Do you hide your guns? Keep them secret?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Guys in the shop at work know I have a few guns. I have taken some of them shooting. They know I have more than they do, but not how many. When people ask me how many guns I have my default answer is I have a few guns. If they push I say I have couple of handguns, a couple of rifles, and a couple of shotguns.

A large percentage of people in the South own guns/hunt/target shoot/etc, so it isn't unusual to be a gun owner and isn't frowned upon by most people..
 
Those that know me well know I have "some" firearms but most do not know the level of ownership. Also they are in several locations and in hidy holes at those locations. Some are out in the open but the "good ones" you will never find.;) I have had some ask why I reload for so many calibers that I have no firearms for. I just say I let others use my press to load their ammo. Then ask if they want to learn how to do it. Some take the bait and follow me into reloading.:thumbup: My stock answer is that I have a handfull of old worn out firearms when asked.:cool:

I was storing some firearms for a coworker and he sent his late teen son over to get one of them. He showed up with about four of his buddies I had never seen before. Told them to stay in the entry and I would be rite back. Got his rifle and they left. About two weeks later a different kid approached me in the local convenience store and stated that I was a crazy SOB. I chuckled and asked why? He said anyone that stores a grenade on his wood stove just ain't rite. I told him that they actually were pretty stable and I kept it close by my chair in case someone busted down the door to surprise them.:pSeems one of the "buddies" talked some.:fire:
 
A couple guys at work who are gun guys know I have "a couple guns" but outside of that it's immediate family, a couple of friends and you guys.

I have a couple of inexpensive and easily replaceable 22s on the wall on a rack I built in highschool, everything else is stowed away save for my EDC, bedside pistol and a shotgun.

I live in the sticks so not too worried. Everyone already has their own guns.
 
Do like my buddy does who has been collecting guns for about 70 years. At any given time he has 5 or 6 guns on the table working on them. His wife shakes her head and says "How many guns to you have now?" he always gives the same answer: "maybe five or six". Another part of my local story. Just heard from my niece who lives in the country on their 500 acre ranch. There have been 2 local burglaries in the past 2 weeks. The thieves always take guns and little else. They appear to know what they are looking for. So....rule of thumb....always protect your stash and never advertise.
 
My "operational security" is not what it should be.

I was buying a gun at a local store today and the sales man asked me if I got my hunt tags straightened out. I asked kind of a "huh/what?" and he said, "Your post on the hunting group in the facebook page." It's a closed group, but there are 4k members. All you have to do is google is my first and last name and you have everything you need to know in seconds. The first result is my place of employment. The second result will get you my address along with a satellite image of my home. The fourth result will get you my credit score, date of birth, income (significantly inaccurate), and religious preference. (As well as a link to that info for every one of my neighbors.)

So anyone who sees my name in an online hunting group or forum would assume I own at least one gun and would know exactly where to go to get it and when I was most likely to not be at home, based on my place of employment. It is well known at my school by both coworkers and students that I own guns, shoot competitively, and hunt. Essentially, I'm a sitting duck waiting to be plucked.
 
Where I live yards are measured in acres and guns are simply tools, no different than a shovel. People here don’t hide them or flaunt them, although most doors will have a shotgun leaning near it.
 
Well, this is rural Noth Dakota. I have yet to know anybody out here that doesn’t have guns in their house! Some folks have them hidden and others have them displayed around the house it’s no secret that there are guns in homes around here. Then again, maybe that’s why our crime rates are as low as they are.
 
Everyone I worked with before I retired had guns in their house, everyone that lives on my street owns guns.
Every public school within 75-100 miles of is closed on opening day of firearm deer season.
I have one hat that says Browning on it nothing else says anything about guns, shooting or hunting, no decals on my truck or home.
 
I hide all mine, and keep them super secret, except for those shown in photos I've posted on enthusiast forums;)
Actually, I had a marked take-home police car for over a decade, so I think some of the neighbors are beginning to suspect that I might own a gun or two...
 
sniper66 asked:
I'm curious how you guys think about this issue. I will appreciate your thoughts.
Click to expand...

I will let any friends/relatives that are interest in guns see my collection; but the particular pieces we are discussing are brought out to the living room, one by one, and they are not invited back into the "office" which is the gateway to the closet where the safe is located. I trust all of my friends/relatives to not to rob me. So far, that trust has not been betrayed. But, I don't know the character of the fiends/relatives of my friends/relatives, so any one person sees only a part of my collection at any one time.

Amongst friends/relatives that have no interest in guns, or may be actively hostile to towards them, I show them only those pieces necessary to make my counter-argument regarding the need for the populace to have guns.
 
bearman49709 wrote:
Every public school within 75-100 miles of is closed on opening day of firearm deer season.
Click to expand...

That is still the way it is around where I grew up.

I'm not a big deer hunter (I don't like the taste of deer, sheep or fish), so I always used it as a day to sleep-in.
 
A friend once came over to shoot his new Glock with his Uncle along and he knew I had several guns. He then, in front of my wife, asked to see what I had. When I said “no, not now”, my wife said “it’s okay, just lay them all out on the bed.” I was forced to state they wouldn’t all fit there...it was a slight exaggeration, but the closest anyone has ever really gotten to the truth about my guns from me.
 
Bfh_auto said:
I live on a dead end road, have dogs and a retired neighbor who drive up with a gun when I closed on the place. I'm not too worried about thieves.
A lot of my coworkers are friends and have been out to my house shooting.
I use it as a way to introduce them and their kids to firearms in a positive environment.
You would be amazed at what 30 dollars of ammo and tannerite does to get people hooked on shooting.
Click to expand...
There isn't an argument anti-gunners can make which will stand against 1 good day at the range.
 
I don't keep them secret I suppose. A lot of my friends know about them but not many who aren't real close.

"Better to keep your mouth shut and let em think you're an idiot than to open your mouth and prove em right."

I generally don't go on about my hobbies around strangers in general; they don't want to know about all that anyhow.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
  • Locked
Cashing in on your gun collection?
2 3 4 5
Replies
107
Views
8K
patriot53
P
V
  • Locked
Gun safe or hide them?
2 3
Replies
53
Views
3K
devans0
D
G
  • Locked
If you die tomorrow does your family know what to do with your guns?
2 3 4
Replies
75
Views
3K
PeteH
P
T
  • Locked
Do you have a friend that you will never take to a gun range?
2
Replies
45
Views
2K
TexasGunbie
T
U
  • Locked
Do you plan on getting rid of your guns before you die?
2 3 4
Replies
75
Views
3K
22-rimfire
2
Back
Top