If they knew...

[strat81]

How would people react if they knew about your hobby/profession/obsession as it relates to firearms?
My parents were shocked (but not unhappy) when I bought a handgun. They "worry" if I told them I bought another. Co-workers would freak if they new I had a CHL. Not sure about the reaction I'd get from neighbors if they knew about my "ammo cache" of ~1K 9mm rounds. My in-laws still think I'm a bit weird for owning guns that you can't hunt with.

 

[Mikee Loxxer]

Only 1,000 rounds of pistol ammo? Thats nothing.

 

[carterbeauford]

My friends and loved ones know about my life choices and are comfortable with them!

My dad used to be real utilitarian, he has a 12 gauge and a 30/30 because that's all he needs to hunt with, then he saw how much fun some of my non sporting guns are.

Neighbors are heavily armed, and I know it, I am heavily armed, neighbors know it. Works out great.

 

[1911 guy]

Most people know about my "hobby".

Most of my friends and co-workers know I hunt and shoot as a hobby. A few know I "occasionally" carry a handgun. My immediate family (wife, Dad, etc.) know I have a "stash". The co-workers don't care, the friends are either ambivalent or interested and my family knows why I keep a few shotguns and such around the house. The few that know I carry a handgun know why and don't care.

People who would be freaked out by someone owning a firearm would be really freaked out by my explanations. So, they remain ignorant.

Neighbors are heavily armed, and I know it, I am heavily armed, neighbors know it. Works out great.

That is classic! Mind if I steal that occasionally?

 

[RNB65]

Co-workers would freak if they new I had a CHL.

What makes you think people will react negatively? Perhaps you're jumping to an incorrect conclusion?

I work in a liberal academic healthcare environment. Everyone knows that I own lots of guns and it's no secret that I have a concealed handgun permit. I frequently take co-workers shooting and I've successfully converted more than one anti-gun liberal into a gun-owning liberal.

 

[hso]

Gotta agree, why would they freak? Are you a reasonable responsible person that they all know they can depend upon to get the job done properly in a timely manner and without an conflict? Then they shouldn't freak over your hobby and you're missing an example to show them that TV and movies aren't real life. Don't flaunt it and don't hide it. Just be a shining example.

 

[carterbeauford]

1911 guy, honored to be quoted!

 

[Walkalong]

I have had people tell me " if it ever hits the fan, I'm coming to your house!"

 

[strat81]

What makes you think people will react negatively? Perhaps you're jumping to an incorrect conclusion?

Not a scientific poll, but my officemate has told me that 9mm should be banned because "They're much too powerful. Six-shooters are just fine." (Yes, there are a ton of things wrong with that statement.) And when I approached a friend at work about taking the CHL class with me, I was told. "Fists are all you need. Why do you need a gun?"

 

[DMK]

I'm occasionally shocked my some people's inferences.

I was having a discussion with a friend about violence one time. She commented "you should talk, look at all the guns you own". She was not what I'd call an anti-gun person either.

I still don't understand what merely owning guns has to do with violence.

 

[Mikee Loxxer]

Jeez Strat your profile says you live in Nebraska. The Nebraska I know (having lived here all of my 30+ years) is full of gun owners. Outside of Lincoln and Omaha you would be hard pressed to find a house without a gun. I have never really had anyone give me grief for being a firearms enthusiast, in fact it is usually just the opposite.

 

[Chuhhuniban]

I must say that my experiences have been mostly positive. I have taken two of my co-workers and taught them the fundamentals of pistol shooting. They all know I have a CWP and go to the range pretty frequently. Most know that I personal-carry occasionally and vehicle-carry all the time. Most, if not all my friends, know that I have a fair number of handguns and shoot a lot. Nobody seems too concerned. Maybe that's just Arizona and Montana (the places I spend my time)?

 

[g5reality]

I keep everything on the QT. My wife knows I have guns but doesn't really know how many. My UPS driver has my cell phone and calls before delivery, she, Wife, has no Idea how much ammo I have stored. Neighbors, friends, other family know little or nothing. Better that way. They all know I shoot and have guns but that's about it. Like my CHL, CCW, CWP, CHP, you're not supposed to know. It's concealed. Out of sight out of mind, peace of mind.

 

[BADUNAME13]

Doubletap

 

[BADUNAME13]

I have it easy, I'm a Marine. 'people' EXPECT it of me. 'Well, you're trained for that.' (They don't get that the best training is nonmilitary.)
Family got used to it a LONG time ago. (When I was about 16 and made my first profitable gun deal.)

Guys at work know that I'm the gunnut, and make fun of me... but who do they bring their guns to when they have a problem...

Now if they knew VOLUME!... they'd probably have me commited!

 

[Hoppy590]

my friends know i have guns. they refer to my paycheck as my "Munitions budget". and if i ever have a rough week, they know where il be. the gun shop or range.

 

[Essex County]

Relatives and close friends know about my hobby and philosifies. We have a couple that visit four or five times a year. These folks are about as liberal as can be and we have been close for about forty years. I take great delight in having a handgun tucked in my waistband when their car comes down drive. Nothing is ever said. Essex

 

[M2 Carbine]

I'm shocked when I run across someone that doesn't own a gun.

