What is respectable?

[Frenchy]

The respectable gun..

Some times I wonder what the respectable gun could be. When talking to XD people, nothing beats the XD, but when talking to a Glock lover, you can’t buy better.
Revolver people will tell you there is nothing like 6 to keep it going, Shotgun people say a pump is where its at for home defense, but over under is the Skeet gun…
There are those who swear by their SKS and AR’s and love to belittle the other rifles in the community, then there are the C&R people who say nothing beats an old Enfield or a musket, front loaders swear by their guns to hunt, yet those who have machine guns think the rest of us have “toys”
So what is the “respectable” gun? Is it what others think you should have, is it what you can afford to have, or is it the gun you feel most comfortable shooting?

There was a person one day shooting a 50 cal at the range and his wife next to him shooting a 9mm Glock, their Kid looked bored because after all what is shooting a pellet gun next to dad’s 50 cal… I was setting up to shoot some .357 and noticed their shots going pretty wild on the range, to tell the truth, they where doing more damage to the ground around the target then to the target.

After a few loads of shooting I suggested we take a look at our targets, the man said naaa, I know I’m not hitting much, the wife said Ok Ill go look, when she saw she was not hitting much of her target either at 50 or so feet, she said I don’t get it…
So I took out some 38 and 38+p to let them try that for a bit and while they where trying it out on my model 66, I pulled out the Ruger single Six and asked the kid if he cared to try this… Dad looked at the gun and said Looks like a fun “Toy” so I loaded up 6 shots in the cylinder and when the parents where stopped shooting, I explained to the child this was a very soft gun, almost like his pellet gun, but the trigger was possibly softer. I explained how to shoot a Single six duel style, one handed… Poof! Oh wow cool! Poof! Poof! Kid shot the 6 shots and naturally wanted to see where the shots went, so we all walked down to the targets… The Kids 6 shots where within the 12X12 target, most in the 6 inch center, Dads target had one hole in it, looked like Ricochet, and Mom hit her target a few times. So Dad pipes up, well the .357 must not be well adjusted…
So he offers I should try his 50 cal, some thing I don’t feel the need to try, and I say that I am satisfied with the .357 for a punch, don’t need a broken wrist. Mom asks if she can try the .22, and shoots 6 rounds, I pull out the Magnum cylinder and let her try 6 rounds of that as well.. 8 rounds in the 6 inches… 4 just around the 6 inch of the center. Mom is impressed at her ability to shoot this “toy” Dad says Hmm nice toy for kids and opens up on his 50 cal again. So I say to the woman, in an hour, you can shoot in cost, what he shoots in 12 seconds, you can blow a whole lot of money, or have a whole lot of fun. The kid, all of about 12 years old pipes up and says “THAT is one respectable gun!”
The Father looks around and says Yeah RIGHT!...
It did not take long for the mom to get re-interested in the .22 and asking what type it was and where they could be found, although there are replicas of the old model, there are still some old ones around.
The man turned around and says that wont stop a robber if you shoot at him, this will holding up his 50 cal.
In my mind, I was thinking, that thing will more blind him and make him mad if you don’t hit him then any thing else including this .22, but I kept quiet. The way he was shooting, he could barely hit the side of a barn.
The man moved over a few spaces and pulled an AK47 out of his case and loaded that up. Although he was shooting that much better then the 50 cal, he was still pretty wild with it. I figured I would pull out my 12 gauge, that’s the main reason I was there that day, to try out some slugs. Again the father looked at me like I had some sort of toy.. What’s that piece of plastic? I have the synthetic stock on my Mossberg pump. So I told him, “my other toy”, loaded up the 5 rounds it will hold and shot at the pallet with slugs. Did not take long I was hitting the pallet’s 2x4 and the pallet went down. He then looked at me and said NOW that’s a gun!

So what is the “Respectable gun” in your view?
If you had just one gun you could have, would it be a thunder machine you can barely control, or some thing you feel confident in hitting with? Would it be a shotgun, rifle, pistol? Would you look at a different caliber so that your spouse could also use it? Is your idea of a perfect gun the gun that will make you live that extra day if all breaks loose, or do you just want to enjoy today. Are you a collector, or a fanatic? Shoot as a sport or as if the end of the world is coming and you need to live one more day?

[GRIZZLYBEAR]

All the above!!!!


grizz

[ChamberedRound]

IMHO, they're all respectable, as they all have unique capabilities and uses. In addition, to say only one is respectable implies that the rest are not.

[TonyF]

The respectable gun..

Dads target had one hole in it, looked like Ricochet

So Dad pipes up, well the .357 must not be well adjusted…

Dad says Hmm nice toy for kids and opens up on his 50 cal again.

Father looks around and says Yeah RIGHT!...

The man turned around and says that wont stop a robber if you shoot at him, this will holding up his 50 cal.

The way he was shooting, he could barely hit the side of a barn.

Although he was shooting that much better then the 50 cal, he was still pretty wild with it.

Again the father looked at me like I had some sort of toy..

