I didn't want the rates to go up.

That's my story & I'm sticking to it.

 

[Ohio Rifleman]

I really don't care who knows the guns I have. I even have a "list" of my guns in my signature here at THR. If someone wants 'em, feel free to try and take them. I can't guarantee the safety of anyone attempting this, however. And I refuse to treat my hobby like it is something I should hide from people or be ashamed of. Of course, by the same token, I don't advertise it to the world because of the stigma us gun owners carry. But if someone asks me what I'm into, I'll give them a list, including guns. If they think I'm a paranoid whack job for owning guns, then they're not worth my time in the first place.

 

[Majic]

Why worry over what people think or say? Life's to short to let trivial things like that bother you.