Do you own a firearm?

[LARRY]

Originally Posted by RegGuy

There are more cases of a "self defense" gun being used against the home owner than a home owner using it for self defense. Don't forget people breaking into homes are usually a bit more desperate than the average gun owning home owner. Like Greg said, they have the element of surprise.

I've never been in that position, but I hear actually shooting someone with a gun is harder than it sounds. There's a psychological boundry that many won't pass when pressed. So you have to be sure you'd shoot the person if you bring that gun out. If not, you are safer without it, even if they are armed. Perhaps even more so if they are armed.

That's why you go to the range often and train.

Fun to shoot tight groups...

And you're ready if you ever have to be at home.

[Chris Stack]

Originally Posted by nvrblu

I knew a woman many years ago how shot and killed an intruder who broke in through a window by a fire escape in her Chicago apartment... it was ruled self-defense. In her case, the fear of rape, or worse, won out.

I hope she was using a long gun. Pistols are no longer allowed in Chicago city limits. That's one reason I chose the 'burbs.

[BrianK]

I don't, currently, but my family are gun owners.

Some good trivia:

I used to live in Kennesaw,GA where it was written in the law books that every household is to have a gun on the premesis at all times... THat's right, you are required, by law, to own a gun.

After GA, I moved to a small town in TN (called Winchester, oddly enough) where Gun Safety was a mandatory class in middle school. On the last day of the calss, you had to go out to the football feild and shoot skeet. Requirement.

I shot my first 22 when I was 5 - I remember it plain as day - it was a semi-auto target pistol that came with very strict instructions from my dad (who was thre at the time) - "Do NOT put your thumb behind the barell or it will be cut off when the round ejects". hehe. I somehow managed to hit the can too.

[habendanio]

kimber custom II in .45, great hangun.
M1 Garand 30-06, "Best battle implement ever greated" plus I love the cling after the eighth round is shot. Very fun shooter.

[Chris Stack]

Originally Posted by flyguyskt

2. i don't think the police are personally bad i think that as a whole they have lost the direction our countries fore fathers intended. that has a lot to do with the politicians...

3. cops are okay but they have lost the "To protect and serve" attitude and have adopted a "to write tickets and collect revenue" attitude.

Exactly. Don't blame the cops, blame the local and state politicos that make the rules the cops have to follow.


As for me, I don't currently own any firearms, but I am on the lookout for a shotgun for home defense (probably a Mossberg 500 or a Remington 812), and a pistol (probably a .40 or .45) for target/range shooting and fighting my way to the 12ga in case of emergency.

[Old Guy]

No guns. Gave them up years ago.

Now I have a 30" section of hardened bambo, and a Kris if that's not enough.

[67veloce]

Originally Posted by Greg

Unless you walk around the house with your gat strapped, it won't do you a lot of good either if someone really wants to inflict 2 minutes of punishment on you and they have the element of surprise.

I love guns, though I do not hunt anymore. I love shooting clays and plinking. When the second coming comes, or the red commies drop out of the sky, I still remember how to hunt and field dress game.

A country boy can survive...

;-)

'Greg

My hunting is done with a custom 60# take down recurve by a Charly Bisharaf(?) out of north California as I recall.

[MethodX]

Snub nose .357 received as a gift. I scored 100% on my permit too.

[nvrblu]

Originally Posted by Chris Stack

I hope she was using a long gun. Pistols are no longer allowed in Chicago city limits. That's one reason I chose the 'burbs.

She had MS and I was a friend and a paid physics tutor for her. That was in the mid-70's. I belive the incident was in the mid-60's... before those gun laws?

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by RegGuy

There are more cases of a "self defense" gun being used against the home owner than a home owner using it for self defense.

Commonly spread myth by anti-gun people. The incidents where a home owner uses a gun for self defense are seldom mentioned on the news.

I don't hunt, as said above somewhere, targets don't bleed - neither to cans.

I have several .22s - a single shot Marlin target rifle, Marlin lever action rifle, a 100 round capacity Calico M-100, and a Ruger Mark II. My brother inherited my Grandfather's 1880 vintage Winchester .22.

I tend to like .22s because they are cheap to shoot - pennies a bullet.

There's also the Keltec .380.

