Gun laws/rights

[swamptiger]

Chicago - where only gangsters and cops can have guns - makes for bad juju...

Thanks for keeping an open mind, and maybe take a gun safety class or get involved with a shooting club.. You might be pleasantly surprised.

[Scott K]

I agree, a gun training class, and a target range with someone that has guns, try target shooting, skeet. Hunting is just a bonus. First thing to do is to see if you enjoy shooting, and if you are any good at it. Honestly, if you like a little competition, bring some friends a long, try skeet. It is a blast. No pun intended.

Now skeet is a prefect example of guns and ammo. I have a couple guns, that I only use for skeet. Between my son and myself, we can go through 400 shells in a day. If you buy your shells by the box, you pay about $8-$10 for a box of 25. If you buy it by the case, you can usually get 4 boxes, 100 total for $22. If you buy 10 cases, you can get them for $150. You may think, why does anyone need 1000 shells, well, for one, it is cheaper to buy them that way, and if I bring a friend, and my son brings a friened, we can go through 800 shells in a day. Now this is not a normal day, I would say a normal day is 100 shells each. But when you get into a little stiff competition, you tend to go into many rounds, and have a playoff at the end.

Shooting pistols, is my second favorite shooting, I like to shoot a 9mm, because ammo is usually cheap, readily available, and I have bad wrists, and I cant handle many shots with a larger caliber gun. My son, will shoot a .45, or a .22, or we split the 9mm, but it needs to have time to cool off, so we usually will bring two different guns. We will play tic tac toe, 401, like darts, ect.. Not hard to go through a couple hundred rounds each in a day. Now do this every weekend for a summer, buying small quantities, could put a man in a poor house. If you buy 10 cases, you can save about 40% on ammo, and sometimes more, if you find it on sale. If you find a good sale, you try to stock up.

I will admit, I havent bought any ammo since summer, and I usually buy my ammo in January, but this January, you are lucky to even find ammo, let alone, a sale.

If you lived closer, I would invite you down for a shoot some weekend. But I will have to warn you, it can be addicting. Before you know it, you will be buying a couple guns, ammo by bulk, a gun safe, a gun club membership, it may seem like it is an expensive hobby, and it is only as expensive as you let it be.

[Scott K]

Some people get into rifle shooting, and do competitions, but to be honest, I think it is kinda boring. Unless you can do long distant shots, or some trick stuff like hitting a tac, or pounding in a nail into a 2x4, at 75 yards. Although, if you do this, please bring your own 2x4, and nails, dont shoot up the gun clubs posts. Also make sure the back stop can handle such stuff. At times, I will set up a bunch of small spinning targets, and chalk sticks, and speed shoot with a .22 at 40 yards. you get 20 shells, 1 tubes worth, and you see how many you can hit in 1 minute.

Then once you get to be a better aim, and learn how to shoot, and handle a gun, then think about hunting. With out practice, you wouldnt be doing the animal, your hunting partners, or yourself any good. My daughter, isnt a hunter at all, but she loves to come out and target shoot with us. Hunting isnt for everyone, if you dont think you will like it, you probably wont.

[amateurfishing]

Hey, who knew Obama posts on HSO? Just kidding Amaeteurfishing. It's the end of the day and I'm getting squirrely

i though the internet hid our identity

[sinkerswim]

amateur,

You are very similar to the facebook posters. you generate activity in open forums by your ingnorance and responses to people who have SKIN in the game. What you don't understand is that you galvanize those who are deeply involved. they are protecting what they consider is a given right. You like your hero Obama don't understand that you don't corner any animal unless your willing to be bitten. Any time you talk limiting rights given by our founders you in fact make people talk and inform others about what we have. The media and their constant diatribe about this issue tend to make people go look for more information. Thank goodness for the plethera of information out there (not from the ABC,MSNBC,FOX AND CBS)that can provide reasonable people with the "TRUTH". You and others should be thanked for re-educating people to the constitution and who created it and why!!

[Eric Wettschreck]

Thx so much Eric

whos job is it to inform the general public

what if i have a gun owner with 10 guns and a stockpile of ammo in his garage, should i feel safe with that next door

Answering the first question, it's the general public's job to inform themselves. It's also the legislatures job to be informed prior to introducing legislation. Unfortunately, as Tom eluded to, there is a TON of mis-information out there. A guys gotta weed through the muck and slime being tossed around to get the real 411.

Your second question, yes you should feel very safe. I'd actually be more leary of the neighbor that has 2 pit bulls, a boxer, and a doberman running around than the guy with 10 rifles and 1000 rounds.

[amateurfishing]

gunowners,

if the "masses" of our society are not gun owners, gun trained, gun literate, or have any gun knowledge at all, how are they supposed to become informed? (Remember i am trying to help the gun toting community even if i may or may not agree with it). If mass society thinks they know or have the correct info but really don't, how are they supposed to discover/learn bout it to change their minds? I dont see any pro gun organization out there trying to help its own cause other than the NRA & not sure if they r a great poster child for pro gun groups. Why arnt local hunting clubs, gun clubs, pheasants forever, or any other orgainization out there trying to educate the public and telling the masses not only is their perceived info wrong, but so is the gov'ts. The gov't is only trying to make changes cause that is what the masses want, right? the general public is not going to sign up for community ed gun classes (or seek an info out in general) if they think they already have the propper info. As an outsider of the gun toting community i think the gun community itself would do itself a great service by attempting to re educate the general public somehow via commercials, or whatever. I understand it is a second ammendment right & that should be the end of it but currently it is not and wont be for seeable future. Proper education of the masses and minds can change. Also, the second ammendment states "right to bear arms", i dont think it says anything about ammo, does it? if so, then as long as you hae the right bare arms, cant the govt do whatever it wants with ammo?

