Do people criticize you?/ Should I worry?

[stangfan93]

In the last 3 years i have bought 6 guns. But i havent bought a new gun since last February. So in 2 years i bought 6 guns.

I told a guy the other day that i was buying a new revolver because he told me that if I ever buy a .38/.357 that he would give me some .38 special practice rounds. Atleast 500. But then jokingly he said that he needed to watch out for me and so should government.

He was joking yes, but it kind of bothered me. For one thing don't worry about what i do with my money. And another thing it is not like i am going and buying 12 glocks, 10 shotguns, and 8 AR-15's all at once.

I am not some sort of gangster who goes around terrorizing people. I can walk into any store i please and buy a gun because my record is clean. I'm just an honest man trying to make an honest living. But, i can not help to feel as people are making me out to be some sort of survivalist. I do not think that I need to stock up on guns and ammo because when the you know what hits the fan it will be everyone for themselves. I dont think the T-1000 is going to come and i need to have an underground storage somewhere in the desert full of guns.

But, yet at the same time i do feel i need to have some extra ammo somewhere. Maybe i am. Should i worry about myself?

Has this happened to anyone?

 

[Axion]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Some people are just weirded out by guns. The best thing you can do is show them, through their actions, that gun owners are for the most part good, normal people. If he meets enough of the right gun owners his perception will change.

 

[blume357]

One of the reasons for 'collecting' besides the obvious that you want

to and like to is because somebody needs to. Consider yourself a 'keeper of the steel'. Just remember the other part of the equations. Every gun you have needs to have a couple of hundred rounds for backup.

If somebody offered me 500 rounds of ammo, that would be enough reason to go out and buy a gun for me. I've bought a revolver before just because a friend picked up a $5 holster at a yard sale and gave it to me.

 

[ATW525]

And another thing it is not like i am going and buying 12 glocks, 10 shotguns, and 8 AR-15's all at once.

Are you implying there's something wrong with this???

 

[nass]

Let it roll off your back...

Just think, some people collect action figures, some like comic books, others trains. No offense to anyone that does, it's just not my cup of tea. Be honest and realize if you thought "wierdo" on any of those collectors. The same thought goes to some others on our collection of guns. To each is own.

Now, go out and get youself a nice 357 to help forget about this.

 

[MDman]

I get alot of that crap. I bought my first rifle the week I turned 18, and before I was 19 I had 8 more guns. ive learned not to wear my camo jacket when I go to the gun range, buy guns, or realy anywhere i guess cause i get told im a columbine kid.

 

[DarthTedd]

My 2 thoughts ...

1) Who cares what people think?
2) Don't tell anyone what you buy. It's none of their business.

 

[Michigunner]

Don't think a thing about it. He might have been trying to make a joke.

Besides, it's no one's business but yours.

Sometimes people are short in the courtesy department.

I once went to the local police department to "register" my pistol. The officer said: "I don't know why anybody would need a gun like this". It was just a plain old S&W 9 mm auto.

I didn't appreciate his smart comment one bit. But if I made that known, the processing could have been delayed.

 

[SGHOTH]

When teaching someone the basics of shooting I grab a selection of guns from my collection that illustrate various action and caliber possibilities. When I take people out I usually grab:

A .22 single action revolver.
A .37/.357 double action revolver, full frame.
A light weight .38 to demonstrate the effect of recoil when shooting a lite gun
A .22 semi auto.
A 9mm semi auto da/sa.
A .40 semi auto glock.
A .45 semi auto 1911.

I thought that was the minimum for a cross section of shooting calibers and actions. Other folks would have called it an arsonal.

 

[Rangefinder]

I'm with everyone else here. A) don't worry about it. B) it's nobody's business. C) there will always be somebody with more than you, so there will always be a need to catch up. I like 'C' the most

Myself and a friend/co-worker take out a lot of people to introduce them to firearms for the first time--they're usually international students who come to work for us during the summer. Most have never seen a gun before unless it was being carried my a LEO or soldier in their home country. So we usually bring what they consider a "huge arsenal" of weapons (about 15 to 20 in various caliber and configuration). It's really not much at all, but like SGHOTH said--it's a minimun cross-section. If they're going to get the introduction, they'll get as good of one as we can give for an afternoon at the range. They all love it, and some are really good with a little practice and proper instruction.

 

[FirstFreedom]

Awww, don't worry...people will razz you about being nuts if you own a lot of guns - even your buddies who themselves own a lot of guns will razz you. Just accept it; wear it as a badge of honor even.

 

[DWARREN123]

I have quite a few firearms, some people know some don't. No of their business how many I have. I pass all background checks so I am not a criminal.

 

[mikejonestkd]

Everybody razzes friends and casual acquaintes about something....

My LEO neighbor called me a gun nut one day we were hanging out, then I reminded him that he owned two more guns than me...

I tell very few people how many and what I own. No reason to share that info with anyone.

 

[Samurai]

If you start hurting small animals for fun, I'd worry.

If you start stock-piling MRE's in your basement, I'd worry.

If you start having "impure thoughts" about the latest issue of Soldier of Fortune magazine, I'd worry.

If you watch Tremors, and you wonder why Burt Gummer is packing such light-end weapons, I'd worry.

But, you shouldn't worry about buying six pistols. Heck, you shouldn't necessarilly worry about buying six pistols all at once.

You're not a survivalist. I know survivalists. My father-in-law (who reads this page ) is a survivalist. You are NOT a survivalists.

 

[rwilson452]

Some people I hang out with calling them a gun nut is a complement. It means you have been accepted into the group.

 

[Musketeer]

Sure they call me a nut in the office but when the living dead mass to feast on living, North Korean Paratroopers drop into Small Town USA to set up concentration camps during the occupation or the alien visitors begin processing us as food who do you think they are going to come running to for protection?

 

[Coloma]

I can count on one hand the amount of people that know what I have. My mother in law is a real bitch when it comes to guns. She thinks it's some kind of sin to have kids and guns in the same house and almost had a heart attack when I took my son hunting for the first time a few years ago.

 

[CajunBass]

If you know he was joking, why did it bother you? You should have said, (In reference to his "should be watching you" comment) "They can't. I've got aluminum foil inside my hat (or a hat made of...etc.).

I was reading "Glock Talk" here at work one night. One of the fellows looked over and asked "Uhhhhh You're not a disgruntled employee are you?" I replied "Not yet."

We were both JOKING. We both knew it.

 

[O.S.O.K.]

I wouldn't worry about the comment

But I would worry about the 500 rounds of "practice" ammo - is it handloaded and does this guy follow safe handloading procedures?

If its factory stuff, then great but I'd politely refuse handloads.

 

[Shooter 973]

People criticize???

Then why do they all say that if TEOTW comes they are all coming to my house??? Just because I own a few guns, doesn't mean I'll protect you or "give" you one when trouble hits, if it ever does.