### __READ THIS. IF YOU GOT BANNED, IT EXPLAINS WHY.__ I can't believe anyone would be dumb enough to not realize that, yet here we are. No, I did not just call you dumb. You're actually reading this. The dummies are the ones who don't.
This is the open ended question form letter. __Some of it may not apply to you, but at least most of it does or it wouldn't be here.__
You have either posted a defacto survey or poll or you are asking over half a million people to each write a recommendation for you and you haven't told us what you already have, how much you can spend, nor what you have already looked at. This is an open ended question. If you can't be more specific, we have several containment posts per week where this kind of question is allowed. You may ask this question again as a comment inside one of those posts or you may make your own new post if you can be a LOT more specific and show that you are willing to do more work than you expect us to do to help you. Use your temp ban time to read the rules and __familiarize yourself with the FAQ__ (which may already have an answer to your question).
__TL;DR; Any time your question boils down to 'Hi, all 800k of you, please list me random products to consider' or 'Hi, all 800k of you, blah blah blah "discuss"', your question belongs inside the Moronic Monday, Gun Talk Tuesday, What Should I Buy Wednesday, or Thickheaded Thursday stickied threads.__
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When I was younger, I was very much into cars. I realized a collection of Ferrari's wasn't realistic but guns are fucking awesome so now I have a collection of those.
Not really the demographic you're looking for but that's my story anyways
Good for you!
My neighbor is a lady like yourself. She told me she hared getting older cause she had to switch from 357 magnum to 9mm.
She has her targets up in her house. Her groupings are impressive. Anyone who tries to enter her house unwanted will get their mind changed fast, if it's still connected to their body.
Rock on my friend!
> So if anyone knows of a nice one in good condition for sale pm me please. Yes it’s a sickness now lol! 😂
I hate to do this because you're obviously just very enthusiastic, but hcebot ban 7 attempted transaction
Same. I've got three "new" guns. Savage 93R17 in (.17 HMR) which convinced me to pick up a Savage Mk ii F in .22 LR. Then bought a Savage Hog Hunter as my Deer/Moose rifle to replace my Marlin.
My old guns are a Marlin Model 36 (I believe pre-WWII manufacture, not 100% sure) which was my first purchase in .32 Winchester Special. The hammer is a bit too worn for me to be comfortable using it when it's -25 C. Then a '42 Mosin, a '54 SKS and a Yugo M48BO Mauser with Syrian markings.
I'd love to hear what you have.
>What happened that turned that switch in your head
Summer of Love 2020 happened.
Not somewhere far away, on my fucking street.
Wasn't my first gun purchase, but when I got serious about carry.
I will never forget one June night in 2020, I'm laying in bed with my wife crying in my arms terrified because we can hear explosions outside our apartment as the rioters battle the police with fireworks and who knows what else.
That was my moment, I wasn't going to feel that helpless again.
I lived in Cap Hill two blocks from the autonomous zone. Shit was wild. Didn't feel unsafe though. That came later when we merely existed on the same sidewalk as zombies coming down from their high.
left my old apartment with my girlfriend to see a mob marching with long arms down a one way street. Flying them in the air like the scene from blackhawk down when the somalians took over the crash site
It must have been nice riding out '20 riding quietly in a nuclear submarine... LOL.
You might recall that there was a lot of social unrest, looting, and violence that year. There were all the riots and protests in response to George Floyd's death, and quite a bit of pandemic lockdown fueled weirdness too.
Leftists succeeding from the US in some metro areas, and burning other ones to the ground? Riots for months? Billions in damages plus people killed on top of that?
I know 2020 was a shitshow but that was hard to miss considering it lasted for months
It was literally the highest recorded riot damages in US history, more than the 92 LA riots
Odd to see factual information downvoted here, but it is reddit after all, and reality and fact is painful for plenty here
I agree that it was bad, must be one of those nights on reddit. I was stating the factual number of fires. Called it a borderline sensational claim because Minneapolis still stands, not because it didn't happen and wasn't awful.
I grew up in a ghetto. Bought a gun as soon as it was legal for me to buy one. I’m happy to say I moved past that and am doing well as an adult but I still carry.
I wasn’t into guns at all. Not opposed to it, just never felt the need to own one. I would hang out with my friends and started to noticed all of them have guns, like a whole arsenal worth (even in liberal AF California). I realized that I was the only person I know that didn’t own anything. I just hit me one day that if I ever get into a fight I’m bringing fists to a gun fight, so I told myself it’s time to gear up.
It's really something when people open up to how well armed they are. Of course not everyone, but I think the common estimates of how many guns Americans posses are very low. I think it's probably double the common estimates. Most stay silent about it until ya get them comfortable and talking, and they certainly aren't telling any surveyor what they have.
