# Do we have any self-proclaimed liberals who own guns on the board? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783 "2015-01-24T19:18:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/101 "2015-01-26T23:28:20Z")
12 guage shotgun, .30-30 Marlin(lever action), three .22 rifles–an antique, and two newer ones. No handguns, though because I don’t like shooting them, I’m no good with them, and I don’t feel a need for one. None of my guns are for home defense, but I suppose if the revolution comes they might be handy for militia use. Mostly they’re for killing paper and the occasional critter. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/102 "2015-01-27T00:13:48Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > Sure. I used to dabble at competitive handgun shooting. Still a dyed-in-the-wool liberal. > > J. This liberal can knock your eye out at 200 yards with open sights. I also competed one year in the COMNAVMARIANAS (a Naval command) shoot, a 200-300-400 yard competition. Our team won. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/103 "2015-01-27T02:31:57Z")
He’s not on the board, but my Nice Swedish Coworker is a Swede, atheist, republican and gun owner. I don’t have him handy to ask about specific calibers since he’s on vacation, but I know he hunts boar and deer. That doesn’t sound like something you want to go after with a BB gun. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/104 "2015-01-27T02:37:49Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I am just idly wondering. And this isn’t a gotcha thread. I’m fairly liberal on social issues (pro-choice, pro-marriage equality, etc), but I do not oppose individual gun ownership; I just think there should be straining requirements. I own handguns, a couple of hunting rifles, and one shotgun. > > But that’s just me. Liberals, how many of you own guns, particularly handguns? My spouse used to own guns, but sold them when he moved to a safer neighborhood. Currently we own a pellet gun (used mainly against raccoons) and a crossbow (which we did use on a would-be truck thief, who survived the experience). I would definitely describe myself as politically and socially liberal. My spouse it more towards the center. I’ve enjoyed target shooting but my current budget will not permit acquisition of additional weapons and ammo for purely recreational purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/105 "2015-01-27T05:11:19Z")
3 pistols, a couple rifles and a shotgun here. I got my first .22 rifle for Christmas when I was 7 although I never expressed any interest in one. But hey, stepdad owned a gun shop, and I soon found that going behind the shop and burning through a few hundred rounds on a Saturday afternoon wasn’t too bad. I’m not much of a shooter anymore and though I’m pretty good with pretty much all firearms, I was never a gun nut. I probably keep the guns I have because it’s easier than to bother selling them. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/106 "2015-01-27T14:45:54Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > This liberal can knock your eye out at 200 yards with open sights. I also competed one year in the COMNAVMARIANAS (a Naval command) shoot, a 200-300-400 yard competition. Our team won. Nice. No competetive shooting here, other than annual rifle/pistol qual. I can put a man down at 500 yards with an M-16. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/107 "2015-01-27T14:48:01Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > My spouse used to own guns, but sold them when he moved to a safer neighborhood. > > Currently we own a pellet gun (used mainly against raccoons) and a crossbow (which we did use on a would-be truck thief, who survived the experience). > > I would definitely describe myself as politically and socially liberal. My spouse it more towards the center. > > I’ve enjoyed target shooting but my current budget will not permit acquisition of additional weapons and ammo for purely recreational purposes. Tell the story of crossbowing the would-be thief, please! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/108 "2015-01-27T15:00:33Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Nice. No competetive shooting here, other than annual rifle/pistol qual. I can put a man down at 500 yards with an M-16. Range week was always boring for me, as I always qualified expert on the first day of quals. 500 yards is quite a reach for an M-16. I always found it to be too light and preferred the M-14 for longer range accuracy. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/109 "2015-01-27T15:07:41Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Range week was always boring for me, as I always qualified expert on the first day of quals. 500 yards is quite a reach for an M-16. I always found it to be too light and preferred the M-14 for longer range accuracy. Yes the M-14 in .308 Winchester is more accurate than the M-16 in 5.56 NATO, but it’s not like I had a choice. We shot what they told us to shoot, and when (_ **“SIR, YES SIR!!!”** _). Standard qualifying with the M-16 is at 200, 300 and 500 yards. Back when I was in, 35 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/110 "2015-01-27T15:09:23Z")
