i understand, 11b. at the moment, my "office" has two desks, both of which are covered with reloading equipment. i have a room dedicated to reloading. my garage is full of targets and misc stuff. my den has a huge safe. my living room has a large pile of magazines i've been loading and empty cases of ammo... 3 of the 4 seats in my truck are covered with range bags, chronographs, etc...
it's not that you're ashamed of your hobby, you just want to manage your first impressions. if i was into mountain climbing, my house/truck would look the same, just with different kit.
the situation is exacerbated by dang near everyone in my small town knows i'm into competitive shooting. and they always want to tell me about their gun or their dad's gun, etc. so even though i never bring up the topic, EVERYONE else does. if i were into horseback riding, it would be the same. everybody would want to tell me they had a horse when they were 16 or their uncle has a horse farm. it's just human nature.
i can see how that would freak a new girlfriend out. (fortunately i'm married and don't need to impress new girlfriends...)
my advice would be... first and foremost, always keep a calm, even, friendly demeanor. no drama. no crises. no "OMG BLACK HELLICOPTRSS@!!". no "cold dead hands" t-shirts. no woodland camo clothing. no "don't tread on me" bumperstickers. no politics. project sanity. never take offense at anything. never ever do anything even remotely threatening, even jokingly.
second, don't hide them, but any time your gun hobby comes up, mention safety. stress that they are just tools (part of many for common sense defense). or good investments, or collectors items of historical value, or whatever non-walter-mitty reasons you own them.
it's not that you're ashamed of your hobby, you just want to manage your first impressions. if i was into mountain climbing, my house/truck would look the same, just with different kit.
the situation is exacerbated by dang near everyone in my small town knows i'm into competitive shooting. and they always want to tell me about their gun or their dad's gun, etc. so even though i never bring up the topic, EVERYONE else does. if i were into horseback riding, it would be the same. everybody would want to tell me they had a horse when they were 16 or their uncle has a horse farm. it's just human nature.
i can see how that would freak a new girlfriend out. (fortunately i'm married and don't need to impress new girlfriends...)
my advice would be... first and foremost, always keep a calm, even, friendly demeanor. no drama. no crises. no "OMG BLACK HELLICOPTRSS@!!". no "cold dead hands" t-shirts. no woodland camo clothing. no "don't tread on me" bumperstickers. no politics. project sanity. never take offense at anything. never ever do anything even remotely threatening, even jokingly.
second, don't hide them, but any time your gun hobby comes up, mention safety. stress that they are just tools (part of many for common sense defense). or good investments, or collectors items of historical value, or whatever non-walter-mitty reasons you own them.
