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I have two questions for you TFR: 1) Why do you like Guns? 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? I was pondering this last night, there are a lot of people on TFR with different hobbies that come together. The truth is we pretty much only have one piece of common ground, guns. I know there are a couple people like me on TFR, but I'm curious about the spread and how many people like guns for the same reason as me and just lack funds or access to get into this hobby like I have. For me: 1) Why do you like Guns? Ever since I was a child I have loved mechanical things and weapons. As a kid I used to take apart everything and put it back together before my parents found out. My grade school trapper keeper has little doodles of guns and swords and jets in it. When I discovered I could own guns it was natural that I would own as many as I could. What I like about them now is the work that went into them. I've never been very good at fine work like that, but I can certainly appreciate it. I love the mechanical nature of them, and understanding how they work. I have taken apart a great many of my guns, and I enjoy broken and cheap guns because I can feel free to take them apart. I love the history of guns. They are such an amazing antique type collectable because they are so durable and can have so much information attached to them what with proof marks and serial numbers and names scratched in them. Really, that's what it boils down to for me: History, Mechanical Nature, Craftsmanship. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? This bit is what really got me thinking. The truth is that my hobbies related to guns, the hobbies that I enjoy are the following, and in this order: 1) The Hunt, deals, haggling, the search for the rare, unusual, the fine. Frankly, this is the best part for me. Once it is a trophy in my safe it's not something I want to let go of, but a bit part of the pleasure is now gone. 2) Collecting, sort of. I do have that hoarder compulsion to gather things. Guns limit what I can pile up. This is a part of the hobby that I am at odds with because the truth is I am not a true collector. I feel no need to have a "complete" collection. I don't need one of every variation of something. I don't need my guns to be in exceptional condition. What I do need is to be able to hold, shoot, and understand the guns that tick the three boxes that cause me to like guns, history, mechanical nature, and craftsmanship. I'd rather have a beat up and interesting gun over one that is perfect and in the box. I'd rather have a rare finicky automatic from 1905 then a perfect modern anything (pretty much) I'd rather have a beat to poo poo 1930 S&W then a pristine, in the box Ivar Johnson. 3) Sharing my love of guns: One by product of the way I collect guns is that I have a wonderful assortment of guns to illustrate to people, in a physical way, what is so loving neat about guns. I can take someone to the range with a case of guns and show how felt recoil works by having them shoot different size 9mms, out of automatics and revolvers. Teach them to shoot by progressing from remarkably non-threatening .22s all the way up to ridiculously powerful .44 Magnum loads or high powered rifles. Recounting the history of a gun, not just in design, but in such a way that gives them a tangible link to the past. I think it is important to teach people not just gun safety and proper use, but to open their eyes to the concept that guns aren't just baby killing murder machines. They are in fact the cheapest and most accessible mechanical antiques around. 4) All other gun related hobbies: Reloading: Interesting, but more a necessary evil then anything. Shooting: This is a bit of the History for me, that tactile link to the past. (this could change if I had a Hickok45 back yard though, it probably would) An example of this is that I understand completely every change made to the 1911A1 after shooting a 1911 and experiencing what prompted those changes. Repairing: I like it, but I'm bad at it. I can accomplish minor repairs and I enjoy it because it allows me a better understanding of the mechanisms involved, but I also don't want to further destroy guns. Reading/Researching: Interesting, but I retain very little from books. I need to hold and play with a gun to get information to stick. Gun related reading is something I use to understand as much of what I might be looking at when I am out hunting for more guns, but unless I have an example of a gun I am reading about I just don't do very well keeping anything I read in my head. Everything Else I engage in related to guns is in support of growing and refining my gun collection, which is in effect how I actually grow and refine my knowledge of guns due to my kinesthetic learning requirements. Part of why I am such a S&W sperg is that they have been so accessible to me. If I had a lot more money I would probably behave similarly regarding things like old Mausers, US Milsurp 1911s, or Colts. I suspect some of you may recall that I went through a similar phase with Rugers in the past, I just sort of finished with them and moved on. I'll leave off with a re-post of this picture, because it encapsulates what I like about guns so much.  You have the terrifically historical mix master 1911. You have quality, history, craftsmanship, mechanical design. Everything I love about guns is right there. I would go so far as to say with the addition of the Filipino Korea/1953 grips that Not Nipsy so kindly gifted to me, it is my very favorite gun. The S&W and Colt are a contrast in both design and execution. They are essentially the same gun, built for the same purpose, at the same time. The difference in quality couldn't be more striking. Both guns are historical, but the S&W has the added benefit of having been to England at some point in it's life. Probably serving as a home guard sidearm. All 3 guns fire a round that I love both from a historical context, and I just enjoy shooting. There's something satisfying about the .45ACP's rolling recoil.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 18:27 |
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| # ? May 21, 2013 16:55 |
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You and I are a lot alike, thought not precisely so. 1) I've been interested in guns for as long as I can remember. I had no family with guns and virtually no exposure to the real thing growing up and hadn't even shot one until I was 20. I actually bought my first gun before I'd ever even shot a gun. History is one of the main driving motivators for me as well - especially the history of conflicts, like WWII. Mechanical design plays a small role for me - I can appreciate ingenious craftsmanship but that alone doesn't really drive my desire. Take something like the Dardick as an example - certainly a very unique design but without a military historical context the sheer impracticality of it makes it pretty uninteresting to me. I'd love the chance to shoot one of course, but if I had one I'd probably just sell it. Another factor I'm only a little ashamed to admit is the influence of pop culture. Movies and games and other ways I formed the basis of my understanding of guns growing up have had a heavy influence on me and probably always will. I like cowboy guns a lot mostly because I like Westerns a lot. I owned a Desert Eagle and didn't regret it even a little! This factor has probably the strongest influence on what I consider to be "cool" subconsciously. And finally is shootability. I have no interest in owning a gun I can't shoot, be it a pristine unfired Colt Python, an ancient Civil War era moon round carbine or something like a Gyrojet with prohibitive ammo cost restrictions. Competition shooting was a strong drive for awhile but ammunition costs and dead time spent standing around eventually drove me back out of it. That said as I eventually reach the bounds of what I can afford to collect, I expect to dive back into the shooting sports with renewed vigor. 2) Like you sixgun the pursuit of the deal is addictive to me. Another easy way to get me to refuse to buy a gun is a high price. Even if I have the money in hand, if I feel like the deal isn't fair or even good I'll walk away. That's a lesson mostly hard-learned through experience - but the opposite holds true as well. I've ended up picking up a number of guns I hadn't really had my eye on simply because I knew the price I was being offered could be made back easily in the future, and often was. I'm a collector too, really anyone has 20+ guns is some sort of collector. But like you, I have no desire for unfired and therefore unfirable perfect examples. I'm not even that interested in the unique one offs amongst the more affordable pieces. I'd be happier with a DWM commercial Luger in shootable condition over a super early war gun with all matching numbers including the mag that I'd be afraid to break a part on. I'm also not drawn to collecting multiple guns of a similar type. When I got my PU Mosin I sold my regular 91/30, even though it was the first rifle I ever bought, because 2 Mosins was too many. If I do get a war-era Luger eventually I'll sell my commercial gun. I'd be happy enough with a mixmaster M1911A1 - I don't think I'd need a US&S to reach satisfaction. I also greatly enjoy teaching people to shoot. The more people who understand and like guns, the more friendly voters there are in the world. It's also a relaxing and engaging way to pass the day which most people would enjoy, I think. I've kept several guns around that I would have sold under normal circumstances because they're useful training aids. I am not a mechanically minded person and grow frustrated easily when confronted with problems I can't overcome with my ape like smash things together techniques. I can do limited gunsmithing but I don't like to - I'll never undertake to build a 1911 for example. I haven't started reloading simply