EddieCoyle
Member
I live in Mass. and I love to shoot. I'm not a hunter, I'm a shooter. I'm the rangemaster at my local club - which basically means I that build target stands, rake a lot, and empty the trash barrels. Did I also mention that I shoot a lot?
Massachusetts is what you might call an anti-gun state. I find that many people here are anti-gun more due to ignorance than to political conviction. I try to do my part to change this. My family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors know that I own guns, and that I do a lot of shooting. Whenever somebody shows interest or ignorance, I try to educate them and offer to take them shooting. Many have taken me up on this offer, and have come away more pro-gun than when they started.
While I can't say that I've converted any rabid anti-gunners, I have swung some fence-sitters over to our side, and turned some casual gun owners into active shooters - both politically and at the range.
However, a couple of recent events have shown me the downside of being known as a "gun guy".
Here's one:
An aquaintance and a few of his friends were attending an event in what he considered to be a bad part of a bad town. He asked if I would come along and bring my "heater". I told him that I was going to pass, that I'm not a bodyguard, and that if he felt unsafe, he should either not go, or arm himself. He was a bit put off by this, and said that if I had asked him to do it for me, that he would. I told him that I would never ask someone to do that for me.
Here's another:
My neighbor has skunks in his yard and he's afraid that they will spray his dog. He said to me, "You're a gun guy, will you shoot them for me?" I explained to him that it was illegal to discharge a firearm within 500' of occupied dwellings without permission of the owners (we live in a residential neighborhood) and that even if he cleared it with the entire neighborhood I still wouldn't do it because I'd prefer to keep my gun permit. He suggested that if I waited until a skunk was about to spray me, I could claim self- defense. :banghead:
I declined, suggesting that he should instead keep "Barky" in at night, or spread grub killer on his lawn to remove the skunks' food source. Besides, I like skunks.
Does anybody else get these types of absurd (and sometimes dangerous) requests from non-gun owners? It reminds me of when I used to own a pickup truck and every distant relative or friend-of-a-friend would ask me to move something virtually every weekend.
Massachusetts is what you might call an anti-gun state. I find that many people here are anti-gun more due to ignorance than to political conviction. I try to do my part to change this. My family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors know that I own guns, and that I do a lot of shooting. Whenever somebody shows interest or ignorance, I try to educate them and offer to take them shooting. Many have taken me up on this offer, and have come away more pro-gun than when they started.
While I can't say that I've converted any rabid anti-gunners, I have swung some fence-sitters over to our side, and turned some casual gun owners into active shooters - both politically and at the range.
However, a couple of recent events have shown me the downside of being known as a "gun guy".
Here's one:
An aquaintance and a few of his friends were attending an event in what he considered to be a bad part of a bad town. He asked if I would come along and bring my "heater". I told him that I was going to pass, that I'm not a bodyguard, and that if he felt unsafe, he should either not go, or arm himself. He was a bit put off by this, and said that if I had asked him to do it for me, that he would. I told him that I would never ask someone to do that for me.
Here's another:
My neighbor has skunks in his yard and he's afraid that they will spray his dog. He said to me, "You're a gun guy, will you shoot them for me?" I explained to him that it was illegal to discharge a firearm within 500' of occupied dwellings without permission of the owners (we live in a residential neighborhood) and that even if he cleared it with the entire neighborhood I still wouldn't do it because I'd prefer to keep my gun permit. He suggested that if I waited until a skunk was about to spray me, I could claim self- defense. :banghead:
I declined, suggesting that he should instead keep "Barky" in at night, or spread grub killer on his lawn to remove the skunks' food source. Besides, I like skunks.
Does anybody else get these types of absurd (and sometimes dangerous) requests from non-gun owners? It reminds me of when I used to own a pickup truck and every distant relative or friend-of-a-friend would ask me to move something virtually every weekend.
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