I'm now reluctant to loan out guns... to say the least.

[jsalcedo]

I'm usually generous with my possessions

I've loaned money, my car, lawnmower and a couple of occasions one of my guns.

No more.

The first one was a .45 cal percussion pistol that I enjoyed shooting from time to time. The friend I lent it to was instructed that 30 grains of fff
was the maximum charge.

The guy, who was my best friend at the time had a irresponsible crazy streak and he began upping the powder charge all the way to 100 grains
according to his brother.

When I got the gun back part of the hammer was missing the nipple was
long gone (probably disintigrated against the hammer) and it was filthy.

Never again. I just gave the percussion pistol to my friends brother as a wall hanger.

Next one was my ruger MKII. My dad had bought it for me when I was a kid. My dad calls me up and asks if his friend ( a guy he met recently could borrow it to see if it was worth buying.

Alarm bells went off immediately so I hesitated and stalled, turned out the guy had a history of mental illness and ended up commitiing suicide with someone elses gun.

I let my nephew use my SKS for an afternoon (he had turned 18 recently)

When he brought it back it turns out he had been bumping the muzzle on the concrete as he walked like the gun was some kind of frigging walking stick! The crown was severely bent up and gouged and my nephew just shrugged his shoulders like (whats the big deal?).

Never again. My guns are meant to be cared for and passed down to my son (who appreciates them as much as I do)

They are not walking sticks, PSI proof testers or suicide weapons. It just pisses me off to no end when people take the simplest responsibility for granted. /rant off/

 

[Devonai]

I'm sorry you have had such bad luck.

I'm borrowing my buddy's HK91. He wouldn't have loaned it to me if he didn't trust me, so you can bet I'd never risk betraying that trust by mistreating the weapon. Whether it be an expensive pre-ban rifle or a $50 .22 revolver, I always treat loaned firearms as if they were my own.

I used to have a roommate who had a CCW, but no pistol, and was hired for some alarm response work. I loaned him my Beretta 96, but not without hesistation. When I got it back, it was in perfect condition. We trusted each other, hence the loan, but the hesitation I had was that he would abuse it by accident, not on purpose. Soon he got his own pistol but our friendship was all the stronger for the experience.

 

[LiquidTension]

The only person I can think of that I loan my guns to is my brother, and then only when he's going to the range. It's not because I don't trust other family members/friends, but because if something happens to one of my weapons I want it to be my fault instead of someone else's. Is that strange?

 

[MAKOwner]

I wouldn't WANT to borrow anyone elses guns (or car, etc) unless my life depended on it for fear that I might mess whatever it is up. I don't like using stuff that isn't mine, and I don't like people using stuff that is mine...

 

[Ian11]

Your Weapon is Your Life

I have no problems letting other people shoot my guns but I have to be present. Esp. if they don't know how I want my guns to be treated. Guns are VERY VERY PERSONAL. EVERY OTHER WORLDLY POSSESSION I HAVE my dear family and friends are welcome to borrow or use..........*

But not weapons. Your weapon is your life. Your weapon is your friend. Your weapon is what's going to save you. You should always know where it is and what it is doing at all times. (Besides the potential legal issues) Your mentality should be like a soldier to his rifle or sword. And this bond should be stronger than a woman and her diamonds or a teenage kid to his car. **

Don't get me wrong this isn't about "materialism" but the right attitude one should have if you choose to own a gun for self defense.


*Of course it helps to choose your friends wisely.
*And of course there is that one exception that if my family or friend are in imminent danger they are welcome to one of my weapons if they so choose.

 

[FireInTheHole]

Nobody handles my guns outside of my presence.

I dont lend my truck out either.

Behavior along these lines is irresponsible IMO.

 

[Chugach]

Sorry to hear about your percussion pistol and the SKS.

I have friends and relatives that I would not hesitate to loan any tool, vehicle, or firearm. That's the short list.

The somewhat longer list hears these words: "You break it, you buy it!"

I've had to enforce that rule a few times. Funny, they didn't ask to borrow anything again, and I didn't offer...

 

[jsalcedo]

Nobody handles my guns outside of my presence

Thanks. That is my new motto from here on out.

 

[swingset]

Toothbrush
Wife
Guns


None of these are for sharing.

 

[Pendragon]

Sorry to hear of your bad luck.

I dont mind letting people shoot my guns at a range when I am right there - but you have to wonder, why does someone need to borrow a gun for a longer stretch?

Anyone worth trusting with a gun probably already has one (many).

Fact is, most folks just dont take good care of stuf that aint theirs. But when you get the gun for yourself, you treasure it and treat it right.

I only own 2 guns right now. My Valtro was extremely painful to purchase and very difficult to find. My .22 rifle was owned by my Great Grand Father and when I give it to my son, he will be the 5th generation to own it.

I cannot fathom letting them out of my sight.

 

[semf]

I have been asked many times. My answer is I'll let you borrow my underwear before I'll loan out my guns. That should let them know how personal my guns are.

 

[foghornl]

One person on my list...my Sis-in-law. For all others, short answer is no. Long answer is you can borrow my toothbrush & "bloomers" first.

 

[Baba Louie]

Loan out guns? A deadly weapon that belongs to me out of my sight?

Not gonna happen.

Son or daughter if need be... change that. I've given them theirs so they have no need to borrow one of mine.

If a friend doesn't have a firearm of his/her own, I'll be glad to take them out shooting and let them try out various makes, models, calibers and assist them with advice for their own purchase... but... see first line above

Adios

 

[AJ Dual]

I've only been asked once...

Most anyone who'd want to borrow a gun from me already has plenty, so they wouldn't ask...