because the whole concept strikes me as tedious and the idea of putting together explosives while half concentrating due to boredom sounds like a bad idea to me. I've put together a little library of probably $3-500 worth of reference books about guns too. Unfortunately, I don't retain the info either. They're great to have around so I can try to figure out what the cartouches on the stock of my 1903 mean (still don't know actually) but if I'm reading Joe Poyer's history of 1911s there is basically no chance I'm going to be able to bring that information with me in my head when inspecting war-time guns for original parts. I just don't have the necessary experience yet. And finally the shooting, mainly some form of competitive shooting. I was happy blasting paper for most of my gun owning career but once I got a taste of scored events like skeet and trap, and later USPSA, everything else became kind of gray and dull in my eyes. I still hit the range but never alone and rarely if I don't have a new gun I'm itching to try out. Unlike a lot of posters, I gain virtually no enjoyment from making smaller and smaller groups with a .22LR pistol at 15 yards. Similarly, while I own a lot of rifles, shooting them at paper at 100 yards isn't something I really care to do so most of them stay home unless they're being brought out to show off or teach someone on. Despite its lack of historical significance and fairly conventional over/under design, my shotgun is the gun I put the most rounds through in 2012 and is overall probably my favorite gun. Shooting is still very important to me. That's a lot of words about guns. Thanks for making this thread - writing all this out helped me solidify what I'm actually trying to get out of the hobby a little.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 19:02 |
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1) Why do you like Guns? This question really made me think. I realized that the reason I started buying guns is not what I like most about guns. I bought my first gun because I was going on a long trip for work and I was worried about my wife's safety after several break ins at my apartment complex. My second gun was because my wife wanted us each to have a gun after our neighbor was busted for dealing drugs out of his apartment, in case his customers or his suppliers came after us for some reason. So my entry into firearms was on a utilitarian basis. But I have gone on to get a lot more, and they aren't strictly necessary anymore. I think that I enjoy guns because they represent to me one of the central themes of my life: man's displacement of chaos with order, or man's attempt to master his environment. One of my favorite photographs is a picture I took of the sun rising over a channel in the marsh east of New Orleans. Outlined against the sun and the water are about a half dozen cranes and some huge pieces of earth moving equipment. People tell me that the picture is nice, but the cranes ruin it. But the cranes are the reason I snapped the photo. To me, as a civil engineer, the cranes represent the eternal struggle outlined above, and I find it very motivating. Guns are another aspect of that. They show ingenuity and applied science (engineering), but on a small scale. They are something you can hold, use, and enjoy, but they are cheaper than a crane. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? Until recently, I was in school for my master's degree, so I didn't have a lot of cash to spend on guns, training, or competition. My hobbies were limited to plinking. Now, I'm planning to start competing in IPDA and some aspect of shotgun, possibly 3 gun. While I would like to claim it is for practical reasons, that I could go on to hunt or project myself if needed, the simple truth is that it is fun.as this stage in my life I don't really need more justification.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 19:05 |
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1) Why do you like Guns? While this answer has changed a lot over time I like guns because I enjoy shooting. I really, really, really find nothing more relaxing - or rewarding - than a good day at the range. In particular, I really, really, really love handguns. I probably got interested in firearms as a kid growing up and going shooting with my uncle, but NEVER with my parents, who were very restrictive and anti-gun. this probably encouraged me to get into shooting more than any other single influence. I've actively expressed interest in owning firearms since I was 9 or 10 and have persisted ever since. No other hobby or interest in my life has started so young and remained with me today. Secondly, I have always believed in the individual right to personal defense. While I initially was not interested in a carry permit, I've kept a loaded firearm in my house since I first bought my 870 and have never looked back. Initially this was because there had been a string of murders in my area that were seemingly random in nature and the idea of getting murdered was not mega appealing. I got into handguns because, well, I turned 21. I began shooting USPSA (more on that in the 2nd section) and this is probably what fully converted my interest into handguns almost exclusively. The fact that a pistol is also likely to be the firearm I protect myself with should the need ever arise further consolidated my reasons for investing in the skills and equipment to learn how to shoot a pistol effectively. Also, while I am an unabashed glock lover, I do really love firearms for their aesthetics. I have a beautifully blued 870 with walnut police stocks and it's far and away my favorite firearm. One day I'd like some high quality 1911s and hi powers and CZ75s in my safe. However, I also never want to own a collector's piece. I love shooting too much to spend my money on guns that will simply collect dust. I'd rather put it into ammo and range time/match fees. There is absolutely nothing more satisfying than putting up a personal best in IDPA or making a really nice group at 10 yards. I also love pistols because they allow me to really constantly improve without having to sink increasing amounts of money into a new firearm or a new upgrade in order to learn to shoot well - the biggest expenditure in shooting pistols is ammunition and time. Unlike rifles or shotguns, you can take a 450 dollar Glock as stock as it came from the factory and still be competitive in IDPA national events if you have the skill to do it. USPSA is a little more equipment intensive but not by much if you stick to limited or production. Finally, even beyond the learning aspect, I love handling the gun. I love the way pistols move and sit in my hand and how I can learn to make my manipulations of the gun more efficient and fine tuned. As I do this, too, the gun ages with me. Ultimately, I suppose, I want a gun that I can put in my safe that has tens of thousands of rounds through it from my trigger finger, into my targets, that helped me to make a better shooter. I want every scratch,ding, and blemish to be from me using the firearm the way it was designed, so that when I pass on one day the person who inherits that pistol can look at it as a testament to my dedication to and love for the sport. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? Rifles and shotguns are nifty and I have never had a bad time shooting or anything, but handguns - in particular combat pistol sports like IDPA and USPSA - remind me a lot of martial arts and other sports I've played in my life. They are physically demanding (not athletically demanding like soccer or basketball - important distinction) and require you to become really intuitively comfortable with your handgun. They also require you to think as you are manuevering through a course of fire and to have a plan as to the way and order in which you will engage your targets, reload, and position your body. When you really smoke a course of fire, you leave feeling completely excellent. The best part is, of course, that it's always a competition against yourself. I've never, ever seen an IDPA or USPSA match get hostile or confrontational. Everyone is just there to have fun and to be as good of a shooter as they can possibly be. I really like that compared to other sports I've played (mostly soccer in HS and college) where its really cutthroat. I used to enjoy talking poo poo to other teams but I've gotten older and less testosterone-y so I am not so into it these days. One day I'd like to get more serious about it, but right now (and realistically for a long long time) I have too many other committments for that to happen. I also really love taking out new shooters and teaching them gun safety (of course) and the techniques of good marksmanship. Recently I took out 2 buddies who had basically never shot, and one of them made a 2" group at 7yd with my Glock 17. That feeling was phenomenal - both of them thanked me profusely and came away with a profund respect for and understanding of the difficulty of good marksmanship. I would one day like to become instructor certified if only so that I can help more of my friends and family get their pistol permits. I really love teaching (and hope to go into academic medicine in my future for the same reason) and I love teaching people things that I love, including how to shoot well.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 19:29 |
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1) Why do you like Guns? Guns have a stigma and have are seen as a fetish for people. People are uninformed, scared and guns are generally forbidden. At least where I live. So naturally they are exiting for those and other reasons. I learned to like the history behind them and learn about their different uses and quirks. Which made me start to learn more and more about them and soon I became totally immersed in this hobby of ours. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? Hunting, collecting and sport shooting. Which is hard in Sweden...
