Gun snobbery

[CGofMP]

I see a problem in our community, and I think it is high time that we start thinking less of our little niche and look at the big picture - for that is what our enemies are doing, and if we are not careful we shall play right into their hands and be destroyed not so much by their actions, but by our own inactions as a group.


I put together a webpage on this very thing a year or so ago. I won't repeat it all here, but the fact is that when we dis each other we DO play into the hands of the gun grabbers. When your 'saturday night special' somehow becomes lesser, or by owning it in my eyes YOU become lesser because the only thing that *I* shoot are custom sniper rifles ... well.. it is my contention that we have just set it up so that it is easier for the gun grabbers to throw one of us a 'deal' and therefore put a wedge between us as gun owners.

This allows to the incrementalism of gun banning as a whole. You know the old saw about slowly boiling a frog to death and all that...

In any case, nobody has a place to participate in such stupidity. It hurts ALL of us.

Be proud of what you have, shoot well with it, but if you want to keep your OWN arms, then you better not allow yourself to fall into the trap of looking down on others because of THEIR personal choice of arms.

You can read what I wrote on my website about this last year if you are further interested in this. In addition if you agree and have your own websites you can take the join or die flag graphic below or one of the smaller sized ones on the page linked above and place it on your site.

Take care,
Charles

 

[Cosmoline]

It's like everything else, people form cliques and define themselves by excluding others. It's one reason I shy away from the shotgun range. To clubby, too upper crust. I'm down wit the plebes at the rifle range.

One of my favorite moments came when a fellow I know, a local attorney of ample girth and notorious TV spots who shall remain nameless, took up position at the table next to me and brought a double gun out that must have cost twice as much as my car. To my ever-lasting satisfaction, my Yugo M-48 outshot his nitro.

 

[whm1974]

Be proud of what you have, shoot well with it, but if you want to keep your OWN arms, then you better not allow yourself to fall into the trap of looking down on others because of THEIR personal choice of arms.

I have kidded people before but never put them down on thier choice of guns. Personally I think it was the rich people doing skeet and trap who started all this, not withstanding that they owned other firearms such as handguns as well. The next group who made the most noise about "ugly and evil" looking weapons were hunters. The second group did(and is doing) the most damage. After all they are the ones going on how no needs a AK-47 or an UZI to hunt with, like hunting is the only reason to own a gun to begin with. Come to think of it, most gun owners don't even hunt.

Just my view

-Bill

 

[benEzra]

SKS's are great guns, and have a heck of a lot more history behind them than most Remchesters. My wife has a Russian SKS (1952 Tula) and loves it. To my knowledge, it has NEVER malfunctioned.

When my wife first got into shooting and wanted a defense gun, all we could afford was a Raven .25. But she was a good shot with it, and it never malfunctioned.

I once shot at the range with the new head of security at a small college, whose personal nightstand gun was either a Lorcin or Jennings .380, IIRC, because that was all he could afford. Anyone who criticizes someone's gun--or their car or house, for that matter--because it costs less than theirs, is a jerk.

 

[rust collector]

I hope I never get so old

That I'm not fascinated by the next guy's arsenal. Guns are fun, and there are wide variations among every type that only the discerning student can appreciate. When someone disparages your property, chances are they would like to buy it, are too ignorant to know what they're dealing with, or both.

Might be fun to see if the ordnance expert will demonstrate his fine arsenal. Could be a chance to shoot some fine old iron, and if you outshoot him, well, he may learn something in spite of himself.

 

[Piney]

Boy, I sure see there are a lot of politics and “I’m better than you†going on at a lot of gun clubs. Maybe I’m just too old to care about trivia and pay no attention, but I don’t run into it. No bragging but I could afford to buy just about any gun on the market and I prefer to shoot my old 142A Mossberg or High Standard Sentinel that I’ve been shooting for about a 100 years. I can also put 10 clips in a quarter size group at 50 yards with the rifle.
I was talking to a few of the guys the other day and said I had ordered a Springfield XD in 9mm. I did start to get some flack on buying a plastic gun with a pea shooter cartridge, but I just laugh it off and tell them to f… off cause I’ll still probably beat them with their $2,500 customs.

