None taken. It was sort of answered above: different guns for killing different animals. You’ve added another reason for different guns: fashion. That’s not a different purpose for the guns, exactly, but a reason someone might want different ones, and it hadn’t occurred to me. (And maybe “fashion” isn’t the right word, but it seems mainly to do with choice of clothing.)
I have 3. .380 acp pistol. .22 rifle, 12 gauge shotgun. There are 2 other guns in the safe, a .380 rifle and an Ar-15. I would like to have a .30-30 lever action. I do enjoy shooting, mostly the 22. The 12 gauge and pistol are for home safety. Too many Trumpers around where I live to feel safe.
Yup.
Bear won’t leave banging pots and pans. Rocks and such other projectiles don’t phase them. A large caliber firearm makes a bigger noise than most people have ever experienced.
We have also had bears break into our cars. They are very, very smart. All they have to do is swipe at a door handle and pull it open. We have been advised not to lock our cars or they will rip the door handles off making them useless.
When approaching a situation where your cars have been opened by a bear, I suggest this.
- Stay at a distance where you can retreat to shelter.
- Look for movement OF the car. A couple of hundred pounds will make the car move on its springs. You often can’t see in the windows anyway.
- If you can see in the windows, you’re too close.
- Fire a large firearm into the ground. That should wake them up, and you will see movement.
- If the car moves, go to shelter.
I would not go as far as that with #3. There are many who like to target shoot and are not hunters. Heck, there are even several Olympic sports for that. I have been invited to the range on occasion with a gun-owning friend and I can see that as a thing, and I am not at all interested in killing anything with a gun.
This reminds me of the attitude of my Israeli cousins (3, all with dual citizenship as my aunt and her husband moved to Israel in the early 70s) - they carried their weapons to meet their obligations, and when they all came to the US after to attend college, they had little to no desire to pick one up for any other purpose.
Of the two that live in the US full time they’ve never mentioned having any at least, although that may have changed, as they are semi-Trumpers. Not out of any real belief AFAIK, but they tend to be traditional single issue voters on support of Israel.
Pardon my snip, and absolutely understand that you’re speaking in good faith, but it’s more practical than that. If you choose to carry concealed, it is a cardinal sin (and illegal in many jurisdictions) to show the surrounding public that you are doing so. That’s why you see the word ‘print’ used in @silenus’ post you are responding too. It’s the terminology if your carry weapon is visible or shows through your clothes.
So, different sizes, types of firearms and holsters work or don’t depending on how heavy/loose/layered your clothing is. Thus it’s not so much a matter of fashion, as it is compliance with the law and how it relates to what you can carry while wearing certain types of clothes. Not to mention not making a target of yourself to anyone looking for those who are actively carrying.
Which is why I have mentioned in several threads that I don’t carry 99.999% of the time, even though I have the training and the appropriate certification: it’s a PITA.
American, fired a .22 and a couple of shot gun blasts at skeet in Boy Scout camp. They gave a few shots free to every camper, but for more you had to pay some for the ammunition, which I declined. Also spent one afternoon while I was home from college taking turns shooting paper targets with a friends .22.
American, not currently a resident.
My mother gave my dad a .22 rifle as a wedding present. That was the thing back then, where they lived at the time. They asked me if I wanted it, and when I said no, they gave it to a friend of theirs.
So I’ve never owned a gun, and don’t plan to in the future. I have fired a few items at a shooting range, as my husband enjoys going to the range. Theoretically he may have had ownership of a few items, but they are all with his sister, who is keeping them, and will continue to do so, probably even if we were to move to a place where gun ownership is easy.
I’m not sure how to answer. I’ve never fired a gun, but I have custody of the 2 my brother and I inherited and I’ve put them away in a closet. Is that “handling” them? Does owning count if it wasn’t voluntary?
If you inherited them, aren’t they your property, whether you’ve ever used them or not?
I’m from the US and I own more than 5 firearms. Most of them I inherited or they were given to me by friends and family.
There’s an old Winchester bolt action .22 rifle that was my paternal grandfather’s. I learned to shoot with that little gun but seldom shoot it now. I keep it for its sentimental value.
