Gun owners?

trackercasey76

"Yeah - I actually feel much safer if I know more people are legally carrying guns."


Funny, I feel a lot safer without any guns around.

Also, all that hardwear doesn't seem to be stopping anyone from breaking into your place either.
Besides, I'd prefer them to take the stuff and let the insurance deal with it that risk killing another person. My things aren't worth a human life.

Amazing things, those cultural differences.

Unfortunately, it may be you or your families "virtue" or life that they take. But hey, I'm sure your insurance will cover that too, right?

I guess your bad guys must be different from ours. Burglaries are rarely violent here.
I imagine they get violent a lot more quickly if one or both parties has a gun.

Anyways, we could go back and forth on this for a long time and still disagree.
Let's just say that living in a free country does not mean to me to have the right to protect myself, but to have no need to do so.
Looks like we're all exactly where we should be.

Honey you need to educate yourself... Excluding rape and murder you are MORE likely to be involved in a violent crime in the UK.

tameejean

Sig Sauer P229 :happy:

GorillaEsq

...There is a risk of using it for suicide...

Really? I was with you until that sentence.

FrenchMob

How's that saying go again? When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

Nuff said.

katamus

Hmmm. Wondering if I should take that class.

Then you'd just go back to stealing televisions, right?

Maybe. Depends on how good the class is.

I hear it has a 100% success rate.

wholelottarosa

It's kinda scaring the crap out of me. I only know a handful of people (relatives) who own guns and those that do use them for hunting, otherwise they're locked safely away.

The whole concept weirds me out big time. They're simply not necessary.

In the United States over a million people ever year are victims of violent crime.

Self-defense is clearly necessary, and a firearm is one of the few tools that can put the weakest person on an equal footing with nearly any attacker.

Plus, they're a whole lot of fun to shoot.

Now that I can imagine. As long as it's at paper targets.

zoeluiisa

LOL @ the gif of the chick falling over! This was almost me trying out turkey load this past weekend - holy crap those kick!

Just wanted to chime in on this as I'm somewhat of a recent convert. I've never been anti-gun persay but on the fence about it. Hubs started buying guys after we bought the house because he wanted to get more into hunting. I wasn't 100% on board but I was fine as long as they were for hunting only, stayed unloded and the ammo was hidden away out of reach. He bought a couple handguns for defense but they still stayed tucked away for the most part for my peace of mind. By the way, very important point - we don't have kids or pets and no children ever come to visit our home.

Then things changed.. Earlier this year, we started having trouble with the neighbors and I truly felt threatened and started being happy about the guns in my home. And finally this past weekend, Hubs took me out shooting and I absolutely fell in love wtih it, especially the AK-47! What a rush! I'm still not a fan of loaded guns in the house, especially the revolver, but I'm warming to the idea. And I totally get the whole idea of being able to defend your home just in case. I'm not going to live in fear but I'm not naive either. We live in one of the areas with highest crime in our state. We may be 5-10 miles away from the "bad" neighborhoods but it doesn't take long to drive a car, or even walk that far.

For those of you in the UK, it's going to be hard for us to explain this to you because it's such an alien concept. Think of it this way...if the criminals are the only ones with the guns, what are you going to do to defend yourself if one of them shows up at your door? You must fight fire with fire. This doesn't mean all of us who own guns would shoot you just for tresspassing (but in some states, they have every right to if they feel threatened). It also doesn't mean that we all carry our guns with us all the time. Most of the gun owners I know don't carry them on a regular basis because so many are as afraid as you all are and it freaks people out. Concealed carry is something you need a special permit for so again, something not many will bother with unless they have some specific purpose like a job need or they are particularly into guns...meaning, it's not common. And all of the gun owners I know are extremely responsible and serious about it - they're not criminals or thugs, just interested in hunting and/or home defense.

Plus it's our birthright as USAn citizens...says right in our Constitution that we can own them and we have a right to defend ourselves with them either individually or as part of a military group.

Thank you for taking the time to explain.

And for not ridiculing "the Brits" for struggling to understand what is to us (and to many other countries) a very alien thing.

GorillaEsq

Hmmm. Wondering if I should take that class.

Then you'd just go back to stealing televisions, right?

Maybe. Depends on how good the class is.

I hear it has a 100% success rate.

Yeah, but the homework is a b!tch.

horndave

I was raped when I was 9 years old, I am glad some of you find the idea so hilarious

edited because not all of you are *kitten*

I really don't think anyone in this thread has found the idea of someone getting raped is funny. In fact, quite despicable.

However, the comment came up to stop rape you have to "teach men not to rape". I am paraphrasing. That statement based off of ignorance (IMHO) is so asinine it is comical.

I am sorry that happened to you.

katamus

Hmmm. Wondering if I should take that class.

Then you'd just go back to stealing televisions, right?

Maybe. Depends on how good the class is.

I hear it has a 100% success rate.

Yeah, but the homework is a b!tch.

Must refrain from posting what I'm thinking..

_JR_

It's kinda scaring the crap out of me. I only know a handful of people (relatives) who own guns and those that do use them for hunting, otherwise they're locked safely away.

The whole concept weirds me out big time. They're simply not necessary.

In the United States over a million people ever year are victims of violent crime.

