Gun Owners, Why Do You Own Guns?

[4Ryan6]

My reasons for gun ownership are totally home defense, I live out in the country in a high crime area, most of the crimes are drug related ending in killing the victims, in some worst cases over less than 20 dollars.

What has this world come to, when someone would be killed for less than 20 dollars!

That's a Travesty!

Worse was that couple were older and really couldn't defend themselves, why kill them?

If the robbers had wore a mask why would they need to be killed, just pure evil mean behind those actions!

To make things worse we have 2 gangs in the closest county and 3 gangs in the neighboring county, some of the gang members commit crimes as part of their gang initiations.

So to me owning guns for home defense is a No Brainer!

That's why I have them and why they were purchased, what about you?

 

[chunkymonster]

Well, the 1911 is an obsolete firearm by today's standard. I could rail on about how it isn't practical compared to modern firearms. I read the literature of a special skills military trainer too much. The trainer I read often says the 1911 recoil is bad compared to modern firearms but he also owns a couple because they are cool.

Totally agree that by today's production standards the 1911 is obsolete, but John Browning was a genius.

I'm kinda old school, I prefer a single action, the 1911 & Browning Hi-Power especially. Ironically, I do like Glocks but haven't taken to some of the other striker fired pistols like the S&W XDS or HK's. However, I have grown to appreciate the DA/SA pistols like he Beretta 92 and Sig 200 series, etc.

Funny enough, if the zombie apocalypse ever happened, I would most likely grab my Glocks and/or revolvers before grabbed my 1911.

 

[riser]

Browning was a genius at a time when things were new. A lot of things are built off what he designed still, just modified. He didn't have some of the technology we have today to do what he probably would have wanted.

I'm not a fan of the MIM, metal injected molding or whatever it is. I think S&W is the only one who got it right. It hurt the 4th gen Glocks.

I have a 2nd gen glock. Wouldn't trade it for anything. I thought about moving up a few gens but.. it serves it purpose. No reason to change.

I'm not a fan of S&W because of their break down, especially after having a glock. The S&W feels durable but not as elegant in my hands. eh. Preference.

Though I think I like the S&W Shield. Nice Carry.

 

[Reynod]

"Nice carry" ... is that phrase used in the same way as "Nice boots" or "Nice belt" ... ??

 

[Reynod]

"Nice carry" ... is that phrase used in the same way as "Nice boots" or "Nice belt" ...or one day .. nice phaser ??

 

[No2rdame]

One of my favorites is always the loud mouth with the .500 S&W revolver, or the .50 Desert Eagle, or a .454 Casull with the 8" bbl. I just smile and nod my head a they go on about stopping power, how the recoil isn't that bad, blah, blah, ad-nausea. How they brag about their tight groups with a target set at 7 yards and there is still a flyer or two outside the black. One such braggart told me they don't like the 1911 because the recoil is too jolting and the gun is inaccurate.

This reminds me of a guy I know who was going on and on about how his wife won't allow guns but he's going to put his foot down. He went into a local gun shop and found a "Dirty Harry" long-barrel 44 magnum revolver in stainless steel. It was going to be his no matter what his wife says! Of course, he never did get it but I still think he was drawn to it to overcompensate for some other issues. It seems the ones that brag the most and buy something to try to impress others usually are.

 

[Reynod]

"Nice cannon" ??

 

[No2rdame]

"Nice cannon" ??

Just be careful when going up to another guy and saying "nice piece." You never know what kind of reaction you might get.

 

[No2rdame]

But, Oldman, what made you want to buy the Ruger and Desert Eagle? I'm guessing that it wasn't simply about size and flashiness, unlike the guy I know and the said example of ghetto man who needed two pistols but no ammo to go with them. If you know how to shoot them then you're all good. If you have them only to hope you hear someone say to you one day "ooh, what a big gun you have" then you have some Freudian issues that need to be addressed. As far as your erotic description of your 1911, I'm not even going to go there. But, I can't lie, even a butt ugly girl gets a lot sexier when she's shooting a gun as long as she's not shooting it at me.

 

[Reynod]

"Nice cannon" ??

Just be careful when going up to another guy and saying "nice piece." You never know what kind of reaction you might get.

Right ... point taken.

