Are you fascinated by guns? Why?

[Skans]

I admit, I am fascinated by guns. And, not just one type of gun either. A good quality gun (handgun or rifle) is a machine that may be around for hundreds of years and continue to be as effective as it was on the day it left the manufacturer, with very little care. Who knows who will end up shooting my Sig X-Five in the year 2316? What I feel certain of is that gun will be around for a long long time, far longer than I will be around.

When I pick up my 1911 manufactured in 1913, or even my Swiss 1882 double action revolver, I think to myself "this is every bit as effective as the ones they make today". I can't think of one other machine made in 1913 or the late 1800's that I could possibly own that I can say the same thing about. No watch, car, plane, sewing machine, adding machine, typewriter, or bicycle. Is there any machine more timeless than a firearm?

 

[2ndsojourn]

Hi. My name is 2nd sojourn, and I'm a gunaholic.

 

[357 Python]

Another thing to consider is history. Look at all the history that firearms have been involved in. Weapons of all types have been involved in history from day one. You mentioned a 1911 made in 1913, well just imagine the history that gun may have seen. Could it have gone to war (WWI, WWII, Korea, or Viet Nam)? Could it have been in the gangster wars in the Chicago area during Prohibition? Could it have been carried by a lawman protecting his community? Who knows but the possibilities are endless. Many firearms have a historical significance and some don't, but all have seen some history. Watches, cars, and other items have seen history but few remain with us today. Firearms seem to last far longer than watches or cars.

 

[Spats McGee]

I wouldn't say "fascinated," but most definitely interested.

Why? Because it's one of the last purely mechanical things that I deal with regularly. . . . my guns and my lawn mower. It seems like just about everything else is electronic or has a computer chip in it somewhere.

 

[44 AMP]

Firearms seem to last far longer than watches or cars.

They do seem to. But, consider this, watches, cars, and our coffeepots are in constant daily use. Generally, our firearms are not.

For one example, I have my grandfather's Ithaca shotgun, made to his order in 1909. He was a farmer, used it for birds, squirrels, rabbits, foxes and other pests. While I have no way of knowing for certain, I would think that in the 105years since he got it, it probably hasn't had 1,000 rnds fired through it.

Before the Internet, people didn't seem to shoot that much, on average. Excluding competition, (and, of course, war and training for such things) most people simply didn't shoot thousands of rounds per year the way I hear so many today say they do. Maybe its just because we didn't HEAR much about high volume shooters in the past?

How about the yearly deer hunter, who shoots maybe a whole box of shells in a season?? Or the duck hunter who shoots 4 boxes or so, maybe?

Lots of police officers only shoot their required qualification courses yearly.

Add in the fact that guns are pretty tough, physically, when they do break or something wears out, its usually a minor part, and repairable.

Guns "die" more often from neglect and abuse than from actually being worn out.

yes, I'm fascinated by firearms, their design, their execution, their history, both as individual items and as a part of history. The cleverness of the mechanisms, the craftsmanship creating them from steel, wood, (and ok, today, plastic...)

I find some to be true objects d' art, others more mundane but still interesting.

 

[Targa]

Yep I am certainly a fan. I love the history, the fun and the art of them (their like Picasso's to me). Miltiary surplus, lever action rifles and single action revolvers are at the top of my list.

 

[RickB]

I'm about the least mechanical person, but I am fascinated by the myriad ways that people have devised to accomplish essentially the same thing.
Whether it's a car with four wheels and an internal combustion engine, or a gun with self-contained cartridges and a means for igniting the primer, I am very interested in the different paths taken.
Dead-ends can be more interesting than long-term successes, too.

 

[Kvon2]

Always have been. I'm a first generation shooter in my family so no one ever took me shooting or passed down any firearms.

When I turned 18 the floodgates opened lol

 

[rickyrick]

I think it's a primitive leftover, or at least vestigial in first world culture from days gone by. We are a unique species that have been warriors for most of our existence. Weapons were a prized possession of many through the ages. Not all were warriors, some were other occupations. But there's always been warriors in each culture. Hunters too. I think it's somewhat instinctual for some people to be drawn to weapons.

I like the mechanics of them, they are simple machines and shooting them are fun.

 

[MarkCO]

I enjoy firearms and what they encompass, but in reality, a rifle lasts for about 2-10 seconds depending on caliber and a normal handgun will only last for about 30 seconds or so. Refrigeration and IC engines are much more durable, useful and amazing if you subtract the emotional attraction to firearms from the equation.

The ability to pull a lever and have a deer fall over dead .3 seconds later 300 yards away is pretty fascinating. But so is being able to travel 400 yards in 4 seconds in a drag car, or talk to someone like they were standing next to you that is 8000000 yards away.

 

[dakota.potts]

Absolutely. There's a reason I chose to go to school and study them

 

[HiBC]

As I was building a flintlock squirrel rifle for my former spouse long ago...I used a Siler lock kit.I got to thinking about the balance of functions in a flintlock.They do work pretty darn good!!The metallurgy and hardness of the frizzen for sparks,balancing springs....
The tiger maple stock,darkened to rich browns and golds using alchemic formulae and heat...
The guard and other parts I forged and filed...
The idea that when we can't get primers,or brass,or smokeless,with a sparky rock and some bat cave floor .charcoal,and sulphur ...and some lead we can keep shooting
I thought about how the highest tech of an era is nearly always applied to weapons...
I thought about the old French and British locks,like a Manton... Old dueling pistols,old longrifles,and Hawkens...
I laughed about the confusion my hand made rifle would cause someone,someday,200 years in the future...
I'm not sure it will be quite the same with the modern guns,plastic,MIM,etc
But hand crafted wood and steel tends to be treasured,caredfor,and passed on,generation to generation as family heirloom.
"This is a rifle your great grandfather made,or used,or carried..."
How many other objects do we have that can carry that same sense of "bones" on to a future daughter or son ?