Self-defense is clearly necessary, and a firearm is one of the few tools that can put the weakest person on an equal footing with nearly any attacker.

Plus, they're a whole lot of fun to shoot.

Now that I can imagine. As long as it's at paper targets.

I had read recently that there is a chemical release that happens when you shoot, that is similar to sex. Seriously. It can be very therapeutic punching holes in paper plates. :-)

sjohnny

Now that I think of it, I recall an article about the .223 in Vietnam, just ice-picking the Vietnamese soldiers, because they didn't possess enough body mass for the round to start tumbling.

There has been a ton of advancement in projectile technology since Vietnam. There are a lot of high quality personal defense/law enforcement rounds available for the 5.56/.223 now. These are usually designed for maximum wounding with lower incidence of overpenetration (except for some of the barrier blind rounds which wouldn't be suitable for everyday citizen home defense). I use Hornady 75gr TAP there are several others.

iAMsmiling

Best for home defense is usually a revolver.
Less complicated to use in times of stress. Better suited for sitting in a drawer for a long period of time and still working when it is needed.
38 special is pretty easy to handle and reasonably effective.
A .357 magnum has the advantage of being able to use 38 special ammo if that's what you're comfortable with, or .357 if you become accustomed to it with all the practice you should do before relying on a gun for self defense.
A .357 magnum is also heavier and will help you handle the recoil better for the .38 special ammo if you go that way.

All that to say, do what your husband recommends.

sjohnny

Hmmm. Wondering if I should take that class.

Then you'd just go back to stealing televisions, right?

Maybe. Depends on how good the class is.

I hear it has a 100% success rate.

WOOHOO! I see more TVs in my future.

12skipafew99100

Beretta Nano 9mm

ravenlaramie

I have been reading with a mixture of fear and amusement at some of the comments reguarding the .22.

Now, I can tell you flat out that not everyone simply "drops" after getting shot. While I am reading a lot about how different people are wonderful shots and have years of experience (nothing wrong with that), I am willing to bet that I am one of the small minority on here with actual combat experience.
I have been witness to people getting hit multiple times with .223 (M-16) and not even slow down.
I have also seen the damage that a .22 round causes once it bounces around a bit inside of the torso.
Will a .22 bounce off a leather jacket? Maybe.
Will someone who is a crack shot with a 9MM end up in a panic and pumping out 14 rounds without hitting anything? Maybe.

I carry my .22 for one reason. I can keep it in my pocket right next to my cell phone. I cannot carry my Magnum at work and keep it tucked under my shirt.

I am NOT a big fan of semi automatics for the simple reason that, in a panic, you have to either chamber a round or take the safety off (I know there are a few with double trigger safetys). When you are scared, you tend to forget the most basic things. Again, I speak from experience.
It is very difficuly to replicate that kind of fear even in the best training environments.

With that said, let the debates continue.

One in the chamber at all times... all I gotta say on that lol.

Shrelana

It depends on what you want to use it for...

My husband and I are planning on living on a Ranch in Wyoming, and are looking into getting a 30 06 because it's a pretty standard hunting rifle here in ND, and if it works here, it should be enough to deter predators from going for the horses....
For worrying about intruders in the home, I would probably go with a Glock, not sure which one though as I'm not entirely comfortable having a hand gun in my home (I'm not as accurate with them as rifles, and so feel I have no place owning one until I have more time to practice).

digitalbill

All that to say, do what your husband recommends.

^^^ this ^^^

moosegt35

So just to get this straight: you feel so unsafe in your own country that you feel the need to protect yourself with deadly weapons?
And this does not bother you?

Aren't you all scared of the other people with guns then?

No because law abiding citizens don't shoot good guys and bad guys will have guns whether they are legal or not.

But they wouldn't if guns weren't commonly available, that's the point. The really, really bad guys would, those who know how to smuggle them into the country, but your average thug, or thief, or teenager high on drugs wouldn't.

If some kid breaks into my house to nick my TV, you can bet you last penny he won't have a gun with him - he wouldn't know where to get hold of one, and if he did he probably wouldn't risk the penalties that go with it.

Criminals follow laws because they are scared of penalties? LOL. Felons can't own guns here, but you can bet plenty of them have them.

maillemaker

So just to get this straight: you feel so unsafe in your own country that you feel the need to protect yourself with deadly weapons?
And this does not bother you?

No. Let me give you an example you might relate to:

I feel pretty safe in my automobile. I've only been involved in 3 car accidents in the 25 years I've been driving, and 2 of those were when I was a teenager.

But I still wear my seatbelt every time I get in the car. I don't do this because I feel unsafe on the road, I do it because it's cheap and easy protection in the rare case I find myself in a car accident.

The same reasons I carry a first aid kit and a spare tire in my trunk. I'm not really afraid of getting a flat (I've never had one), but it's nice to know that if I have a flat tire I can handle it. I've had occasion to need a first aid kit so I'm glad I have that, too.

Same thing for keeping smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in the house. I'm not particularly afraid of a house fire, but such things are cheap and easy to have in case of such an emergency.

Aren't you all scared of the other people with guns then?

People who lawfully carry concealed firearms are hardly ever involved in any kind of crime. The rate of revocation for concealed carry permits is less than 2%.

You are not likely to be a victim of crime by someone legally carrying a concealed weapon.