Over here "nice piece" would be in reference to a woman or some kind of art.

Straight Guys don't look at other guys equipment here in Australia ... I can't speak for any of my gay friends ... but I can ask and get back to you?

 

[No2rdame]

A nice piece could refer to a woman too, but I'm not sure how some guys might take it. They might take it as a source of pride or they may kick your azz for talking about their woman like that.

 

[Reynod]

No ... if spoken quietly you would probably get a grimm ... a slap on the back ... and a warning.

Not sure what a gay guy would do if you said his partner's "piece" was impressive ... I'm thinking it might not "go down" well.

But then ... people are just people ... a compliment is a compliment.

I have sufficiently derailed this thread from the original intent ... my mission is complete.

/leaves to cause mayhem elsewhere.

 

[4Ryan6]

Movies had a way of glorifying guns to the point of personal want like the Beretta Mel Gibson used in Lethal Weapon, just it's ability to rapid fire jam free got my attention so I bought one shortly after the movie, I was ecstatic regarding it's ability to shoot jam free as I never managed to jam it, even in a dirty state from multiple firings, so it's reputation was solid there but I just missed the the sheer knock back power of the 45acp bullet, so I sold it.

Clint Eastwood's introduction of the 44 magnum was impressive but I'm just not a revolver fan, my past military training was all semi auto so I stuck with what I was most familiar with, then Eastwood introduces the 44 AutoMag, and I had to have one, it was the new cherry on top want, but finances did not allow running out and getting one at the time.

The day did finally come however and my trip to the gun store arrived, I told the clerk what I was looking for and he pulled one out of the case and handed it to me, I am a carpenter, I have large hands but the Desert Eagle 44 AutoMag was built for larger hands than mine and it just did not feel right in my hands, even both hands!

I had a seriously disappointed look on my face and told the clerk I had always wanted one but it did not feel right in my hands, he smiled and told me I was by far not the first that came to that conclusion, well I went to buy a pistol that day so the looking began, I knew I was after something in the 45acp line but the 1911 which was basically a reproduction of the same style used in my Naval service has features I've known for a long time were not long term dependable.

I'm referring to the sear assembly that controls the release and retention of the hammer, if worn it will fire until the magazine is empty, probably not a problem with a brand new gun but after a few thousand rounds are run through it, can and more than likely will eventually be a problem, and if you think a 45 semi-auto pistol emptying it's mag on full auto is cool, trust me it's not!

After some frustrating looking through what they had, he told me there were desert eagle alternatives if i was stuck on a weapon designed by Magnum Research, so he showed me a 9mm baby desert eagle and the Goldilocks syndrome happened, went from too heavy and bulky to too light and the 40 cal was the same as they were both the polymer frame models.

Then he handed me the steel frame 45acp and it was love at first feel, that gun felt like it was custom made for my hands, the search was over that was the weapon I was going to purchase, it is a remarkably designed pistol, has never jammed, feels at home in your hand and that's very important, no regrets buying this weapon at all.

It's not the best for concealed carrying as it is a little on the heavy side fully loaded, but holstered is no problem and I only use it for home defense anyway.

Movies can make weapons look very attractive to our want list, but may be far from what we really need, if that weapon is not at home in your hand, or is notorious for jamming, it's not worth having no matter the hype heaped upon it!

 

[4Ryan6]

Heres your zombie killer! :lol:

Of course you'll need the mobile land version for your everyday zombie infestation!

 

[riser]

Maybe you should read along and not post Rey.

Tannerite has been going on sale a lot lately and has been really cheap. I think 2lbs for $5 or so. Exploding targets are always fun, especially when you're shooting long distances and can't clearly tell if you hit the sweet spot... the explosion will let you know and is sure to bring a smile to your face.

 

[chunkymonster]

Movies have always provided me with fodder for jokes and laughter when it comes to mishandling. The one that makes me cringe the most is when the hero handles a revolver, opens the cylinder, spins it, and then given a quick twist of the wrist to slam the cylinder back into the frame. WTF are you doing?! Another is the "gangsta" sideways head level pointing the muzzle down hold. I am always amazed at the lack of over penetration when someone or something is shot at close range with a high power rifle. Like when the hero emerges unscathed after hiding behind a car door after the bad-guy unloads 30 rounds from an an AK-47 from 30 ft away. Or when the hero hides behind a wall when the baddies are unloading with hundreds of rounds from their AR's or AK's. Of course, the usual pulling the trigger and the gun goes click when the slide is open. And, I love when they use the sound effect of a shotgun racking after the meek but now super-tough heroine drops the slide on a Beretta. But I digress...

