cnorman18
Member
(This is an expansion on a response to another thread.)
The gun culture is dying? The antis are winning? There are fewer shooters, and they're all ready for Social Security?
Give me a major break.
Don't think so. Time was when no one but a cop could carry in Texas, or in almost any other state; CCW barely existed, and "shall issue" laws were a shooter's pipe dream. Now CCW is sweeping the country, and more and more people are choosing to carry every day.
Notice the number of guns available that are suitable for CCW? I remember when the only guns around that might fit in a pocket were Chief's Specials, Detective Specials, Baby Brownings and PPKs, and various junk guns. You had .38, .380, and .25, and that was it. The only compact .45s were--well, there was the Colt Commander, and that was as compact as off-the-shelf .45s got. You had to pay a custom gunsmith big bucks to cut down a 1911 to a size that we take for granted today. I remember the stir when Detonics came out with the first factory compact; it was said that it would change the industry, and it did. Now compacts and subcompacts are thick on the ground, from EVERY maker, and that wouldn't be happening if there wasn't a demand. Hello? More shooters? What other reason is there?
Here's another measure: Holstermakers are totally backed up with orders. Some places, you have to wait four or five months for your order to be filled that used to take a couple of weeks. CCW has overwhelmed them and they're struggling to expand and catch up with the demand. Nice problems to have.
"Assault weapons"? In trouble? Please. I remember when NO ONE had an AK. You saw your occasional Mauser or Garand, but milsurps were so cheap and plentiful that they hardly counted; the rifle market was dominated by Remington, Winchester, Savage, and the like. Dealers were practically giving surplus guns away (a clean Mauser might cost you $25), and AKs were just unheard of. There was no interest and no demand, and the few collectors were in Hog
Heaven. Now you can buy AKs on the Internet as well as at your local gun shop, and even the crummy ones ain't $25. And by the way, if so few shooters are using the Internet, how are Gunbroker.com, Bud's, Classic Firearms, Atlantic, and all the dozens of other online retailers managing to stay in business?
Speaking of media, I can remember when there were maybe four or five gun magazines, and a couple of those looked like they were put out by high-school kids. Been to a newsstand lately? Combat this, tactical that, handguns, rifles, Old West, SWAT, concealed carry, on and on... Who's buying them all?
Fewer shooters? When I was a kid, "shooting sports" meant hunting, trap and skeet, and punching paper targets or tin cans. That was about it. No Second Chance shoot, no Steel Challenge, no practical combat shoots, no Cowboy Action, no steel silhouette, no blackpowder competitions--no anything but bullseye, clay pigeons and cans. Look at us now.
You want to practice practical combat shooting in live-fire competition, on realistic ranges? IPSC is for you. You want to put 10 rounds through the same hole at 200 meters with custom handbuilt rifles and handloaded wildcat cartridges? Benchrest clubs are ready to have you. You want to shoot long-range steel targets with an 1880 buffalo rifle? There's an organization, competitions, and a website. You want to shoot REALLY long range with a .50? Here's your club. You want to dress up like Wild Bill Hickok (or Bat Masterson) and have fast-draw competition, even across a card table or on horseback? 1873 lever gun or BP shotgun shoots? Just bring your Stetson and your saddle, Cowboy Action is booming (no pun intended). There's even an event for NFA shooters who really, REALLY hate bowling pins.
And you can still shoot clay pigeons, targets and cans, too. Fewer shooters? There's never been more.
Yes, hunting is less popular; big surprise. We have 300 million people in the country now, not 50, and there are a LOT fewer places to hunt--and less game when you get there. The creek where I used to hunt doves with my dad has a mall on it now (really). We used to drive for 20 minutes to get to a deer lease that was virtually free; now it's hours away, and instead of just sharing your kill with a friendly rancher, you pay big bucks--per gun--for a few days of pretty poor hunting compared to what it once was. Being a hunter takes a lot more effort and money than it once did, and it's no longer a cheap way to put food on the table. Small wonder it's losing popularity--and it's NOT because of the media or the antis.
Other than hunting, IMO, the shooting sports are more popular, more diverse, and bigger business than they've ever been. This is a Golden Age for shooters in the US, and better than it's ever been in a LOT of ways, with more events, more organizations, and more GUNS than my dad or granddad could have dreamed of.
