Is this a great country or what?

[boom boom]

As a follow up to the earlier story, after the Brits left here they went on to Vegas while my brother stayed here and visited other family and friends. They (Brits) then flew back to the UK and upon my brothers return back home to the UK he got together with them and they told him that they enjoyed the range trip as much as their trip to Vegas! Imagine that, a bunch of 30yo or so single guys from another country go to Vegas and equate the Vegas trip to a 3 hour trip to the range! Man, we got it good I tell ya!

What brought this recollection back to me was that I`d gone to a gun show this past weekend and picked up a PC 9 carbine and as I was browsing all the tables, I thought about those Brits and how they`d have reacted to actually being able to walk into such a place, pay for what you want and go home. It seems that some firearms are legal in the UK but very highly restricted, very expensive and very hard to get. I also believe that you can`t take them home with you and they have to be left at the "shooting club". I picked that much up from them but they weren`t sure of any specifics because of all the hassles associated with firearms in the UK. I haven`t researched the laws in the UK as they pertain to firearms so I`m no authority on the subject.

If there`s any takeaway from this story it`s that I thank God that I`m a US citizen and that we do have the right to keep and bear arms. I may have taken this for granted when I was younger, or figured that this right would always be there for us but these guys made me realize that these freedoms can be taken from us if we aren`t vigilant enough. So let`s stay vigilant and enjoy what we have.

Fortunately for their wallet they did not discover Battlefield Vegas. Disney world for firing all sorts of forbidden toys.

 

[lionking]

We pro gun ownership people have been subject to onslaughts of slander and misrepresentation by the anti gun people who use the media as their main tool to do so. It doesn't help when a nutcase goes on a killing spree also although that happens other places too. Many in other countries have a stereotyped vision of us because, just like we may have towards them in other regards. Often we are our own best ambassadors toward dispelling these notions.

 

[Ignition Override]

A buddy in the area is from County Kent England (came over for college with a pilot training program). He is an FFDO --brings his HK USP when he flies B717 trips-- just became a 01 FFL,
and has the tax stamp for his MP5 and Chinese AK.

The irony in this? He told me that he's a Democrat. Naturally I Never discuss politics with people when I discover that their main viewpoints can be different.

Guys like this must be a pretty rare paradox? Maybe the OP's visitors from the UK might fit into this mindset.
You might know people (born in the US) who take their gun ownership Rights for granted, and don't mind voting for many politicians who would like to see most/all of the these Rights eradicated.

You probably know patriotic, fairly conservative people who were indoctrinated by the mainstream media into wondering "Who needs an AR 15" (nothing about Ruger Mini 14s)? This thinking became Very widespread after the FL high school massacre. Some of those people ( i.e. a retired US Army LTC nearby) voice this indoctrination, others don't.

 

[Trey Veston]

A lot of folks dangerously underestimate the power of the media and it's hatred of conservative values.

Decades of propaganda against traditional American values have brainwashed the people.

Who would have thought 30 years ago that allowing the church of Satan to erect public statues was a legitimate religious freedom issue?

It's truly heartbreaking to see so many Americans become so brainwashed.

 

[Browning Guy]

I had a similar event years ago. Several of the guys in our church shot Black Powder guns and owned a variety of them. We would get together several times a summer on a buddy's farm and fill the air with grey smoke! We shot anything, standard bulls eye targets as well a novelty shoots. One of the guys had a fellow engineer over from England for a few weeks on a project and, invited him to come along. The guy was an engineer as well as a history buff. He showed up a little after we got everything set up and the guns on the table ready for us to start. We had a broad range of guns from a "olde tyme"matchlock, all the way to a modern Ruger Old army and a representation of most every thing in between. The look he had, and the excitement, as he walked the table and looked at, as well as held and examined, guns he had only studied behind glass in a museum, was priceless.
Then we called the range ready to fire and began showing him what it was all about. He watched us load, and fire, he watched us load and HE fired, then he tried HIS hand at loading, and firing on his own. He was like a kid at Christmas time getting to try them. You could also see the historian and engineer in him as he studied and tried each one. He shot the matchlock, "Kentucky" rifles, a custom made "Tennessee poor boy" flinter, the Brown Bess, a "Hawkin" style, and several different cap and ball revolvers and single shot pistols. The ones he kept coming back to most was the Brown Bess and the Kentucky. The "historian" lived the history involved with each, the "engineer" looked at the differences and the progression of the guns through the years, and the first time shooter just waited for the next one available to shoot again. lol.
At the end of the day he was genuinely thankful for the opportunity and echoed a statement he had been repeating ALL day. "I can't believe this is JUST a farm and you can shoot here without the police coming out and arresting you". He had FINALLY relaxed enough to stop looking over his shoulder toward the parking area about half way through the day. His amazement at what we had, and could do, hit many of us with a feeling of gratitude for what we have and too often take for granted. A foreigner, and seeing it through his eyes, made us all the more grateful for a blessing too often forgotten by many.
My buddy told me he later got a letter from him back in England and he was checking into what HE could get and use at home. We kinda' forgot about telling him the danger of the "Smoke Pole Fever" infecting you the first time. OOPS! lol

 

[Dibbs]

We recently did the same thing, with some friends from Scandinavia. Went out on the back range,
and my SIL worked as RSO, as I ran the rifles, as armorer. We went thru the iconic movie favorites,
the AR, AK, SKS, Garand, some lever guns, and 22s. Then we broke out the pistols. We had a
good time, hosting the shoot, and we gave them a once-in-a-lifetime event they will never forget.

It was a good time all around.

 

[FROGO207]

About three years ago at the local gun club when we had our annual fall shoot a family of German tourists wandered in. Parents and two mid teen boys. We went over things safety wise and let them shoot the stuff from cowboy action to high power standing/running deer. As the day wore on they had questions about other firearms we did not have there due to the large crowd and safety. I talked to them and we ended up going to a local gravel pit for an impromptu shoot of our own. There they got to use a bunch of semi auto pistols and rifles to burn up some ammo. Loved the M1 Carbine, the AR15, the M1A, and several pistols with high cap MAGs. Then as they were about to leave I got out the MAC 10 and let them run a couple of MAGs each through it. Funny, the one that the liked the best was my Mini14 with the collapsible stock set up "A Team" style. They all wanted pictures while shooting that. Go figure!

 

[Sniper66]

I happened to be in the Cabela's in KC when group of 4 Frenchmen were talking to one of the employees. They were amazed that they could just pick up a gun and handle it as they chose to. They couldn't believe it.

 

[GEM]

They couldn't do that in some other states for handguns. NY for example.

 

[tuckerdog1]

Years ago, my wife worked for a Japanese company. A couple times a year, folks from Japan would travel here for business. During one of these visits, knowing the "no guns" policy in Japan, I had my wife ask the group if they'd like to go to a gun range & shoot. It was like asking children if they wanted to go to Disneyland. I brought revolvers ( topped with a FA 454 ), semi-auto handguns, shotguns & ARs. The smiles & excitement they showed made the whole day. The cameras were clicking non-stop. I understand some of those pics are on the walls of their homes back in Japan. It became a standard part of a trip to this location to make it to the range.

Tuckerdog1