Gun magazines and people's reactions to them

[Yohan]

So, I was at a Debate tournament this weekend, and I was really surprised at how many people were shocked and appalled at the fact that I was reading a *gasp* gun magazine. It was the annual Guns&Ammo buyer's guide, and a countless number of people acted like they were shocked at the fact that I was reading a gun magazine at such a "sophisticated" event. One guy even called me a creep for reading a "gun magazine". Of course, he tried to bring up the fact that guns kill people, and I gave him the example of cars and knives and he quickly shut up. Do you ever get funny looks for looking through a gun magazine? As for me, I'm going to keep on reading gun magazines, hell- I'll make SURE that I bring a gun magazine to every single Debate Tournament I goto now.

By the way, I thought the magazine was very informative. I loved the article on the SAA. I've always preffered Semi's over Revolvers, but that article did much to change me. Still hate Glocks though.

 

[JeremyIA]

I get a free Gunsite calendar in the mail every year and I hang it behind my desk at work. I keep issues of G&A and Petersen's Hunting in the bathroom for "quality reading material". An issue came to me through the military mail distribution system while I was taking a class at Fort Jackson, SC. Some guy in my class gave me a funny look and asked me if that was appropriate material to have delivered to the classroom. I shook my head and told him that ignorance must be bliss.

 

[coonan357]

you should see the looks when you read one on an airplane and this was Pre9/11!!!

 

[Gnull]

I have trouble finding Gun Magazines at all in Canada.. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough.. Heh.. maybe its because I'm in a town that plays host to art's campuses, and it would frighten all the lefties... hmm... Wonder how my political studies lecture class would react to me bringing in an issue of SoF magazine... well..

Last time I tried to strike up a conversation about firearms at my campus (Trent University), I was blamed for supporting the First World War (funny as it ended 64 years before my birth).. Someone in my dorm told me that "World War one was fought with guns. And that if I support firearms I support War and killing." wow.. My sincere apologies to the world at large.. I did not realize that I am solely responsible for one of the greatest conflicts of the century. :banghead: I told him that WW1 would have been fought with swords and crossbows had firearms ceased to exist... to which he returned to answering machine mode of "people shouldn’t have guns" repeated to each and every one of my arguments.. It's like he had some kind of anti-logic force field, in which rational arguments, and statistical and historical information just bounced right off him..

Hmm.. Looks like I've gone a bit off topic of the original thread.. Oops..

 

[dairycreek]

I'm retired now!

But, before I retired I was a Dean in higher education. Higher education is an absolute bastion of liberal thinking in America and as anti gun as can be. Often I would stay in my office for lunch and bring out a copy of Guns and Ammo while I ate my sandwich. The looks I received from faculty and other administrators were from terror to horror but, being a Dean, not much was said. On the other hand many of the students were from rural regions, were very much pro gun, and they thought I was "cool". Go figure. Good shooting

 

[gun-fucious]

i find reading Shotgun News on the DC Metro to be entertaining

sometimes i get a whole seat to myself

 

[bad_dad_brad]

Ya know, I tend to hide it with a Newsweek on top. Just like if I am buying a Playboy. Silly I know. But then, there are those days, when I just brazenly shove it out there, specially at the Grocery store, to the gasps of all the soccer mommys.

Most of the time I am discreet but not ashamed.

 

[Fly320s]

you should see the looks when you read one on an airplane and this was Pre9/11!!!

Try reading a SWAT magazine with a photo of an "evil assault rifle" on an airplane while wearing a pilot uniform.

Funny thing, most people never say a word to me.

 

[Gopher]

Every time I get a summons for jury duty I make it a point to take one with me to read while waiting. I have yet been picked for a jury. Coincidence, I think not.

 

[Standing Wolf]

There's a market near my house that gets no business from me: no gun magazines in the racks.

I used to shop at Border's, but no longer: no gun magazines in the racks.

 

[bad_dad_brad]

Gopher,

Good one. I must try that sometime. That I work for an insurance company usually exempts me.

 

[bad_dad_brad]

Standing Wolf,

Our local Borders carries plenty of gunzines. But our local Barnes & Noble carries more. I live in the middle of Illinois, half way between Chicago and St. Louis.