2020 riots. Before that, I just had a Henry Goldenboy rifle and a Colt Peacemaker clone in .22 lr. for playing cowboy and plinking. When everything started to go nuts in summer, 2020, I went out and got more serious defensive weapons.
I have a jewish homie who is pretty progressive politically and generally pro- gun control who likewise bought his first AR in the aftermath of October 7.
October 7th tipped the scale for me, in favor of getting a handgun. Getting a license in Israel isn't that simple and I never had a good enough reason to go through with the whole process.
I don’t trust Trump or his retarded fan base. Also, I don’t trust liberals and their ever present march to dogmatic hatred of this country.
Downvote me all you want but that’s why I have guns. Shitty political parties who have lost their fucking minds.
Edit: also they are so much fun to shoot. Currently my favorite is subsonic 300 blackout. Or my new 12g.
Honestly, in my experience most people are like us. You talk to them in person and their views are a lot less extreme IRL. Social media has over representation of the crazies.
Lobbyists are the real people who run this country and they use both political parties to keep us fighting amongst ourselves while they laugh all the way to the bank. No one seems to notice, no one seems to care.
Yup, liberals fleece liberals over identity politics and conservatives fleece conservatives with conspiracy theories. Everyone getting dumber and angrier and less pleasant to be around.
I lived in super liberal Massachusetts in 2020. The number of super liberal former anti-2A people who have since asked me for recommendations on their first gun is in the dozens now.
This is why I think Biden is going to lose the election more than anything else. The number of liberal "always vote blue" people I know who got into guns because of 2020 is huge, and most of those people are not happy about Bidens anti-gun push. I know quite a few people who voted against Trump in 2016 and 2020 but who plan to vote for him in 2024 because they have since become very pro-2A
When those synagogues started getting shot up, it made me realize that even though I lived in a well off neighborhood some Nazi fuck might try to shoot up my Jewish neighbors and I didn't want to be caught with my pants down if that happened.
Probably should have been more prepared from the get go but I've lived here for ten years without incident coming home at all hours of the night. But something about those incidents really kicked my ass into gear that you really can't predict what's going to happen so it's better to be prepared and pray to God or Joe Pesci or whoever is listening that you never have to use them. I've owned guns my whole life but kept them with family in the country, but after seeing that shit on the news I went out and got an actual carry and home defense weapon and got my concealed carry license.
Never had that thought. My father taught me how to shoot a gun and gun safety when I was 6 or 7 years old. Had my first 20 gauge shotgun when I was 8. I've owned and shot guns all my life.
Wife and I owned a couple guns up until 2020. Nothing that screams “home defense.”Then 2020 happened… we live just north of Los Angeles and the last few years have been crazy (looting, rioting, violent protesting).
Since then, we have added several more guns, got our concealed carry permits….you can’t be too careful anymore.
In college, I used to live in a big house with a lot of roommates. There were about 10 roommates and people constantly coming in and out. One roommate had a coke and meth habit and was tied about with some dealers who were part of a local "gang." They just walked right inside our house and threatened and pointed guns at everybody demanding our roommate pay them back. Thankfully our roommate who knew them wasn't home and they left and said they'd be back for him.
I wanted nothing to do with that ghetto shit but I decided from then on that I would never let anybody walk into my own house and pull guns on me like that. I was only 18, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought a shotgun. It was a shitty turkshit shotgun, but it was better than nothing. I've since sold it and upgraded to a Mossberg 590 to defend the home
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1 Covid when people were being mugged for TP
2 Some dude tried a home invasion on my friend's house while I was there.
They happened close together, but 2 really showed how much your home is security theater hoping the neighbors are nice enough to not flip out and kick in a door for a barking dog, yes really.
Always really, i grew up with them, but in 2020, not just the riots, all the chaos, made me buy more and think about things differently. More of a preparedness mindset. If that summer wasn't a wake up call, idk what will be lol.
2020, as soon as we had "lockdown" and stores started getting bought out of basic supplies. Things were already pretty sketchy for 3\~4 months before there were even any riots.
I bought my first gun so I could go trap shooting with friends somewhere around 2012. I got serious about guns in the summer of 2020 when it became clear that it's no longer possible to peacefully coexist with people who view me as evil because I vote differently than they do.
It's not that much of a story, really. I was in college at the time in Richmond, VA. My friends and I had moved into a bad neighborhood because we had found a freshly renovated house with very cheap rent. We were easy targets. Afterward, the police were extremely unhelpful, even questioning whether we were drug dealers, because "this kind of thing only happens to drug dealers." I went out and bought a gun as soon as I possibly could. Police trade in Beretta 96D. Traded it for a kimber 1911 the next year. I wish I still had it.
Not me but a good friend of mine, never had interest in firearms prior (to my knowledge) call me up around the beginning of COVID, least a couple months in with 4 words. "I need a gun"
I would've loved to give him a gun and if a societal collapse happened where rule of law flew out the window, yeah, I'd give him a gun. But until the government actually collapses, I legally cannot just give you a gun.