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 20:04 |
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I hate guns.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 20:12 |
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I like guns because they are neat little machines and are much more affordable then classic cars. I like shooting because it is endlessly amazing to me that I can be sitting here and make a hole appear way the gently caress over there, exactly where I want it to be. I remember when I was a kid and finally became skilled enough to actually have the hammer hit the nail 99% of the time and what an amazing thing that seemed. Shooting is like that but my hammer and nails now take up most of a small bedroom.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 20:14 |
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1) Why do you like guns? I didn't shoot at all growing up. When I was in my teens I had a step father who hunted but did no target shooting at all. The guns he owned would go into the woods, shoot at animals, and come back home. No exceptions. They stayed in the safe unless actively shooting at animals. As luck would have it, the video games Rainbow Six and Metal Gear Solid came out within a few months of each other. Both featured fairly realistic guns and that got me interested. I made a post on the HKpro.com forum years and years ago asking if there was a range in Indiana who rented MP5s to shoot. I hadn't ever shot a gun before, but really, really wanted to at least handle one, if not shoot it. A guy on there offered to let me shoot his if I bought ammo and I took him up on it. I bought 500 rounds of 9mm WWB and we went to his range. I blew through all the ammo and he also let me shoot a 1911 he also owned. I really didn't hit poo poo, he gave me no pointers at all about stance or marksmanship. He just showed me how to load the mags and watched me smiling. It didn't matter, I was loving hooked. I think the reason I like guns is because they're fun. I like shooting, handling, and cleaning them. I like owning them and just sitting around working the action. I've always enjoyed mechanical things, I have very busy hands and being able to flick a switch or something has always appealed to me. Guns are sort of the same way. Even if I never shot them, I'd be content to sit and cycle an action or flip a safety switch for hours. I bought my first gun in 2006, an HK USP Tactical. Shooting it was incredible. It was big, loud, and fast as hell. I imagine this is the reason people get into muscle cars and poo poo. I was able to, through the help of a couple very generous goons, take a training course in September 2006 at Front Sight. I was able to actually shoot well after that. It wasn't about blowing through ammo anymore (okay it's still a lot about that, who am I kidding), but being able to shoot fast and efficiently. Guns turned into tools instead of toys at that point. I then took some more courses and learned a lot about shooting and fighting with guns. I started becoming more aware of my own defense. I am now almost purely a defensive shooter. I shoot more rounds in training than I do at the range, by a very wide margin. I liken it to someone who is very into martial arts. I enjoy learning how to be a better fighter and guns are a big piece of that. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? As mentioned above, it has become training in shooting and gun fighting. Within the past couple years I've transitioned to the other side and actively help train people to fight with guns. It has been extremely eye opening and rewarding. Every time I see the proverbial light bulb light up over someone's head, there's literally a warm feeling in my chest and a sense of pride. With the type of training I assist with, it's also a learning opportunity for me. Every time I run someone through a scenario I get to observe and participate in a (simulated) gun fight. I get to see what both new people and seasoned, well trained people will do when poo poo hits the fan. It's alarming just how unprepared people are, and that only drives me to train harder.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 20:22 |
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1) Why do you like Guns? I'm kinda weird I guess, I don't really give as much of a poo poo about shooting as I do about just buying and playing around with them. Don't get me wrong, I love going to the range, but more than that I like finding out just about everything I can about a gun. Like aspergers levels here. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? I loving love reloading. Like a lot. I've got an XL650 progressive press that I currently load 9mm, .40S&W, 10mm, .45ACP, and .223 on. I've loaded probably ~20k rounds with it. It has easily paid for itself, especially when you can make .45ACP for like $9/50. I just love finding the right combination of powders, whether it's only 2.5gr of w231 for my 147gr 9mm rounds out of my g17 with a light recoil spring, or my bearfucker 165gr 10mm loaded with 7.0gr of bullseye, I just really enjoy dialing everything in and then making like 1000 of that round in about two hours. I also love working on guns. I just repaired a Sig 1911 I picked up for $450 a couple days ago. I'll likely sell it for ~$900 though. I just like diagnosing what's wrong with a gun (in this case: grip safety not working and the sear catching on the hammer) and making it ~~all better~~. Last one is the one I do the most, just bsing about guns with other people. I love talking to someone else who knows their poo poo about the guns I know about, it's very fun to talk to people who enjoy the same poo poo as you. Probably why I like TFR a lot.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 20:29 |
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Why do I like guns?. Basically take ZMT and Sixgun's responses and mash them together. I'm interested in the mechanical aspects, the obscene levels of craftsmanship in early 20th century firearms, and (rather loving obviously) dig history in general. Once I got past all that I also discovered that I really loving like target shooting and, hey, these things also have the same rough emergency utility as a fire extinguisher or a first aid kit. So now all my crap boils down into three rough categories: 1) The Collection. WW2 poo poo goes here. I shot all of it, and I certainly guns that have obviously 'been there, done that,' but I'm not inherently against owning something that I'll never shoot. Take my giant obsession with all things Oberndorf. When I finally get a G41(m) I doubt if I'll ever shoot it precisely because they were finicky fucks prone to snapping tiny, precision milled parts when they were brand new, and I imagine that 60+ years of god knows what hasn't improved that issue. 2) my "working" guns. Consider those to be the biggest loving scare quotes in the world, I have no illusions of being some kind of operator. I enjoy trying to put holes close together at the range, and am getting to a point where I'm also starting to enjoy putting holes next to each other as quick as I can manage. 3) my "serious" guns. Break glass in case of rear end in a top hat in house at 3 AM. Currently this is a SIG loaded with JHP in the nightstand next to a flashlight. I used to have a college student grade carry rig, but I sold that when I realized I was never carrying because my life is basically spent either at home or in a state mandated gun free zone. I will entertain all manner of crazy poo poo in category #1. Stupid early semi-auto designs that need a gallon oil and a virgin sacrifice to get through a mag of expensive moon ammo without malfing?  Two bolt action rifles that are identical except made in different years and with ever so slightly different manufacturing processes? Stick 'em on the pile. The other guns, though, are pretty much as utilitarian as they come, and I doubt I'll own that many. I've got an AR target rifle for when I want to put little holes close to one another slowly at 200-300 yards. I've got a SIG carbine for when I want to put little holes as close together as I can manage with some speed at 50-100 yards. I've got a pistol that I use for both range pistol poo poo and bump in the night duties.edit: Oh yeah, I forgot the most important part: guns are loving  and fun as all gently caress. Seriously, if you can't enjoy sitting around just fiddling with an M1 or something (properly cleared, ammo in the other room, etc. etc.) while watching a war movie, or Predator, or whatever the gently caress then you're just broken.
Cyrano4747 fucked around with this message at Feb 19, 2013 around 20:54 |
| # ? Feb 19, 2013 20:51 |
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Cyrano4747 posted:
I'm probably destined for a life on campus too, but don't you, like, go other places besides school ? grocery store, movie theater, whatever? I don't really carry super often these days relative to my hours spent awake but I sure as hell am not planning on selling my holsters or anything. I guess I also shoot IDPA and am interested in that kind of stuff a lot, which probably makes it make less sense for me to give up on carrying for that reason. I've invested more time/money into that skillset than many others have, that is. Cyrano4747 posted:
Amen
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 20:56 |
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Excellent topic, since I love to talk about myself :P. I wrote some of this in a personal blog that has long since gone idle. I'll adapt it for here. Why do I like guns? This is an interesting question for me to answer because I didn't get into guns until after the age of 35. So, to justify getting "into" something expensive out of nowhere like this, I put a fair amount of thought into this exact question. First: guns are cool. They're a sensory treat -- smell, sound, look and feel (I try not to taste them too often). They're fun and flashy and dangerous, like a motorcycle or a sports car, but more affordable. Second: guns are technical. I'm an engineer, and while I'm not a handy guy (drywall? lumber?  ), I like to tinker, I like to take things apart, I like to rebuild PCs and rewire home theater setups. The first time I took a class and I asked my instructor how something worked and he just cracked that thing open and showed me how the little tiny pieces worked together, I was hooked. And this extends to the gear side of things -- a range bag full of "poo poo", numerous cleaning kits, I mean, really, this is like legos for grown ups, no?Third: I’m competitive, obsessive, and detailed. The rituals associated with firearms fit right in with my neuroses. Keeping them clean, improving my groupings, fine-tuning my stance and grip, sorting my ammo, whatever. Fourth: It's a chance to bond with my male relatives who I have little else in common with. I grew up without a father. Now I can talk guns with my father-in-law, even when no other subjects are readily available. Fifth: I'm a father, now, and want to know that I have the ability, skill, and legal right to defend my family, even as I know it's incredibly unlikely to ever be necessary. Sixth: I believe the second amendment is a positive force in America. I like knowing that my government trusts the People enough to not disarm them (for now). I believe I have an obligation to show that trust is well-placed by being a responsible firearm owner. Our society benefits when people who have nothing to hide refuse to be searched, when people fight attempts to censor school library books, and when Good Guys own guns and use them responsibly. I can be a small part of that. What are my gun-related hobbies and why do I like them? I don't spend much money on guns, but I enjoy reading up on them and researching them. I have a backlog of things I want to buy some day. Like any gadget geek, I have stuff I've settled for, and dream items I want some day. It's obvious what itch this scratches. Given how much time I spend lurking here, on other forums, reading reviews of stuff, and what-not, this definitely qualifies as a gun-related hobby, I'd say. I get out and shoot about once a month, and it gives me a chance to socialize with people with no kids present (yay!), to try out new firearms, to keep my skills up, and to experience all the sensory stuff I talked about above. This is pistol shooting, either at paper targets or bowling pins. I'd go more often (I'd like to shoot trap monthly as well, and get in two pistol shoots a month instead of one) but being a Dad is busy work and I have to divide my free time among several competing interests.... I also have gone hunting a few times, but hesitate to call myself "a hunter" until I at least have an animal in my sights and make a shoot or no-shoot decision. I haven't even gotten that far. But hunting gives me a chance to give a purposeful exploration of my environment and to get more in touch with the world around me. It also makes me think about my place in the food chain in a new way. I hope to some day bring home some game, clean it, prepare it, and eat it, and know I've provided a meal for my family in a way which is totally separate from what most of this country associates with food.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 21:05 |
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Kommienzuspadt posted:I'm probably destined for a life on campus too, but don't you, like, go other places besides school ? grocery store, movie theater, whatever? Eh, I haven't flat out given up on carry, but it's just so loving restricted in NC that it's crazy. In the last year the places that I most commonly go: 1) campus 2) my apartment 3) various bars, restaurants, or other places that serve alcohol 4) the range 5) movie theaters 6) public gatherings (my wife's running poo poo, farmers markets, music stuff, whatever's going on nearby that looks interesting) 7) grocery stores 8) malls Every single one of those except #2 and #4 is inevitably a no carry zone. Remember, I live in a state where a "NO GUNZ ALOWD" sign written in crayon has force of law. There are entire categories of events and places that are no-carry from the get go, including "public gatherings" and movie theaters. Oh yeah. You're also banned from carrying anyplace that is experiencing "public unrest." So if your neighborhood is rioting better not have a CCW on you while you try to get the gently caress out of dodge because, hey, that's illegal man. The gun I sold off was a barely adequate (although reliable) Bersa .380 that I got rid of before I went to Germany. I realized I hadn't done anything but punch paper with it in a couple years and I needed the cash for Germany more than I needed it sitting in a box for a year. I'll get another, nicer carry piece once I'm in an area and have a lifestyle that doesn't make quite such a mockery of my permit. But hey, at least I get to bypass NC's equally loving retarded pistol purchase permit regulations by having my CHL.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 21:10 |
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A big part of it is the mechanical aspect, I find purely mechanical devices incredibly interesting. Another large part comes in tinkering, tweaking, and so on -- I love working with my hands and the various gun hobbies give me lots of opportunities to do so. I'm not so big on hunting, at least the gory parts, but the rest of it, hiking, scouting, and so on are nice opportunities to do the whole 'male bonding' thing with friends and relatives without the tons of electronic distractions you have outside the woods. Target shooting gives me a focus that I can refine on, and just saying to hell with it and bouncing a can back and forth is pretty fun too. And some of it is I rather enjoy old things. Not from a "older=better" standpoint mind you, but a lot of the older things that have survived this long seem to be of very high quality, whether it is a old pistol or rifle, my old rear end cameras, or that late 40s sewing machine I have. They might not be "better" than what's out there currently, and indeed sometimes they are a lot more annoying to use, but nothing made today quite replicates the feel of the 'process' involved in using them.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 21:50 |
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1)Why do I like guns? As with a lot of you, it started with my interest in history. Then when I was 11 or so, my uncle took me shooting with his old Remington 512, and I was hooked. It's very relaxing to just go out on a nice day and shoot holes in a can. Eventually I want to get a gun suitable for self defense, and get my CCW. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? At the moment, I'm kind of hamstrung by lack of money and mobility I don't have my lisence. Yes, I know I need to do somethign about that. My main gun activity consists of plinking in my backyard with an airgun, or plinking down in the woods with my airgun. Eventually I want to get into Cowboy Action Shooting, and go hunting, and probably reload, but for now I'm stuck with the air rifle.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 21:54 |
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1) Why do you like Guns? Well... I don't know. I didn't start shooting much until my dad got a better job when I was 12 or 13 and had more money to get into the hobby. He joined the gun club and I started going with him. Before that, my only experience with guns was with Boy Scouts, where I did more than passing well. Rifle shooting was something I picked up like I was born to it, and I'm even better at shotgun. I shoot better than every Marine at my reserve unit because of him. I'm fascinated with the mechanical and physical nature to them, and I'd like to get more into the math behind ballistics to hopefully make myself even better, along with handloading. Plus shooting is loud, destructive, and fun - all my favorite things. There's no better feeling than hitting your target. A lot of guns are also aesthetically pleasing to me. Personal bias speaking here, but there is no better looking firearm than an old Browning Auto-5 with wood furniture on it. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? Everything - clay pigeons, action pistol/rifle, long range shooting. It's immensely satisfying to dial in a round at 200+ yards, or vaporize a clay pigeon with a full choke. The smell of gunsmoke will always be a part of my life. Hoppes no. 9 is something that will always bring me back to my childhood, watching my dad cleaning his Auto-5(that he still owns) in front of the TV. I started building a flintlock in high school and sort of abandoned the project at my mentor's house. I plan to finish it over the summer. Admiral Bosch fucked around with this message at Feb 19, 2013 around 22:04 |
| # ? Feb 19, 2013 21:59 |
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Parts Kit posted:And some of it is I rather enjoy old things. Not from a "older=better" standpoint mind you, but a lot of the older things that have survived this long seem to be of very high quality, whether it is a old pistol or rifle, my old rear end cameras, or that late 40s sewing machine I have. They might not be "better" than what's out there currently, and indeed sometimes they are a lot more annoying to use, but nothing made today quite replicates the feel of the 'process' involved in using them. Nah, I'll go so far as to say that poo poo that has survived for 80+ years of use is certainly of "better" quality than a lot of stuff you see in your daily life. The designs have certainly been superseded, and there's usually a much more convenient modern analogue, but the physical object itself is usually of obscenely high quality to have lasted that long. Remember: they were cranking out cheap poo poo back then also, and most of it ended up in scrap bins or junkyards precisely because it got worn out and thrown away. What we're left with today is often the poo poo that was of really high quality back then. Look around you today. You'll see some high quality objects that you could imagine being around in 50+ years, and an equal number that are obviously limited lifespan items. The former are usually really goddamned expensive and are frequently just status items that don't do their job THAT much better than the cheap poo poo, but they'll usually also last longer. The two big examples I can think of outside of guns are knives and furniture. It doesn't have to be crazy-high end, but I don't think I'm saying anything controversial when I point out that college student grade garbage knife sets and IKEA furniture probably won't last 80 years, while a knife set of at least passable quality and real wooden (non-pressboard) furniture has at least the potential to still be in circulation 4 or 5 decades from now.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 22:00 |
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Neat question that deserves some thought. I got into shooting about a decade ago when my dad, on a total lark, bought a S&W .357 from a customer. Taking that the first time out was a total riot. There was a little bit of danger and "forbiddenness" about the whole experience, especially for a 19-year old who had grown up in LA and been surrounded by voices that parroted that old line about guns being for redneck types and serving no utility at all blah blah blah. After my first bag of 50 .38 special rounds, I was totally and irrevocably hooked. Since that day, shooting for me has been something of an individual sport. There are a lot of aspects about shooting that are fun, but as a hobby there are always elusive goals. Can you beat your current best target? Can you shoot better with a gun you don't shoot all that well? Can you hit this moving target? How many rounds can you put on a half-inch shoot n' see paster? For me, guns have been about practical marksmanship. Benched rifles don't interest me all that much, because there's a lot of mechanical variables that begin to come into play that muddy the human components of shooting. But, pick up any well-made pistol and aim at a 1" dot at 10 yards. If you hit it, it's a result of doing everything right. If you miss, that's all on you. I really like that. The guns I tend to buy are typically tremendously accurate, have some kind of cool factor, or round out some different aspect of shooting. I love history and craftsmanship as much as the next person, but a gun's gotta shoot good enough to stay in the collection. I've liked collecting and shooting as many guns as possible because the experience can be so completely different. Shooting a Peacemaker clone in .45LC is completely different than the feel of shooting a Sig 226, and sometimes the big boom of a .44 Magnum can be tremendously gratifying.
