Why do you like guns?

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I don't know what it is about guns that makes me love them as I do. I've tried to pinpoint when I really started liking guns, and it seems like I've almost always liked them. Video games helped spark my interest, and my Grandfather's insistence on getting me cap guns also helped, but there was never really a point in time where I said to myself that I want to get into guns for (X) reasons.

As for what I love about guns? I think more than anything I love seeing how they work. I've always been one to tinker with things and take them apart, and guns are just kind of an extension of that. They are inherently interesting, and there is always something new to study.

GBExpat said:
Because I'm a Guy ... and I grew up in the '50s & '60s before the US started its seemingly inexorable slide towards the majority of the voting population being, um, not sure how to directly express the thought in this forum without earning chastisement.

After I clearly expressed the thought to my sister last week, following her laughter, she said that she had heard someone on TV(?) express the exact same thought by referring to the fact that the US would soon be exclusively populated by "girls".
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You're looking at one of those "girls", friend. I'm a man who is shy of 100lbs, who dresses in clothes from Guess, and who has on more than one occasion been mistaken for female. I love hunting(the few times I've been able to go), I love machining, and I love exploring and getting dirty, but I also love to look nice.

And really, that's one of the things I love most about guns. Despite the media's interpretation of gun culture as being millions of cut-and-paste stereotypes, I see people from every walk of life coming together to enjoy firearms. From the lightweight, to the manly man, to the LGBTQ, to the foreign and so much more, we can all be united by our love of guns. It gives people the chance to interact with people they normally would not talk to in every day life. It makes us all feel like a part of a larger group. It gives people who might not have much common ground a platform to relate to each other.

There seems to be a misconception in the media that gun-people have an irrational fear of anyone that is not like them. While that is undoubtedly the case the case for some, others revel in being able to cross cultural boundaries and share in a common interest. And, personally, I think that is pretty awesome.
 
You're looking at one of those "girls", friend. I'm a man who is shy of 100lbs, who dresses in clothes from Guess, and who has on more than one occasion been mistaken for female. I love hunting(the few times I've been able to go), I love machining, and I love exploring and getting dirty, but I also love to look nice.
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Sorry, but you have apparently missed my reference.
 
The gun is basically an extension of my body. So liking my guns is similar to liking any other part of my body. They're all high priority.
 
Started out for sport and self defense back in the early 70's,, Grew to be a collector of a few WW2 guns then on to high quality and fun to shoot guns .. the just fun to shoot guns have mostly gotten traded off for high quality .. Should have held on to the Tec 9 a few years
 
They were all around me,,,

They were all around me,,,
From the cap gun sets of my TV heroes,,,
To the glass-front cabinet in my grandfathers living room.

The wall of my bedroom was a veritable arsenal of old west and WW-II toy guns.

In junior high wood shop there were three approved "first projects",,,
A coffee table, a knick-knack shelf, or a simple rifle rack.

Every kid I knew had at least a daisy BB rifle,,,
Most of had pellet rifles by the time we were 10 years old,,,
And it was usually on or about your 12th birthday when you could expect a .22 rifle of some kind.

I always felt that S&W snubbie when I hugged my Mom,,,
They didn't have the Flash-Bang holster then,,,
She just tucked it between her cups.

There was always that "klunk" when my grandfather took off his jacket and tossed it on that big wooden chair of his,,,
His "owl-head" revolver was always in the right front pocket,,,
That was the first real gun I ever fired.

Even my old maid aunties had a revolver in a drawer somewhere in their living rooms,,,
I remember Aunt Helen kept her revolver in the same drawer with her Bible,,,
"The Lord helps those who help themselves." was a favorite quote of hers.

I was surrounded by guns,,,
All of my friends parents had guns,,,
Even our Baptist minister had a pistol behind the pulpit.

At the Ardmore High School senior prom in 1968,,,
The theme was Cowboys and Cowgirls.

I wore a Tandy gunbelt and my mother's Colt Frontier Scout,,,
My date was wearing a vintage Dale Evans toy gunbelt,,,
With her Dad's H&R break-open .22 revolver in it.

So it's really only natural that I would at least accept guns,,,
But I like them for their recreational functionality,,,
As well as their practical capabilities.

I can't imagine not being able to go to the range and enjoy hitting a target.

Aarond

.
 
What sparked it. rugermixdn.jpg rugersec6.jpg

1974 Gun Digest I asked for that Christmas. 13 years old and ,at the time, had only shot two rifles.
Talk about drool material!

Hunting guns came first , then years later a HD/SD revolver(mid 80s).
Since then I have found reason to buy a few from time to time.
I suppose you could consider my "infestments" a collection.
 