 

[aarondhgraham]

I got my first firearm at 4 years old,,,

I got my first firearm at 4 years old,,,
I've been fascinated (hooked) ever since then.

I remember the rifle very well,,,
It was a Davy Crocket (Old Betsy) set.

But if one thinks about it,,,
The rifle really was a firearm.

You lifted the frizzen and placed a cap over the touch-hole,,,
Then you stuffed a cork ball down the barrel.

Cock the hammer, aim, pull the trigger,,,
The force of the cap sent the cork ball across the living room.

Dad once told me that it was common for me to spend hours with that rifle,,,
They had to buy a lot of roll caps to keep me in ammunition.

I got pretty good at hitting those cardboard animals and indians,,,
Although IIRC, my favorite target was my older sister's butt.

As I got older and went through the usual Daisy and Crossman air guns,,,
I eventually obtained an old Winchester pump in .22 short.

All of my weekly allowance went to feeding that rifle,,,
I "hunted" the fields near my home,,,
And shot rats at the old dump.

The fascination has never left me,,,
There was a 20 year span when I shot very little,,,
But I always had at least a .22 rifle stashed in my closet.

I like the feel of a good gun,,,
I like the looks of a good gun,,,
I like the smell of a well oiled gun.

In short I like every thing about guns.

For the past 60 years that fascination hasn't waned.

Aarond

.

 

[44 AMP]

but in reality, a rifle lasts for about 2-10 seconds depending on caliber and a normal handgun will only last for about 30 seconds or so.

I am curious about your figures, and what parameters you used to arrive at them. If you are talking about the actual time bullets are traveling down the barrels, I am curious about the precise numbers you go, and how you got them.

Those numbers sound "off" to me, how did you come up with them?

 

[MarkCO]

That is actual time of a bullet going down a barrel. It is simple math.

For instance, take 3000 fps for a rifle bullet in a 24" barrel. Based on acceleration, the average velocity in the barrel is about 2000 fps so it is .001 seconds in the barrel. 10K rounds is about 10 seconds of total time. Sure some last longer, some not as long. The actual numbers can surely be debated, but that guns last for a very short period of time, as an "operating machine" is certainly true.

 

[A pause for the COZ]

Sure am... Can not explain why. Always have been though.

From cap guns to belted magnums. I love them all.

I love Tanks too. Must be something about off-roading with a big fat gun.

 

[Scorch]

Absolutely! I have been fascinated by then since I was a kid. I used to "help" my dad clean his shotgun or rifle when he got back from hunting, and my reward was handling the gun. I fired a gun for the first time when I was 6, and ever since then I have been a gun nut. In grade school, I had a cheap pellet gun that my mom hated, and I saw myself as the terror of the rats and lizards I would hunt with it, as well as the bane of street lights. In middle school, my teachers told me to not talk about guns in class, and I came in with blood on my jeans once after rabbit hunting (that really sent the teacher into a flurry). In high school, my shop teacher (an Iowa farm boy in his youth) used to just smile and shake his head when I would cut school to go ground squirrel hunting, and he would tell my English teacher it was okay. My wrestling coach told me to give up hunting during the school year, so I gave up wrestling. Then I joined the USMC, and they paid me to shoot guns! How cool was that?

Nowadays, my kids think I'm cool, and my wife thinks it's OK as long as they go with me. Other than that, she doesn't disapprove, but wants me to share with the kids. Looks like I'm ruining the next generation, too!

 

[lefteye]

I've endured (enjoyed?) this condition for nearly 65 years. I don't know why any more than I know why I like to watch professional team sports or various kinds of motor racing (e.g., "stock" cars, Indy cars, F-1, etc.). I learned about firearms from my dad, grandfather and an uncle, and I hunted with my dad and grandfather. My brother had no interest I firearms.

 

[Tex44]

That is actual time of a bullet going down a barrel. It is simple math.

For instance, take 3000 fps for a rifle bullet in a 24" barrel. Based on acceleration, the average velocity in the barrel is about 2000 fps so it is .001 seconds in the barrel. 10K rounds is about 10 seconds of total time. Sure some last longer, some not as long. The actual numbers can surely be debated, but that guns last for a very short period of time, as an "operating machine" is certainly true.

Your only accounting for the time it takes the bullet to travel down the barrel. That is only a small part of the operating time. What about the time it takes for the action to cycle? I watched a guy shoot a fully automatic AR-15 almost nonstop for several minutes, and the only reason it stopped working is because the massive heat buildup blew out the gas tube. Had that gun been allowed to cool down every 100-200 rounds, it would have lasted a long time.

 

[44 AMP]

The actual numbers can surely be debated, but that guns last for a very short period of time, as an "operating machine" is certainly true.

Ok, I understand what you are looking at, but I still think your conclusion is flawed. The same logic would have you saying your car only lasted until the tire tread wore down.

Your (and my) car isn't done because we need new tires. The frame/chassis isn't worn out even when we need to rebuild or replace the engine.

And while accuracy degrades as the rifling wears away, the gun still shoots. Barrels can, and are meant to be replaced when worn.

And what about shotguns?? Not much wear there, compared to rifled arms. They don't "wear out" the same way. Everything has a physical limit, with guns, we don't look at TIME as seconds, minutes, or hours of operation, we look at cycles & rounds fired.

And something that lasts a century or more, and still delivers that "10 seconds" of operation, is pretty impressive to me.