If you haven't noticed any of that, you must be way under 40 or not paying attention. If you GO to any of these events, by the way, you'll notice that it's not all old geezers there, either. It's been said that "if you never had it, you don't know what you're missing," and that's true; but if you've ALWAYS had it, you don't know what you've gained, either.
I just don't get the poor-us pessimism and misery that I see here so often. If you go to anti-gun websites, you'll see that they're on the run and they know it. They've lost, and continue to lose, on CCW--and they themselves thought that that was their most important battle. CCW is spreading, and all the predictions of blood in the streets have left the predictors with large amounts of egg on their faces. They admit that even handgun-only bans just aren't in the cards right now, and that they don't have enough support in Congess to do much of anything. They HATE subcompacts, but they don't even go there because they know it's hopeless. They're forced to use phony statistics and outright lies to support their case, and now that CBS, NBC, ABC and the New York Times aren't the only sources for news, that doesn't work like it once did. Even their BS about "assault rifles" is getting called more often than not, not least because *more people than ever before* OWN THEM.
Call me a Pollyanna, I don't care. What I know is this; in a couple of months, if nothing tears loose, I will be walking around with a gun in my pocket and I will not be violating the law. I will be buying an AK from an Internet site in another state. I will be buying 1,000 rounds of ammo for it from another, and then a Colt SAA clone from still another, and ammo and leather for that from a fourth and a fifth. Then, if I have the time and the inclination, I will take my guns and ammo and will go play Matt Dillon (or Matt Damon) with live bullets to my heart's content with others who share my interest.
My dad would have loved all of that. He never had any of it, and I do. I say it's better than it's ever been, and except for the hunting, I think he'd agree with me.
Sure, I'd like to see all restrictions on firearms ownership and carry lifted. And while I'm at it, I'd like a supermodel girlfriend, my own Scotch distillery, and a couple of Bentleys. Things should be perfect--but that's never going to happen. They're pretty good right now, IMO, and it looks like they're going to get even better.
Now I'm going to cruise some other gun forums and look in on some gun auctions. Come to think of it, Dad would have liked both of those, too...
The gun culture is dying? The antis are winning? There are fewer shooters, and they're all ready for Social Security?
Give me a major break.
Don't think so. Time was when no one but a cop could carry in Texas, or in almost any other state; CCW barely existed, and "shall issue" laws were a shooter's pipe dream. Now CCW is sweeping the country, and more and more people are choosing to carry every day.
Notice the number of guns available that are suitable for CCW? I remember when the only guns around that might fit in a pocket were Chief's Specials, Detective Specials, Baby Brownings and PPKs, and various junk guns. You had .38, .380, and .25, and that was it. The only compact .45s were--well, there was the Colt Commander, and that was as compact as off-the-shelf .45s got. You had to pay a custom gunsmith big bucks to cut down a 1911 to a size that we take for granted today. I remember the stir when Detonics came out with the first factory compact; it was said that it would change the industry, and it did. Now compacts and subcompacts are thick on the ground, from EVERY maker, and that wouldn't be happening if there wasn't a demand. Hello? More shooters? What other reason is there?
Here's another measure: Holstermakers are totally backed up with orders. Some places, you have to wait four or five months for your order to be filled that used to take a couple of weeks. CCW has overwhelmed them and they're struggling to expand and catch up with the demand. Nice problems to have.
"Assault weapons"? In trouble? Please. I remember when NO ONE had an AK. You saw your occasional Mauser or Garand, but milsurps were so cheap and plentiful that they hardly counted; the rifle market was dominated by Remington, Winchester, Savage, and the like. Dealers were practically giving surplus guns away (a clean Mauser might cost you $25), and AKs were just unheard of. There was no interest and no demand, and the few collectors were in Hog
Heaven. Now you can buy AKs on the Internet as well as at your local gun shop, and even the crummy ones ain't $25. And by the way, if so few shooters are using the Internet, how are Gunbroker.com, Bud's, Classic Firearms, Atlantic, and all the dozens of other online retailers managing to stay in business?
Speaking of media, I can remember when there were maybe four or five gun magazines, and a couple of those looked like they were put out by high-school kids. Been to a newsstand lately? Combat this, tactical that, handguns, rifles, Old West, SWAT, concealed carry, on and on... Who's buying them all?