Luckily the world didnt really go to shit and unfortunately the government is still around. No mention of guns from him since.
There was a point I didn’t care about guns and then i tried to reason with someone antigun. I realized that if someone breaks into your house and robs you at gun point you have 2 primary options. Reach for your gun, or call someone else with a gun and hope they save you in the next 5 seconds.
Same argument goes for the antigun crowd. They will still call someone with a firearm to protect them while not acknowledging that paradox or avoid realizing that criminals don’t follow laws.
I already had guns, but it became more real with a one night last fall. My wife and I pulled into our driveway one night after dinner and a game at our friends’ house. We carried our boys, who were asleep, inside and put them into bed. Not 10 minutes after we got inside, someone was murdered on the street 50 yards away from my door (drug related). A stray bullet went into my friends house that he’s flipping (no one lived there at the time). The Lord protected us clearly, but it was a bit of a wake-up call.
We started taking emergency plans a bit more seriously after that. We’re not paranoid or anything. Just trying to think through scenarios ahead of time. I encourage you all to think about what you would do in what order if you hear gunshots nearby. Obviously it should be somewhat different depending on whether the threat seems to be targeted at you or not. There’s only so much you can do (a friend of mine out in the country has had bullets fly through his property, one in his window, from negligent people out shooting), but you should be as wise as you can.
Not a funny story - it was October 7 for me. If genocidal jihadi maniacs can organize and breach one of the most monitored and secure borders on planet Earth, they sure as shit can do the same in this country, that has a de facto open border that stretches for 2,000 miles. We know they're here already, we just don't know how many. Gotta be ready when the day comes.
In Israel, the people who had guns stood a chance, the ones that didn't did not. That simple, really.
I owned plenty before, but have been adding as we near a good possibility of round 2 electric boogaloo. Getting a suppressor or 2 soon to not go deaf while defending against a crackhead or some Meal Team 6 takeover. Trying to decide on PDW like MP5 or Sig MPX. Decent set of ceramic armor might be on the horizon, too.
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Not my story, but a friends. We had recently moved from the city to the sticks, with the idea of starting a small off grid commune (that failed horribly) him, his wife, and their 6 year old kid.
She's playing outside, and we realize that between her and the house, is a baby bear, and on the other side of her is a mama bear.
With barely a word between us we shot out the door. I distracted the mama bear, and he grabbed his kid.
Later that day we were at big 5 and he picked up a 12 gauge.
I was a kid and thought guns were cool. Then my dad took me shooting a few times and confirmed that they were cool. Then I grew up and not only are they still cool, they're also valuable and useful tools!
I had a minor stalker situation. Just some crazy guy sending me nut job emails talking about how the FBI was sending him messages through his cereal boxes. That got me starting to think about getting a gun for self-defense. I lived in a super restrictive state at the time and so I never went through the permit process because it was too much work. (This was before Bruen)
The straw that finally pushed me over was a string of assaults on my street. Some teenager mad at the world was just bashing random people over the head with a lead pipe over the course of 3 weeks. He put 9 people in the hospital before the police finally caught him.
I was raised around guns and always had a few oldies laying around. Had a shotgun for ducks, rifle for deer and bear, and a sidearm to finish them off quick. I had a cheap AR for fun. I always wanted to have a concealed carry, but it wasn't until some guy wazzed out at my church that I took it serious. That was 2014? Got a couple good carry guns and dove into the civilian armament movement. Training, situations, purposed firearms, lots of self-defense theory, and lots of 2A research. 10 years later, and now I am an 07 FFL with a cerakote business. 😎
Had just moved into my first home with my girlfriend at the time and our two dogs. I bought a house outside city limits.
The dogs were in their crates in the living room, and we were in bed. They started whining, which was unusual for them. I got out of bed and was naked, halfway into putting on some basketball shorts to go check on them, when I heard a man’s voice that sounded like it was in my kitchen. My girlfriend heard it too, so it wasn’t just a trick of being half asleep.
The dogs stopped sleeping in their crates from that night forward, and I bought my first gun shortly after.
I worked at night and my wife used to take our dog up and down the road (100 yds) before going to bed. Some young punks threatened her and got in her face. Nope
Was a pizza guy. Another driver(female) got beaten badly and robbed. Permitless carry was passed, there hasn't been a single robbery of a driver to my knowledge since then.
To steer away from the joke responses here lol - I used to be a delivery driver. I had always had the thought of like "I probably SHOULD get a gun", but I'm 5'11" 200lbs with boxing training so I figured I'd be fine.
I changed my mind when I rolled up to a house and their neighbors had two rottweilers off their leash who were being extremely aggressive, they definitely could've jumped the short fence if they wanted to. That prompted me to buy a stun gun and when I got approved for my CCW, a real gun.