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| # ? Feb 19, 2013 22:37 |
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1) Why do I like guns? I actually had to think about this one a bit, I've been interested in them since I was a little boy. Part of that was the normal cops and robbers type stuff but a lot of it was pop culture (Indiana Jones, playing Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and other FPS with my father). It didn't help that my parents weren't into guns anymore and the only gun in my house was an old Savage 22 that wasn't shootable, I actually begged my parents to let me keep it up on the wall in my room and they finally gave in. Not being able to have or shoot a gun definitely had me itching for one pretty badly so as soon as I moved out of the dorms I picked up my first one. I get a bit envious when I hear some of you guys talking about going shooting with your parents even though we did lots of other stuff together, they're actually starting to show a bit of interest now (surprised me by asking me to will them a couple of my guns when I was giving them instructions for my updated will) but it is a bit late for that now with them in Hawai'i I like shooting them, especially if I shoot them well, I do like the mechanical aspect of them (I like troubleshooting in general) which is why I like upgrading mine or fixing other people's guns. I definitely enjoy handling a finely crafted firearm, working the action, dryfiring it, etc. It is also nice to have a hobby I can BS with a lot of people about, even if some of them are insufferable. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? I need to get back into shooting competition (I was terrible and didn't find a new place to do it after I moved) and start reloading, I also need to shoot my drat rifles more often. Basically I need to stop being lazy and maybe find some shooting buddies so I'm not always going by myself.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 00:38 |
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1) Because as a small child, the most one-on-one time I got with my dad was when he went shooting with my uncles. As an adult, I like guns because there is an objective standard on which to gauge my skill with a gun: speed, accuracy, and distance. 2) Hunting and steel shooting
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 02:29 |
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1) Pop culture and video games pretty much got me into guns. My dad was/is a gun guy and has a decent collection but we hardly went shooting when I was a kid, just a few times to shoot .22's. I just thought guns were cool and when I was in college I started going to gun shows with a good buddy who was pretty much the same way. When I got my first handgun at 21 I was pretty much hooked. Once I got into it, the pop culture of it started to wear off pretty quickly and I began doing a lot of research on guns. Being a mechanical engineer I like to tinker with things be it guns or cars and most of my guns don't stay stock very long. I'm not really fascinated with how they work, much like I'm not really fascinated with how my car engine works, but I have to know exactly how it works so I will tear down any and every gun I handle to get a complete understanding of it. Once I know how it functions, I try to optimize it and squeeze a bit more accuracy out of it. This doesn't mean all my guns have a bunch of work done to them, but they pretty much all have something done to it be it a simple spring change or slight polish job or as far as replacing all the guts in my glock. Trying to get as much accuracy as comes just as much from me as the gun. I practice a bunch and look for areas where I'm lacking and focus on those. This can be for action type shooting, long range shooting, bullseye style shooting, I have to try to get every little bit I can and keep improving. This probably comes from my background in cars and racing, every tenth of a second counts on the track so I gotta find places to keep pushing it. I'm all about shooting so I'm not going to ever be a collector unless I am very rich and can afford collectables after I bought all my shooters. An original Colt SAA would be cool but for the price I could buy some other expensive gun or guns I can actually shoot which is way more appealing. I'm also all about being able to protect myself and family and believe it is solely an individuals responsibility to protect himself/herself and family. 2) I did a bunch of IDPA but have kinda stopped due to several reasons but plan to get back into it and do some USPSA matches as well. I do a bunch of training classes when I can to help also. I would like to do some long range matches and classes to get better at that and do more rifle stuff in general since I primarily have done pistol in the past. I reload as well and while I do find it somewhat tedious, it's just something I can do to squeeze a bit more accuracy out and drive my costs down. I also love watching a good action movie with a glass of whiskey while fiddling with a gun (of course no ammo). After the second glass I'll go put the gun up though.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 02:43 |
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1) I guess I have to attribute why I like guns to being around hunting and guns since as long as I can remember. My dad had pictures of me in his arm as a baby with a turkey he shot in his other hand. I helped set up duck decoys when I was 3 and I went scouting turkeys when I was 5. I love all things mechanical and being an engineer it just seems like a natural fit. I will say that my gun interests blossomed in college when I got away from just shotguns and .22's. I honestly think that I would have found my way to guns without my family, but I can't complain. I will say that I get very different gratification from shooting different guns. I love shotguns and bird hunting as my first passion, but target shooting with shotguns outside of legitimate sporting clays is boring to me anymore. Hunting shotguns are just tools to me anymore, but fine O/U's are the best artwork to me. Shooting .22's are just fun, centerfire rifles are serious business especially when I'm out with reloads. Part of me thinks shooting tight enough groups is somewhat of a purple dragon to chase. Handguns are fun, were initially somewhat off limits for a long time and now are just the easiest for me to shoot. Archery is the most natural feeling and zen like to me, probably my favorite basic target shooting. 2) Hunting ducks,turkeys, deer, doves and pheasants. Sporting clays, rifle reloading and one pistol match to date. I love hunting, I love being outside and I love shooting. To me they are just more great outdoor recreation I share with my friends and family. Unfortunately hunting and shooting compete amongst themselves and against my 3 disciplines of bike racing. I have turned into a jack of all outdoor recreation so its hard to focus on one thing, let alone one species to hunt.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 03:19 |
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Cyrano4747 posted:Nah, I'll go so far as to say that poo poo that has survived for 80+ years of use is certainly of "better" quality than a lot of stuff you see in your daily life. The designs have certainly been superseded, and there's usually a much more convenient modern analogue, but the physical object itself is usually of obscenely high quality to have lasted that long. Remember: they were cranking out cheap poo poo back then also, and most of it ended up in scrap bins or junkyards precisely because it got worn out and thrown away. What we're left with today is often the poo poo that was of really high quality back then. There's also the issue that a lot of high quality stuff has been used hard over the last century. Take this camera of mine for example. I jumped on that really fast simply because it's the only one I've ever seen that wasn't ratty as poo poo inside and out and about ready to fall apart. Same goes for later Graflex cameras like the Speed Graphics -- they were used so hard that it's not really that common anymore to find one that is in really good shape. [Though with some of the Speed Graphic stuff it doesn't help that the star wars neckbeards like to cut up the flash guns so they can make prim and proper replicas of Luke's first lightsaber (the movie prop was made from a Speed Graphic flash gun). How am I supposed to live out my dream of dressing up like a 30s-40s photographer and harassing politicians by following them around and taking their pictures with 4x5 film and flash bulbs now damnit?!  ]
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 03:55 |
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1) Why do you like Guns? I'm gonna go ahead and say that video games and pop culture probably got me interested in the first place, especially since I was playing first person shooters from a relatively young age - not particularly realistic ones, but ones that had COOL GUNS! My parents don't own and have never owned guns, and my mom was even against gun-shaped toys. She lost her father in Vietnam and was scared to hell that me liking guns could lead to me joining the military. My dad didn't really care, and was in favor of getting me an air rifle or .22 when I was young, but that idea was shot down by Mom. I think my interest in guns comes from a combination of the above factors - an interest in them from their appearance in media, and my mom trying like hell to keep me away from them. I bought my first pistol just weeks after turning 21. What I like in a gun is a tactile action. Like, single action revolvers. Cocking hammers. Racking slides. Cycling bolts and levers. Flipping open a top break and sliding fresh cartridges in. I enjoy guns that are not only fun to shoot, but fun to manipulate. I like being involved in their operation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, my tastes tend toward cowboy guns - Winchester lever actions, SAAs, coach guns, and so on. That's not to say semiautos don't have a place in my collection, but they don't tend to be the ones I love the most. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? Primarily, I just like owning and loving with guns. I enjoy doing work on them when I can. I want to know how things work, but not really in the "must know the mechanism of things" sense - I just like to be more knowledgeable about the things I love. I buy and sell a lot, because I consider just owning a gun for a period of time to be a worthwhile experience. I buy guns even knowing that I'll sell them eventually, just so I can experience it for a while, get to know it, and come away with information on a gun I wouldn't have bothered researching without owning it. I shoot SASS on occasion, too. Good workout for those cowboy guns. I also enjoy shooting more practically at the range. This is where my modern semiautomatic guns and my benchrest bolt action and such come out to play. As much as I adore fun and tactile weapons, I spend more time actually shooting the practical ones. Admiral Bosch posted:A lot of guns are also aesthetically pleasing to me. Personal bias speaking here, but there is no better looking firearm than an old Browning Auto-5 with wood furniture on it. 
