Surprised me! A friend is a ........

[Josey]

Firearms owner!!! I went to see a old friend tonight. We are old model railroaders. He is Portugese. I stepped into his house and saw a couple of rifles on the wall. It surprised me. I had 0 clue that he was remotely interested in hunting, target shooting or RKBA. He told me that Americans need to exercise ALL of their rights. I felt slighted and excited. I showed him my CCW and my BHP. He wants to take the classes. He doesn't have any handguns though. We are going shopping!! I have known this fellow for years, traveled with him and broken bread with his family. I had no idea that he was a RKBA firearms user. Have any other THRers been surprised by your friends?

 

[ZeroX]

Gun ownership and model trains: The Sinister Connection

 

[iamhistory]

Sorry to say Josey that I've almost always been disappointed by acquaintances of mine. Every once in a while someone will pleasantly surprise me with their conservative views, but not often.

I don't have many true friends.....I can count them on one hand, and those people are conservative and adamant about rkba. However, my acquaintances are in the 100's and I might have to say that most of them are liberals.......some very left wingers. That's why we aren't friends. They can't be trusted. They can't be reasoned with. They are mostly good hearted people but very, very misguided. Our characters and personalities don't mesh and therefore I won't be inviting them to sit at my supper table any time soon.

 

[Josey]

I have very little bias or bigotry in me. I hate Clark bars. I notice that many immigrants are PRO RKBA, conservative, hardworking and ethical people. This particular friends father was murdered years ago. I just never thought of him as a shooting partner. The model railroading conspiracy is real.

 

[deputy tom]

Josey,and what exactly is wrong with Clark Bars??tom.

 

[Josey]

RE" Clark bars. I just don't like them. My uncle used to bring me cases of them when I was a kid. The neighbourhood would show up when I gave them away. Popcorn, Kool aid and Clark bar parties were popular at my parents house. I don't know why I don't care for them to this day.

 

[possenti]

In my experience, I'm the opposite...

When I became involved in the RKBA, I assumed most of the population was also - I thought I was just late to the party. I would often openly talk about my new-found hobby among co-workers and aquaintances. I'd usually get weird looks from people. Soon after, the "gun nut" label was applied.

Some people who I knew were gun owners were just that - owners. During conversations, I learned they owned guns (ususally inherrited), They knew no makes or models. They never shot them and could care less about the fight to keep them in their possession.

I agree with iamhistory - I can count my true friends on one hand. Those are the ones who are fully aware of the battle we face to preserve our birth-right. The other people I know are not invited to break bread at my house. I trust no one else.

 

[Justin]

Soon after, the "gun nut" label was applied.

There's something inherently cool in an anti-establishment kind of way to wear that label with pride, especially at a workplace that can be politically charged.



In all honesty, it can be a good discussion starter. As a result I've taken several co-workers to the range, and they've all had a good time.

 

[angrywalkindude]

I was at my moms house one day to watch the kids and my little sister (7 year old) came running in the house after school. "NaNa-NA--NA I got to see Suzy's gun and she let me hold it too because it was not filled"

I was shocked to say the least (I kind of thought she was just b-s'n me). So I asked her what it looked like. She said "it's the kind you hold in your hand and it was black".

Suzy is about 28 and is a physical trainer type nurse or something and has a daughter my sisters age. Suzy doesn't look like the gun type (more like the yoga type).

So when mom got home I asked her if Suzy had a pistol. She said "Yeah she called me from the range and said she was on her way over to the house".

Come to find out she was at the range qualifing to renew her CHL, with her Glock .40.

Like they say, "don't judge a book by the cover", because this woman has been packing every time she's came over and I never new it

 

[cool45auto]

We were at the store working Saturday and my friend let his empty holster be seen behind the counter. The only customer in the store saw it and asked what kind of gun he had. He carries an XD40 and unloaded it and let the guy see it. He complimented it then went out to his car and brought in a couple of Glocks and a new mag holster and pistol holster he had just bought! He said he teaches shooters also and invited us to his next class.

This guy has been coming in the store for a long time but we never knew any of this because it just doesn't come up at a part store!

 

[jAK-47]

Living in the heart of Kennedy Clan Land, I'm very seldom pleasantly surprised by the people here; I've learned to keep my mouth shut. What saves me is that this area is a TRUE contradiction. Just over the border in NH, Maine and VT it is paradise.