I too was hung up on getting a Desert Eagle but in .357. I had visions of bad-assery dancing in my head. Picked it up, it filled my hand okay, but felt bulky and awkward, it just didn't suit my preference.

However, I totally agree that the Desert Eagle steel frame 1911 G model (.5"bbl) is an excellent example of Browning's design and very nice pistol. 1911 purists are down on the external extractor in new production 1911's, but that's just them being gun diva's.

I wish NJ allowed concealed carry, but for home protection, I keep a S&W 649 handy. I outfitted it with Crimson Trace grips to take the guess work out of aiming in case the wife ever needs to use it.

 

[riser]

Not a fan of laser aiming for multiple reasons.

I've been at the range with hoodies shooting. The one guy had his stance perfected, the limp wrist, looking away with his hand up shielding his face and shooting.. missing the target at.. 8 feet. Yes, *8* feet. The minimum allowed is 21 feet and so he was promptly removed the range. He was missing the silhouette target.. you know, the one anyone can hit at 21 feet. haha

Another lady had just bought a .45 semi with some ammo, walked to her car, loaded it in the parking lot, tossed it in her purse, walked back in and went onto the range. She pulled it out loaded with the gun store owner.. who took the gun from her and kicked her out citing the multiple illegal things she had just done. No previous experience with a gun.. but at least she did buy a training session.

It's amazing what you see people at a range do at times. More so it is the person who doesn't really take it seriously or are too busy trying to joke around with their friends. They're out to do something and don't really consider what they're actually doing.

I know a guy who lives in a suburb and swears he'll use his AR for home defense over his 9mm handgun. He doesn't think his FMJ round will penetrate his outside brick wall. The same round in a .223 I know will penetrate 1/2 inch steel but not 3/4ths steel. I'm sure a brick may stop some, but not all of them.

Another guy I know uses 9mm JHP and he puts a CZ gem in the hollow of each round. I looked at him like he's an idiot and told him that nothing shows more clear intent to kill than that. He didn't even realize what the implications were of doing something like that. On top of that, if the CZ fell out in the barrel, what are the impacts of that? Is a 9mm JPH just not good enough that you need to put CZ in it? I mean.. really? And then the old school staggering of rounds between FMJ and JHP, again the implications that you were planning on killing someone and had premeditation in mind. Personally, I keep JHP mainly but I do have FMJ readily available in the case it really is needed.

But those aren't really questions that get covered in group training.. almost too much Hollywood type lore in it.

 

[4Ryan6]

Yeah, I did not like the factory grips on the Desert Eagle at all. They were really cheap plastic crap compared to the rest of the pistol and felt "slippery" to me when handling it for the first time. If you ever get a chance, hold and fire one with the Hogue rubber grips w/ finger grooves. Makes a world of difference; at least it did for me. It's a lot of fun to shoot magnums with it and won't wear out your wrists like a revolver will after repeated firing. The factory sights on the Desert Eagle leave a bit to be desired. Black rear with a black front post; very hard to line up in low light. I put a set of Trijicon sights on mine. Made a world of difference, even in good light.

You definitely have larger hands than I do because even using both hands I did not feel I had enough grip on the gun, the weight of the gun was not a factor for me it was solely the grip.

Maybe different type after market grips would have made a difference the one I held was 100% stock, but the instant uncomfortable feeling holding the weapon was a purchase killer for me, I don't own any weapons I'd be hesitant to pick up and use.

Until you actually hold it, you don't know if it's the gun for you, if your hands are not large enough to firmly grip the weapon, then purchasing it could be a disastrous move, of Hollywood ignorance.

I'm speaking of myself as I have bought weapons movie glorified that were good and some that were literally a piece of (you know the word), one such purchase was a 45acp Llama, the worst gun purchase I ever made, it was a constantly jamming piece of crap!

I used all my bag of tricks learned doing 45acp 1911 service pistols in the Navy, to solve the jamming, but you cannot solve a bad design, lesson learned the hard way!

