Gun Love

So I have a thing for guns. If you asked me what I would buy if I won the lotto (which I won't because I don't play the lotto) first you'd get a list of nice things, like a new house, a new computer, a new car and so on, but once I got all the necessaries for improving my life to what I consider livable, then I would start buy all those firearms. I'd start with fleshing out the current collection, another 12 gauge combat style shotgun, a pair of sturdy accurate rifles in .308 and a couple more .45's, .40 S&W and one more 9mm. Then I would move on to complete the Eastern Block Collection (Takarov, Makarov, Mosin- Nagant, and another SKS) and perhaps then go off into a mil-serps tangent from there. After that? Who knows. Give me the money, and we'll find out.

My love affair with firearms started when I was about 7 and 1/2. Any guesses on why? That was right about the time we moved in with Kerry. He finally convinced my mother to allow it and taught me to shoot his AR-7 when I was 8. I've been addicted ever since.

At first it was something different, then it was something to do with my new Dad, and as time passed it became the tangible beginnings of a whole new way to think and do things. I learned self sufficiency, respect for tools and strength of ideals all because my dad had guns and shared his passion with me. This passion is now one of my own.

Collecting and shooting satisfies two of my major quirks. The enjoyment of having a collection and having something that does something all in one package. Added benefits is that its time consuming and you can never run out of things to learn and things to do, yet you can set it down at any point and come back to it later. A hobby that doesn't demand my time, yet can occupy a large portion of it. Perfection.

Yet explaining it completely is impossible. Only another bitten by the same bug can fully appreciate what I get out of the smell of solvent and gun smoke, or the sensation of hefting a rifle to my shoulder. Explaining it to someone with the modern dislike for firearms is even more impossible. Trying to get someone to see firearms in a positive light after a life time of believing the mantra they where taught in our society about guns being bad, is worse then pulling teeth. Sometimes you can break through the barrier, even to the point of conversion, but unfortunately, you usually end up in the never ending debate that never ends because they don't want to hear why the news is wrong and your right, even when you have the stats to back your point up. They just won't believe that those crazy shoot outs featured in the action flicks are actually impossible to do with any firearm. For these people guns obtain abilities that are on par with magical, never mind the fact that its simply mechanics and chemistry ruled by physics. They also want something easy to blame for societies ills. Why acknowledge that our educational, legal and bureaucratic systems are all flawed when you can blame it all on those crazy people that have guns?

So other then beating my head occasionally against that wall, I have taken to hanging out with the people that will, at the least, respect my love of guns. If someone comes to me a wants to learn, I'll gladly teach, but if their not asking, I'm not going to bother to get them interested. My head has just taken to many beatings to often.

Instead I concentrate on my passion and I share it with my friends. They understand when I make a Facebook post about being in a 'Glock mood' and affectionately referring to my 1911A1 as 'chupacabra'. I spend time talking to my Dad about technique, calibers and whats new at the local gun store. I read gun books and research what I want next. When I can afford to waste the ammo, I shoot. I pull out my personal guns periodically for inspections. I engage in my passion, my hobby and my sport.