Fewer shooters? When I was a kid, "shooting sports" meant hunting, trap and skeet, and punching paper targets or tin cans. That was about it. No Second Chance shoot, no Steel Challenge, no practical combat shoots, no Cowboy Action, no steel silhouette, no blackpowder competitions--no anything but bullseye, clay pigeons and cans. Look at us now.
You want to practice practical combat shooting in live-fire competition, on realistic ranges? IPSC is for you. You want to put 10 rounds through the same hole at 200 meters with custom handbuilt rifles and handloaded wildcat cartridges? Benchrest clubs are ready to have you. You want to shoot long-range steel targets with an 1880 buffalo rifle? There's an organization, competitions, and a website. You want to shoot REALLY long range with a .50? Here's your club. You want to dress up like Wild Bill Hickok (or Bat Masterson) and have fast-draw competition, even across a card table or on horseback? 1873 lever gun or BP shotgun shoots? Just bring your Stetson and your saddle, Cowboy Action is booming (no pun intended). There's even an event for NFA shooters who really, REALLY hate bowling pins.
And you can still shoot clay pigeons, targets and cans, too. Fewer shooters? There's never been more.
Yes, hunting is less popular; big surprise. We have 300 million people in the country now, not 50, and there are a LOT fewer places to hunt--and less game when you get there. The creek where I used to hunt doves with my dad has a mall on it now (really). We used to drive for 20 minutes to get to a deer lease that was virtually free; now it's hours away, and instead of just sharing your kill with a friendly rancher, you pay big bucks--per gun--for a few days of pretty poor hunting compared to what it once was. Being a hunter takes a lot more effort and money than it once did, and it's no longer a cheap way to put food on the table. Small wonder it's losing popularity--and it's NOT because of the media or the antis.
Other than hunting, IMO, the shooting sports are more popular, more diverse, and bigger business than they've ever been. This is a Golden Age for shooters in the US, and better than it's ever been in a LOT of ways, with more events, more organizations, and more GUNS than my dad or granddad could have dreamed of.
If you haven't noticed any of that, you must be way under 40 or not paying attention. If you GO to any of these events, by the way, you'll notice that it's not all old geezers there, either. It's been said that "if you never had it, you don't know what you're missing," and that's true; but if you've ALWAYS had it, you don't know what you've gained, either.
I just don't get the poor-us pessimism and misery that I see here so often. If you go to anti-gun websites, you'll see that they're on the run and they know it. They've lost, and continue to lose, on CCW--and they themselves thought that that was their most important battle. CCW is spreading, and all the predictions of blood in the streets have left the predictors with large amounts of egg on their faces. They admit that even handgun-only bans just aren't in the cards right now, and that they don't have enough support in Congess to do much of anything. They HATE subcompacts, but they don't even go there because they know it's hopeless. They're forced to use phony statistics and outright lies to support their case, and now that CBS, NBC, ABC and the New York Times aren't the only sources for news, that doesn't work like it once did. Even their BS about "assault rifles" is getting called more often than not, not least because *more people than ever before* OWN THEM.
Call me a Pollyanna, I don't care. What I know is this; in a couple of months, if nothing tears loose, I will be walking around with a gun in my pocket and I will not be violating the law. I will be buying an AK from an Internet site in another state. I will be buying 1,000 rounds of ammo for it from another, and then a Colt SAA clone from still another, and ammo and leather for that from a fourth and a fifth. Then, if I have the time and the inclination, I will take my guns and ammo and will go play Matt Dillon (or Matt Damon) with live bullets to my heart's content with others who share my interest.
My dad would have loved all of that. He never had any of it, and I do. I say it's better than it's ever been, and except for the hunting, I think he'd agree with me.
Sure, I'd like to see all restrictions on firearms ownership and carry lifted. And while I'm at it, I'd like a supermodel girlfriend, my own Scotch distillery, and a couple of Bentleys. Things should be perfect--but that's never going to happen. They're pretty good right now, IMO, and it looks like they're going to get even better.
Now I'm going to cruise some other gun forums and look in on some gun auctions. Come to think of it, Dad would have liked both of those, too...