Even people I've never met know I have guns since I shoot at least several times a week in the back yard.
A neighbor once asked me if I was OK since he hadn't heard me shooting in a week or two.

One time at work while just sitting around we asked who has a gun in their car or (company) apartment. Just a couple people didn't.

I don't believe gun ownership should be hidden like there's something wrong with owning a gun and shooting or hunting.
People fear what they don't know and I think we should be educating people and showing them that owning a gun is something normal, done by normal people.

I wish Texas would allow open carry. Sometimes I'd carry open just to start conversations and maybe convert some "sinners".

I once laid my open wallet on the counter at Home Depot, showing my CHL, while I counted out some money. The check out girl saw the license and asked how she could get her carry license for her 9mm.

 

[#shooter]

Only 1,000 rounds of pistol ammo? Thats nothing.

You will know it is enough when you have to reinforce your building structure to accommodate the weight of the safes and ammo.

It's on a need to know basis and friends and family don't need to know. It is funny because they all have an idea but no one has seen it all except the wife. Kind of like several people describing a elephant while blindfolded.

 

[strat81]

Jeez Strat your profile says you live in Nebraska. The Nebraska I know (having lived here all of my 30+ years) is full of gun owners. Outside of Lincoln and Omaha you would be hard pressed to find a house without a gun. I have never really had anyone give me grief for being a firearms enthusiast, in fact it is usually just the opposite.

It's not guns that are the issue, it's semi-automatic handguns. For example, a friend of my fiance's (she's the native Nebraskan) has a few AR-15s and a bunch of shotguns. Another friend routinely has a shotgun in his pickup and with him at college. Both are around my age (mid 20s). When I first started looking into buying a handgun, I asked them both for advice. Their responses were identical: "What do you need a pistol for?"

Same thing for the office: it's not uncommon to hear about hunting and stuff. But the fact that I own and carry a pistol (a black, semi-automatic, "evil" one at that) is a big no-no around here.

<Buries head in the sand> LA LA LA! Nothing bad ever happens in rural areas! LA LA LA! <removes head from the sand> It's sad, but too many people think that way (and not just in NE!).

 

[SamTuckerMTNMAN]

I enjoy

rocking the boat of perceptions........its funny, people who know me at 'work' would never guess the sides of me that train and shoot regularly. I have had a lot of fun explaining, quite peacefully and articulately, why I own guns, more than one, and ones not used for hunting, and the ridiculous nature of assault rifle fears. Just me being who I am, I think, helps the cause because I dispel some of the fears and myths they have been told or come to believe on their own.

Of course, this last weekend my neighbors stopped by to shoot a little. They were taken aback by web gear, gloves, goggles, boots, knives, and lots and lots of guns

and even more by my wife who looked the same.....in sandals

ST

 

[scout26]

I took 9 of my co-workers Pheasant Hunting (at a local preserve) last fall, 3 had never even fired a gun before. I took them out to my club for some basic instruction, the Four Rules etc, and some trap/skeet practice before a couple of weeks before the hunt. They can't wait to go again next year and two of my co-workers have expressed an interest/are planning on going to deer camp.

Yeah, and this is in Illinois and we work in Chicago.

I had a non-shooting/hunting friend over to the house a couple months ago and he saw my "stockpile" of shotgun ammo. He wanted to know how much I had. I figured it at roughly 10,000 rounds (12, 20 and .410, and yes, I reload).

Him: What do you need so much ammo for ???
Me: Trap, Skeet, Hunting, Zombies.
Him: Zombies ??? There are no Zombies !!!
Me: Your Welcome, That's because I used to have about 20,000 rounds.
Him:

 

[XD Fan]

I am an English teacher that collects books, listens to Beethoven, loves the theater, and spends a lot of vacation time traveling to where the best art museums are. I talk about these things a lot to friends, colleagues, and students.

Many people give me an odd look when I mention (and I always will eventually) my hunting, shooting, or even my fishing hobbies. They can't seem to make these things all fit in their minds. I get statements like, "I would not have pictured you as the hunting type."

My response is ussually something like, "Look, I am a cultured good ol' boy." It takes people a while to figure me out.

That's okay with me. Let people see that they cannot make others fit into a mold.

In the end, as far as I know, I have never lost a friendship once people find out I am a gunny. In fact, I have been ask to take the sons of non-shooting friends to the range. My wife's best friend wants me to teach her to shoot. My students that hunt and shoot come to me for advice on what to read and what gun to use for a particular task.

Just be real with people. Guns are a part of who we are; let's talk about them and create positive images to counteract the negative media images.

 

[XD Fan]

Scout,

I love the zombie conversation. Thanks for the smile.

 

[Auslander]

Only 1k 9mm?

Only 1k 9mm?

I have 80-32 round magazines I take to the range and empty through my 9mm subgun once a month.

I have a pallet of Winchester White Box in the corner.