My late husband had several guns that I now own but rarely if ever shoot: a 9mm Sig Sauer, a Meriwether 30-06 rifle and a Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun. I’d like to trade the Sig for a Walther PPK 380 and the Mossberg for a Remington 870.
A friend gave me two .22 revolvers, a single shot and a 6 shot. I know little about them, but they’re good guns for teaching others to shoot.
The only gun I ever purchased was a bog standard Ruger 10/22. First choice for occasional plinking or dispatching nuisance wildlife.
My property offers a perfect spot for target shooting, so it’s a fun thing to do now and then.
I’m from outside the US and own a 30-30 lever action Winchester rifle. It’s the only gun I own so I had to check off “between 1 & 5”. (I think there should have been a “1 only” question) It’s been used strictly for target shooting. I’ve had it over 40 years but it was last fired around 1985.
I mean, I inherited a gun, but if I kept it in my possession or did absolutely anything with it I’d be breaking the law. As a result, I don’t consider myself a gun owner.
Here’s a breakdown of the first 192 votes:
| Gun Use | US | non-US |
|---|---|---|
| total votes | 142 | 50 |
| Handled | 42% | 46% |
| Own 1-5 | 22% | 8% |
| Never handled | 12% | 34% |
| Own 5+ | 8% | 6% |
| Prev. owned | 6% | 4% |
Same here.
Thanks for that!
I had no idea we could make such nice tables in Discourse.
But you got rid of it right away. That’s different from inheriting it, keeping it, stashing it in a closet, and never using it. I would say that the latter is a gun owner.
I grew up in Western ND and was very much exposed to firearms as a kid. Heck, the US Army even had a ‘depot’ and encouraged kids to come in and shoot.
After kid-hood, I just never got around to owning any. Wasn’t interested in hunting.
However, and I put a thread on this board at that time, I was threatened by someone in the community where he said something to the effect that the time is coming, very soon, when f’in liberal scum and their families like mine will face justice by lead poisoning. Since the election was coming up I figure that is what he meant so I joined a gun club and purchased a pistol…and a shotgun and practiced learning how to use them.
So that is why I have one now for this poll.
Too far off-topic of a reply. Hidden and please do not reply. {What Exit?}
Pretty much.
However, it is possible to have multiple guns for some of those. For example, you might have a low caliber or even pellet gun for “vermin”, that is, for raccoon size and smaller. But you’d need something larger for deer/elk/etc. A shotguns for birds/waterfowl. So… 1-3 guns for hunting. If you live in bear territory and want to hunt those something pretty large, so maybe 1-4 if you live in Alaska or something.
Killing people - well, are you talking concealed carry or military assault? For concealed carry you’re talking about a handgun and realistically you only need one. With long guns either a hunting rifle or, sure, you could use an AR-15 type but hey, people use those for hunting, too. Home defense? That shotgun you use for waterfowl would work just fine. People who carry as part of their job - police, armed guards, etc. - would fall into this category as their gun(s) is intended to be used against other humans but most of 'em will tell you that they’d prefer to never need to use them in that capacity.
Target practice? You should be practicing with the guns from 1 and 2.
So… maybe someone can make a case for “needing” a half dozen guns if they do a lot of hunting, and most of those will overlap with personal defense needs. If you are seriously into competitive target shooting maybe a selection for those.
But most people don’t actually “need” a firearm - which is why 2/3 of American households don’t own one. And of those who do, most only “need” one or two guns, but might want a couple more for one reason or another.
Someone owning multiple guns doesn’t surprise me much, more than half a dozen though, I get to wondering. Some folks inherit their collection, as a couple of people in this thread have mentioned. Some are collectors.
Unfortunately… some are just nuts. And that’s a big, big problem.
50K of bullets? That sounds to me like you own more than your own weight in ammo, am I right? May I ask how much that would be in dollars?
ETA: Non US poster, never owned a gun or ammo myself.
I’m from the UK.
I’ve fired a .22 rifle on my school’s shooting range and done some clay pigeon shooting.
Of course I don’t own a gun, nor do I want to.
The UK beat police don’t carry guns … which is the sort of country I want to live in.