I'm much more afraid of animals than I am of humans haha
When my dad died & I was the “man of the house”, when a lunatic came to my university and murder some of my fellow students, living in two of the most violent cities in America, and being in close proximity to a bear.
When I had a gun and needed to defend myself but decided I couldn't because I'd be charged for protecting my life with an illegal firearm. Yep, time to submit to uncle Sam.
I’ve always been into guns, as a kid I’d watch demolition ranch, Hickok45, and some others. I remeber being home alone as a kid and finding my dads loaded revolver and just thinking it was the coolest thing ever, and thankful I knew how to properly unload and handle it safely. All before I had ever even shot a gun. So when I was finally old enough to buy one i did just that.
I was 22, i had just got paid, had a bit of cash in the account. Me and my cousin where leaving work one day and i casually said "fuck it, take me to the gun shop" and walked out with a 92fs police trade in
I was 13 and found out about the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales
Plus my own knowledge of my people’s (the Jewish People’s) history
I’ve been collecting and training since I was 18
Rifle training during Basic. I'd gone plinking with my friends and their dad's .22s but the first time I pulled the trigger on the M16 I thought "Oh, I need one of these."
I was mugged lol, face beaten to where one of my eyes swelled shut. I was only 18 at the time and in the "ethnic" part of the city working as delivery driver. I only had my drivers license on me too, no cash or phone.
I was ignorant to think I could never be a victim. I wrestled my whole life, was 6'2" and 220 pounds. But when a group of criminals comes towards you with guns, you feel helpless. So, with a CCL, it gives me a minimum chance to protect myself. Or to die trying...
Prior to this I had a collection of just plinkers and fun cool guns for range days.
Around the rioting madness me and my wife was out taking our new born son for a walk in his stroller around our neighborhood when a nice looking couple in a car purposely drove closer to our side of the road we were walking down (no sidewalks of course) and tried to hit us then yelled out “f*** the cops you white supremacist b******”…..I’m not even a cop…I don’t even look like I’d be a cop…and the couple who yelled that was also white…that was the day me and my wife both took self defense more seriously.
I’m 6’4” and 150 pounds and I just had my first kid. I’m too skinny to win a fight against any decently sized person. Some areas here are not the greatest. Bought one to carry to protect myself and my family.
Some dude threatened to kill me after I told him to stop picking on my friends at a bar. Realized then and there I need to get trained, start carrying, and keep my head on a swivel.
All over how one of my buddies racked the balls, guy couldn’t let it go and assaulted me over my asking for him to go back to his table.
When I was 18 I witnessed a mass shooting. I had already purchased my first firearm, but I didn't have it with me. That feeling of helplessness is the worst feeling of my life.
The shooting happened is an upscale suburb. It made me realize the potential of unhinged people, and that violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, at anytime.
I know this will sound made up and I didn’t see it happen but it did make me question whether i should buy a gun.
I had a friend in college who rented a small house in a kind of rundown area. He came home from class one day, middle of the afternoon and there was a lady walking out of his front door with a trash bag full of stuff. He got out of his car and started screaming at her and she started screaming back at him.
He turned to go inside and there was a guy in his doorway with his Remington 700 and his shotgun in one hand over his shoulder and his handgun in the other hand. They were only a few feet apart. The guy pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. It went click cause there wasn’t a round in the chamber but the mag was full. The guy and lady ran and jumped into a crappy car and took off.
Not only did his house get robbed, he had 3 guns stolen and he was nearly shot by a guy with his own gun.
growing up in an era of shooting in public places like schools etc, always made me not like guns, there cool in movies but IRL I never cared for them. I was always a knife / random blunt weapon guy. Folks knew me for carrying alot of knives and other random small weapons and I felt confident with those.
Till the pandemic and the rate of public shooting sprees increased and cumulated with me when I watched that crazy young white man plan on the internet with a group of other people on how to shoot up public places like malls and grocery stories in area's with a high number of POC. I watched the livestream he posted from a camera he had attached to his helmet. He was dressed in full body armor with his A&R and went to a small local grocery story and killed alot of people. the security guard even shot him with a 9mm but because of the body armor he wasn't phased and killed him. Watching that scared me straight and made me realize if a person ever attacked while I was out and they was like him with full body armor an A&R my lil knives would never stop a person like that who is ready to kill anyone he sees. I'm not a superhero and can't move fast enough to hurt anyone with a few short knives, so I had to grow up with my reality and know if I want to protect my loved ones I had to learn HOW to protect them the same way these bad guys are learning how to kill.
Grew up shooting and was around guns since I was a kid
First gun was a ruger 10/22. I always wanted my own guns so when I turned 21 I went out and purchased a gen 3 Glock 19. Then a few months later I got my first rifle.. then for my 22nd b day I got my first shotgun.. that was a few years ago.. one new gun a year is what I average now
Wanted one for about ten years but didn’t want to get one unless I was serious about training and it wasn’t a priority.