 

[shep854]

Hang loose, because some of these folks may just be pulling your leg a little. Yes, we've all had the snobs belittle our firearms, but some of it may be in fun. Beware lest we turn out to be the snobs.

 

[Kaylee]

Boy, I sure see there are a lot of politics and “I’m better than you†going on at a lot of gun clubs.

That's a shame..

That's one of the reasons I liked the EE-Da-How or whatnot range down south of Boise so much. Just plain good people running it, and shooting at it. On any given day, you could see anything from an ol' geezer playing with his original 19th century smokepole to one of the local high-tech-gunsmithy folks test firing exotic full auto stuff to see if their new suppressors were up to snuff.

The most common reaction speaking with someone was "hey.. that's cool! Wanna shoot what I brought? Here's a mag!"

Friendly folks.

Oh, and WH -- don't let 'em get you down on the SKS. My first rifle was one of those, and while I doubt I'll ever buy another, it's a dandy little piece.


-K

 

[armoredman]

The last time I went shooting, a nice older gent came down to admire my Mosin M38. I offered him a chance to shoot it, and he politely declined, but offered me a chance to shoot his original Springfield Trap Door 45-70. That was fun! Gee, I guess you could call that one a "milsurp" too!

 

[Nathanael_Greene]

...a Raven .25. ... it never malfunctioned.

Send it to the Smithsonian--it must be the only one! (Just kidding.)

I think gun snobbery is just an extension of the snobbery we see everywhere else, be it cars, golf clubs, clothes, wine, zip code, political party, toothpaste, girlfriends, religion, pizza, investments, or anything else you care to name.

 

[entropy]

Hey, WH, if you make it out to my shoot Saturday, I doubt you'll find any gunsnobbery. More like what Kaylee described, minus the full-autos, unfortunately. (Neither I nor any of my friends can afford one... ) It'll be a lot of "Hey, wanna try my {take your pick: Mosin, Kel-Tec, Saiga (if John shows up) Mauser, etc. I have about 200 rounds of 7.62x39, BTW. [Hint, hint.] Some stripper clips, even. }
I personally will preface my comments on guns with, "I've heard..." or "I've seen..." if I haven't personally shot one (preferably several) , and "It's been my experience that.." , "I've found that.." or in case of the M16, M1911A1, M9, M10 M&P, and M60, "Well, gosh, all I ever did was fix them a bit in the Army, and occasionally shot them... "
Hope to see you and your "cheap Commie guns" Saturday, WH!

 

[SteveS]

After all they are the ones going on how no needs a AK-47 or an UZI to hunt with, like hunting is the only reason to own a gun to begin with. Come to think of it, most gun owners don't even hunt.

...but most hunters own guns. I hear the "you don't need _____ to hunt" a fair amount, especially now that it is an election year. Most of these comments seem to come from people that are neither gun owners or hunters. I don't know any hunters that are supportive of gun control, though I realize there are probably some.

 

[Edmond]

I hear the "you don't need _____ to hunt" a fair amount, especially now that it is an election year. Most of these comments seem to come from people that are neither gun owners or hunters.

Well maybe they should hunt with bow and arrows?

I've never encountered any snobbery at the range, though I've yet to take the "evil" Kalashnikov out yet!

 

[gunnerclark]

I have a Mossberg 500 12 gauge. Bought it in high school from a small hardware shop in Ky. I will NEVER sell this one.
I was looking to see if I could get an aftermarket raised safety for it. The safety was a little stiff and smaller then I liked.
I went to a gunshop in Lenexa Kansas. I walked in and asked him if he had something like this. He asked what type of shotgun did I have. When I showed him the mossberg his comment of "Oh. A WalMart shotgun."
Well that pissed me off and I never went back there again. The guys at The Bullet Hole in Overland park were always nice, and respectful.. No matter what I had. They got my business.