Congrats on your satisfaction level of your Desert Eagle, it is not the gun for everyone, of which you are well aware of.

 

[4Ryan6]

Movies have always provided me with fodder for jokes and laughter when it comes to mishandling. The one that makes me cringe the most is when the hero handles a revolver, opens the cylinder, spins it, and then given a quick twist of the wrist to slam the cylinder back into the frame. WTF are you doing?! Another is the "gangsta" sideways head level pointing the muzzle down hold. I am always amazed at the lack of over penetration when someone or something is shot at close range with a high power rifle. Like when the hero emerges unscathed after hiding behind a car door after the bad-guy unloads 30 rounds from an an AK-47 from 30 ft away. Or when the hero hides behind a wall when the baddies are unloading with hundreds of rounds from their AR's or AK's. Of course, the usual pulling the trigger and the gun goes click when the slide is open. And, I love when they use the sound effect of a shotgun racking after the meek but now super-tough heroine drops the slide on a Beretta. But I digress...

I too was hung up on getting a Desert Eagle but in .357. I had visions of bad-assery dancing in my head. Picked it up, it filled my hand okay, but felt bulky and awkward, it just didn't suit my preference.

However, I totally agree that the Desert Eagle steel frame 1911 G model (.5"bbl) is an excellent example of Browning's design and very nice pistol. 1911 purists are down on the external extractor in new production 1911's, but that's just them being gun diva's.

I wish NJ allowed concealed carry, but for home protection, I keep a S&W 649 handy. I outfitted it with Crimson Trace grips to take the guess work out of aiming in case the wife ever needs to use it.

It's kinda funny how we deconstruct the movies we watch because we know!

Just because a cars gas tank is shot does not mean it will explode into flame, the Mythbusters actually did a show covering some of the hollywood myths.

Some of the lame things you are referencing happening in movies tend to ruin it when we see something obvious, we automatically watch for more flubs, destroying the movie for us.

Hollywoods movie budget doesn't seem to allow to have the same gun in hand from one room to the next, or the proper gun sound to match the gun used like a 45 sounding like a 22.

In the same respect it can sometimes be a pleasure if the movie budget allowed bringing in professionals to instruct in the true fake handling of the movie weapons!

 

[Reynod]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/philippines/10444736/Typhoon-Haiyan-gun-culture-of-the-Philippines-hinders-relief-efforts.html

 

[riser]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/philippines/10444736/Typhoon-Haiyan-gun-culture-of-the-Philippines-hinders-relief-efforts.html

If there was some form of comment about guns being bad, it was lost under the lengthy list of reasons why people needed a gun to survive. hahaha

 

[4Ryan6]

If there was some form of comment about guns being bad, it was lost under the lengthy list of reasons why people needed a gun to survive. hahaha

Another good reason to own guns!

 

[Saga Lout]

I took an American former coleague to the John F. Kennedy Memorial just by the River Thames outside London yesterday and some men were working to clean up the footpath up the hill in readiness for President Obama to visit on the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination. I remarked that Obama didn't like guns too much and she challenged me to watch the news and see how many I could see under the jackets all around him. She estimates thirty five.

So he does like them, then!

 

[riser]

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2012/12/27/obama-keeping-secret-service-guns-around-all-times-protect-his-girls

 

[chunkymonster]

I took an American former coleague to the John F. Kennedy Memorial just by the River Thames outside London yesterday and some men were working to clean up the footpath up the hill in readiness for President Obama to visit on the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination. I remarked that Obama didn't like guns too much and she challenged me to watch the news and see how many I could see under the jackets all around him. She estimates thirty five.

So he does like them, then!

Oh the irony of the political elites who know what is best for everyone else but live a life above the law. I wouldn't want/need/choose to own guns either if I had a tax payer provided personal protection brigade around me 24/7.

 

[No2rdame]

I took an American former coleague to the John F. Kennedy Memorial just by the River Thames outside London yesterday and some men were working to clean up the footpath up the hill in readiness for President Obama to visit on the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination. I remarked that Obama didn't like guns too much and she challenged me to watch the news and see how many I could see under the jackets all around him. She estimates thirty five.

So he does like them, then!

"Do as I say, not as I do."