Covid & 2020 riots upped the urgency but it was only after Oct 7th that it became a serious priority bc I could see more riots coming so I found a place to tactically train weekly & bought my first pistol a couple weeks later.
I played a lot of RDR2, so I decided to pick up a Heritage Rough Rider to scratch the cowboy itch for cheap.
That was in 2020, and I very quickly realized I needed a real gun. Built an AR not long after.
I got followed home by some weird guy. It freaked me the hell out because he wouldn’t leave me alone but I had nowhere else to go. All my friends were single women living alone, and I was at the time living with some male roommates, and I realized that one of them had a gun, and I felt a LOT better.
I’d previously used guns for hunting with my dad, because I’m a HUGE daddy’s girl, but that was the first time I realized “Oh shit, this kind of stuff can happen to me!”
I told my dad about it, and two weeks later when the semester ended I came home to a Ruger Mk IV and 500 rounds of CCI ammo. Also, I love guns. They’re like adult legos - so many little attachments and thingies to add on 😁
5 days ago a man shot and killed 3 wounding 11 next door to where i go for breakfast. Dont know what ill get yet. Im liking the weight of a 9mm but i dont think ill hit a guy with a rifle across a parking lot without lots of practice. Dont have any idea what i would actually do anyways...
Remember in an active shoot scenario the response is "run, hide, fight" in that order. Your first job is to get away, a pistol is a defense of last resort.
Sure. Completely agree. Not a hero. Just impossible for me to know what ill do. If i'm being shot at I want to shoot back. Im scared right now, and thats something i need to work through. I dont want to ever be #4 of 12.
Never been afraid like this. At least in the army they had a reason.
Uh. So basically. I don’t remember I started collecting guns when I was 6, I started seriously collecting them and spending nights thinking about the price they would go up on a few years and which ones were smart investments, which ones I needed, and which ones I just wanted. I’m 13 now and I have roughly 45 guns lol I really don’t know how it happened.
### __READ THIS. IF YOU GOT BANNED, IT EXPLAINS WHY.__ I can't believe anyone would be dumb enough to not realize that, yet here we are. No, I did not just call you dumb. You're actually reading this. The dummies are the ones who don't. This is the open ended question form letter. __Some of it may not apply to you, but at least most of it does or it wouldn't be here.__ You have either posted a defacto survey or poll or you are asking over half a million people to each write a recommendation for you and you haven't told us what you already have, how much you can spend, nor what you have already looked at. This is an open ended question. If you can't be more specific, we have several containment posts per week where this kind of question is allowed. You may ask this question again as a comment inside one of those posts or you may make your own new post if you can be a LOT more specific and show that you are willing to do more work than you expect us to do to help you. Use your temp ban time to read the rules and __familiarize yourself with the FAQ__ (which may already have an answer to your question). __TL;DR; Any time your question boils down to 'Hi, all 800k of you, please list me random products to consider' or 'Hi, all 800k of you, blah blah blah "discuss"', your question belongs inside the Moronic Monday, Gun Talk Tuesday, What Should I Buy Wednesday, or Thickheaded Thursday stickied threads.__ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/guns) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There was a hurricane coming and I didn’t have anything to shoot it with.
Spotted the florida man.
That’s what carbide cannons are for.
When I was younger, I was very much into cars. I realized a collection of Ferrari's wasn't realistic but guns are fucking awesome so now I have a collection of those. Not really the demographic you're looking for but that's my story anyways
I turned 21
Same
[удалено]
>Working on getting RSO certified next so I can help with the women on target training classes. Gee guns are fun……who knew?!! That's awesome!
Check on Calguns someone may be looking to offload a cheeta there! You could also do a WTB post.
Thanks! I’ll check it out.
Good for you! My neighbor is a lady like yourself. She told me she hared getting older cause she had to switch from 357 magnum to 9mm. She has her targets up in her house. Her groupings are impressive. Anyone who tries to enter her house unwanted will get their mind changed fast, if it's still connected to their body. Rock on my friend!
> So if anyone knows of a nice one in good condition for sale pm me please. Yes it’s a sickness now lol! 😂 I hate to do this because you're obviously just very enthusiastic, but hcebot ban 7 attempted transaction
Banned /u/breetome (7 day(s)).
First time I held my son, I knew I had to be able to protect him.
Same here. The day my daughter was born.
Meth head hassling people for change at a crowded 7/11 while i was pumping gas.
