Those who have guns, why do you have them?

[undeterred]

Protection, collection, hunting, etc...

[SacredCow]

1. Various reasons....

I consider a few to be heirlooms and valuable, and I added to the collection.

I also enjoy target shooting, as I have somewhat of a knack for it.

Protection is down the list somewhere.

[Madrone]

2. Target shooting.

It's FUN. I don't get to do it that often though. Someday I'll live somewhere with a range nearby. :)

[GOPisEvil]

3. I know where a nice range is.

I'll take you someday. :)

[Madrone]

4. Cool!

And I'll teach you how to shoot! :D

[GOPisEvil]

5. Hey, I have the shooting merit badge.

I know how to shoot. I'm not very good at it, but I have shot weapons before. :P

[Madrone]

6. Well OKAY then.

lol

j/k


Wish I had one with me right now..... *someone* needs it stuck in her piehole.

[GOPisEvil]

7. Ugh...she is ANNOYING!

You only have 15 minutes to go.

[Madrone]

8. heh -

She was Miss "Oh I'm so smart I thought I should tell you you need to keep an eye out because 2 people's email accounts have gotten HUGE just in the last day and there are viruses yada yada...I'm soooo impressed with myself" just a few minutes ago ... announcing to the rest of us how she discovered this major problem and was going to get to the bottom of it!!!!! DAMMIT!!! So I say... "Ummm... are you sure they haven't recently received email with, I don't know, ATTACHMENTS?"

Oh no. Couldn't be THAT. They just got bigger TODAY! :wtf: :rofl: But she'll go ahead and check that out to humor me.

Fast forward 5-10 minutes ... What do you know? It seems both users have just received emails with 60MB of pictures attached. I say something about how I figured it was something like that -- then get the run on about how she was certain it was something like that TOO ... she just knew it. :wtf: :rofl:

Sometimes I'm amazed I don't shoot MYSELF!

:D

[GOPisEvil]

9. She's at least a good source of humor!

:eyes::rofl:

[Nicole]

10. Because I can. n/t

[Lautremont]

11. How else am I going to protect my gun collection?

No, kidding. No guns here. Canadian. Don't shoot, just passing through.

[Hangingon]

12. At base level,

they are fascinating as complex, intricate mechanical devices - as are cameras, typewriters, tools. Next, they are fun to use - to develop a skill at using a "tool". Also, I enjoy target shooting, skeet and bird hunting.

[Deep13]

22. I also like the mechanical aspects.

It's the same way with auto enthusiasts.

[Wcross]

13. Personal protection. n/t

[Dave Reynolds]

14. I don't like hormone-injected, factory-farmed meat.

But I am unwilling to forego meat in my diet.

[Rhythm]

15. Former gun owner...

My ex and i had a few firearms.
Ruger 10/22 (w/collapsing stock and scope)
SKS 7.62x39
AK-47

Plus appx. 25k rounds of ammo total

Why? Honestly, for target shooting.
The only things we shot at were jugs of water, sillouette targets, and rusty coffee cans.
We sold them all before we moved out of NC, which was about a year before our divorce.

Oktoberain and i don't currently have any firearms, but that's simply because we haven't had the money to afford purchasing both any weapons of quality, as well as an appropriate locking cabinet in which to keep them.

She grew up in a family that enjoyed hunting, and i am and always will be a competitive target shooter.

[Rabrrrrrr]

16. I like them. Target shooting, trap shooting, plinking around, shootin' varmints,

hunting.

Also, just for the beauty of craftsmanship in some of them. A gun can be a work of art just as much as a painting or a symphony.

My top piece is a HK .375 magnum that's hand-carved. Stunningly beautiful!

And lastly, I have them so that, just in case, I can defend myself with from a bad guy or the government or an invader.

[realisticphish]

17. target, mostly

and as art pieces. My father makes pennsylvania longrifles, and I've always loved flintlock and percussion military weapons.

[Kali]

18. Mostly to put down suffering livestock.

[REP]

19. To Piss You Off

Seriously: target shooting.

[The Traveler]

20. Hope

As in, to hope I never have to fire it at anything other than a piece of paper with a bulls eye on it.

I don't hunt. Killing Bambi with a high powered rifle never thrilled me. I don't count on it for home defense. I have two Great Danes. Great Danes are better than bullets. Bullets don't go around corners. :evilgrin: In all seriousness, in a home defense situation, close to 400 lbs of over protective dog flesh is likely to resolve the problem before I can lock and load.

Danes make great kid shepherds, BTW. Amazing, gentle giants.

But I do enjoy target shooting.

[Deep13]

21. a few reasons

- Part of a childhood fascination. My mother would not let me get a 0.22 in high school even though all my friends had them. Now I'm an adult, I do what I want.

- Reaction to '04 elections. I bought my first 0.22 rifle two weeks after the election because it occurred to me that only the nut cases around here are armed and if they wanted to lynch all the god-hating, unamurikan libruls there wouldn't be a whole lot I could do about it. This is a red county in a red state and I'm a pretty visible D.

- I work in the DA's office and there are people in prison who know I put them there. If one shows up at my house, I might want to have something besides foul language to keep him away.

- Target shooting is quite entertaining. It's a lot harder than it looks. It is also relaxing as it requires one to shut out all of ones mental concerns and focus on the front sight.

- Fascination with the mechanical aspects of firearms. Also, interest in military history.

- Bear repellant. I'm an amatuer astronomer and sometimes go to remote, lonely places to get away from goddamn artificial lights. Some of those places have black bears.

- Savage amusement. Things that are loud and blow shit up are cool.

-no duty to be a victim. Frankly if a psycho with a Glock tried to kill me or my wife, he would be carried out in a body bag. Yes, becoming violent as a response to a threat sometimes is the answer. I'm no Christian and have no intention of turning the other cheek.

-various end of civilization scenarios.

[Zavulon]

23. Trap, skeet, handguns for protection

Gun laws don't stop people who aren't willing to obey them. If someone ever breaks into my house with a gun, as has happened to a neighbor of mine recently, I want the odds closer to even than my neighbor had.

[cobalt1999]

24. I only needed a gun once...

but it is MUCH better to have it when you need it vs. not having it when you need it.

[guitar man]

25. various reasons

Protection for starters. Protection against criminals in my home means they got past the alarm and the 80lb. Staffordshire/Pointer mix that lives with me. :evilgrin:

Also, protection and defense should a police state rear it's ugly head here. I know, I know, fighting a gun battle against hundreds of govt. agents is a losing fight, but I'd rather go out in a "blaze of glory" than waste away in a concentration camp any day.

Also, I have some collector pieces, some single action Colt pistols from the 1870's and a couple "trapdoor" Springfield rifles from the same period, along with some more modern pieces.