My headboard to build

Bob Gibson said:

As much as I strongly support our right to bear arms that guy with rooms full of weapons, is in my opinion, a nut case and does nothing but give the US and gun supporters a bad reputation.

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Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,, well I guess you have another reason to come and kick my butt now!
Guess my new nickname here could be "nut case".
My girls and my wife and I greatly enjoyed shooting as a hobby on our farm as the girls grew up. To expose them to different guns and mechanics, I have a "couple" 22's. While being a deputy sheriff I gained insight to the fragile sequences of events that surround us and what became a passion to me to be prepared. Yes our family has been bitten by the gun killing a family member. I remember my paternal grandfather and sitting on his deck and shooting 22's with him and think that is where some of my obsession was born. But his girlfriend stood at the foot of their bed and put 18 rounds of 22 in his heart as he slept. She was convicted of pre meditated murder as my grandfather in '77 enjoyed showing and displaying his guns freely but kept his ammo locked up. So she either had to go to town to get ammo or get the gun loaded, either way, it created the pre meditated issue. Life is fragile and is so completely different for each and everyone of us. I never locked a gun away from my children but locked them away from their friends. I am again being more careful due to the little grandchildren that frequent our home weekly. CJ is 6 and loves bb guns and shooting 22's with his "bop" (me) and his aunt and uncle. This is like religion and politics and have greatly appreciated reading each person's accounts. I began this by teasing Bob about his last statement. Those on here that have met me in my home know I fit his last statement, hopefully except for the nut case and giving a bad rep to gun owners and the US. I do not take it negatively, I tease my mother about it all the time and Dave H. will probably remember my comment about teasing my mom about my "room". Sorry mods if this becomes a thread of concern. I did not realize but have appreciated greatly reading the personal accounts. Carry on all!!!!!!

I've never "Assaulted" anyone with any of my guns, they are all defensive weapons...Lord knows we live a city that is prone to being assaulting! That bottom "After" 10-22 is almost exactly like mine that is sitting in Brent's spare room, but mine has a competition cantilever stock and no vertical fore grip...unlike my M4 that is far better suited to Nevada than California!
Jon...I'll bet that Sharon will let Brent put off the dining room table to built that headboard!!

America's obsession with gun ownership is probably what keeps us free from any foreign country even thinking about invading us.
Everyone has guns, even the 85 y/o grannys and grandpas.
and from every time I read about someone or some kid getting hurt from a firearm, its usually someone who owns an illegal gun and sticks it under his pillow.

I openly exposed my children to my handguns and rifles at a very young age and let them ask any questions, let them see them, and taught them just how important it is to handle them properly, never touch them without speaking with me or me present, even though they are locked up, I did not make my guns a mystery to them. they were taught how dangerous they are.
They were taught to respect them, that they are not for show and tell, and certainly not toys.
I still have the chipmunk single shot rifle I purchased my son when he was 5 or 6 to teach him how to shoot.
Cant get myself to sell it.

Vaughn McMillan said:

The "assault weapon" term had been very misused by the media and general public. The vast majority of us will never own an assault weapon, although a lot of us own semi-automatic weapons that have a bunch of black accessories on them. As an example, both of these pics are of a Ruger 10/22, the most popular semi-auto .22 caliber rifle ever made. I got one for my 16th birthday (or maybe it was Christmas). The only difference is that the stock had been replaced and a bunch of accessories added. They are both just as safe or dangerous as the person handling them.

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all those accessories in NY state now make the gun an "assault" rifle and must be registered.
I sold off all my accessories, and made all my rifles Non assault style.
I sold off my Ak, there was nothing I could do to modify it. I loved that gun, but I don't want to be on any list.

OK, maybe folks you didn't read my comment or I was unclear. Because your replies are totally what I believe. You are preaching to the choir. I totally support out right to bear arms. I have a number of them myself.
When I shot skeet and trap professionally I owned at least 6 or 7 12 ga shotguns. I also hunted at the time and had 4 or 5 deer rifles.
I have been shooting ever since I was 4 or 5 years old. BB guns before that. When I was 6 or 7 my dad let me take my 22 or 410 shotgun up the mountain in back of our house all alone and hunt squirrels and chipmunks all day. My dad was a marine in the pacific in wwII and drilled into me from the youngest age to respect firearms.