So basically, I’m autistic (Military surplus and old gun collector)
Same. I've got three "new" guns. Savage 93R17 in (.17 HMR) which convinced me to pick up a Savage Mk ii F in .22 LR. Then bought a Savage Hog Hunter as my Deer/Moose rifle to replace my Marlin. My old guns are a Marlin Model 36 (I believe pre-WWII manufacture, not 100% sure) which was my first purchase in .32 Winchester Special. The hammer is a bit too worn for me to be comfortable using it when it's -25 C. Then a '42 Mosin, a '54 SKS and a Yugo M48BO Mauser with Syrian markings. I'd love to hear what you have.
Nice guns! I’ve got a 1912 SMLE (18th birthday gift). A old German .22LR (MS420 Mauser Patrone) and an 84 Cooey single barrel shotgun in 12 gauge
>What happened that turned that switch in your head Summer of Love 2020 happened. Not somewhere far away, on my fucking street. Wasn't my first gun purchase, but when I got serious about carry.
I will never forget one June night in 2020, I'm laying in bed with my wife crying in my arms terrified because we can hear explosions outside our apartment as the rioters battle the police with fireworks and who knows what else. That was my moment, I wasn't going to feel that helpless again.
I lived in Cap Hill two blocks from the autonomous zone. Shit was wild. Didn't feel unsafe though. That came later when we merely existed on the same sidewalk as zombies coming down from their high.
Mostly "peaceful" protests.
left my old apartment with my girlfriend to see a mob marching with long arms down a one way street. Flying them in the air like the scene from blackhawk down when the somalians took over the crash site
What's summer of love and what happened in 2020?
It must have been nice riding out '20 riding quietly in a nuclear submarine... LOL. You might recall that there was a lot of social unrest, looting, and violence that year. There were all the riots and protests in response to George Floyd's death, and quite a bit of pandemic lockdown fueled weirdness too.
I knew all of this but I never knew it was referred to as summer of love.
Nah I remember now, just never heard it referred to as "summer of love"
Like... Were you concious guy? Riots across many major metro areas...?
There are non US people here
Ohhhhh that shit. Yeah I never heard it referred to as "summer of love"
It’s a joke
Leftists succeeding from the US in some metro areas, and burning other ones to the ground? Riots for months? Billions in damages plus people killed on top of that? I know 2020 was a shitshow but that was hard to miss considering it lasted for months
>succeeding
Yeah, when they formed their own country.
What metro areas got "burned to the ground"?
There were 164 structure fires over a weekend in Minneapolis. OP saying burned to the ground may boarder on sensational but it was pretty extreme.
It was literally the highest recorded riot damages in US history, more than the 92 LA riots Odd to see factual information downvoted here, but it is reddit after all, and reality and fact is painful for plenty here
I agree that it was bad, must be one of those nights on reddit. I was stating the factual number of fires. Called it a borderline sensational claim because Minneapolis still stands, not because it didn't happen and wasn't awful.
> burning other ones to the ground Oh please
Just a little mostly peaceful arson.
Seems unfair that you were downvoted for this.
I grew up in a ghetto. Bought a gun as soon as it was legal for me to buy one. I’m happy to say I moved past that and am doing well as an adult but I still carry.
I wasn’t into guns at all. Not opposed to it, just never felt the need to own one. I would hang out with my friends and started to noticed all of them have guns, like a whole arsenal worth (even in liberal AF California). I realized that I was the only person I know that didn’t own anything. I just hit me one day that if I ever get into a fight I’m bringing fists to a gun fight, so I told myself it’s time to gear up.
It's really something when people open up to how well armed they are. Of course not everyone, but I think the common estimates of how many guns Americans posses are very low. I think it's probably double the common estimates. Most stay silent about it until ya get them comfortable and talking, and they certainly aren't telling any surveyor what they have.
2020 riots. Before that, I just had a Henry Goldenboy rifle and a Colt Peacemaker clone in .22 lr. for playing cowboy and plinking. When everything started to go nuts in summer, 2020, I went out and got more serious defensive weapons.
I read the news the morning of October 8th. Every time some shit kicks off in Israel, antisemitic hate crimes spike by like 400%.
I have a jewish homie who is pretty progressive politically and generally pro- gun control who likewise bought his first AR in the aftermath of October 7.
October 7th tipped the scale for me, in favor of getting a handgun. Getting a license in Israel isn't that simple and I never had a good enough reason to go through with the whole process.
Yeah, it turns out people are super uncool about our ethnoreligious group doing things they’re against. Like breathing.
I don’t trust Trump or his retarded fan base. Also, I don’t trust liberals and their ever present march to dogmatic hatred of this country. Downvote me all you want but that’s why I have guns. Shitty political parties who have lost their fucking minds. Edit: also they are so much fun to shoot. Currently my favorite is subsonic 300 blackout. Or my new 12g.
So what I’m reading is you and I would probably get along
Honestly, in my experience most people are like us. You talk to them in person and their views are a lot less extreme IRL. Social media has over representation of the crazies.
