Ever let someone borrow a firearm?

[BobMcG]

Well, I've never made a habit of it and still don't but I did once about three decades ago. My best friend needed a rifle to go deer hunting with and I lent him one of mine. That's the extent of it.

 

[Nanook]

If someone does not own tools of his own, yet wants to borrow mine, whatever forces in his life that keep him from owning his own will tend to work against his caring for mine.

If (for whatever reason) he "can't have" tools, and I lend him mine, his "can't have" will be applied to my hardware, and I'll get it back damaged or broken, if at all.

That sums it up perfectly. Well said.

 

[aerod1]

Yep, and I have NEVER had a problem.
I have quality friends.

 

[shotgunkevin]

It depends...

It depends on what the borrower wants it for. I really see two categories: sport and defense. I have in the past, and I likely will in the future, loan a gun for sport. Say a day at the range that I can't go to, or hunting. And I guess I would only say yes to someone that already owns guns of their own, and are aware of the safety precautions and risks.

I would not, under any circumstances, loan a gun for defense. I know that seems backwards, but let me explain. If they end up using it, who loses a gun? I do - it's evidence now, in the tender, loving arms of the State.
Don't get me wrong, if a friend of mine is genuinely threatened, they can stay at my house, I'll stay with them at theirs, I'll pay for a motel room - whatever. I'd do anything I could to ensure they made it through the night. But if I loan them a gun, and they end up shooting somebody, I'm involved. If I'm with them and it goes down, I know I'll be able to live with the consequences of my own actions.

My two cents. You get what you pay for.

 

[MudPuppy]

That actually does make sense.

I'll loan out to friends or family I feel are extremely responsible, only if they already have experience with them.

And I'll encourage them that if they like 'em, get some for themselves.

 

[rangermonroe]

Yes

That is why I own more than one.

 

[tank mechanic]

I told them both to send their wives over and I'll let him use the revolver.
They asked why their wives. . . .

I said that I had something that I wanted to try on them.

I fall in the same category.

 

[yongxingfreesty]

yes, if they can legally buy and own one. currently own firearms, be 21 of age and a very close friend.

 

[22-rimfire]

No, never at least up until now. In a Katrina emergency, I might be tempted if they were in close proximity to my house. Two heads are better than one.

 

[Cuda]

My wife, although "WE" both own all the guns... No seperation of assets here.

Other than that the answer in no, no and what didn't you understand about no!!!


C

 

[skidooman]

yup, to some friends, and most family. and both guns i am carrying on my cat hunt next weekend are borrowed, friends .357, and dads mod. 94 30-30. glad they feel the same way i do.

 

[brentwal]

Shot a mag at the range with me there, yes.


Borrow, NO.

 

[1911 guy]

What gun? Which person?

I've done so a few times. My Dad had had my .357 as a house gun for several years. He keeps it clean and ready and has handed it back to me a couple times when I needed it for something (introduced wife to revolvers & 1 deer season I went with the revolver). My friend Ray had his Remington 1100 go belly up a week before this past deer season. Gunsmith quoted two weeks to fix it. I lent Ray a scoped Mossberg slug gun for a week.

Most other people, most other guns, no.

 

[Satch]

Ever let

That was common around here(NW Ohio) in the 40's and 50's. If a bunch of us wanted to go hunting and there wasn't enough shotguns we'd just go to the neighbor and use one of his,---no big deal.

 

[Don Gordon]

I've loaned out 1 gun in my life and will never again. My own brother wanted to borrow my .22-250 Rem 788 to shoot some crows. I lent him the rifle, hard gun case, and 100 rounds of handloads (the gun would shoot 3/4" groups consistently, day in day out). After a couple of months I was visiting over at his place and asked how the crow shooting was going. He said he'd shot once and that I could take the rifle back.

We went down to his basement (ooooo nnooooo!). I knew it. The hard case looked like he had dragged it behind his truck, and when we opened the case, the rifle was covered muzzle to bolt with rust. You couldv'e heard a pin drop. I told him he could just keep the rifle, (less the scope).

Years later when our dad died, there was no argument in the family as to who was going to get Dad's guns.

 

[Arkady]

There is a very short list of people to whom I will lend a firearm.

On the other hand, if anyone on that list calls, they can have whatever they want--as soon as they want it.

 

[K3]

To only 2 people, my brother and my hunting buddy of 12 years. Of course, they already have everything, so there's be no need to borrow from my meager collection.

 

[Walkalong]

Twice, the first and the last time. Came back scratched without so much as a I'm sorry, kiss my a**, nothing! :banghead:

 

[allmons]

No, not ever.

Don't loan guns out to anyone. If you're at the range when I am there, you are welcome to shoot my guns with me, but I will not loan them out.
Besides insuring proper gun safety and diminishing my chances of loss, it is a great way to support the gun industry when my "friends" have to buy their own.

 

[ccw9mm]

Ever let someone borrow a firearm?

Never. No. And wouldn't, unless it came down to life and death ... in which case, I'd probably be right there alongside with him/her, defending him/her. With today's legal climate, it's simply not worth it. That someone needs to acquire a firearm, yesterday.

 

[Plink]

No, never, not under any circumstances. That was a lesson I learned the hard way, despite the fact that my father drilled it into my head from a young age. I had a friend ask to borrow my shotgun to hunt with. I refused and he took offense and turned up the pressure. He promised that nothing would happen to it and stressed how reliable and trustworthy of a friend he is, etc. I caved under pressure and loaned it to him only to have him pop a duck out of season with it and get it confiscated. I knew better than to do it, so losing the gun was a well deserved lesson.

 

[XD Fan]

I will loan my guns to my brother or my father. Otherwise, no one.

 

[MrDig]

I can think of Five people I would trust with my guns. Anybody else is a firm NFW.

 

[Rico567]

Yes- I have loaned guns in the past. The short list of those people is very, very abbreviated indeed. Not like loaning a frying pan, a cup of sugar, or a lawn mower, IMHO. Being a gun, there's somehow a different order of criteria that must be applied, and although my initial response to "what criteria?" would probably be words like "responsibility" and "good judgment," I'm not sure in the end it wouldn't just boil down to instinct.

There was an issue once. I loaned a Colt Detective Special to my oldest friend, and it was stolen from him shortly thereafter. He immediately paid me the full value of the pistol. Never thought much about it until I read the OP- he came to the clearing at the end of the path about five years ago....

 

[Two Cold Soakers]

Not regularly....

But nobody ever asks.

Don't lend anything.
Give it away.
If it comes back, great. The kind of people I'd lend guns to don't need to be asked to return it.

I have sent my Model 94 .30-30 on a deer hunt I didn't attend, and have loaned out pistol magazines to co-workers.

I'd see no problem loaning out a well used hunting or utility piece to a trusted friend, but I know that I'd never lend out a gun that I wasn't emotionally ready to never see again.