But once about three years ago, I got an e-mail out of the blue from an old friend/roommate I hadn't heard from in about two years prior to that.

He asked if he could borrow one of my handguns. Needless to say, I declined.

He was somewhat flighty womanizer when we roomed together, being exposed to my gun collection, he caught the "gun bug" for about a month, and on my reccomendation, bought himself a Ruger 10/22 as his first gun. We went to a local indoor range a few times, but he needed glasses, but was to vain to wear them, other than the safety glasses I demanded he wear.

He managed to shoot the target carrier clip holding his target, dropping it three times. I didn't push going shooting after that.

I declined to lend him a gun, and upon further e-mailing, I found out part of the story. He wanted to borrow a handgun to take out of state so he could attend a gun safety class at a gun store in neighboring Illinois.

With further prodding the rest of the story came out. He wanted to attend the first availible gun safety class he could find before his court date to try and impress a judge. It turns out when he was sleepless he liked to clean his 10/22 for "something to do". So at 3 a.m. he goes to his closet gets his 10/22 out, and sits back down next to his sleeping live-in girfriend to clean the rifle. Of course he'd left it loaded, and wound up squeezing off a round into the cieling....

Where his live-in girlfriend's three children were sleeping in thier bedrooms upstairs.

The first round scared him so badly, that he wound up bump-firing two more rounds into the cieling as well. Girlfriend was extremely unhappy, but forgave him. Kids woke up, but were unhurt, thank God.

Girlfriend's ex-hubby found out the story from the kids a few weeks later, and already rather nonplussed that his ex and kids were living with footloose and fancy-free boyfriend, called CPS, the DA's office, and the cops.

He wound up being pulled in for "Reckless Endgangerment of Children", and somehow thought that taking a gun safety course would mollify the court.

I knew there was a reason I hadn't kept in touch with that guy...

 

[Daniel T]

There are a few, very few people that I would let borrow a gun. My parents. My two best friends (who don't have wild streaks). That's it. Not even my girlfirend, until she gets more used to handling them.

As for the nephew...I would have laid the smacketh down on his candy-???. Seriously. Good god, what a shmuck.

 

[BerettaNut92]

Thankfully no one has asked me.

But they usually call me in to mop up the mess "SKUNKY CLEEAAAAAARRR!!"

 

[MikeJ]

I would never loan a gun to anybody. The stress I would experience while it was out of my possession just simply isn't worth it.

 

[10-Ring]

I will only let someone use one of my guns if I'm there to keep a watchful eye on what's going on.

 

[Ala Dan]

Well, maybe I'm a little too old fashioned; but I NEVER
loan firearms; nor do I EVER ask to borrow anybody
else's firearms. End of the story !

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[Mike Irwin]

I'll loan my guns to people whose capabilities and responsibilities are well known to me over a period of years.

They also know the consequences if they damage one of my guns through neglect.

A friend of mine borrowed a rifle years ago to go hunting. He ended up falling crossing a stream. He buggered up his knee and my gun. I wasn't upset, because it was an accident, he was contrite and embarassed, and he offered to pay for the repairs (which I refused. Added character!).

 

[Bigjake]

i'm a stingy person myself. my dad volunteered a couple of our .22's out to some distant relations that had never been shooting. I still hold a huge grudge agaist those that beat the hell out of my 10/22 (a gift to me from my father when i was 12) and the same that droped my little 94 repeatedly. they'll be reporting 5 foot snowdrifts in hell before any of my guns are used outside of my sight again.

 

[mtnbkr]

Like Mike, I'll loan guns to people I know very well and know to be responsible with other people's stuff.

Among the group I hunt with, it's common practice to share guns for hunting while at camp. I've offered my guns to others and had guns offered to me. It's just a good way to try something different in anticipation of a purchase or for the sheer novelty of it. Of course, most of our group have known each other for over a decade (I'm the newcomer) and we're all gun nuts.

Chris

 

[Tamara]

I solve the problem by not having friends I wouldn't trust with stuff.

If you can't trust them with your money, your car or your gun, how could you ever trust them with your life?

 

[Engineer]

The list of friends that I will loan my guns to is quite short (only one person). In addition to the responsibility factor, I've found that very few people appreciate the value of a firearm and the care that must be taken with them.

Along the same lines of not lending out guns, instruments are another possession that I will rarely lend out. I've had plenty of friends ask to borrow a guitar from me so they can go to jam sessions. I used to be very willing, but after lending out a Martin and getting it back with many gouge marks in it from heavy-handed picking, I've since changed my position. Very few people realize that acoustic guitars can run into the thousands of dollars in cost and are quite fragile.

 

[ddc]

The only person I would probably lend a gun to would have been my father who is the person who taught me to shoot. His guns were well used but well maintained as well as well respected and I assume he would treat mine the same if he were still around.

Having said that although there are people I would trust with one of my guns from a safety perspective the fact is that nobody is going to treat your stuff, whether it be a gun or a bicycle, the same way you do.

Case in point: I have some really nice bikes and I have a mountain bike that I can put the seat low enough so that my wife can ride. Do I trust her with the bike from a safety perspective? Yes. Do I trust that she can use it and not get her self killed? Yes. Do I trust that she will treat it with a certain level of respect because it doesn't belong to her? Yes.

However on the two occasions that I have let her use it I can see her treating it in a way that I never would. She isn't doing anything really wrong from her perspective; e.g. perhaps just leaning the top tube against the corner of a building, (oops; now there is a little scar on the top tube), that's what she has probably done a hundred times with her bikes. But I would never have done that. Now is it worth getting into the "honey, maybe you could do it this way" discussion? Well, that is for me to decide and not a topic for this thread but the bottom line is that she won't be handling any of my guns unless I am right there at her elbow.