[Eric Wettschreck]

Couple things......The groups you speak of do a TON of education work. One of the problems with this is, lots of people will only listen to what they want to hear. Example, guy #1 hears something from Ducks Unlimited and immediately chalks it up as gun nut talk. Guy #2 hears something from a rep that introduced anti gun legislation and chalks it up as gubiment wants to take my guns.

Secondly, from what I'm seeing, the masses are in opposition to this legislation. It's a small, but vocal minority, that approves of this legislation. So I ask, are the elected officials really representing the masses? I think not.

Not to sound rude as I've been trying to help, but I'm starting to get the feeling that it really doesn't matter what you're told. You feel how you feel and are now fishing. I've learned the hard way that internet forums, and the comments within, actually help further the agenda of those trying to impose more restrictions. So, I'm treading lightly from here on.

[amateurfishing]

k, ill stop with the questions, just trying to learn and be more informed. i personally have not seen masses trying to stop anything. all i know is what i see on news. i apologize if i was sounding like i was digging in harder with the questions, not the case at all. apparently my head is in the sand on this one cause i dont see the masses against gun control or any good gun related PR. i was trying to ask questions and become more informed but apparently they are being taken as attacks instead of a thirst for knowledge. good luck

[Getanet]

I think Amateur's on to something here. I'll walk around my neighborhood this weekend with my rifle, knock on some doors and see if anyone of my neighbors would like to be educated. I'll report back!

[Scott K]

I wanted to comment on the 10 gun thing you asked about. 10 guns, is that the key number to extreme? I am just asking, since I wonder what the general public thinks is extreme?

I can explain how 10 guns could easily be less then an average, for your avid sportsman.

My self, I have 2 kids, and I had a wife, and a step daughter.

All of which liked to shoot. So, you take a shooter gun for each, which ever caliber, or style that may be, depending on their preference.

I shoot skeet, so does my son and daughter. There is 3 guns. I hunt pheasant, so does my son, there is 2 more guns, I duck hunt, sure you could multi task here, but duck hunting is very hard on your guns, mud, dirt, water, etc.. Then goose hunting, you need a couple 10 ga 3 1/2" shotguns for that, one for my son, one for myself. Then you have deer hunting, my son and I hunt in southern MN, and Northern Wisconsin. In southern MN you need to hunt shotgun, so we each have a dedicated deer shotgun, with rifled barrels. Then Northern Wisconsin, you can hunt with a rifle, so we each have a rifle, then it is smart to have a spare rifle, in caase one has problems, which does happen, and if it does, and you dont have a spare with you, you are done hunting. We also hunt for coyotes, which we have a scary .223 for that, only one right now, but I plan on getting another, so we can each have a gun while out coyote hunting. We also hunt raccoon, and you can only use a .22. Now .22 is about the most versatile fun gun there is, small, and ammo is usually cheap. We happen to have 5 .22's. 1 pistol, one single shot pig gun, one bolt action for coon hunting, a semi auto for coon hunting, and another semi auto for a spare, and for target shooting. It is much more fiun to target shoot with a semi auto .22, then a bolt action. Now I also have a few collection guns, some that I have inherted from my grandparent, that will most likely not be brought out of the safe, other then rare occasions. Then also a few that I had from growing up, and a few that my kids outgrew, such as a .410, a youth 20ga. Ect..

I am sure you may think this is extreme, but if you hunt several species, and you have more then 1 person in the house that hunts, it doesnt take long. Plus, guns are actually a good investment, and they hold their value well, and go up in value, especially when the govt plans to make gun control laws. I think I am far from an extremest, I know some people that have so many guns, it makes my little collection look petty.

[Scott K]

But, this maybe a hypothetical example, or I may have sold some, or all of them guns, and I may, or may not still own any guns. In fact, I dont remember who I sold them all too. So no need to think I own any guns.

[amateurfishing]

it was a very random number that sounded very high to me based on 1-2 person household, you make a very valid point. good luck

[Old Dewjabber]

would recommend them taking a step back and rethinking the subject.

When our constitution was made was there:

1. Automatic weapons?

2. Internet where ppl could buy what they want when they want at a moments notice?

2. Were recrational guns made to look like military weapons? (i understand military weapons could have been used for personal use though)

.....but as a gun owner if you have bought XX number of guns and was limited to the amount of ammo you could legally have at one time per gun (similiar to special limits with fishing), dont you think that would help alot? the scary part is of all the ppl that want to "stockpile" their weapons and ammo like fort knox just for the heck of it. if there are ammo limits, then there is only so much you could do with one gun at one time, right,

To answer question # 1. No there was not Automatic weapons. There is STILL not AUTOMATIC weapons available to civilians. However the weapons that were around were the same as the Enemies Foreign and Domestic! Far from what it is today. Our Government has far more fire power than we are aloud.

2. People can not buy what ever they want when thy want!

The 2nd #2. Their guns looked just like the Governments and their enemies because they were the SAME!

Do you think people are stock piling for " Just the heck of it"? Maybe they are doing because they fear that it will be taken away. Or maybe they know the truth that the government can't protect them. Or maybe just, civil unrest might happen! Or maybe they want to protect themselves after the government decides they don't need guns to do it!

[Scott K]

I have to think if it came to the gov outlawing these guns, there would be some blood shed over it, and it would turn wide spread. I dont see a good outcome if it happens.

But maybe I am wrong, and all the people will happily hand over their weapons to the govt, and willingly allow their second amendment wrights to be taken away. I guess we will see, but my guess, it wouldnt be.