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 04:12 |
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1) Why do you like guns? I got in to guns in a a little bit of a weird way. I was on boy scouts growing up, and we did get to shoot .22s and the occasional high power rifle, and while it was fun it never really caught on for me at that point. At 16 I went to work a summer at the scout camp my troop went to. My second day there I was told that shooting sports was short staffed, and that I would be moving over to help out. My boss at the time was a retired Army Colonel and a huge gun collector. He taught me how to shoot, got me interested in guns, and from then on I was hooked. My continued interest in guns comes from a couple different places, like Sixgun and Cyrano, I enjoy the history behind then guns. I also really appreciated the craftsmanship that goes in to them. I'm a moderately handy person in that I've built my own electric bass (And am currently working on an electric guitar), and I built a forge in my backyard to play around with knife and hatchet making. So looking at how something was machined and fitted with care really appeals to me. The mechanical workings of guns really appeals to me as well. For me, there is nothing more zen than stripping down my Hi-Power or Remington Rand. I like seeing how all the pieces fit together and interact with each other. If I ever have the money and space to get some proper machining tools, I'd like to try out a couple ideas I have for some .22 rifles. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? Collecting mostly. I'm not at a level where I get really high end stuff, but I am slowly working my way there. My first couple milsurp rifles were bought because they were cheap, but I'm starting to get an understanding of what to look for, and what to reject. I'd like to have nicer examples of guns, but I also want ones that I can shoot quite a bit, so I'm trying to find a balance between those two point when I buy something now. The other part is just plain shooting. I have a few guns that are just pure shooters that almost always come out to the range with me, regardless of what my plans are. Even if I'm out for a round of trap at my local range, my AR-15 comes with just in case I want to stop by the rifle range if I have time. Eventually I want to get in to competitions, but that will come when I'm less busy with school. I want to challenge myself and continue to get better with shooting. It's a great feeling for me when I can sit there and concentrate, and see myself getting better and better.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 04:56 |
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1) Why do I like guns? If I had to answer in one word, I'd say I like guns because of aesthetics. I think most "classic" guns look awesome. I have the same interest in the way guns look that I have in the lines and proportions of classic automobiles. I can honestly and unashamedly say that I originally became interested in guns because of video games. Early in my adolescence I started playing two specific video games: a mod for Half-Life 1 called The Specialists and the more well known Counter Strike. Pretty much overnight I had memorized what gun was what, what caliber each gun was, how much ammunition each gun could fire, etc. I was also in Boy Scouts at the time, and when I earned my rifle shooting merit badge and got to shoot the real thing ("the real thing" being a single shot .22,) I was hooked. When I earned my Eagle Scout award at age 13, my parents offered to reward me with pretty much anything I asked for, within reason. I asked for a Ruger MK II. I still have it. This was the early 2000's. As the years passed by, the whole tactical I love the 80's Arnold movies, and I love police procedurals too. I love the look of SW revolvers from Dragnet or Dirty Harry, MAC 10's and Uzis from Miami Vice, and I love the look of the retro AR15 so much I'll watch drat near any Vietnam movie or 80's action movie just to see them in action. There are very few guns that I actually think aren't cool to look at. I love conventionally "ugly" firearms like the aforementioned MAC10 or the Glock. That's pretty much it. I don't care for competition. I shot on a smallbore rifle team for years, competed at Camp Perry, shot NRA Hi-Power, and as recently as last year started shooting USPSA. I quickly lost interest in all of them. I just don't really care about beating my own score, let alone anybody else's. Just squeezing a trigger and hearing a loud boom is as fulfilling to me as anything. Bilal fucked around with this message at Feb 20, 2013 around 05:39 |
| # ? Feb 20, 2013 05:35 |
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How Did You Get into Guns? I started really getting into guns slightly before March 26th, 2008. I know this because that's what the receipt says for my first handgun (I don't count the Jennings .22 that I bought and never fired almost 20 years before). It was a Taurus PT 24/7 in 9mm, and I got it because I could. Prior to that, I was solidly in the demographic that doesn't own firearms, doesn't have any particular opinion of firearms other than a vague idea that maybe only cops should have them, and if prodded a bit, would come down on the side of 'common sense gun control'. While I was most definitely around for the 94 AWB, I didn't feel it at all. None of my friends were gun owners. It just passed me by. So, in 2008, what happened? I have no idea. One day, it occurred to me that I could own a gun. That this was not something that 'other people' did. I could do it. I had no reason to. I did not particularly want one for home defense, or carry. So I just did it. Holding it, taking it apart, and much later firing it out in the woods, I very quickly saw why people got so passionate about their guns. Why Do You Like Guns? I really had to think about this one. For the first several years I liked guns because they were guns. After 2008, I was all guns all the time. I studied everything I could about each gun I bought. I had no direction for my collection. I just bought what seemed cool. 91/30? Perfect: I was a history major. I spent insane amounts of time poring over 7.62x54r.net, Google, and this TFR place I found. I was desperately trying to suss out where my rifle came from (Izhevsk), where it had been (no idea) and what it had been (retired sniper). I learned about ammo. About sighting in. About everything. I learned what a battle rifle was, and so it was SKS, CETME, and briefly, WASR time. Learn, Learn, Learn. I picked up reloading. I started picking up guns I could easily reload for: a Marlin 336 in 30-30. Revolvers in .38 spl/.357. K31. I got my Concealed Carry License about 2 years ago. Now I was looking at a CZ82, a Beretta Tomcat in 32ACP. Let's Read Sixguns by Keith? Hell yes! I needed and got a GP100 in .357 and loaded for distance. My reasons for buying and enjoying guns have been all over the map in the last five years. But this year, I've finally isolated what I think is the constant that keeps me fascinated by firearms. Despite 800 years of innovation and change, firearms remain single-purpose machines whose principles of design and construction are largely the same, and still accessible to anyone who has even a minimal desire to learn them. For example, I can put these firearms on my workbench*:    ...and using tools reasonably available to anyone disassemble them. I could work out how they accomplish similar tasks, but in different ways: how to get a charge and bullet into the barrel/chamber? How to accomplish precise and timely ignition? How to ensure safe operation? How to accomplish accuracy? What decisions were made to ease manufacture, cleaning, repair, reloading? Despite the fact that they are centuries apart, the principles and methods of design and construction are similar if not the same. The machines we rely on daily are more complex than ever. So much so that many of them require more specialized knowledge, skills, and tools to maintain and repair than one person can possibly acquire in one lifetime. Cars with computers controlling basic engine functions. Music players with components so incredibly small and complex that they are impossible to build without still more complex devices. Plastic clips, flanges, and resins take the place of screws, bolts, and replaceable rivets. We have no choice but to throw away some of the most marvelous machinery mankind has ever seen, day after day simply because they are beyond the capacity of simple repair. Meanwhile, in my safe sits a Smith & Wesson revolver made over 100 years ago that is functionally identical to a Ruger SP101 that will roll off their line tomorrow. Where I myself can't really find practical use in ICs, transistors, and surface-mount capacitors, I can do a lot with basic knowledge of sear, spring, pawl, hammer and pin. I certainly don't profess to know even a tenth of what a real gunsmith knows. I can't claim to be able to work with steel to the same degree a smith would. I personally lack tools beyond punches, a few files, and a vise. However, those are enough. I know that really, I'm not the owner of any of the guns in my safe. Custodian and caretaker, maybe. Owner, no. Many of my guns were around before I was alive. I'm pretty sure that, barring completely stupid legislation, they'll outlast me. Maybe they'll outlast my kids and their kids. Kept, sold or stolen, passed down, around or over, it's certainly likely that they'll still be on the planet after I'm dust. And yet, I know that my great-great grandchildren will still be able to understand what a sear is, what a minute of angle is, how to check for lockup and fix a feed issue. And they'll understand why in every country, in every age, there are always men and women who love guns for what they are. Great thread idea, Sixgun. And all of your responses have been really thought-provoking. Without getting all mooshy, TFR is also one of the constants in my hobby, and will remain so. *I actually can't since I don't own any of them. But if anyone has a 16th century Japanese matchlock and a Martini-Henry they'd like to give me to tear apart, I would accept them. Also, send me a lathe and milling machine, okay? Not Nipsy Russell fucked around with this message at Feb 20, 2013 around 07:24 |
| # ? Feb 20, 2013 07:18 |
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Beardless posted:My main gun activity consists of plinking in my backyard with an airgun, or plinking down in the woods with my airgun.  Mine, too!How did I get into guns? My grandfather was big into hunting, my dad always had a small collection, and I was the youngest son of two cops pulling way too much overtime. Guns were always presented as a way to feed a family by my grandfather who was a sustenance hunter when money was tight for his children, a way to blow off steam by my father and his crazy gun shop owner friend who would hand me a rifle (or air gun or bow as he had an indoor airgun/archery range) and box of ammo to shoot on his shop range while he and my dad chatted, and a part of protecting a family by my parents who made sure I had access to a gun and ammo whenever they were both gone when they decided I was mature enough to handle it. The Red Ryder my parents gave to me when I was 5 had me hooked on shooting from the first time I looked down the sights. Once I was old enough to head outdoors on my own, my father made sure I was armed and mortared it in my mind that people go armed and that is all there is to it. Watching westerns with my grandfather helped, as well. Not the shoot-em up boss fights, but the idea that a man could pack a bindle and roam without care. A rifle, pistol, good knife, some food, a trusty mug, a pan, and a little bedroll to carry him wherever. To a kid growing up in an area that was founded on outdoor exploration, it was absolutely romantic. And it proved to be as great as it seemed as I grew. Some of my fondest memories were made wrapped in a wool blanket against the mountain autumn next to a fire as I watched the stars overhead, yellow and orange flickering off the side of my Winchester lying beside me, echoes of lonely loons calling each other across the valleys. Combine mechanics with the sport of shooting, the meditative state of smallbore shooting, the potential to protect a family, history, longevity, reliability, and just the romance of my childhood and I find a hobby that lets me be a nerd and outdoorsman at once.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 08:42 |
