Why do you like guns?

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another pake said:
Chief,

...wait for it...

...wait for it...

Like this?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1950s-Matte...t=Vintage_Antique_Toys_US&hash=item2a347bcf18
Click to expand...

As a matter of fact...yes!

And I already tagged that particular link (and one other) to watch over time. I suspect that it's going to be relisted a few times before he sells it at that price. I'd love to have it...but I've got a lot better uses for 500 clams than this, at this time.

I might be willing to part with a couple hundred for a setup like that, less for just a single pistol, maybe 50 0r so clams. But that's just me. Maybe the market really does drive these kinds of prices...I'll wait and see.
 
RE post #20. A firearm in the possession of a law abiding citizen does not give power. It restricts the power others may want to exercise over you, a guarantee of freedom.

The lone/ small group criminals cannot rob/assault the armed citizen with impunity.
The criminal mob cannot assault a neighborhood if they are armed and band together such as the LA riots.
A Government cannot assault the rights of the citizens beyond what it takes to irritate a critical mass enough to say "I won't take it anymore and I am ready to fight and possibly die about it.

The law abiding citizen always has the power of society hanging over them. You cannot shoot the drug dealer in the street, society retains that power. You can stop him from assaulting you or breaking into your residence, if you have the fortitude to do so.
 
Why do I like guns?

Hmm that's a tough one to answer.
I guess it's just an interest I was born with.
I was absolutely flabbergasted when I found out there was a gun range at Boy Scout camp.
I spent time there everyday I was at camp (ages 12 -16).

Then at age 17 I signed up to join the Army (delayed entry - left just after I turned 18).
I was a Medic, so I got to go along on all the live-fire exercises.
At every event they asked, "Hey Doc, you wanna..."
Wouldn't a missed it for all the tea in China. :D

Got to drive all manner of tracked vehicles (no tanks :( )& fire all manner of Army weapons, guns, LAWs, motars, etc.
 
Why do I like Firearms?

I like mechanical things.
The history behind their development and uses in world history.
I find shooting to be very relaxing.
I also like to reload/handload.
 
A gentle suggestion - please don't connect toys and guns.
Even at the age of four I knew the difference between a Fanner 50 and a firearm. I liked my toys and would have no hesitation at pointing them at my playmates. I already knew not to point a real gun or a BB gun at anything that I wasn't willing to hurt or kill.
I wouldn't encourage folks to let their kids play with toy guns today unless those folks were absolutely certain that all of the children involved were well trained about the difference between toys and guns. All of them.
 
Shooting is a great way to relax and clear your head of all the daily issues. Guns are fascinating machines and in some cases true works of art. I have been shooting for 42 years and it is a hobby that I have been able to pursue through all kinds of aging related "crap". Cleaning and working on guns is also a very pleasant way to spend an afternoon in the workshop. Going to the range and shooting various types and calibers is enlightening. Never have been a mall commando but have enjoyed firearms for most of my life. I don't golf so I need at least one obsession that can give me something to lie about!
 
Why do you like guns?
Click to expand...

Because I'm male.

Just kidding, really it's EXACTLY this:

allin said:
Shooting is a great way to relax and clear your head of all the daily issues. Guns are fascinating machines and in some cases true works of art.
Click to expand...

Not sure I could put it any clearer. I work a VERY stressful job with deadlines. (Think about getting a critical satellite in space). PLUS I run two businesses of my own. And a family with constant things going on from bad to perfection. When I decompress first, then take some deep breaths, pray, get in zen relaxation mode, it's time for the range.
 
a gentle suggestion - please don't connect toys and guns.
Click to expand...

Here we go again...
I meant no harm.
The OP asked, "what sparked your interest in guns."
Sparked...Fanner... IT'S A PUN
And it's true btw. That early exposure did spark my early interest., which has developed substantially over the 66 years I've been blessed with to date. We all live in a different world now than the one that produced Fanner 50 commercials. This is a site frequented largely by gun loving adults who understand the difference between a real gun and one eaten into shape in a jelly sandwich.
 
Primary - Defensive use
Secondary - Hobby use (collecting, recreational shooting, competition, hunting use, etc)

Those concepts are seperate, and even use different guns with little (but some) overlap. The really cool guns aren't in use as defensive arms, and the defensive arms tend to be utilitarian in nature.
 
My dad told me that when I received my first guns ( a pair of cap revolvers), I took them out of the box, looked at them, wiped them off with my pajama top and put them back in the box......he knew then I would be a collector. I have collected since age six and still have all of them minus a 20 ga 870, 12 ga Ithaca SKB, and a .30-06 P/Hale 1200 sold during tough times.

I used to "help" him wipe off his service 1911 and polish the brass on his uniform.
 
