Gun people are......

[Duxman]

Just wanted to start a thread about my experiences with the folks who enjoy guns and shooting:

The popular misconception with the general public is that the average american gun owner is a redneck / hunter / gun nut who is anti-social and can barely hold a job - WRONG - In my experiences - Gun owners that I have met and interacted with - are among the smartest, most educated, polite folks that one can ever meet.

In fact - several IPSC tournaments, shooting range experiences - have led me to make some long term friendships with other gun enthusiats. Most first time shooters or new shooters - are instantly befriended by veteran shooters, shown tips on how to shoot better, and even given a chance to shoot some cool guns by people who are proud of their "baby".

While shooting is a male dominated sport - the ladies are quickly swelling in our ranks and have been welcome. In more and more instances, the NRA range, IPSC tournaments - the women who come - used to be few in number, I can honestly say - we are now running on the average about 25 to 30 % female at any given time I go to these places.

Every non-shooter who shoots and meets veteran shooters - that I have introduced to the sport - has been very happy and 99% of them have purchased firearms and training. (The missing 1% is my WIFE!!!! - but I will convert her soon. )

I think with all the negative press and publicity these days - we should write some posts about our positive experiences and do our bit to encourage the newbees to join us in this very practical and enjoyable sport.

 

[applesanity]

from the experience of so many here, wives can be better marks(wo)men than their husbands.

Chicks shooting guns are sexy.

 

[Hedley]

Apple, what's worse is that my fiance hates shooting, but can still outshoot me with my .38. I blame anatomy and center of gravity advantages.

 

[skeeter1]

The popular misconception with the general public is that the average american gun owner is a redneck / hunter / gun nut who is anti-social

I recently visited some former co-workers (I'm retired). Someone asked me what I was doing these days, so I told them -- target shooting. One of them is a Viet Nam vet, and I have no idea what he went through, but he is anti-gun. Once I explained that I've been shooting for 50 years, learned from my WWII vet dad, who in turn learned from my grandad, who belonged to a hunt club. I explained to them that my firearms are just tools for my sport. After all, you can't play golf without a set of clubs, right? After that, they were OK with it. BTW, I've never had a close call on a shooting range, but I have had on a golf course.

While shooting is a male dominated sport - the ladies are quickly swelling in our ranks and have been welcome.

Indeed. The range I frequent is in fact OWNED by a lady, and I would never bet against her. She can hold her own beside any male who comes in there.

 

[chris in va]

Eh, I don't totally agree. Been to the outdoor range many many trips, and there have been quite a few times I felt the guys shooting the weapons were a little off kilter.

The guys unloading several EBR's and setting up targets with full safety gear don't bother me, it's the serious looking yo-boys shooting their Glock 9's sideways and yelling "GET SOME B##CH" that give chills. I'm being serious. It's not just that range, several ranges have these idiots.

Also a few gun owners I have come across constantly brag about their collection and how well they'll 'blow away' anyone that dares give them an opposite opinion or so much as look at them wrong.

But then again there are the owners that are level headed and take their responsibility with a light hearted yet mature outlook. Those are the ones I have fun with, and look forward to meeting them every time I go out.

Oh, then there's the LEO 'gun range commandos' that feel once they're on scene everyone has to do as they wish, barking orders and making you wait until they fully unload 500 rounds of .308 from their $2500 black doodad before you can string up that bowling pin for your personal amusement.

EDIT: BTW, I just put my foot in my mouth Duxman. Here I am contradicting ya, didn't see who was the poster.

 

[Playboypenguin]

My personal experience with most shooters I have met is that they are overall good people who really don't care much about what other people do or who they are as long as they are respectful and friendly.

Unfortunately, the close minded, rednecked good ol' boys do exist and they tend to be the loudest ones so they get noticed more by people who have little interaction with gun owners.

I think most people would have a better opinion of gun owners if they knew more of them. In fact, I think alot of people know more gun owners than they think they do...they just don't know they own or carry a firearm. The ones that usually make it a point to let you know that they have a gun are the minority and not the best example. It is kind of like what I tell people that say they do not know any gay people. I say "you know them...you just don't know they are gay." Same thing with gun owners.

