Who we are..."The New Gun Culture"

[Johnny C]

The chick at the top of the article would be pretty if she didnt have all that crap all over her.

Eye of the beholder I guess.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

My first firearm was an AR (EBR) and that was back in the 80s. I was in my 20s. I have, um, a safe filled with various things now. Gun culture 2.0 has been around longer than you may think.

 

[BE Mike]

where are you coming up with these numbers? i related an observation at events i've attended. are 50% of gun owners women? are 10% of gun owners african americans?

Just giving a rough breakdown of the demographics of the US. Women and other groups (besides white males) are very underrepresented in the legitimate shooting sports. We can use all the friends we can get.

 

[Iroquois]

A while back I had a collection of gun digest/ shooters Bibles...some from the '70 s..
In those days you didn't see many military style guns offered to the public, maybe
a half dozen in the whole book. Fast forward to the 80 s and the number jumped up
significantly. I hate to say it but the credit for the "new " gun culture must go in
part to Hollywood. Rambo, "Colors " Scarface, all glamourised high capacity firearms.
A hundred apocalypse movies have made our future appear bleak and frightening .
Every time the government tries to ban something gun related it sells like hotcakes.
They caused a doubling of civilian owned machine guns by banning future licensing
(in less then a month) . How many first time owners have you met since BHO got
elected.?
Changes to the gun culture are a result of the changes to our whole culture
and an increasing mistrust of our government to faithfully and honestly do it's job.
We used to buy guns for fun, now many buy them out of fear.

 

[ditto]

The chick at the top of the article would be pretty if she didnt have all that crap all over her.

Eye of the beholder I guess.

Pretty sure she wouldn't give a crap what you think of her.

Good read! I can say personally that starting out, it can be daunting when you know zero about firearms and have no one in your life you can talk to about it. There is, sadly, still quite a stigma out there. When I told some friends and family that I had been researching purchasing a gun they were pretty much all very surprised. Which is why I'm very thankful for INGO. It's reassuring to at least in some way be part of a community like this, and I've already learned so much from being here.

 

[cobber]

The chick at the top of the article would be pretty if she didnt have all that crap all over her.

Eye of the beholder I guess.

I dunno. I'm an old dude and I think she's pretty smokin'....

 

[BE Mike]

A while back I had a collection of gun digest/ shooters Bibles...some from the '70 s..
In those days you didn't see many military style guns offered to the public, maybe
a half dozen in the whole book. Fast forward to the 80 s and the number jumped up
significantly. I hate to say it but the credit for the "new " gun culture must go in
part to Hollywood. Rambo, "Colors " Scarface, all glamourised high capacity firearms.
A hundred apocalypse movies have made our future appear bleak and frightening .
Every time the government tries to ban something gun related it sells like hotcakes.
They caused a doubling of civilian owned machine guns by banning future licensing
(in less then a month) . How many first time owners have you met since BHO got
elected.?
Changes to the gun culture are a result of the changes to our whole culture
and an increasing mistrust of our government to faithfully and honestly do it's job.
We used to buy guns for fun, now many buy them out of fear.

Back in the 60's there were a lot of surplus WWII guns for sale. One could buy them through mail order. Real 1911's could be had for $25. Ammo was readily available as well. I have to agree that the little black rifle wasn't nearly as popular, but I attribute that to its low opinion amongst shooters and soldiers. Once the military match armorers figured out how to accurize the M-16, and also figured out how to feed it, it started to replace the M-1 Garand and M-14 (M-1A) on the firing line of high powered rifle matches. It used to be that close relatives usually got youngsters interested in shooting, but that has changed somewhat. The internet and video games have had a big influence on the number of new gun owners, as well as, the movies. Quite a few new gun owners start out with Mosins (WWII) or SKS's because of the price point. The reasons for owning a firearm are pretty much the same, except there are far fewer hunters today as in the past.

 

[Dirtebiker]

AMERICA should be composed of Americans, not prefixes.

FIFY!

 

[Dirtebiker]

I dunno. I'm an old dude and I think she's pretty smokin'....

I'm an old dude and I think she's ugly as sin!

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Yeah, it's a matter of taste; I don't personally appreciate people being all graffitied and disfigured, but, their skin, their money, they get to live with it when they're 60.

My fiancee came from a gun owning family, and her brother's big in it. She's finding her way into it, and I'm trying to help (not just in a "why in heck do you want a revolver" way, either). The internet is a powerful tool that people are still just getting a handle on.

Mrs E represents a microcosm; her confidence in general has taken a quantum leap in the last couple of years, and it makes me happy to see her growing into her potential. People in general need to understand how life can be when you own it, but especially women. Didn't have someone to talk to? Guess what, now you do, and a lot of us are here to help.

 

[gungirl65]

A woman's perspective

Pretty sure she wouldn't give a crap what you think of her.

