Is your gun a tool?

[WheelMan]

We're always saying guns are tools, and I agree. But they are pretty narrow in their scope. A gun's utility lies in it's ability to make things that are breathing... stop breathing. Which I think is fine, there's a very real need for that, whether it be stopping an attacker or stopping your supper. We cannot ignore that guns are also fun, competition, collection, caring for, reloading for, plinking and simple ownership. I'd venture to guess that most people get more from the entertainment value of there guns than their utility. But for you all who recognized the utility of your weapons I have a question.

Has anybody... ever used there gun as a "tool" in a situation other than hunting or defending? I don't mean using your colt as a hammer (don't do that) but actually using the guns ability to project a weight very fast for some sort task? For example, maybe you trapped in a green house that was filling up with water and you used your gun to shoot out a window and escape. A silly example but you get the idea. I never have, just a curiosity question.

 

[forquidder]

Practical tool use

I once used a CZ 97B with 200 gr. lead semiwadcutters to perforate ventilation holes in a new burn barrel. One of the most fun tools I have ever used.

 

[Rembrandt]

...a twelve gauge makes an excellent tree trimmer, especially for those hard to reach limbs and branches....

 

[TechBrute]

Does putting down a suffering animal count (not hunting related)? If so, then yes.

 

[D_Burchfield]

Does putting down a suffering animal count (not hunting related)? If so, then yes

TechBrute,

I think that definitely qualifies. Winter before last I had an encounter with a deer while driving to work. He tried to hurdle my truck(unsuccessfully) at a dead run while I was tooling along around 60 mph. The truck was a total loss and so was the deer, although he didn't realize it. When I got out to look at the damage, he stood up about 50 yards behind the truck. I approached him to find out how he was still breathing after that collision. He tried to run but could not move and he just stood there until after the local authorities arrived. The deputy couldn't legally discharge his "tool" so I told him I was carrying and asked if I could put down the severely injured deer. He said OK so I used my Hi-Power to end the suffering. Where I live I don't think this is an uncommon use of firearms as a tool because of the number of incidents similar to mine. See the attached photos of truck and deer.

Best All,

Doug

 

[Chip Dixon]

A shotgun with a short, full cylinder barrel makes a nice beehive extinguisher. Just make sure you don't have to be around there afterwards

 

[D_Burchfield]

Sorry, I'm having a low tech moment with the photos. Trying to post them now. Oh, well I can't seem to attach or include these photos. Can someone help me without trying to hijack the thread?

Thanks,

Doug

 

[D_Burchfield]

again?

 

[c_yeager]

In the military shotguns are used almost exclusively as tools to breech doors quickly and safely.

 

[Min]

No I don't use my guns as tools (in your sense), and I really hope I don't have to. But they are fun to relax with at the range. Fun to buy. Fun to accessorize. Etc.

BTW, I do practice to be proficient to use my guns as "tools" should the need arise. In that sense, I am the weapon, and the gun is my extension.

 

[Amish_Bill]

I almost had to use a Glock to break my back window when I locked myself out of my new house. I was ready to swing (pistol-whip style) when I decided to try the old keys I had on the ring. Darn if I wasn't able to jiggle a different key into opening that lock. I was almost dissapointed that I no longer had a reason to break a window out with my gun. :-(

(yes, I did change out those locks post-haste)

ps.. Seeing a nice, large buck laying in the highway thrashing around with a broken back was half the reason I got my first carry permit.

 

[P12]

Used a 22 pistol to drill a drain hole in the floor of a leaky pop-up camper on a hunting trip once.

Does that count?

 

[Stand_Watie]

I also use my .22 as a drill to ventilate a burn barrel about once a year. Also use it on a regular basis to put down strays.

The gun in my car doubles as an emergency escape tool in case I need to break the window to exit the vehicle after an accident.

 

[Brian Dale]

Same uses as above; more examples:

Hit a deer at dusk 5 years ago; used a Colt Police Positive Special (sold it later — idiot) to put the poor thing down.

Trees: not trimming per se, but collecting spruce and fir cones with a 12-gauge. Seeds from the cones had their metabolic enzymes analyzed in a research project on forest tree genetics.

 

[Stand_Watie]

Happy bob reminded me - cutting a Christmas tree can be quite a chore in a foot of snow - unless you have a shotgun loaded with #6, then two or three blasts into the base and it topples over nicely.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

Among other things, my guns are tools. They are also works of art. They are mechanical devices to tinker, repair, customize, perfect and to hopefully master. They are collectibles to acquire, trade, polish, display and brag about. They are historical artifacts to remind us of our past, both good and bad. They are a source of defense against evil. They give one a sense of security and provide one a means of determining his own destiny.

And they are fun!

 

[NoCoastal]

I once used a Dan Wessen .357 to prune a couple branches that were too close to the stove pipe. It took about a box and a half of ammo. Another time the wife came home complaining about water in her VW rabbit. I went and saw about 2" of water. I didn't have a Makita at the time, so I looked under the car to see where anything vital might be and then shot a hole on each side in front of the seats. The look on her face was priceless. She kept repeating "you shot my car".

 

[gbran]

Gas well?

A municipality asked me for a solution to abandon a monitoring well at an old landfill. It was made of steel pipe and had a welded cap. They feared it contained methane gas and were looking for a safe way to breach it remotely. As it was in a remote area, I suggested they shoot it with high powered rifles. Their local SWAT members jumped at the chance to perform a public sevice and perform a unique task. They ventilated it without problems and we were able to test and abandon it. Unfortunatley, they liked my idea, but didn't give me the job of doing the actual shooting.

 

[Min]

Who you calling a tool?

 

[cordex]

I've used 'em for punching holes in burn-barrels, and shooting down a dangerously overhanging branch before.

Warning: 8mm mauser fired at close range into the bottom of a 55 gallon drum will make your head ache through hearing protection.

Interestingly, I've been having a similar discussion with a friend recently. He claims that because guns are designed to kill, universal background checks are a good idea. Whenever I bring up the fact that other objects are used to great success in killing he says "Yeah, but they're not designed to do it." When I mention that swords are designed to kill, he says "Yeah, but ..."

 

[another48hrs]

"A gun is a tool, Marion, no better or no worse than any other tool, an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that. "

I was just watching Shane on AMC.

 

[duckfoot]

I used a colt M16A2 to help a marine climb up a building

 

[griz]

A 12 gage as a hole punch: had to have a hole in a piece of plywood, it didn't have to be clean but it had to be big.

Shot down a small tree to make a pole when I had no saw.

Other than that a few branches trimmed, dispatched a road crippled groundhog, and does a paperweight count?

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

Nah, strictly a recreational object like a bicycle.

 

[Zundfolge]

When I was a young'n my dad and the neighbor used a 12ga to clear a cloged well in the back yard ... snake wouldn't work but a magnum load of double ought did the trick.

Another time when I was young, I used my BB gun to get a frisby off the roof of the garage.


Oh and a rifle cleaning rod makes a nice back scratcher