 

[aerod1]

There are some people in, every walk of life (including the gun culture), who try to make their own candle shine brighter by blowing someone elses out.
I have guns of different price ranges and I still love to shoot my SKS's, Mosin Nagants and my other inexpensive milsurps. Paying a high price doesn't neccessarily gaurantee you a quality firearm. Milsurps are fun and inexpensive to shoot. What is not to like about them?
Shoot your SKS and enjoy yourself. If you lived in Texas I'd certainly go shooting with you and all we would take is our Siminov rifles.
When I go to the range, I am not trying to impress anyone. The only person I am competing against is myself. That is also the person I am trying to please.

Good shooting,

Jim

 

[XLMiguel]

"It is a poor workman that blames his tools."

"A fool with a tool is still a fool."

In all the 'sports' that I have dabbled in, including cars, motorcycles, bicycles, sail & power boats, guns, archery, fishing, etc; there always seems to be a class of participant who substitutes expensive equipment for practice, perserverance, and discipline, and in turn, belittles those who don't/can't throw money at 'the problem', but somehow seem to out-perform the over-monied dillitants.

Yeah, good gear (and $$$) can certainly make a difference, all other things being equal, in the end, the only thing that matters is the results.

Illegitimi non est carborundum (don't let the bastards weqar you down )

 

[Declaration Day]

I find it disheartening to see people act this way. There was a time when I, too, played the "Look at me and what I can afford" game, but I dropped out of it a long time ago and am much happier now.

The best thing you can do when someone is a) Boasting about what they have, or b) Criticizing what you have, is to not react at all. If there's one thing a snob likes more than hearing himself talk, it's getting his desired reaction from you.

 

[Strings]

I remember getting one bit of snobbery: right after I git my Winchester '87 back from the gunsmith (had the barrel shortened a bit), I took it trap shooting. One of the guys on the squad (shooting a Ruger Red Label, IIRC) started going on about "that thing's gonna explode!". I proceeded to outshoot him with my 100+year old, 22inch no-choke barrel, levergun...

 

[White Horseradish]

"It is a poor workman that blames his tools."

I like the Russian version of that:
"To a bad dancer his own nuts are an obstacle"

 

[Wildalaska]

There are some people in, every walk of life (including the gun culture), who try to make their own candle shine brighter by blowing someone elses out.

How true...I was always taught that the mark of true classs is not flaunting what you have. I ve alwys taken that to heart...when I was dating Pam Anderson before she was ruined by the rock and roll idiot, I alwys asked her to wear shapelesss clothes so that we wouldnt cause a scene...I use camo tape on my Perazzis...every year, when I get my new Ferari, I put dents into it with a ball peen hammer so that it deosnt outshine everyhting else on the road...

WildcallmewinstonworthingtonfrothingsloshIVAlaska

 

[spartacus2002]

You dated Pam Anderson too?

Spartacusveryjealousnow2002

 

[mohican]

Gun Snobbery?

Try being the lone handgun hunter in a group of slug gun shooters during deer season

 

[Wildalaska]

You dated Pam Anderson too?

Right after she dumped ya...she told me that size matters

WilddadadadadadadadadadachingAlaska

 

[R.H. Lee]

IfyagotitflauntitIalwayssay

 

[perry1963]

That would have been a good reply, no your not being overly sensitive, i've always loved the 1911 auto but when i was younger i could not afford a colt, which to many back than was the only thing good in that model, but when i bought my first one i saved $100 by buying a clone from randall arms, that was almost 20 years ago and the gun is still in great condition, plus look at the 1911 market now, colt is near the bottom of the list and i have bought several 1911's since my first and only 1 of them is from colt.