What is it about guns that hooks you?

[KarenTOC]

First time I ever shot a gun (June 26, 2008) I hit the target. Not from great distance, and not dead center, but a decent, respectable showing for a first time.

Never in my life have I ever hit anything I aimed at. Never ask me to toss anything your way to save steps. You'll end up walking farther to retrieve it than you would have in the first place. I don't toss stuff in the trash, because it always misses and makes a bigger mess. Throw a baseball? More likely to hit that window off to my left than get it near the catcher. Queen of the gutter balls here. Nothing ever goes where I try to send it.

Except lead.

After 50+ years of misses, it feels great to get some hits. How could I not love that?

Oh, and it turns out those hunks of metal (and even plastic) are a joy to behold. It's fun just looking at them and their shiny surfaces and their dull surfaces and their ridgy and wavy surfaces. Art, indeed.

 

[DMK]

I'm a huge history buff and I'm a gearhead. Guns combine both of those into one for me.

My collection is mainly C&R and military styled guns. I love shooting guns that I've read about or seen in movies. It's cool to shoot my AR15 and AK or my Kar98 and Garand to compare and contrast.

 

[DMK]

I think that for most men it is about extension of power. I know that idea is frowned upon, perhaps even by members of this fine forum, but I think the ability to affect our surroundings beyond arms' length is very alluring.

I disagree and I thnk you are projecting your beliefs on others.

I have no interest in power and little interest in money. I have turned down jobs that would give me some of both. I would rather be left alone than be in charge or control.

While I do have a CCW to protect myself, I have dreaded the thought of ever needing to use it. I would much rather avoid any confrontation. Ironically, I'm probably mostly a pacifist.

I don't even hunt and have no interest in the sport of killing.

I probably have my beliefs aligned with liberals more than most on this board, except that I don't believe that people should be forced to help others, but that it should be their own free will. I also don't believe in taking away or diminishing other people's rights in exchange for a false sense of security.

 

[Cap'n Jack Burntbeard]

It is the purest form of machinery.

 

[leadcounsel]

For me it's a huge intertwined mix of freedom, history, politics, engineering, physics, self defense, power, and intrigue. Few things in life offer that.

 

[captlid]

There mere existence in our hands keeps my senators up at night.
Seriously, if someone tells you, you can't have something then you really wanna know what it is some people are trying to keep away from you.

 

[BillyDa59]

I love guns because they are all works of mechanical art. It sounds cheesy but I see finesse in a Model 12 Winchester. Just incredible to me. I know the mechanisms are really simple in most guns but each time you work the action, that simple motion of your hand makes a lot happen. Not only that but the entire system can be held in one hand if stripped down to the bare essence.

I was absolutely thrilled when I got to use a streetsweeper! http://world.guns.ru/shotgun/sh09-e.htm

Pull the trigger, a shell is fired. Release the trigger, the cylinder clicks over and readies the next shell. Wonderful little gun. I would buy one myself if it didn't require a permit. And they usually go for several thousand dollars.

 

[ChronoCube]

For me it's a huge intertwined mix of freedom, history, politics, engineering, physics, self defense, power, and intrigue. Few things in life offer that.

+1 to that

 

[Tamren]

For me, getting into firearms was a spin off from getting into martial arts.

1. I like being able to defend myself in my own house.

2. The discipline and self control side of learning to use a firearms safely and effectively appeals to my belief in self improvement and responsibility.

3. The simple yet very precise workmanship that goes into designing and building a decent weapon.

4. Plus, Shooting is fun!

 

[MS .45]

As a child, there was the obvious cool factor of getting to play with what I knew were my dad's "toys". ( under his supervision of course). As I got older I learned to appreciate the machanics involved in creating a good looking, reliable and accurate firearm. It is as much a work of art as anything. As I got even older, i learned to understand the philosophical concept of taking the responsibility of your own safety and well being in to your hands. And that is a philosophy that I will never abandon. Thus I am hooked.

 

[FROGO207]

The skill to make and or tune a piece of machinery that can send a projectile you can also assemble downrange with extreme accuracy over and over. The BOOM and recoil is a plus!!

 

[thorazine]

Some times I like to dress up as Crockett from Miami Vice.

Bren Ten and all.

 

[danprkr]

When I was a foster child of the city of Chicago, I was helpless depending on the 'benevolence’ of an uncaring system and the ‘goodwill’ of the neighborhood(s) I was placed in. When my Dad seized custody of me I learned the benefit of depending on myself. The knife, the arrow, the skill with firearms amplifies this benefit. With a rifle at hand, I never have to worry about being hungry, a condition common when the state is your parent. With a rifle at hand I’m not condemned to abide with whatever perversion my neighbors decide to inflict on myself or my children. When the barbarians are at the gate, the rifle gives me the chance to convince them another gate would suit them better.

In short, I learned to like guns because of gun control.

I can't say it better, but my sentiment is somewhat the same:

One word - FREEDOM. You may be able to kill an armed man, but you can't force him to do anything. As I believe God intended. As an armed freeman I can decide what I want to do, and no man can force me to do anything else without my cooperation.