Need advice with giving a firearm as a gift

[greenr18]

Alright here's the situation, my brother's birthday is not far off. I currently (due to bills and expenses) have about $200 in money to spend, not a lot for purchasing a firearm, but don't say anything yet, let me continue here. My brother is a little weird, what I mean by that is, he's always been far left and pretty anti-gun, however he once told me he wanted a cheap little handgun for self defense (understandable since he was once mugged at knife point, though managed to get away and call the police) I was thrilled he was taking in interest in firearms I offered to take him to the range with me several times, he always said however something to the effect of "I'd love to but today I'm busy" until one day he said "Yeah I'm not really into guns, I don't think people should have them." Sure confused the hell out of me. I still don't know where he stands on guns he sort of flip flops between being pro and anti all the time. But anywho since his birthday is about a month away, I was considering buying him a Titan 25 or a Hi Point or maybe even a Beretta 21 just like I have but I really don't know because like I said I don't know what he's going to think. My predictions of what might happen are this:
A) He'll be outwardly upset and won't accept the gift
B) He'll be like 'oh... thanks' then get rid of the thing
C) or (hopefully) accept it and keep it in a drawer or something like I hope he would

Should I get him a gun for his birthday? Or something else? Hell I'm tempted to go and ask him if it's alright to get him one but that'd ruin the surprise... maybe I should just buy him a tasor or can of mace, it'd be cheaper but I definitely wouldn't feel right having my brother depend on such crap to defend himself

 

[Superlite27]

You can't make someone a gun enthusiast. It is more of a mental thing than a "equipment" thing. I know friends of mine who own 10 guns, and never take them out of the closet. I have friends who own none, yet love to go shooting with me all the time. You can't MAKE someone other than what they are.

If you are frightened of heights, and I buy you a tightrope, will you join the circus?

In the case of firearms, it could be dangerous. Awareness of firearms safety and responsibility are the main ingredients to owning a firearm. To give a firearm to someone who isn't as conscious or as focused upon them as you are could lead to bad consequences.

I believe you had the right idea to begin with. If it were me, I'd continue the invitations to the range. I'd make sure he develops the required attitude towards firearms (safety) before springing one on him. I have a feeling you'll find that after a few trips to the range, and the resultant fun that can be had, his apathy towards them might change. This will also give him a chance to become familiar with safely handling one, leading to the development of the right attitude, not just the possession of the right equipment.

 

[greenr18]

well heres the thing, when my parents were still together, shortly after my oldest brother was born (my father's been into guns and owned them since he was I believe 7 years old) my father bought my mother a .25 pocket pistol for protection. She had had limited experience with firearms but enough to know proper safety, etc. She wasn't then and definitely isn't now a "gun enthusiast" and as far as I've been told she just always kept it in her purse or glove compartment in her car, the point is my dad wanted to give her something so he could feel better knowing the mother of his newborn son had some kind of protection. My intention isnt necessarily to get someone really into guns, though that would be great, its more or less so i could feel better knowing he has protection. You do raise an excellent point for safety though, like my mother my brother has very limited experience with firearms, in fact as far as i know hes only fired a pump action 12 gauge and i wasnt there when he went shooting so i dont know how that went. the reason i offered to take him to the range though was to introduce him to shooting on a personal level and learn the basics of safety, basically enough so id feel comfortable leaving him with the gun. but like i said i dunno if i should get him a gun or not

 

[FoMoGo]

Take him to the range a few times... get him more "in to it".
Then if you still want to gt him a gun, and you think he will accept and use it, take him shopping and let HIM choose it.
I NEVER buy a handgun for someone that they dont pick out.
A handgun is a VERY personal choice.


Jim

 

[wuchak]

I agree with FoMoGo. I will also add that I would never buy a centerfire semi-auto for an inexperienced person. Not knocking the platform it's just easier to make a mistake with. There are a lot of trained professionals that send a bullet out of the end of their unloaded semi-auto. That mistake is a lot harder to make with a DA revolver.

The other thing about buying a gun for someone like this is they have none of the required accessories: eye and ear protection, safe place for storage, cleaning kit, etc. Does he have a safe place to shoot nearby? Time to go shoot? Money to buy ammo if he wanted to?

If you must buy him a gun I'd get him a Savage bolt action .22 with accutrigger.

If I might make a suggestion. Get him a copy of the book Armed America. It's a coffee table type book where each set of pages has a photo of a person/family in their home with their firearms and the facing page tells some info about the person: name, age, location, occupation, and their answer to the question of why they own a gun. It's a fantastic book that really shows a great cross section of the gun owners in America. Your brother will see lots of plain old ordinary people with guns. My wife, who is ok with guns but not interested in them, remarked how normal the people seemed. She bought the book for me and she really enjoyed looking through it. The pictures are candid. The people were not allowed to straighten up for the photo session. They just got out their guns and had their pictures taken.

 

[Titan6]

he's always been far left and pretty anti-gun, however he once told me he wanted a cheap little handgun for self defense

"Yeah I'm not really into guns, I don't think people should have them."

Kind of says it all does it not? This is a typical anti position. Guns are for "me" not for other people. Because "I" need protection because "I" am important.

I wouldn't buy him a gun. Not until/unless he changed his mind. Buy him some pro-gun propaganda books and if he reads them and indicates a movement towards the light maybe next year...

Otherwise he will never learn to use it properly, may injure himself or others out of ignorance and then you will feel responsible. And you would be in a way....

 

[greenr18]

ehhh. maybe i should just buy him some mace

 

[Norinco982lover]

I wouldn't buy him the gun unless he knew how to use it. Everything that has been said is good advice.

Let's think about a realistic best case scenario here: He's never been to the range or fired a handgun so lets say he kept it in his dresser. Someone breaks into his house he wakes up he finds the gun and waves it around and scares them off.

Worst case scenario: he hurts himself or someone he loves because of improper handling.

Take him to the range and let him try some guns out. Teach him the 4 rules and how to load/unload/clean a handgun.

My suggestion: pump 12 gauge.


~Norinco

 

[eye5600]

Give him a gift certificate to a gun class.

 

[PMVARGO]

id give it to him and tell him if he is offended by it to give it back to you and exchange it for something else

 

[ultradoc]

Tell him that you just got this gun. Take him to the range. Ask him to shoot it. If he likes it tell him it's his. If not uh you can decide.

 

[Krazeehorse]

Get him a can of mace with a nice leather holster. A gun is a bad idea IMHO. He's answered you quite a few times. It just hasn't been the answer you've wanted to hear. Accept it and go on.

 

[rfwobbly]

An idea....

I would take a half-way measure, that both of you would probably feel much more comfortable with. Buy him a gift certificate from a local range that would be enough to cover gun rental, ammo, targets, etc.

Here's why....

• That way he can try it, if and when he likes.
• You'll be out only a fraction of the $200.
• You won't feel bad if it's never used.
• You won't get a call from the Police at 3AM when his house guest finds the gun in some drawer and shoots someone with a gun registered to YOU.
• You won't get a call from your pal for bail when Police arrest him for carrying w/o a permit. ("You need a permit?")

It's just a lot more sensible.

 

[TRGRHPY]

Get him a certificate for a gun class where he gets to do quite a bit of shooting. This should tell you where he's at with regard to the possibility of getting a gun. If he's not open to it, he'll give it back. If he goes to the class, chances are good that he'll have a good time and learn some valuable information and open his mind further to getting a gun and changing his mind about whether everyone needs a gun or not.

 

[pmeisel]

He doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. Get him a couple really cheesy neckties.