Why "do" i love guns?

[spinhat]

Growing up in NJ i didn't get to hunt or shoot guns as many hunting families do that pass down the proper way to handle a gun to their kin... I can remember when i was 10 years old and a friend of mine had a BB gun, we snuck out into the woods with lots of ammo and some empty coke bottles to shoot, man by the time we were done busting up those bottles my arm hurt from pumping 10 times a shot.

4 years go by and I find a Colt 32 in a shoe box in my parents closet, Cool i say but this thing has real bullets in it. Not knowing anything about real guns I handled it carefully, checking out the slide (auto) and then after about 10 mins I got up the courage to put the mag/clip into it, feeling very nervous i pulled the slide back (finger off the trigger) and nothing happened, cool, so i did it again and bullet popped out, way cool.

So i didn't mention that i found this gun about 1 hour before i was going to go over to my friends house to hang out before we went to the "Rec Night" move, which by the way scared me pretty good, Night of the Living Dead in 8th grade was a bit over the top seeing how i lived next to a cemetery. So I put the colt in my pocket and proceed to my friends house... When i got there I am like "check this out" and show him the gun and how it ejects bullets. My friend said "that cool, them me try" i gave him the gun and he pulled back on the slide and push and let go, at the same time he had his finger on the trigger! Boom, the guns blows about 1 ft past my head. My friends parents were in the other room and started banging on the door, my friends dad says "what was that" my friend told him it was a cap gun, "bullshit" my friends father says, give me the gun!

OK, so here we are 30 years later and i finally decide its time to get a gun for home protection. I went down to my local pistol range and rented a 9mm and a 40 cal. I was shaking like a little boy who was afraid of guns while shooting but after about 50 rounds the shaking stopped and i felt the power!

Damn i love shooting but really wished i was taught/trained to shoot a long time ago.

My hats off to families that teach your children well (crosby,stills, nash & young)

[rwb1500]

You got kids?

[andrewjs18]

I like guns because they're linked to being free.

is that a good enough reason?

ps-shooting paper is fun, too.

[Xringshooter]

I grew up around guns and hunting here in central PA and had good teachers (Granddad, Dad, Uncles) so I learned early on about being safe around guns.

For me, I have always been fascinated by the artistry, engineering and mechanics of firearms. For someone like JMB to design the .45 ACP, what was his thought processes that lead him to do what he did? Or Gatlings design of his famous gun; "let's see, what if I take multiple barrels and hook it up so that they are in a circle, they self load and self eject and automatically fire the round when it gets to a certain position?" And so on and so forth. Things look simple enough (look at the FCG in an AR), but how many people could actually do that from scratch?

Now, don't get me wrong, I love to shoot (I shot competition while in the USAF, both military and civilian venues) and hunt (only times I've missed hunting is when I was stationed overseas) but to me looking at a well designed, well built firearm (ie that deep rich bluing on the 60's - 70's Colts, the wood and engraving on a fine double barrel, etc.) is like an art lover looking at a Picasso.

I just couldn't fathom living in a place that restricts my being able to own and shoot firearms.

[o1dakota440]

+1 on Rons post. just think about a double action pistol, and the actual mechanics at work inside. did it all come togather in one vision, or was it alot of trial and error?

[indiandave]

I look at a revolver as as a piece of sculpture, a work of art. And It's nice to live in a state that doesn't trample your 2A rights.

What happened after your friend fired the gun? How much trouble were you guys in?

[new_shooter]

Modern magic.

A thing here in my hands goes bang, and something over 'there' goes pop. How?

Magic.

Oh, sure, there's machinery involved, and exploding powder and pressure behind a bullet and rifling in the barrel and external ballistics and a thousand other technological issues. It all ties together to make stuff happen.

And that's all BS to my lizard brain. Lizard brain says 'magic.'

[PocketProtector]

I was pretty much born with a gun in my hand....

[jcabin]

Before the inevitable rager posts a comment about the OP's childhood excursions, I'd like to ask everyone to reflect on the dangers of leaving firearms, even worse, loaded firearms laying around where children can gain access. Secondly, had the OP's parents taught him about gun safety, and let him handle the gun in a safe environment, he probably wouldn't have been poking around with it when nobody was looking, and would not have taken a loaded gun to a friends house and said, "here, have at it". Remember that by teaching your children gun safety, you're helping to prevent an often irreversible accident.

To the OP I commend you for sharing your story, and I'm glad you're taking the time to get professional training and learn how to do things the right way this time around.

CSNY are pretty cool.

[Roland of Gilead]

Modern magic.

A thing here in my hands goes bang, and something over 'there' goes pop. How?

. . . Lizard brain says 'magic.'

That's me, Lizard Brain.

+1

..