how to deal with friends who are sort of anti-gun...

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noob_shooter

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Got some friends. They would ask me to take them out to shoot and whatever, but when i asked them about WI passing CCW, they all were like, "no...it's too dangerous."

Anyways, to make it short, they seem to enjoy shooting guns (my guns), but when talked about guns in depth, they tend to lean towards the anti-gun section..

Gets on my nerves sometime and i may not take them to the range anymore. Worst of all, I'm the one buying all the ammos anyway..:cuss::cuss::cuss:
 
Trust me, i have tried to give them details about CCW and why it is good.. bla bla. You can't send a message across people like them.

I'm gonna be shooting a lot this summer and none are coming along... It's almost like, "oh, I love deer meat and you should keep giving me some whenever you get one, but I don't wanna hunt.."

Actuall i do know people who are like that too.. I love fishing and hunting and they love to eat fish and game meat, yet won't do neither of those. Some are even somewhat against hunting...
 
1: let them know you are happy to take them shooting, BUT they need to bring their own ammo, period. Moochs suck, real men and women pay their own way.
2: I can understand being pro gun and still not wanting to carry, CCW is just one facet of our 2nd amendment rights.
 
not sure about you guys, but Anti-gunners and PETA people get on my nerves when they tell me what i should and shouldn't do... Ran into a few PETA out in the woods.....arrrgg.. but kept it cool :)
 
Gets on my nerves sometime and i may not take them to the range anymore. Worst of all, I'm the one buying all the ammos anyway..
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Just keep setting the hook. It sometimes a LONG time to embed, but when it does they'll be fine. Kind of like converted catholic becoming more catholic than the pope. As to the ammo, if it's really a burden then ask nicely. If it's not then I'd buy for a while at least. To me it's worth a considerable amount to not lose a prospect due to money. But, that's your call, and you have to live with your finances etc.
 
Well I have a brother who refuses to touch even a .22 and another friend who does not want to pay any money at the range to contribute to the evil gun companies (though she will go if I pay)
 
Gets on my nerves sometime and i may not take them to the range anymore. Worst of all, I'm the one buying all the ammos anyway..
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People appreciate and respect what they have to buy more than what they are given.

Do you go to, or have available, a commercial range that rents guns and sells ammo? Offer to take them shooting, but tell them this time they have to rent a gun and buy their own ammo and bring or rent eye and ear protection. Make it sound like the gun rental and ammo purchase is a fun part of their increasing participation. (don't let it sound like a grudging attempt to be cheap.) Encourage them to handle several guns; *suggest* what to look for in weight, feel, etc. Whatever they choose, don't argue with the choice. The whole point is to let THEM do it.

Their response to your offer will tell you if they really want to shoot or just be entertained. If they say no, let them know the offer is always on the table.
 
If they seem like "projects" for conversion to pro gun, by all means work on them. If you are looking for "friends" that share your gun enthusiasm, just go to the range alone. You'll meet LOTS of people who are friendly, and are ALSO pro gun. Participating in just about any shooting event or competition leads to growing friendships.
 
I have many friends that are slightly anti or neutral on the subject. Most cannot understand my passion for hunting, few turn down my invitation for a dinner of molasses cured venison ham.

My in-laws were hard-core anti-gun, anti-hunting. They softened that stance after a meal of mallard duck stuffed with wild rice and cattail roots. After the meal of barbecued venison ribs and finding out that venison is more 'heart-healthy' than beef, my father in law and my husband made plans for a deer hunt. Sometimes the most convincing argument is 'pass the meat platter.'
 
My wife grew up in California, and was pretty gun shy when I met her. She didn't believe that they should be illegal, but she did think that they were dangerous and scary. I remember popping the lid on a pelican case and she got really skiddish, and I hadn't even taken them out of the box yet. But, after 3 years or so, now she will ask me if I have my gun when we are out and about. She's learned that me having my pistol simply means that I can deal with a bad situation if it should arise, but other than that it stays on my hip and kills nobody. She's shot pretty much everything in my safe, but still chooses not to. Some people never like guns, but they can be shown what responsible ownership is. Good luck!
 
Maybe they are still nervous enough about guns that they don't trust themselves to carry. It takes some people a LONG time to get over that, if they ever do. Doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't be friends with them.
 
With me, it depends on how they approach the gun issue. I have a few friends that don't like guns and don't have any interest in owning them, and I can deal with that, but if they actively contribute to or work towards anti-gun efforts, then the friendship is on a downhill role............

To the OP, keep taking them shooting when you can, I've seen more than one person that leaned towards anti-gun thinking, that when they got some actual exposure to guns, came around, or at least didn't fear them as much.

Which is the other side of the coin I have never understood, the number of virulent anti-gun people, that when questioned, it turns out they have absolutely zero first hand experience with guns???
 
thanks.. I've taken them several times before. Of course, next time, i'm gonna have them pay and like one poster here mentioned, have my friends rent the guns...

Seriously, I think it's impossible to turn them around.. I use to think they may be in-betweeners, but now it seems they are probably 30% pro gun and 70% anti-gun. I spoke with one the other day about CCW in WI and it wasn't fun.. It's not about trusting themselves with guns, but more of, "i think we shouldn't have any guns unless we use it for hunting.."

One even asked me, "why do you have handguns for? You don't hunt with them..." I responded, "for recreational usage and for self defense...just in case.." He then responded, "well, if you need guns for self defense, it's time for you to move somewhere safer..." I just stopped... Soon, it may be something like, "if you can hunt with bows, why do you need to hunt with guns?" ..

anyways, i'm narrowing down my 'friends' these days.. Glad my girlfriend isn't anti-gun or i'd drop her cold.. she actually wants one and want me to train her.. :)
 
Get new friends.
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I respectfully disagree. In my experience, the more time people spend around firearms and the more they get involved in the shooting sports, the less anti-gun they are. It doesn't happen overnight, in must cases. Stay friends with them; keep taking them shooting. They may not come around 100% right away, but keep going until you tip the balance.

My answer to the "CCW is too dangerous" attitude is to ask the person if he/she would feel safer knowing that the only people carrying concealed weapons are the hardcore criminals.
 
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I'll be your friend Noob Shooter, especially if it means trading game and rounds through guns we don't have in common.
 
There's a difference between "anti-gun" and simply "not pro-gun".

"Anti-gun" you just disassociate with, but "not pro-gun" is an opportunity to teach. You can show them where CCW is not dangerous, you can show them where anti-gun laws do no good (and actually do some harm).

Maybe you can get them to come around.


Oh and yeah, you need to get them to pitch in for the ammo they're burning up or stop taking them to the range (or at least make them buy you dinner and drinks afterward).
 
Lol, I always pay for the ammo too. My friends aren't anti-gun though, the problem is only one of my friends owns guns besides me. The ones that don't own guns are fine with me CCWing, and love shooting my guns.
 
My friends think ten bucks is enough to chip in for an afternoon...


Guess what...
 
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