My point was the guy who had hundreds of assault style guns all over his house is way over the top. If he is a professional collector thats one thing but if he is just some typical gun nut, which I suspect is the case just because a real collector wouldn't showcase their collection like someone showing off their tricked out pick up truck (don't get upset I have one of those too). I stand by my label as nut case.

My comment of the guy giving gun owners in the US a bad rep is validated by Toni's response.

not sure bob.

we got guys here that have 125 hand planes, and keep buying.

we got guys here that purchase tons of the same tools, just because they like to collect them and admire them.

some people buy antique guns and hang them on the walls, swords, some guys just like the looks of assault weapons. I know I owned many of them, and always thought they were cool.
Ofcourse, there are plenty of nuts around, but there are also collectors.
at one point, I had 150 knives, collectable knives, and I just liked them. I didn't hunt, I didn't do anything with them except admire them.

I'm with Allen here...beanie babies, stamps, butterflies the list is endless, and all are capable of killing in the wrong hands.

It has nothing to do with what we read or your being clear... me, I took a dislike to the generalization from a photo or video, that he has to be a nutcase just because...
Not trying to personalize this towards you, but more towards the labeling.

As another side-note, Dad & I had a beer can collection that surpassed 200 brands...of course this does nothing to help my case, as our wife's always called us nut cases

I agree with Allen on the collector aspect. I also think there may be a military service component to gun ownership as well. Many of us that had a draft card were involuntarily exposed to military service and the associated firearms training during the Vietnam conflict, and if we are that old probably had a family member who served in WWII or Korea. The all volunteer force and our recent conflicts around the world has also resulted in a significant number of younger folks, now civilians, who know which end of a gun the bullet comes out of. A lot of us have civilian equivalents of the weapons we carried in the military. When I go to my gun club, there are always a couple of guys with Vietnam Veteran ball caps shooting M-16 lookalikes and lately some Mk 12 types have been showing up with the Afgan vets. In my view anyone who has carried a weapon in defense of their country has earned the right to collect as many military looking 'assault rifles' as they want, or can afford (they aren't cheap). Just because they look military doesn't mean they are capable of full auto fire, so they are no different than any other semi-auto weapon on the market.

in my case i feel that the general consensus of America to other countries is that we almost all have guns and will think twice about a home land invasion.. and i am also a avid safety person and also saw the poor use of a firearm in my family and at a young age.. but i still have them and will and know how to use them. as did both of my daughters, while they were at home.

Well, maybe I came off a little strong. Nut case may not be the right word.

But I bet this guy summer vacations in a pool in the back of his pick up and has 3 sons and 4 daughters all named Darryl

guys gotta have money to have 50 or so expensive assault rifles and dozens of fancy semi auto pistols and all the trimmings.
that's 100 thousand dollars worth of firearms in that room.

With the exception of a 1911-style .45 ACP, I've actually run out of guns on my "want to have" list. As a result, I've pretty much replaced my gun collecting hobby with a guitar collecting hobby. The "ammo" is a lot cheaper, but still, it's starting to get out of hand. But at least I collect cheap guitars instead of the expensive ones.

allen levine said:

guys gotta have money to have 50 or so expensive assault rifles and dozens of fancy semi auto pistols and all the trimmings.
that's 100 thousand dollars worth of firearms in that room.

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I've got a buddy in LA whose guitar collection is so large he can't fit it all at his house, so he stores most of it elsewhere. And there are a lot of vintage 5-figure guitars in the collection. He calls the collection his "retirement fund". I'm guessing he's got over $500K worth of guitars.

I have my Dad's 1911 .45 with an added .22 conversion kit that he bought back in the 50's.
He shipped the pistol home before he left the pacific.

Bob Gibson said:

I have my Dad's 1911 .45 with an added .22 conversion kit that he bought back in the 50's.
He shipped the pistol home before he left the pacific.

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I did not realize that a conversion was available back then. Have seen many of them in the past few years but thought it a relatively new technology thing. I learned something today.