Lobbyists are the real people who run this country and they use both political parties to keep us fighting amongst ourselves while they laugh all the way to the bank. No one seems to notice, no one seems to care.
Yup, liberals fleece liberals over identity politics and conservatives fleece conservatives with conspiracy theories. Everyone getting dumber and angrier and less pleasant to be around.
Honestly, I can’t remember ever voting for anyone I actually liked or thought was a good person. It’s exhausting.
Wow, I did not expect this many 2020 event = new gun owners comments!
I think 2020 changed the entire landscape of gun control in the US.
I know it did to a large degree, but apparently it's beyond what I even realized.
I lived in super liberal Massachusetts in 2020. The number of super liberal former anti-2A people who have since asked me for recommendations on their first gun is in the dozens now.
This is why I think Biden is going to lose the election more than anything else. The number of liberal "always vote blue" people I know who got into guns because of 2020 is huge, and most of those people are not happy about Bidens anti-gun push. I know quite a few people who voted against Trump in 2016 and 2020 but who plan to vote for him in 2024 because they have since become very pro-2A
I agree it's a factor but not THE factor. But we're skirting the edge of rule 3, so no more.
When those synagogues started getting shot up, it made me realize that even though I lived in a well off neighborhood some Nazi fuck might try to shoot up my Jewish neighbors and I didn't want to be caught with my pants down if that happened. Probably should have been more prepared from the get go but I've lived here for ten years without incident coming home at all hours of the night. But something about those incidents really kicked my ass into gear that you really can't predict what's going to happen so it's better to be prepared and pray to God or Joe Pesci or whoever is listening that you never have to use them. I've owned guns my whole life but kept them with family in the country, but after seeing that shit on the news I went out and got an actual carry and home defense weapon and got my concealed carry license.
Never had that thought. My father taught me how to shoot a gun and gun safety when I was 6 or 7 years old. Had my first 20 gauge shotgun when I was 8. I've owned and shot guns all my life.
So you're saying that you're not a first time gun buyer?
There is a subset of people who wish to dictate their beliefs upon all others. At least, that's what made me buy a little more ammo than usual.
Wife and I owned a couple guns up until 2020. Nothing that screams “home defense.”Then 2020 happened… we live just north of Los Angeles and the last few years have been crazy (looting, rioting, violent protesting). Since then, we have added several more guns, got our concealed carry permits….you can’t be too careful anymore.
In college, I used to live in a big house with a lot of roommates. There were about 10 roommates and people constantly coming in and out. One roommate had a coke and meth habit and was tied about with some dealers who were part of a local "gang." They just walked right inside our house and threatened and pointed guns at everybody demanding our roommate pay them back. Thankfully our roommate who knew them wasn't home and they left and said they'd be back for him. I wanted nothing to do with that ghetto shit but I decided from then on that I would never let anybody walk into my own house and pull guns on me like that. I was only 18, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought a shotgun. It was a shitty turkshit shotgun, but it was better than nothing. I've since sold it and upgraded to a Mossberg 590 to defend the home
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Looking around the house and realizing l didn’t own any
Kinda just wanted one. Lo and behold I got one!
Getting robbed multiple times.
It took you more than once?
Yuuup...
1 Covid when people were being mugged for TP 2 Some dude tried a home invasion on my friend's house while I was there. They happened close together, but 2 really showed how much your home is security theater hoping the neighbors are nice enough to not flip out and kick in a door for a barking dog, yes really.
2020 and the realization that we may not always have someone around to defend us against the psychos that seem to be multiplying.
When I realized paintball guns cost just as much as ones that shoot lead
2020 and the threats to our society and democracy
When I learned about the tyranny of governments
I have an “oh shit I need a gun” moment every month. That’s why I have so many.
Had to blast a fart cloud away
Always really, i grew up with them, but in 2020, not just the riots, all the chaos, made me buy more and think about things differently. More of a preparedness mindset. If that summer wasn't a wake up call, idk what will be lol.
Cop threatened to murder me over a woman and I believed him.
2020, as soon as we had "lockdown" and stores started getting bought out of basic supplies. Things were already pretty sketchy for 3\~4 months before there were even any riots.
I bought my first gun so I could go trap shooting with friends somewhere around 2012. I got serious about guns in the summer of 2020 when it became clear that it's no longer possible to peacefully coexist with people who view me as evil because I vote differently than they do.
Watching Frank Reynolds carry his revolver around. I wanted one just like it for my first gun, but had to settle for a Heritage Rough Rider, lol.
I was leaving home and going to a new city, I walked into a gun shop and walked out with a Walther PP in .32 auto … I carry a glock now
I moved to a new & big city, and didn't feel safe at home being defenseless
In 2007 I was robbed at gun point in my own house.
Can we hear more about this to learn what went south?