My impression of the father is that he has the "little wee wee" syndrome and he's trying to compensate through his selection of firearms. I'll give 10 to 1 odds this guy owns one of those .45-70 derringers. We see some of this in our training courses where the boyfriend or husband has his S.O. purchase either a hand cannon in the form of a S&W scandium in .357 or .44 mag or an autoloader that is WAY too large for her hand size.

So what is the “Respectable gun” in your view?

I'm still not sure I understand what the 12 year old meant using that term as an adjective. It should be attributed to shooters, not firearms. Edit: And this was my reason for not voting.

Frenchy was the respectable shooter, the father wasn't. By his attitude toward firearms and without Frenchy's passive intervention there was a good chance the dad could actually ruin his wife and son's interest in shooting.

If you had just one gun you could have, would it be a thunder machine you can barely control, or some thing you feel confident in hitting with? Would it be a shotgun, rifle, pistol? Would you look at a different caliber so that your spouse could also use it? Is your idea of a perfect gun the gun that will make you live that extra day if all breaks loose, or do you just want to enjoy today. Are you a collector, or a fanatic? Shoot as a sport or as if the end of the world is coming and you need to live one more day?

To answer the question directly ........ an AR15. For me, it is the answer to all of the questions in your last quote but primarily because it is the platform with which I have the most experience and familiarity in terms of weapon manipulation.

[jdlv4_0]

This is big can of worms, some will argue on all points and in thier opionion be correct, I don't believe there's such a thing as a "disrespectful" gun, just people that disrespect them. Personally I don't like AKs, I've had too many fired at me...

Some will say that the most practical is a pistol due to size and concealabilty, that and the fact that the pistol is always at your side when you need it, not always the case with a long gun.

Some will say that the pistol is not the answer to to it's short range, and a rifle is the proper tool, this is the same as the shotgun fan that says a rifle may over penetrate and 00 buck is better due to the fact that 9 prejectiles are better than 1

Ultility as well as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, that guy with his .50 was disrespecting it by not caring about his regimen, any firearm can get the job done, a .25 to the head can kill as much as a .50.

personally I'm in the club that thinks what ever suits your needs and your budget is the way to go. I don't think there is a good reason to only have 1 gun, I wouldn't try to hunt deer with a 1911, and I wouldn't try to pretect my home with a lever action 30-06.

There's different tools for different jobs, use what works, and works well.
For me it's the 1911 platform for a sidearm, and the AR for a ranged combat weapon. While a Glock and an AK would do fine, I am happy in my selection due to the fact it's works best for me.

[MiniDevil]

All guns are respectable -- and deadly. Different people have different tastes, but get proficient enough with one and it'll do the job.

[IceFire]

To me, what is respectable iswhatever suits the purpose. Since I have multiple purposes that call for firearms (hunting--different critters, different seasons, different requirements, protection--personal and home, or just "plinking"), I have multiple firearems. They are ALL respectable (well, except for maybe my POS .22, but I bought it because I needed something SMALL that I can conceal easily--I am SHORT, so concealment can be a real challenge), they just all have different purposes. IMO, if it suits your needs, and you can shoot it accurately enough to hit your target and do what you want it to do, then it's respectable.

[Frenchy]

As most of you, I agree, its what your budget allows you to shoot comfortable, and most of all often!
I find interesting that of 17 people who voted, 16 went for pistol. Even more interesting is that of 120 views we only got 17 voters. The C&R are up there to answer Dan's question on it, 10 people seem to think they are as useful as a rifle compared to 9 in machinegun class.
At 13 the shotgun is second so far, As this includes all types of shotguns and not just pumps or auto, that is pretty impressive.

[IceFire]

Heheheh....I finally voted....went the "all of the above" route (in other words, I voted for EVERYTHING), because they're ALL respectable, just some are better for certain purposes than others. (kind of hard to carry the long guns concealed, hunting with a "plinker" doesn't cut it, etc)

[junyo]

I've seen almost exactly the same thing, Dad with kid lighting off a hand cannon in the next lane while I practice with my 'wimpy' 9mm. Kid asks his Dad why I'm doubletapping and the Dad replies "...because when you have a small gun you have to shoot more."

Whatever. I'm punching the out the 9 ring on a half size target while father and son are having problems keeping the howitzer on paper. I'll take my chances with me and my pee shooter handing out 16 JHPs at an oncoming bad guy versus Pop, his 6, and that really bad flinch he's developing. And I don't particularly like pistols (to quote Quigley "I said I never had much use for pistols, never said I couldn't use one...") so it's not my favorite weapon, just one I'm moderately competent with. That what makes it respectable.

What's respectable isn't the most expensive tool, or the most fashionable, or the best reviewed. Respectable is the tool that in your hands allows you to be as effective as you can be. It's the tool that puts you in the best position to win. it's the tool that protects your life or your family, puts food on the table, keeps the Canadians in Canada . It's the tool the works without drama, without fail, without question. Respectable is all of the above.