I'm wondering if any one can guess where I had my first fire arm safety coarse? Most won't believe this but it was in gym class when I was in 7th grade! Parents could opt their kids out of the training by sending a note to school, I don't think it ever happened. When my kids were old enough I insisted they take the coarse. It was not taught in school then. I decided to take it with them just tp insure they knew I though it was serious. I was to only adult taking the coarse that time and you know the young kids were watching me. They thought they would all score better in the test than me, and I have to say it made me a little nervous.... but I beat them all. Only miss one question and it had to do with archery. We had a great time in the class and I was really glad I did it with my kids. I think it should be required training. Even kids that are not exposed to guns would benefit in my opinion. It nothing else it would teach them the proper respect for guns and they would know how to handle one properly if they did find one or come in contact with one.

Paul Douglass said:

... I think it should be required training. Even kids that are not exposed to guns would benefit in my opinion. It nothing else it would teach them the proper respect for guns and they would know how to handle one properly if they did find one or come in contact with one.

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I completely agree with this.

Add me to the list of agreeing with your wise deed Paul. I actually believe it should even extend to hunting. We getting far to far away from our hunter gather roots.

When i was a kid we only had access to pellet guns and even without any parental involvement we made our own rules as kids and i mean ages below 11 yrs old that whatever we shot we ate. We only had access to mine dumps and then only birds, but we learnt to eat whatever bird we got. Now its not like we were starving at home. It was more of an adventure and can we do it thing. But i dont got to a store and wonder where that meat comes from or think there is a factory making chicken fillets etc.

This gun point gets to have one drift off into topics such as getting kids out to the country and farms. In my view the gun should be seen as a tool the same way we use a hammer or drill. Its not only for self defense but also a survival tool.

Just to carry my previous post a bit further, hopefully not to beat this topic to death. As one who hunted for over 50 years, with conventional weapons, including a semi-automatic rifles & semi-automatic shotguns, it always struck me as being odd (not sure that is the right word) when I once encountered another hunter(?) in the woods that had an assault style rifle. Made me wonder about his perceived need for this type of hunting gun, and also about the psyche of the individual who thought these were appropriate for hunting. Also wondered if his gun was "tricked" out for automatic firing, versus semi-automatic which I had/have no problem with. What made me wonder is when on a couple occasions, when gravel pits were still allowed for target practice, I encountered some people, 2-3 together, that were firing off auto bursts at targets. That's OK if it's legal, but did they use them in the woods??? My opinion is that hunting with automatic weapons is ethically wrong & certainly is not abiding by the guidelines of fair chase. These are the nut jobs!

PS As an older couple living alone Mr. Smith & Mr. Wesson is always handy & close by the bedside. And then there are Mr. Remington, Mr. Mossberg, Mr. Winchester, Mr. Ruger, Mr. Beretta, Mr. Daly, and even little Mr Crosman have stepped up to the bar to provide their services.

I started teaching in 1986. I taught in my Natural Resources class for 4 years. Two years at my first school I taught Hunter Education, Snowmobile Education and Boating Education through the DNR classes. Then two years here where I am I taught Hunter Education. Always brought in guns for students to see, handle with my supervision as well as do some teaching. My claim to fame is using a pump 12 gauge walk the room "racking" the slide while they take notes. Eventually slide it closed and ask if it is empty or loaded. Of course they say empty as I have walked all around sliding that pump action. So, I pull the trigger and it goes BOOM (well it sounds that loud in a classroom!). Actually have a dummy shell with only a primer in it. You can always tell the students used to guns cause they'll look right to the ceiling looking for the hole! Did that when I moved here and my new principal was in the room evaluating me. Scared the bee gees out of him! At my first school we actually took the students that passed to the local armory, fired all types of guns. It was a great experience. Oh well, times they do change.

A former colleague has an extensive collection of legally licensed vintage automatic weapons. IIRC you can still buy an automatic weapon if it was manufactured before the 1986 ban and you jump through the required bureaucratic hoops. I have no problems hunting with a semi-automatic assault style weapon in a caliber appropriate for the game. To me it's no different than any number of semi-automatic traditional looking hunting rifles. Many individuals can't afford extensive gun collections and settle on an assault style as a general purpose weapon. There is an entire sub-culture out there of individuals who assemble their own weapons from parts legally acquired over the internet. A basic AR 5.56/308 style receiver is around $200 and is the only portion of the weapon that requires federal paper i.e. proof of citizenship, background check etc....all the rest--barrel,trigger, stock, sights etc can be purchased from a plethora of manufacturers/dealers over the internet. I can see how one might get caught up in the activity, specially if you have any military background.