And my Red Ryder BB gun.

[LARRY]

Calicos aren't made anymore -- are they? Nice guns with big fat magazines built in...

[FlyLo]

Originally Posted by DeathWish

I am not a member and do not support the extreme views of the NRA; I favor gun registration and strict access laws, coupled with severe punishment for gun crime.

Obviously firearms should be under secure lock and key at all times.

The primary purpose of gun registration is so that the government can later confiscate the weapon. See Europe.

A firearm that is truly secure and locked is of no use, defensively. What is obvious is that people should understand their own risks and consider the relative likelihoods of a home invasion versus a child causing an accident. This will vary with location and the age/presence of children.

Originally Posted by RegGuy

There are more cases of a "self defense" gun being used against the home owner than a home owner using it for self defense. Don't forget people breaking into homes are usually a bit more desperate than the average gun owning home owner. Like Greg said, they have the element of surprise.

Horse puckey. The average burglar isn't looking for trouble, and flees at the first sign of the resident. One who doesn't already means to harm you. There's no profit in confrontation.

I would encourage you to find documentation for your claim on home owners being more likely to have their guns turned against them. Your stats will need to account for the ascertainment bias towards reports of the owner being injured, and against the owner scaring away the intruder without firing a shot.

Finally, If you are going to restrict gun ownership, at least have the decency to pass a constitutional amendment.

[nvrblu]

I had a CO2 .22 pellet rifle when I was a kid. I shot at birds... mostly crows. After I got good shooting at inanimate targets, I could hit just about anything I wanted. I winged a bird one time but didn't kill it. I walked up to it, pointed the rifle at its head... shot. Both eyeballs popped out of its head. I never shot at another living creature after that. I think I was 13.

[TimMullen]

Originally Posted by LARRY

Calicos aren't made anymore -- are they? Nice guns with big fat magazines built in...

There sale was restricted for awhile. My .22 was deemed an "assault rifle" - it had a folding stock (which also telescoped which made it useful for my son to shoot too), a pistol grip, and held more than 10 rounds (90 more to be exact). They made a "new" version of the rifle with a fixed stock and a "thumb hole" stock (instead of the pistol grip) and were allowed to continue production (the 9mm version was not allowed however). The big pain was that I couldn't buy an extra magazine when I wanted to, because they were banned.

For those that don't know what a Calico is: http://www.calicolightweaponsystems.com

[CHRISN]

Para-Ordnance 45
Sig 9 (carry gun)
Ruger ss 357
ak 47 semi auto

[Ian]

I live in Texas. If I didn't own a gun I'd probably get beat up.

[LARRY]

Or you can borrow my Desert Eagle:

[Blonde1]

In no particular order:
Desert Eagle .44 Magnum
Ruger .454 Casull Alaskan
Custom Colt Combat Commander converted to a race gun (one-off)
Federal Ordinance M-14 (pre-ban)
Colt AR-15 Sporter A-2 (pre-ban)
Ruger Mini 14 w/collapsable stock
Ithaca 12-gage pump shotgun
LAW-12 semi-automatic shotgun
Ithaca 10/22 single-shot lever-action
AK-47 (post-ban)
Sig Sauer P220
Springfield Model 1918
Ruger 10/22

Oh, and a Red Ryder commemerative edition BB gun (NIB)

[ScubaJKD]

Originally Posted by Moto44

If so, please feel free to share.

Glock 17
Springfield XD 45 4" Service Model
Remington 700 Combat Master 12 ga
Bushmaster Carbon M4

[LARRY]

Originally Posted by Blonde1

In no particular order:
Desert Eagle .44 Magnum
Ruger .454 Casull Alaskan
Custom Colt Combat Commander converted to a race gun (one-off)
Federal Ordinance M-14 (pre-ban)
Colt AR-15 Sporter A-2 (pre-ban)
Ruger Mini 14 w/collapsable stock
Ithaca 12-gage pump shotgun
LAW-12 semi-automatic shotgun
Ithaca 10/22 single-shot lever-action
AK-47 (post-ban)
Sig Sauer P220
Springfield Model 1918
Ruger 10/22

Oh, and a Red Ryder commemerative edition BB gun (NIB)

Nice collection! That's alot of different kinds of ammo (like me)!