Good read! I can say personally that starting out, it can be daunting when you know zero about firearms and have no one in your life you can talk to about it. There is, sadly, still quite a stigma out there. When I told some friends and family that I had been researching purchasing a gun they were pretty much all very surprised. Which is why I'm very thankful for INGO. It's reassuring to at least in some way be part of a community like this, and I've already learned so much from being here.

It gets easier. The sister I thought would be afraid of the fact I was carrying embraced it and joked about it. She seemed glad I was carrying since we often shop together in Indy.

My sister & niece who live nearby aren't sure what to think about me carrying but my niece will invite me and one of my guns to escort her places. They are slowly coming around. Now instead of being asked why I bought another gun I get asked if I bought another one when I go to gun shows & shops.

My daughter still doesn't know what to think about her mom carrying a gun. Some days she implies I've become too BA and wants her kinder, gentler mom back.

I've been a gun owner for less than a year and I already have five handguns, one rifle and a shotgun. My son now has several as well. I will tell you that buying guns gets to be very addictive. It's as much fun as shoe and purse shopping, maybe even more.

For me a little gun therapy can help brighten the crappiest of days. Usually just holding several at a shop or a show will give me my fix. An hour or so at the range can help quiet my weary mind. Some days I just take my own guns out and touch and admire them. After making sure they are unloaded of course. To me it is soothing to hold the hard metal of the gun in my hands. As odd as it is to say, handling a gun is almost a form of escape. When I am admiring a gun I am not worrying about a thing. The gun becomes my only focus, just like when I am firing it.

As far as buying guns, what I have been inclined to do is once I find a model I like, I check for reviews on INGO and I check for reviews on the internet. When I bought my SP101 I was trying to decide between it and a smaller S&W J frame. Luckily another member had both and was able to give me his opinions on them. It helps for me to get feedback from real life people. I didn't want to spend $500 on the SP101 without someone assuring me it was the right thing to do. Thanks Billybob, I've never regretted buying the SP101, your opinions helped me make that decision.

There are lots of very helpful people on INGO all you have to do is ask them what they think and the stories and opinions will start flowing in.

 

[thompal]

It was not written to protect sportsman.

It also was not written with self-defense in mind, as certain things were understood by the founding fathers to be inherent rights - such as the right to defend yourself, and to be able to feed yourself.

To many people overlook this in their discussion about "gun rights."

 

[thompal]

Just giving a rough breakdown of the demographics of the US. Women and other groups (besides white males) are very underrepresented in the legitimate shooting sports. We can use all the friends we can get.

Your repeated use of this phrase kind of bothers me. Just what do you consider a LEGITIMATE shooting sport??

 

[bulldog]

Great post. Thank you for the link!

 

[SERparacord]

Your repeated use of this phrase kind of bothers me. Just what do you consider a LEGITIMATE shooting sport??

Anything overseas.

 

[gungirl65]

Your repeated use of this phrase kind of bothers me. Just what do you consider a LEGITIMATE shooting sport??

Shooting your gun in places where it is legal to discharge a weapon at things that are customarily used for target purposes? As opposed to shooting stupid relatives, neighbors or idiots at WalMart.

 

[BE Mike]

Shooting your gun in places where it is legal to discharge a weapon at things that are customarily used for target purposes? As opposed to shooting stupid relatives, neighbors or idiots at WalMart.

Can't improve on that!

 

[turnandshoot4]

I am the 2.0. I grew up playing first person shooters. My first firearm was a ar-15 and my second was a glock 19.

I think part of being the 2.0 is being vocal about your rights. I enjoy facebook debates on guns (especially after the Colorado shootings). I post more about guns more on facebook because I can't stand preaching to the choir here.

 

[griffin]

The chick at the top of the article would be pretty if she didnt have all that crap all over her.

Eye of the beholder I guess.

I am not a fan of people coloring themselves. At first I didn't even notice her gauged ears! I've always wondered why people do that. The best reason I've come up with so far is to hang laundry.

 

[88GT]

I wasnt aware there was an "Old gun culture". Im so behind.

I love the guy alluding to the fact that we have all watched "Red dawn" one too many times. How we couldnt possibly stand against a determined, organized military force. Obviously he's never read an American history book.

Does such a thing even exist?

(Though I must admit, I find it extreeeeeeeeeemely cheesy and can only handle it with the proper amount of decompression time between viewings.

Interesting article, but I must say that I don't see any of the "2.0 Gun Culture" joining private clubs and shooting. Mostly I just see the same tired old white men. I for one, would like to see more responsible gun owners at the range who represent youth, women and across the board spectrum of races.

I've found, over the years, that a healthy interest in the shooting sports can bridge the gaps in age, race and gender.

Private clubs probably aren't the best indicator of who is shooting. They tend not to be inviting to the non-white male shooters who are joining our ranks.

Anything overseas.

Love it. Tried to rep but gave out too much already.