Actually my initial interest in guns was hunting and target shooting, but mostly hunting. And after being kidnapped about 45 years ago, self defense took first place, and has remained my top priority ever since. If I absolutely had to give up any firearms, the hunting weapons would be the first to go. I certainly wouldn't be happy about losing any of my guns either way though.

GS
 
My Grandfather was an officer in the Army in WW I, my Father a seaman in the Navy in WW II. When I was 5 my Dad had me shooting .22s by 10 shooting center fires. He said the training was "just in case". I never served, but the desire of my dad to prepare me for combat was a gift that will last me a lifetime. Plus it was cool to blast things, remember, I grew up in the 50s and 60s. Guns were cool :D
 
I'm 75 years old and bought my first rifle when I was about in the eighth grade of school. It was a 30-30 Winchester and cost $40. I got it because I wanted to hunt deer. My father was not a hunter or a shooter and had only three guns in the house, and none of them were deer rifles. I have owned guns from that time in my life until now, I don't know why, really, I just like guns, the look, the feel, the mechanics of how and why they work like they do. I've been on pistol teams and I've belonged to shooting clubs, I've shot skeet and sporting clays. I've hunted birds in my youth, and deer and elk then as well as now. I enjoy shooting at paper targets and do that now more than any other shooting, these days I shoot at our local range monthly. A year ago I visited our range every Wednesday morning. Right now I'm into building some AR pistols. One of these days I will stop buying firearms of any kind and turn over to my son what I own now, that will be the day I die.
 
reasons

I suspect that there most basic reason for anyone to want to own a firearm has to do with power and the desire/need to control it.
SD/HD/hunting/competition/et cetera.....these are all things we can do with firearms. All of them reduce in some way to controlling or wielding power.
There is tremendous satisfaction in taking something very powerful and making it do what you want. Even the lowly .22rf is powerful compared to just about any person.
Taking a fine rifle and using it to harvest an elk across a 300 yard plain is a fine example of controlling and using a powerful tool to do something otherwise impossible.
Knowing that you have the power and ability to defend yourself, your loved ones, and your possessions against aggression is another example.
Being able to stand up with a pistol and shoot at and hit a small paper target 50 yards away ten times in a row is a third.

Power...that is the most basic reason.
 
Not to be ridiculous but this can be answered on so many levels.

First, is that they are a right of "Americana" - by that I mean that I feel as though by ownership and responsible use that I am fully engaged as an American citizen upholding and honor and tradition unique to our culture. In a non arrogant way we need to foster gun ownership as a "majority" idea suitable for all good citizens of this nation.

Second, they are both practical and fun. Whether employed in SD, target, or hunting they are useful tools that have significant impact in our lives. As a bonus the acquisition (choosing process), maintenance, and practice that is required by owning a gun consumes my time in an enjoyable way.

And third, they are a focal point for social interaction with like minded gun aficionados. I enjoy the culture of being with fellow shooters of all persuasions. Even caliber arguments and disagreements over this feature or that are elevating.

I have been around guns for 40 years now but the acquisition of a new one still brings me excitement and joy.
 
They are FUN!

And guns allow me to relax, relive stress, occupy my time, exercise judgment and have many other beneficial qualities that I cant think of right now.

They are instruments of precision and often works of beauty at the same time.

They give me peace of mind and secutity.

But most of all........THEY ARE FUN!
 
Guns Are Fun !

km101 said:
They are FUN!

And guns allow me to relax, relive stress, occupy my time, exercise judgment and have many other beneficial qualities that I cant think of right now.

They are instruments of precision and often works of beauty at the same time.

They give me peace of mind and secutity.

But most of all........THEY ARE FUN!
Click to expand...
Works for me ! :D
 
Njal Thorgeirson put some of it very well: "They're something the govt. doesn't want me to have."

This is the primary reason I recently bought a second SKS (though mostly a "sleeper" in the recent panic), and partly why a second Garand was acquired last summer.
On another note, some countries require that very obsolete bolt-action long rifles such as Enfields/Mausers be destroyed.
 
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As a kid I enjoyed chucking rocks and dirt clods and hitting that at which I had aimed (but was known to miss every now and then mind you). I still enjoy accurately chucking rocks tho now the rocks are small lead & copper projectiles and they tend to move very fast with some noise and flash thrown in for good measure (and I still miss every now and then mind you). :rolleyes:

So maybe it is "power"
It could be the "history"
The "Engineering" and math involved
"Food" is good
"Self Preservation" can be useful
"Variety"? (shape, size, cartridge, use)
"Total Focus" involvement

Not to mention that other people who like guns, are, for the most part, polite as all get out, nice and/or just plain interesting (in my experience).

But it goes back to chucking rocks and dirt clods accurately and satisfying my five senses (tho I can't really 'taste' a firearm per se).

YMMV
 
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