MatthewVanitas
Member
For those of you who enjoy meeting non-stereotypical gunowners.
I met a pleasant young guy at the Austin gunshow who said that he had a friend interested in buying my Yugo SKS for $99. So I drove down to South Austin for an FTF.
The part of South Austin I went to was the hardcore bohemian area: lots of political bookstores, vintage clothes-shops, kitsch-art galleries, etc. Not upscale wine-and-cheese counterculture, but full-on trippy.
I went to the house of the gunshow guy, came into a room full of oriental art, incense, Buddhist statuary, musical instruments, etc. The prospective buyer was a young guy sitting on a rug on the floor, dreadlocks, "Anti-Racist Action" T-shirt, multiple piercings, etc. A couple women were lounging on couches chatting.
I offered the boxed SKS to the buyer, and told him to feel free to check it out. He gave a sidelong look to the others in the room, said he'd have to ask the owner of the house if it was okay. One of the girls perked up "what is it? A gun? Heck, take it out man, we all like shooting around here!"
So he pulls out the SKS and the others crowd around to check it out. The original guy I met comes out of his home-office in the next room, and brings out his SU-16 and couple small pistols. This very mild-mannered hippyish young man then shows the buyer how to break down the SKS, explains the free-floating firing pin, etc. It was a very non-stereotypical crowd of gunnies. As one girl put it: "this is Austin; even hippies own guns."
It's always fun to meet non-sterotypical gunowners, and definitely a good sign for the future of shooting. The more that shooting is seen as a healthy and practical skill, and less of a "white right-wing male hobby", the better off all shooters will be. So these were great folks to meet. We're already planning to have a few folks along for the next 3-gun match down at Texas Tactical, so it should be a good contrast to the Oakleys-tacticool crowd.
Just thought I'd share. I'm liking Austin hippies way more than Mainstream Californians. Moving from Twentynine Palms to Austin has definitely been a lifestyle improvement. If anyone else has any good stories of responsible hippie/punk/goth gun ownership, or any other "surprising" gun buff stories, I'd be glad to hear them. -MV
I met a pleasant young guy at the Austin gunshow who said that he had a friend interested in buying my Yugo SKS for $99. So I drove down to South Austin for an FTF.
The part of South Austin I went to was the hardcore bohemian area: lots of political bookstores, vintage clothes-shops, kitsch-art galleries, etc. Not upscale wine-and-cheese counterculture, but full-on trippy.
I went to the house of the gunshow guy, came into a room full of oriental art, incense, Buddhist statuary, musical instruments, etc. The prospective buyer was a young guy sitting on a rug on the floor, dreadlocks, "Anti-Racist Action" T-shirt, multiple piercings, etc. A couple women were lounging on couches chatting.
I offered the boxed SKS to the buyer, and told him to feel free to check it out. He gave a sidelong look to the others in the room, said he'd have to ask the owner of the house if it was okay. One of the girls perked up "what is it? A gun? Heck, take it out man, we all like shooting around here!"
So he pulls out the SKS and the others crowd around to check it out. The original guy I met comes out of his home-office in the next room, and brings out his SU-16 and couple small pistols. This very mild-mannered hippyish young man then shows the buyer how to break down the SKS, explains the free-floating firing pin, etc. It was a very non-stereotypical crowd of gunnies. As one girl put it: "this is Austin; even hippies own guns."
It's always fun to meet non-sterotypical gunowners, and definitely a good sign for the future of shooting. The more that shooting is seen as a healthy and practical skill, and less of a "white right-wing male hobby", the better off all shooters will be. So these were great folks to meet. We're already planning to have a few folks along for the next 3-gun match down at Texas Tactical, so it should be a good contrast to the Oakleys-tacticool crowd.
Just thought I'd share. I'm liking Austin hippies way more than Mainstream Californians. Moving from Twentynine Palms to Austin has definitely been a lifestyle improvement. If anyone else has any good stories of responsible hippie/punk/goth gun ownership, or any other "surprising" gun buff stories, I'd be glad to hear them. -MV