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I like shooting, and I like being good at shooting so I can survive combat (military). I like well-made things so I like well-made guns that shoot straight. I don't really have any kind of special liking of guns in general anymore.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 09:18 |
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Cheaper than working on cars and the police don't give you so much poo poo for welding spikes to one and hitting stuff with it. TBH unless there's someone to shoot with actually shooting them is sort of secondary except to verify that all the horrible things I do to them actually work.Butch Cassidy posted:How did I get into guns? Nobody in my family was into guns or anything, I think the closest I got was one time in boyscouts where a bunch of fat yokels pulled the "give a twelve-year-old a shotgun loaded with magnum shells then hyuk it up when they hurt themselves" trick and another when some dude started shooting at me when taking a shortcut across an abandoned farm. But I spent a big chunk of high school reading histories of the Cuban and Lebanese civil wars and about groups like the Panthers here, knew it was something I was interested in at least trying, so when I started getting disposable income late in college I decided to teach myself and so went out and got... a Remington 770 in .308. It was painfully noisy (the only nearby range was in a basement, and my earpro was some woodshop-grade muffs), felt like poo poo, kicked like a mule, jammed every third round such that I'd need to spend ten minutes bashing it against a table to unfuck the bolt, everyone I came in contact with when shooting or getting shooting-related stuff pretty much confirmed every single stereotype about psycho gun nuts ever, and all in all it was probably the least fun thing I've ever voluntarily spent my time on. I wound up selling the rifle at a loss after trying and failing to get anything enjoyable out of it for a year, and that was that until one day I saw a classified for a Saiga-12, and decided eh why not. So yeah I have no fuckin' idea why but nowadays the Saiga's all tore up to poo poo from years of hard use and I don't even fuckin' know how many other guns I've got on hand ATM. Tubgirl Cosplay fucked around with this message at Feb 20, 2013 around 09:51 |
| # ? Feb 20, 2013 09:36 |
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Interesting thread. 1) Why do you like Guns? I love the simple basics most guns are built on. I am a big fan of "old-schoo" guns, ie no plastic, only steel and wood (maybe leather in some cases, heh). Got my first gun at 15 (minimum age here), got some more guns as I got older. Basic guns, a 9 mm pistol, a .45, an FAL, later a shotgun, then a pretty tactilol AR-15 etc. This all changed when I got my first Garand, having seen Band of Brother or SPR. I got bit by the milsurp bug, badly. This was around 5 years ago. I started selling my modern guns and looking for older guns. And especially started to get really into it, getting books, joining forums online etc. But remembering my childhood and the reasons I got into guns no one in my family had guns, and living in a city there weren't guns around at all, really. So it's kind of a mystery what draw me to them. But drat it if I wasn't fascinated by them; drawing them, reading about them, building them from wood (actually made a "functioning" pump shotgun out of wood, you could feed shells into the magazine and cycle and eject them by pumping), playing war in the forests etc. I even did a school project about guns when I was 14. Everyone else did one on some stupid poo poo like football or made a butter-knife out of wood. I did a piece on different types of weapons and how they function. The teacher was not pleased but it was well made I guess so I passed. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? Collecting, pure and simple. I like shooting but the range-situation is terrible here. Closest one is ~2 h drive away, and especially now in the winter more or less impossible to access without some kind of snow vehicle. Talking like 1 m of snow. Besides, most my guns would probably kill me if I tried to shoot them. I don't think they are very safe. At this point, some of you might know, I have a decent starter-pack of milsurp guns. I only got my collectors license 1.5 years ago, so I am very much still starting out. And I'v actually got a few new pieces that could warrant a box thread. I try to read about all the guns I collect as much as possible; I have a lot more books than I have guns in my small collection. Next steps for me would be to get a new application going, this time to include full auto stuff. Keep your fingers crossed. Overall collecting is made hard as gently caress here; there is a shitload of bureaucracy and takes a dedicated person to actually bother. Oh and costly as hell.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 11:54 |
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1. Why do you like guns? I honestly have no idea. I guess when I was growing up, I had lots of toy guns, and no one cared about guns in cartoons in the 80s. I first went shooting at 10, visiting my uncles in Ohio. But I'm not sure I could explain why I liked them to begin with. Certainly now I like them because they're fun to shoot, and they're fun to take apart and study. 2. What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? My chief hobby is re-enacting the American War for Independence. My musket (a Brown Bess repro) is honestly one of my favorite firearms, just because of how involved in making it go boom it is. I also do SASS, and dress like a cowboy (I guess that's also almost reenacting). Shooting things is fun!
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 15:07 |
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1. Why do I like guns? My dad and grandpa had guns and that was cool as hell. Then them drat video games/TV/Movies reinforced that, yes, they are cool as hell. I didn't buy a gun until after Obama got elected in '08. I totally bought into the "whelp another ban is gonna happen, better getaglock." That was basically just a night stand gun until I started doing the forum nerd thing. A friend of mine was hounding me to check out SA because he liked the photoshop poo poo. I wandered into TFR and was blown away by the community. I read and read and read, regged, and read some more. I jumped on an AMD65 after christmas, and proceeded to go though gun puberty and cycle though tons of guns to try things out. Until I found... 2. What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? Competitive action shooting. I'm a gamer at heart so combining gaming with guns was very natural. Clays and bench stuff is really neat but man does it bore me to tears. Once I found a run and gun, reloading on the clock, clearing malfunctions and shooting around cover sport I was hooked. You are always shooting against yourself so the community is great other then some friendly ribbing. I shoot IDPA as much as I can but I wish USPSA was a bigger thing up here since it is more game-y. This in turn has focused my collection. Anything that I don't want to put time into running on a clock has been cut other then inherited guns and a LCP for pocket carry(and BUG matches  ). Granted I am no master class shooter, and I don't train nearly as much as I should, but gun gamer is definitely how I identify myself.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 19:26 |
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You are a good man with good taste.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 19:50 |
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Growing up, I hadn't really had any interest in guns. I'd never really been around them other than having a bb gun for a while because of boy scouts, but it didn't really appeal to me. Then, when I was 19 and working at a movie theater, The Mist came out. In the beginning of the movie, the main character is working on painting a poster for a Dark Tower movie. For some reason, that tipped me from being somebody who had never read a Stephen King book, to picking up a copy of The Gunslinger (finished the Dark Tower books, still haven't read any of his others). After reading The Gunslinger, I decided to check out some Clint Eastwood westerns, which I had never seen any of before then. Over the next year or two I kept thinking about how nifty the guns in the movies and books were. I'd been lurking SA for a while by that point, but hadn't really checked out TFR much then, but I looked around a bit, and found a lot of really interesting threads. I started reading more and more about what I'd have to do to get myself a single-action, and what the best one to get as a first gun would be. Eventually I registered in '09 because the Create Paranormal Images thread went behind the paywall and I wanted to keep up to date on the Slender Man stuff Victor Surge was making (yeah this is dorky, but who doesn't have a dorky story behind why they post on the internet). I picked up a Single Six a little bit later, and things just kind of snowballed from there. Going to the Yooper Shoot in '11 just made it worse. I like guns because they're cool. They're fun to fiddle with, they're fun to just hang out at the range with some friends and shoot random stuff or whatever. It's fun to take a new person shooting for the first time and see the huge grin they get after the first shot. I've never been very mechanically inclined, but I like looking at all of the little bits in my guns and seeing how they work together. I've got ADD and for some reason shooting is one of the few things I can stand to do without doing a bunch of other things at the same time. For example, when I'm browsing the forums, I pretty much have to either be listening to music, or watching something, either in another window or on my tv, or sometimes even playing a video game. But with my rifle at the range, I can just sit down with some ammo, and do nothing else for sometimes as long as a few hours.
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| # ? Feb 21, 2013 01:49 |
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Oh man, I never really get to tell anyone this. 1) Why I like guns. When I was 6 years old, my family was visiting my aunts and uncles in Indiana for Christmas. This coincided with some military tension somewhere in the world, and I saw a tank get blown up on the news. I knew what a tank was but I had no idea that there were things that could make a tank just blow up in a big fireball. I did quickly realize that whatever can blow up a tank does not have to go to bed at 8:30 in the summertime when it's still light out, or eat crummy vegetables. Those were the gravest injustices I could conceive of at 6 years old. So I stood up right in my chair and pointed at the tv and yelled "HOLY CRAP!". My uncles Ron and Carl, both avid wargamers got a laugh out of my reaction, then showed me some lavishly illustrated books about tanks, infantry weapons, uniforms, and so on. Aaaand from that day on I've had a deep amateur interest in military technology, history, all that crap. My folks were never really big fans of firearms, so I didn't actually purchase one until I was out on my own, but I've basically wanted a gun since I was 6. 2) Outside of monthly range trips and ritual maintenance, I don't currently have other hobbies related to shooting. I don't know of any IDPA or IPSC stuff that goes on around here, and the local NRA range membership and events seem kinda closed to new people that aren't a part of their 'good ol' boy' network. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I would like to try new things.