 

[coonan357]

the borders on 95th st In the beverly district of Chicago Had one of the widest assortment of firearms magazines and books !! go figure......not allowed to own firearms but got the books?? but I noticed there was a layer of dust on some of them , Also got a dirty look from the check out clerk . when I said didn't need a gift reciept there for me . Hey flying 320 I want to fly on your airline !! could you imagine the looks from passengers when discussing weapons ??

 

[Hardtarget]

My wife had surgery ten days ago. Several of us were in the hospital cafeteria waiting for her to be taken to a room. I pull out a magazine to read. My son,sitting across from me, saw several odd looks as different people walked by. There were no comments made that I know of. I think I've got good responses ready when the time comes.
Mark.

 

[jsalcedo]

I used to buy about 7 or 8 gun rags for long plane trips.
This might sound chicken**** but now I put them in my carry on
bag so I don't get hassled by the fedtards.

It was funny sitting in the 737 emergency row face to face seats
with a pile of Gun world, SWAT, SOF, Janes, American handgunner
and some survivalist newspaper. Once I finished reading I made sure to pepper them throughout the magazine pockets as I left the plane.

 

[Mike Irwin]

When I was working for American Rifleman I took a copy of an issue along to the endodontist with me to read while I was in the waiting room and in between phases of my root canal.

I was sitting with it on my lap, and the endo, a very nice Indian lady, noticed I was really nervous. I told her I'm scared as all hell of drills, the dentist, etc.

She looked at me, then the magazine, and said something like "but you're not afraid of guns?"

"No, but I'm the one with the guns, you're the one with the drill...."

That cracked her up, and she never said word one about me leaving back issues in her waiting room.

 

[geegee]

I fly quite a bit on my job (though not as much as I used to), and believe me, if I'm on a plane there's more than acouple of gun and knife magazines I'll read during the flight. I probably get less looks on the plane than from the goofy, New Age-pierced tongue-bitter feminists that populate most Barnes & Nobles. geegee

 

[WonderNine]

Once I finished reading I made sure to pepper them throughout the magazine pockets as I left the plane.

Haha!

 

[WhoKnowsWho]

There's another guy at my work who reads him, but he is also an *** most of the time so most people don't even talk to him... me on the other hand.

Annual Buyer's Guide: "Don't you have enough guns yet?"
Me, "I'd much rather look at guns I can't afford right now than look at different colored tile and carpet to make my house multicolored" Which is what they were doing.

RC Car magazine: "You actually play with those things?"
Me, "It's a hobby, it's fun, it's better than wrecking a real car." Which that person had done a year or so earlier.

Now at least, people seem more used to it. And there are actually a large number of gun owners who work there that I never knew about. Too bad none of them ever actually go use them. One guy as 2 new Glocks, 1 and a half years old, never fired. Another guy has 3 or AK-47 rifles, new. I told them I would gladly take them to the range to play with my guns!

 

[BerettaNut92]

No one's given me any comments, but I try to be discreet.

Couldn't help it on the airplane, but no one mentioned it.

 

[Aikibiker]

Wow, that sounds awful. I have never had to put up with bigotry just because of my choice of reading material. Then again I live in Florida where half the population has a pistol in the glovebox and we actually like guns.

I have gotta try the airplane trick though, I could use a good argument where I get to call someone a nazi.

 

[rick458]

Heck Man: where I work, we have Shooting times, American Handgunner, Small Arms Review, Shotgun News, Gun List, Combat Handguns, every car mag you can think of, and much boating and woodworking/home working mags.
But FHM Maxim, etc.. is verbotten. its a sexual harassment preventitive. I like the gunmags better the others are just a tease

 

[sixgun_symphony]

I usually buy my gun magazines at the Pike Place Market, then buy a hotdog and coke from the shop next to the newspaper stand, then walk over to the public seating area by the donut shop to eat and read.

No hassles, no ugly looks, and this is downtown Seattle.

 

[Marshall]

In Oklahoma I have very few problems with reading material!

There was this one dude at a convenience store that was waiting in line to use the ATM that kept watching me as I was looking thru the gun rags. Hell, I wear a suit and tie folks, look more like Gov't man than I do a guy that would cause trouble, except I dress better. So anyway, after hearing a couple of whispers, I turned around, lowered my sunglasses and looked over the top of them at this dude and said, is there a problem I need to be aware of? NO Sir! I just smiled and took a magazine up to the counter, paid and walked out giggling.

 

[Kahr carrier]

I got weird looks when ,I took Soldier Of Fortune magazine to jury duty.