 

[Duxman]

Hey Chris,

Come shoot with us. I think you are just shooting in the wrong places.

There are good shooters and not - so good shooters. I think the majority of shooters - are very nice people.

If you come to the North Mountain or Fredericksburg IPSC shoots, you can see the quality come out.

 

[Double J]

Gun PeopleAre...

--But then again , some of us really are Rednecks, hunters, gun nuts, anti-social, and find holding a gun is easier than holding a job. I fit that description pretty well. As for being educated, I dropped out of high school to support my family. Eventually got my GED and worked to pay for a few college classes.
--As for women shooters, the best boy I've got turned out to be my youngest daughter. She always was interested in shooting and I let her have free run of anything she wanted to fire. Heck,"Mail Call" was her favorite show. A true blood Redneck gal. She is now serving in the U.S. Army doing mortuary work. Her rifle scores turned in the highest in her unit. She had the advantage of knowing about the rifle before she entered service.
--So for all those other gun owners out there, it's OK to be a Redneck and proud to pass it on.

 

[trubski]

"...it's the serious looking yo-boys shooting their Glock 9's sideways and yelling "GET SOME B##CH" that give chills. I'm being serious. It's not just that range, several ranges have these idiots."

We must go to the same ranges While many of the people I've met at various ranges are some of the nicest, friendliest, most responsible people I know, I have also met some really scary ones.

Not long ago, my significant other and I were at a public range when three 20 somethings showed up - all in black, shaved heads, paratrooper boots, Matrix sunglasses, black bags - the works. They unpacked a couple of AR's, a totally tricked out tactical 12 gauge and numerous handguns and proceeded to vaporize the backboards on the pistol range. They didn't talk to anyone else, didn't smile, never took the sunglasses off and would occasionally turn as a group and stare at the other shooters. These guys were creepy.

It doesn't surprise me at all that non-gun people are scared to death of types like this, they made us nervous, and unfortunately that is the impression many people have of all of us. Granted, they didn't break any laws I was aware of, nor did they break any range rules but something wasn't right there.

 

[Rangefinder]

There aren't many gun people I've ever met that weren't some of the nicest, most genuine people around. It never seems to fail that if I meet someone and the subject turns to guns, we're both acting like life-long chums in a matter of moments. I think part of that has to do with the notion that in that one little confirmation (that we both like guns) we understand a whole lot more about one another very quickly. If I had to make an educated guess, most responsible gun owners share a lot of the same inherent phylosophies, traits, and interests. That makes for some pretty stable common ground quickly.

Just my $.02 shot from the hip.

 

[Duxman]

Rangefinder -

+1 - if the subject turns to guns and you find that a co-worker is interested, you are definately "instant" buddies. Its like finding a long lost brother, sister, cousin. As if time stands still.

One of my best 1st dates - a trip to the NRA range with a hottie, who I tried to impress with my .22 pistol and M9, but she proceeds to out gun me with a 12 gauge autoloader. Wow. Still remember it even though it was almost 10 years ago.

Part of being a good gunowner is to be courteous to non-gunowners. Especially since they are future gunowners.

Creepy people are in all demographics. Not just gunowners.

 

[junkpile]

Every non-shooter who shoots and meets veteran shooters - that I have introduced to the sport - has been very happy and 99% of them have purchased firearms and training.

That's been my and my friend's experience as well. Get somebody out to the range, and 9 times out of 10 they'll love it. Converted a good many like that (to varying degrees, of course).

 

[DesertDawg]

You can't lump shooters and/or gun owners into a stereotypical category. For that matter, there are "closet" gun owners that are outwardly anti-gun! There was a well-known news columnist that always wrote anti-gun stuff in his columns, and no one would have known that he owned any firearms....until he fired several rounds at his paperboy for having thrown a newspaper that hit the columnists front window!

There was also an anti-gun actress (formerly a well-known fashion model) who had made several anti-gun television "spots" that were broadcast. Who woulda thunk that she would accidentally shoot herself with her own handgun while cleaning it?

Oh, yeah! I'm pretty sure that Sean Penn has been anti-gun, since he is definitely anti-American! HMM! Did y'all see him carting around a folding stock shotgun in New Orleans, shortly after Hurricane Katrina? He was down there to help, NOT making a movie!