After being the victim of a break in to our home when I was 8, we always had a gun in the house. After that came training and proficiency, and we where taught very well. Then came hunting for food when I was 10 down on the family farm. When I turned 11 I went in halves on my own Ruger standard. Thats when I really learned to shoot. Used to shoot things off fence posts, then moved to moving targets. Still have that old piece and it means more to me than anything else I own. Good tools are hard to come by, but when you find the right fit it will stick with you a lifetime.
 
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I grew up with tools and gear for all the outdoor pursuits around the house. Now my kids have tools, hunting, fishing camping gear around the house. Just passing on the legacy.
 
el Godfather,

I like guns because I like meat. Maybe if I was rich enough to just go into a store or a restaurant and buy what I wanted with impunity I would take less interest in guns.
 
Why Do I Like Guns?

Because they may save my, or my family's lives one day.

Liking them really doesn't describe my owning them. They are tools of survival to me.

The real world doesn't consist of rainbows and unicorns, so my old boy scout motto, "be prepared" is followed.

I have one long gun and one sidearm. No more, or less than what is needed to defend home, lives, and property.

I know there are many who collect them and love them as works of art. Nothing wrong with that at all.

I carry everywhere legal to do so. I have plans for defense against multiple home invaders, should that ever happen. I go to the range, and ASAP, will take some training for dynamic environments.
 
I didn't grow up surrounded by firearms. My first experiences and exposures to firearms were on games like Bionic Commando on the original Nintendo. One of the first times I remember holding a real-ish firearm was a repeating cap gun a friend had at a daycare I used to go to. Ever since then I have studied, read, and absorbed anything about firearms I could. And lucky enough to own a few.

I would not call my firearms a collection as in financial times they can be easily sold off with a few noteworthy exceptions. Their primary use is defense: out and about or at home. Secondary purpose is hunting to fill my freezers. Third is I enjoy them. I enjoy firing them and definitely cleaning them.
 
I've been around guns ever since I was a young child. I used to play with water pistols and BB guns with my friends when I was in elementary school. Also know many relatives and friends in the military/LEO.
 
Why do I like guns? Because cars are WAY too expensive, and girls don't really like me, so I had to find something to do.
 
I got into this hobby because of my father. It was something we did together and it brought us together.

And sport shooting is something my best friend, wife , and I, all share as a common hobby now.

I am interested in learning about how the firearms work as mechanical mechanisms work primarily and as defensive weapons as a second interest.
 
76shuvlinoff said:
I am 53 and can't remember not liking guns so why is hard for me to narrow down. Maybe it was the Lone Ranger or all the other westerns I used watch. I don't hunt anymore at all. I think after being around guns all my life I can't comprehend anyone's aversion to them but I try to understand.

It can be a one man sport. I enjoy the competition with myself to improve. I enjoy the accuracy, power, recoil (well, some recoil) and maybe even noise. I enjoy the beauty in blue steel and wood yet I enjoy the versatility in black plastic too. I enjoy the smells of burned powder and oil..... and don't forget Hoppes #9 LOL!
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This sounds just like me except I'm 57 ... Throw in reloading and working up loads and in a few years its a full time retirement plan ;)
 
1. Defense for me and my family at home or out and about (we both have CC permits)
2. Fun to go shooting!
 
I grew up in the 50s where all we played was war and cowboys. And, my Dad took me hunting and fishing all the time then....chris3
 
another pake said:
Why do I like guns?

Let's see...
Born in 1948,
Watched an 8" Philco TV, and oh yeah there's this,

http://youtu.be/W8qXLxHi9_8
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Gee...thanks! Now I've gotta find one...

As if I don't have enough to spend my money on.

;)

Interesting to note that the youtube video is titled "Mattel Fanner 50 Shootin' Shell Cap Gun Commercial", but that's not what it appears to be.

The Fanner 50 used a roll of caps...and advertised "up to 50 shots without reloading". The older Fanner, which appears to be what's shown in the video, used shells that had a plastic bullet you inserted into it and a stick-on cap on the end. Loaded and fired like a real gun...six shots at a time. The cylinder area was much more realistic looking than it was on the Fanner 50, which had a shorter cylinder in order to have a space between the cylinder and the hammer to load a roll of caps.

I'd like to find one of the older Mattel "Shootin' Shell Fanner cap guns, like what's in the video.
 
I grew with two older brothers. They were in their early teens when I was born, and both were into target shooting and hunting as I grew up. I can not remember not being around guns, had my first .22 at age 8, and its just grown from there.

When did I fire my first shot, Lord only knows, more than likely when I was very young, that's VERY young.
 
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