Come to think of it, I’d like to buy an M-14. I don’t own a rifle. Yet. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/111 "2015-01-27T15:36:39Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Yes the M-14 in .308 Winchester is more accurate than the M-16 in 5.56 NATO, but it’s not like I had a choice. We shot what they told us to shoot, and when (_ **“SIR, YES SIR!!!”** _). > > Standard qualifying with the M-16 is at 200, 300 and 500 yards. Back when I was in, 35 years ago. It may have greater range, but it is a rare rack grade m-14 that is more accurate than a rack grade m-16. The only guys still shooting m-14/m-1a’s in competition do so out of nostalgia or because they are shooting matches where that is the specified gun. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/112 "2015-01-27T15:41:09Z")
Interesting. What makes you say that about its accuracy? I’m not disbelieving you. Am looking to learn. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/113 "2015-01-27T15:54:49Z")
I’m the opposite- I’m a self-professed conservative who believes in Second Amendment rights, but has never owned or wanted a gun. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/114 "2015-01-27T16:09:33Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Interesting. What makes you say that about its accuracy? I’m not disbelieving you. Am looking to learn. M-14 isn’t inaccurate. It’s just that AR-derivatives tend to be more accurate right out of the box. Further, AR-derivatives are easier to accurize and keep accurized. Camp Perry has been dominated by AR-derivatives for many years now. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/115 "2015-01-27T17:22:08Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Tell the story of crossbowing the would-be thief, please! I already did in [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14287534&postcount=67) some years ago, and in addition to the Crossbow Story there is also the Flaming Pitch Thrown Off the Roof incident for good measure. My home life can be surprisingly medieval… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/116 "2015-01-27T18:03:57Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > It may have greater range, but it is a rare rack grade m-14 that is more accurate than a rack grade m-16. The only guys still shooting m-14/m-1a’s in competition do so out of nostalgia or because they are shooting matches where that is the specified gun. Our team was thrown together by a guy who was a regular competition shooter. He looked at the highest range scores in the battalion and that was the team. He had made a bet with another competition shooter that he could take “any team of Seabees” and outshoot his competition team. 😃 We competed with stock M-14s right out of the armory, and the other teams had match M-14s. We not only won the team competition, but took 1st, 3rd, 5th and 6th in individual. I liked the solidity of the M-14; it had less tendency to wobble for me. At 200-300 yards, I think it’s a wash with the M-16, although I prefer the M-14 in offhand. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/117 "2015-01-27T19:02:14Z")
Liking one platform better than another is fine, but what wins on the firing line is what matters. If the M-14 were the superior platform, the top competitors would use it. They use what will help them win, not what they simply like. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/118 "2015-01-27T19:48:13Z")
Very much the BLL (bleeding heart liberal) and currently have two hunting rifles that were my late husband’s. They belong to my son now, but reside at my house due to 2 small curious people living at his house. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/119 "2015-01-27T21:38:37Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Liking one platform better than another is fine, but what wins on the firing line is what matters. If the M-14 were the superior platform, the top competitors would use it. They use what will help them win, not what they simply like. Ah, I thought we were having a discussion, but it seems it’s turning argumentative, so I’ll bow out. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783/120 "2015-01-27T22:05:13Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Ah, I thought we were having a discussion, but it seems it’s turning argumentative, so I’ll bow out. I’m not arguing about anything, as there is nothing to argue. If you like the m-14, that’s wonderful. I owned one myself. In competition, the only matches it is seen in today are matches set up specifically to let it be used. I mean nothing personal to you, nor is there anything personal to mean. The m-14 as a competition gun is just obsolete. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-have-any-self-proclaimed-liberals-who-own-guns-on-the-board/710783.md?page=7)