HAHA! Then, there's my next-door neighbor! Right off the bat, most of you might have "visions" of what a "typical" lawyer is, and I'll bet that your "vision" would have nothing to do with firearms! Well, when my neighbor first moved in, he WAS anti-gun, but seemed nice enough! Then, he was hired as a prosecuting attorney for a neighboring town, and dealt with many cases involving gang members. After a few threats, he didn't balk at getting a CCW permit! When he left the prosecution job, he was no longer "qualified" for a CCW permit (here in California!). Just recently, he was appointed to the bench, as a Superior Court Judge....the youngest EVER! Yes, Judges AUTOMATICALLY "qualify" for CCW "priveleges"...and he's back to carrying again!

Lest I forget, the "honorable" U.S. Senator, Diane Feinstein! Who is MORE anti-gun than she? Well, when her CCW permit (NO, I am not "BS'ing" you!) was about to expire, she sent a "pleading" letter to the Sheriff of her county, enumerating the various reasons why SHE absolutely NEEDED a CCW permit! It was renewed, but I think that it would have been renewed, anyway....for she is so "special"!

Nope, you can't stereotype gun owners!

 

[Blue Duck]

Gun owners are a crossection of society. People owning guns come from all walks of life, and some are pretty scary, but most are just regular people, like regular people everywhere.

 

[Mike Irwin]

According to one of my coworkers, gunowners of any stripe are nothing more than psychotic murderous bastards.

 

[Rangefinder]

According to one of my coworkers, gunowners of any stripe are nothing more than psychotic murderous bastards.

Well then... Austrailia ain't got nothing over us! So what if it began as a British penal colony. All us psychotic murderous bastards crossed the Atlantic... LOL

Wow--seriously, WOW. It never ceases to amaze me how some people can think--if you can really call it that.

 

[Dave R]

Why I think MOST gun owners are more stable, intelligent, and level-headed than most people:

1. Gunnies learn to be careful. They are dealing with some dangerous things. They learn how to handle them wisely.

2. Good gunnies tend to wind up being interested in all manner of disciplines: Mechanical engineering (how they operate,) trigonometry (ballistics) chemistry (cleaning supplies, powder burn rates, etc.)

3. Gunnies tend to be self-reliant. They are not looking for someone else to save them. They take responsibility for their own needs, training, etc.

4. To mangle a Jeff Cooper quote, the requirement for good shooting is self-control. And that is the basis of all virtues.

 

[finrot]

You have to go by the 10 percent rule. Take any group of people,10 percent
are as##oles. Generaly they will not put forth the effort to get a permit but at my range they rent guns. The great majority of the people there are polite, safe, and courtous but, they are out there.

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

We're a very diverse group, contrary to what the MMM and their ilk think. As a range safety officer I've seen the spectrum at the range: we have the gun owner who shoots sometimes (the great unwashed public) who can be real idjuts and discourteous, then we have the hunting-only group, the hobiest and the competition group.

I see everyone from retired to unemployed to lawyer to caretaker to doctor on our club's new member list each month.

The competition or hobiest tend to be very courteous as their counterparts won't put up with nonsense that might be unsafe. If they aren't courteous by nature, they need to behave to continue to be invited to play.

I've seen shooters showing true sportsmanship when they have been disqualified from an important match for a safety infraction. True ladies and gentlemen. I see total support for fellow competitors and rivals. I have seen only one instance of lack of sportsmanship when a young gentleman accustomed to taking 1st place in revolver competition took 2nd and intentionally left the trophy behind.

I like to point out to those are against firearms ownership that it is common to see police at most sports venues and riots at soccer and others, but (except for Australia where the government doesn't trust the serfs) it would be an exception to see a shooting event requiring LEO monitoring.

 

[Rangefinder]

it would be an exception to see a shooting event requiring LEO monitoring.

Oh, they're there, in sizable numbers.
More often than not--they're there at any shooting event--enjoying themselves on the line right next to you, then talking with you afterwards while "ooing and aahing" at everyone elses hardware and rethinking their list of new things they want next, while refiguring their own "gun budget" to get it sooner.