Were you ever afraid....

[JeannieBmine]

Were you ever afraid of guns and if so how did you overcome the fear?

For me, I grew up in a family that hunted. My dad and brothers hunt every year. My mother would yell at my dad about the guns in the house. My mother cooked what my dad brought home so I never really got interested, I guess. I did try my dad's rifle once but almost dislocated my shoulder. Then I never picked up another gun until I met soberbyker. I wanted to do as many things with him as I could, but I damn near fainted when he applied and got his LTC permit and then his subsequent arsenal but...I decided I would try it. So I tried his Kahr CW9. I was afraid of the noise and the kick so I put it down. It wasn't until there was a firearms instructor that we met at one of the local ranges who gave me instruction, that my ideas changed.

He let me use his .22 LR Ruger handgun and gave me one-on-one instruction. Then he gave me a box of ammo and his gun and said "go and practice". The rest is history. I have been hooked ever since.

I don't oc or cc as of yet but I do enjoy going to the range and all of the open shoots. I enjoy the frienships I have made along the way and I really like to shoot. I am not as afraid as I was. I am also a pretty good shot, I think. I have patience so I will continue at this with my husband. We have fun and what better way to have fun, than to have fun with your significant other.

[P-11 shooter]

I had a friend that was deathly afraid of guns. He would freak out at the mere sight of them. After a few years of him hanging out with my friends and going shooting with us he lost his fear. I handed him my new pistol and he kept his finger off the trigger, checked for clear, and handed it back to me. I said "you're not afraid of them anymore?" his answer is "I know about them now and know there's nothing to be afraid of. It's an object. You just have to follow the rules."

I grew up with them and was never afraid. My dad was very safe.

[RocketFoot]

The day you're not 'afraid' of a gun is the day you might end up doing something stupid! Actually, afraid may not be the proper description, perhaps respect is a better word. You must respect the power of a gun, realize that it can be dangerous to you and others and understand that it is a great responsibility to own and operate. Once you loose respect for a gun and take it for granted, an accident is inevitable.

[andrewjs18]

Caa2003 was afraid to shoot my XD .40 because she didn't like the noise it made....she shot it and while she doesn't probably want to shoot it daily, I don't think she's afraid of the noise anymore.

[shefearsnothing]

Never been "afraid of guns" but definitely afraid of certain people owning them. I was in a terribly abusive relationship years ago (I know, my own fault for staying as long as I did...spare me the lecture) and that guy talked about getting one lots of times. I know if he would have gotten one he'd have killed me. No question about that at all. It would have happened sooner or later. I wasn't the same person then that I am now. I have never been afraid of inanimate objects though. I've always known that guns don't get up and operate by themselves.

[gf45acp]

Nope, grew up with them in the home, started shooting at 5 years old.

[XD40coyote]

Yes, as I never was around them, but I was curious and facinated. However I was still leery until last year, even though I had owned a .22 since 2000. It was a nesissary evil if you will. But all the safety rules have been engrained in me for a LONG time, so heavily that I am skittery about carrying with a chambered round. I guess this is my last hurdle, besides solo OCing. I seem to be having a problem at it, thinking the gun will fall from the holster and demons will inhabit it LOL! If I had a thumb break holster, I think 'd actually feel less antsy, to not antsy at all. Weird huh?

[Lady Beretta]

Never afraid.. respectful however of their power.
Afraid of one who owns them who shouldn't... you bet.

I like alot of dangerous things, but in life you live within the boundaries you feel comfortable with. What might be for some is not for others. For me I won't sky dive!

Kudos to you for trying and then sticking it out.. I like to do things with my hubby and family too. The family that plays together stays together. All five of us are black belts in Shotokan Karate.

[StealthBeast]

Well, I was never afraid of guns, but I wasn't raised around them at all, needless to say, my first time on a range was really freaky. The fact that my dad didn't really know how to shoot didn't help. When I first walked in, someone was firing a 9mm pistol of some sort, I didn't pay attention to the detail so I can't recall what gun it was because I didn't know what gun it was then. It felt REALLY.. REALLY loud to me at that time. Guns are very disturbing objects when you first hear them, even in 9mm. All my previous firearm knowledge had come from video games, so I knew how to operate most guns, but definatly wasn't ready for the sheer sound they created. I had done my research before I went to the range, so I wasn't expecting much more than an airsoft pistol's worth of kick from our .22lr target pistol. I was SURPRISED by the kick of that gun, needless to say that when I fired the 9mm beretta, that thing felt like what a magnum feels like to me now.

I was very sensitive to larger calibers basically. So I suppose to answer this topic, I had a huge flinching problem and needed to work past it. I did it the way the books will tell you exactly NOT to do it. Even while unable to handle a .45acp without EXTREME flinching, I decided to start firing magnums. .357 was totally over the line with me, but I still decided to shoot bigger and bigger lol. Soon I was firing .44 magnum out an aluminum framed gun, and one-handing the .50AE DEagle. Though I never conquered those calibers the way I wanted to, it's needless to say that when I went back to .45, it felt like a joke lol, and my flinching problem was completly and miraculously gone.

That was actually an unintended side effect. My dad and I were having a contest of sorts, where we would fire bigger and bigger kicking guns until one of us chickened out. Ultimatly, we're at an indoor range, so we eventually hit the limit that we were allowed to shoot (.5 is the biggest caliber round allowed other than shotgun slugs.) It was fun times, we didn't hit ANYTHING lol.

So far I can shoot up to .357 the same way I shoot .22lr lol Any more kick than that and I have to put more than casual concentration into my shot to avoid flinching.

[theSaj]

Respectful, and afraid...yes.

But I wasn't so much afraid of guns themselves, rather I was afraid of my own "lack of knowledge". Hence, when my wife and I acquired our first firearm. It was a .22 target pistol.

Small caliber, you don't teach a kid to drive in an F1 or Ferrari. And I think that's one of the .22's greatest gifts.

Another thing that helped was in lieu of being able to get into a scheduled class. I read Massad Ayoob's book on combat handgun training. And found it very informative.

I believe the Scriptures are also helpful in this matter. In the book of First John chapter four, verse eighteen it reads "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear". The more you fall in love with guns the less you fear them.

;-)

And who says the Scriptures are not relevant for today. *lol*