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| # ? Feb 21, 2013 22:15 |
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Thanks for the thread Sixgun (alternate title: "Yes, I still have the best 1911, suck me"). 1) Why do you like Guns? As a kid, I was only allowed to have cap guns or squirt guns. I knew that my dad had guns growing up, but he had sold them all at some point. I'm not sure whether he just needed the funds or if this was a condition my mom laid down before having kids; probably a little of both. So I grew up in a gun-free household, and if the subject ever came up my mom would mention that old saw about guns in the home being more likely to kill a family member than a criminal. But she didn't lay a lot of stress on it, and mine was a pretty standard urban upbringing: we didn't have any guns because there was no need or context for us to have one. Yet guns fascinated me, and I really do think I came to them on my own. As a kid (well, as an adult also) I loved to spend the whole day browsing the library shelves, and for some reason I was always drawn to Gun Digest. I'm sure there are many of us who remember the listing order of the guns in their illustrated index. American Derringer, AMT, Astra, etc. Flipping through, I discovered guns of every shape and size. Weird long-barreled derringers. Calicos. Contenders. Semmerlings. And the new Glock, which seemed to be the herald of a new age. There was a seemingly limitless amount of information to take in. So many methods of operation, so many nuanced differences between two guns with an identical manual of arms. I was intrigued by the writers. Who were these patient, methodical men, so fond of epaulettes and smoked eyeglasses, so calm as they shot pistol after pistol for group at 25 yards. Did they ever get bored? Was shooting really that fun? I couldn't know, not at least until I was allowed to own airguns. Shooting a Red Ryder in my aunt's garage confirmed the pure enjoyment of aligning the sights and hitting the target. So, looking back, it turns out that I was steeping myself in the culture of gun rags for at least a decade before I ever shot a gun. That's how I was introduced to all the rights arguments with which we are so familiar. In time I graduated from college, and had money for guns and a place of my own (though I had actually convinced my anti-by-default mom years before, and even took her shooting). I signed up at the local club and did get out there at least once a month or so, but my shooting time waned over the years. This all coincided with my politics changing, and I had become disheartened with how little guns ever seemed able to guard our liberties. What good was the private right to arms, if we all waved flags when the government took away our privacy and our speech? That and a few too many fellow-traveling racists really soured me on gun culture. I still loved the guns, of course. I just didn't see the need to shoot, and I certainly didn't see the need to carry anymore. I felt like I had been manipulated, like a culture of fear had been created to sell guns and that we talked a good game but were eunuchs when it came down to it. Over the last year, I've found myself returning to shooting with new passion. I pulled out my guns and went to the gravel pit for the first time in years...the day before Sandy Hook. And it's interesting to observe my own thought process at the time. Then, the next gun I wanted was a Winchester 94. Now, I find myself wanting to get an "assault weapon" just so that I can stand up and be counted. Maybe it's contrarian of me. It is contrarian of me. I mentioned "returning to shooting." I've finally made the jump, I think, to loving shooting more than loving guns. I mean, I love handling guns, dry firing, cycling the action, all the rest of it. But there is nothing so meditative and rewarding as throwing a thousand rounds downrange. I love forming intention with each take-up of the trigger. I love being the "carrier deck" as Jeff Cooper used to say, trying to make myself as stable a platform as possible. I love shooting pistols above all else because it's such a challenge, because it goes against everything in a person's nature to hold perfectly still while setting off an explosion cradled in your hands. For me, to shoot a pistol well is the acme of arbitrary skill. I'm no operator. I have no need or reason to even own guns. The one time I was robbed in my life, it happened because I failed to maintain awareness and no weapon would have helped me. I like [shooting] guns because guns are awesome. And for me, pistols are the awesomest kind of gun. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? Having one hobby this expensive is enough for me. But I do play a lot of racing sim video games. I'd love to pretend that my hobbies are cooler, but that is probably what I've put the most hours into. Now that I think about it, there could be a connection. In racing games (good ones), you are always seeking to do the same thing a little bit more perfectly, over and over again (it's the same with real racing, but I never had the scratch for that). When I miss an apex the same drat way I did last lap, I berate myself the same way as I do when I catch myself shooting carelessly and opening up my group the same way I've done so many times before. I've actually dicked around with a good number of hobbies, like most of us. Photography, guitar, martial arts, cars etc. I've been too much of a gear addict in the past, spent too much time and money on things other than improving my skill. Nowadays I feel like I've slightly increased in maturity, and so I tend to follow an established pattern: I slobber and obsess over gear until I narrow down my many lusts to the one object that will allow me to practice the craft, then I buy it and my gear lust abates. I couldn't care less about a laptop comparison test now that I have a decent machine. When I bought my old e30 cabrio, I stopped obsessively checking craigslist and auto trader (and now that all I have is a boringly competent Subaru wagon, I find myself checking those same sites again). And I fully expect that once I buy a nice 1911, I will spend less time reading about 1911s and more time shooting mine. I also love knives, and own far too many. But maybe here there is a parallel to guns as well. All I really need is my old Benchmade Elishewitz Dark Star; it's compact, with a spear point and a plain edge. It's the only knife that makes it into my pocket any more. There have been plenty of innovations in materials and lock design since it came out years ago, but I'm satisfied. However, would I have ever been satisfied if I hadn't bought a hundred knives before it, and pinpointed exactly what was lacking in each of them? Perhaps my 1911 quest will be just as tortuous (though if it only ends up costing as much as my knife addiction I'll be grateful). In conclusion: Nowadays, I love shooting far more than I love guns--and I love guns p. well. SedanChair fucked around with this message at Feb 22, 2013 around 09:40 |
| # ? Feb 22, 2013 09:37 |
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My answers are all a mix of whatever other people have written and I can't be arsed to write up yet another almost the same sounding history. But I can say that part of it is because some people don't want me (or anyone) to be able to own guns.
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 10:04 |
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His Divine Shadow posted:My answers are all a mix of whatever other people have written and I can't be arsed to write up yet another almost the same sounding history. But I can say that part of it is because some people don't want me (or anyone) to be able to own guns. Stick it to the man! Figuratively I guess?
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 11:15 |
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| # ? May 21, 2013 16:55 |
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1) Why do you like Guns? It's a pretty simple story. I grew up in the country, where guns were always around, as useful tools for pest control and hunting. I like eating deer, squirrel, duck, goose... pretty much any game animal you can think of, so I learned to shoot at an early age to join my uncles and cousins out hunting. It wasn't until I moved to the middle of a big city in Texas, and encountered more violent crime in a month than in my entire previous existence, that I got interested in self defense, but it rapidly became a priority due to the lovely neighborhood I lived in. Now that I'm back up north, it isn't such a priority and I rarely carry anymore, but I discovered I love shooting handguns so I've kept it up. Learning more about the laws surrounding guns has very much increased my interest in the political process, and sharpened my personal stances on civil rights. You terrible people also got me interested in the historical aspects of milsurp, and now I have a closet full of old Soviet guns and a new name based on Cosmoline, so there's that. I get a deep satisfaction out of knowing that this 70 year old bit of steel and wood is just as accurate and functional weapon today as when it rolled out of the factory.Squirrels still taste awesome, too. 2) What are your Hobby(s) related to guns and why do you like them? Primarily, I shoot targets for fun. Handgun is good practice, and a very satisfying defensive skill to master. Plinking with a .22LR keeps me in shape for taking little furry bastards off of tree branches without having to pick birdshot out when cleaning them. Anyone who's ever fired an m44 Mosin-Nagant knows exactly what's fun about that. I'm interested in Cowboy Action Shooting, but haven't been able to fund picking up the necessary guns yet.  A cap-and-ball black powder revolver, probably a Walker Colt replica, is on my purchase list as well for fun.Hunting is a big thing. I like eating game, and there are a few large predators like coyotes and mountain lions still around that sometimes need shooting as well as nusiance species and deer.
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| # ? Apr 20, 2013 06:11 |
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