Mas Ayoob lives less than an hour from me and I've spent some wonderful quality time with him. Sig is literally minutes from my house. Entering NH from Mao-tse-chusetts is like landing on another planet. I like wandering the HUGE gun department at Kittery Trading Post and watching the out-of-staters staring like zombies at all the candy just out of their reach. It sucks to see good people deprived of their rights because of 16 miles separating them from freedom. They COULD move but some don't have that choice.

If you drove 60 miles an hour without any stops you could pass through NINE states in about 7 hours here. Talk about madness. You could practically walk down the streets of VT with an RPG and just an hour south be arrested for having an UNLOADED hi-cap mag. NUTS!

My secret for sanity? I have a home just outside Portsmouth NH and I claim residence there, including a Maine driver's license. I have CCW for Maine AND out of state for NH.

The only problem is if I forget I'm carrying and dip back into Ma$$HoleChewCents I could be in big doo-doo as I don't have any licenses there. I keep meaning to look into a license but have heard it's difficult and a CCW license is NOT necessarily valid in Boston!

Gotta go, my spittle is running down the screen into my keyboard!

jAK-47

 

[jdkelly]

What do you mean?

What do you mean that a CCW (or a LTC) isn't valid in Boston?


Respectfully,

jdkelly

 

[jAK-47]

NOT necessarily valid in Boston

If you read my post, I did NOT say it wasn't valid in Boston. I had read that if you live in Massachusetts and get a CCW, it MIGHT not be valid in Boston because they could have a local law that requires you to have a BOSTON permit IN ADDITION TO your permit that was issued by the town you live in. If you happen to live in Boston and have a permit, there's no problem. There PROBABLY wouldn't be a problem carrying in Boston if you have a CCW permit issued from Worcester or Hyannis or wherever, but I'm not sure. Thus, I used the word "necessarily" to qualify my statement.

Here's what New York has for their law. It SPECIFICALLY states that a CCW issued from, say, Albany or Syracuse MAY not be valid in NYC.

"Location Limits

No person, including a licensee, may knowingly possess a handgun, short-barreled shotgun or rifle, or assault weapon in or upon a building or grounds used for educational purposes of any school, college or university without the written permission of the institution. Sections 265.01(3) and 265.20(a)(3). With limited exceptions, the license is not valid in the city of New York without an additional permit issued by local law enforcement. Section 400.00(7)."

Sorry for any confusion but if I lived outside of Boston and had a Mass CCW, I'd make sure there isn't some funky addendum like NYC has.

jAK-47

 

[BluesBear]

The only thing worse than the .45/9mm arguments are the HO-scale/N-scale debates.






BTW HO scale is the best!

 

[jAK-47]

BTW HO scale is the best!

I don't know anything about trains, but the guy who delivers them on December 25th always says, "HO-HO-HO". Then again, maybe he's looking for 3 ladies to help him with the stress of delivering all those toy trains. .

BTW, a miss with a .45 isn't as good as a COM with a 9mm. Shoot what your gun likes, you're accurate with, can afford to practice with, and can conceal. For house defense, 12 gauge in appropriate loads ends most debates surrounding .45 vs. 9mm. Now we can flame about over-penetration (like my honeymoon) and liability.

jAK-47

 

[Red_SC]

Threads like this make me thankful for where I live. Around here, practically everyone owns guns. And those that don't, just, well, don't. They don't think you're weird or psycho because you do. It's just a fact of life down here. There are exceptions, of course, but this is on average. In fact, I think every man in my church and nearly every boy over 12 is a gun owner, along with some of the younger boys and many of the women. In my office, every man I've brought it up with, except my supervisor, has guns. On Saturday, I was at Lowes and needed to load my new air compressor into my wife's Grand Cherokee, but my camoflaged PSS was in the way. I pulled it out of the back and walked around to put it in the side door. There were several people walking by, but on one even looked twice. I love the South.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I know way too much about American Flyer trains thanks to my dad... that's more his hobbie than mine but I've helped build a lot of layouts.

Noticed that lots of train guys are shooters.. see them at train shows/gun shows.

 

[RevDisk]

Definitely HO guage. N guage just doesn't have the size.

My dad is into hand painting HO guage engines, each is modeled after a real one. Not really a hobby of mine, but it will someday. He told me I'll be the kid to inherit ALL of his trains when he passes away, over a thousand of them!


I've been surprised every once in a while, but not too often. My real friends can indeed be counted on two hands, and I consider that a good number. My definition of a real friend is someone I could completely trust my life to without any worry.