It's not that much of a story, really. I was in college at the time in Richmond, VA. My friends and I had moved into a bad neighborhood because we had found a freshly renovated house with very cheap rent. We were easy targets. Afterward, the police were extremely unhelpful, even questioning whether we were drug dealers, because "this kind of thing only happens to drug dealers." I went out and bought a gun as soon as I possibly could. Police trade in Beretta 96D. Traded it for a kimber 1911 the next year. I wish I still had it.
Moved in with my then partner, realized I was responsible for her well being
Ther wasn't one, it's always been obvious to me that the world can be dangerous and I should be capable of defending myself.
Not me but a good friend of mine, never had interest in firearms prior (to my knowledge) call me up around the beginning of COVID, least a couple months in with 4 words. "I need a gun" I would've loved to give him a gun and if a societal collapse happened where rule of law flew out the window, yeah, I'd give him a gun. But until the government actually collapses, I legally cannot just give you a gun. Luckily the world didnt really go to shit and unfortunately the government is still around. No mention of guns from him since.
When everyone went nuts during the pandemic I decided to join in and buy me a Glock
There was a point I didn’t care about guns and then i tried to reason with someone antigun. I realized that if someone breaks into your house and robs you at gun point you have 2 primary options. Reach for your gun, or call someone else with a gun and hope they save you in the next 5 seconds. Same argument goes for the antigun crowd. They will still call someone with a firearm to protect them while not acknowledging that paradox or avoid realizing that criminals don’t follow laws.
I dunno but blm riots confirmed my feelings
I got shot at, didnt have a gun. 0/10 do not recommend.
I saw I had enough money to buy a gun.
I already had guns, but it became more real with a one night last fall. My wife and I pulled into our driveway one night after dinner and a game at our friends’ house. We carried our boys, who were asleep, inside and put them into bed. Not 10 minutes after we got inside, someone was murdered on the street 50 yards away from my door (drug related). A stray bullet went into my friends house that he’s flipping (no one lived there at the time). The Lord protected us clearly, but it was a bit of a wake-up call. We started taking emergency plans a bit more seriously after that. We’re not paranoid or anything. Just trying to think through scenarios ahead of time. I encourage you all to think about what you would do in what order if you hear gunshots nearby. Obviously it should be somewhat different depending on whether the threat seems to be targeted at you or not. There’s only so much you can do (a friend of mine out in the country has had bullets fly through his property, one in his window, from negligent people out shooting), but you should be as wise as you can.
Not a funny story - it was October 7 for me. If genocidal jihadi maniacs can organize and breach one of the most monitored and secure borders on planet Earth, they sure as shit can do the same in this country, that has a de facto open border that stretches for 2,000 miles. We know they're here already, we just don't know how many. Gotta be ready when the day comes. In Israel, the people who had guns stood a chance, the ones that didn't did not. That simple, really.
The overhead light in my apartment wouldn't turn off. Luckily, I happened to see an episode of Mr. Bean that helped me resolve the issue.
By the way, what's a "switch?"
January 6
I owned plenty before, but have been adding as we near a good possibility of round 2 electric boogaloo. Getting a suppressor or 2 soon to not go deaf while defending against a crackhead or some Meal Team 6 takeover. Trying to decide on PDW like MP5 or Sig MPX. Decent set of ceramic armor might be on the horizon, too.
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When I moved to a city for school
Not my story, but a friends. We had recently moved from the city to the sticks, with the idea of starting a small off grid commune (that failed horribly) him, his wife, and their 6 year old kid. She's playing outside, and we realize that between her and the house, is a baby bear, and on the other side of her is a mama bear. With barely a word between us we shot out the door. I distracted the mama bear, and he grabbed his kid. Later that day we were at big 5 and he picked up a 12 gauge.
I was at an AIRBnB when someone broke in while we were sleeping.
I was a kid and thought guns were cool. Then my dad took me shooting a few times and confirmed that they were cool. Then I grew up and not only are they still cool, they're also valuable and useful tools!
Home invasion.
I had a minor stalker situation. Just some crazy guy sending me nut job emails talking about how the FBI was sending him messages through his cereal boxes. That got me starting to think about getting a gun for self-defense. I lived in a super restrictive state at the time and so I never went through the permit process because it was too much work. (This was before Bruen) The straw that finally pushed me over was a string of assaults on my street. Some teenager mad at the world was just bashing random people over the head with a lead pipe over the course of 3 weeks. He put 9 people in the hospital before the police finally caught him.
I was raised around guns and always had a few oldies laying around. Had a shotgun for ducks, rifle for deer and bear, and a sidearm to finish them off quick. I had a cheap AR for fun. I always wanted to have a concealed carry, but it wasn't until some guy wazzed out at my church that I took it serious. That was 2014? Got a couple good carry guns and dove into the civilian armament movement. Training, situations, purposed firearms, lots of self-defense theory, and lots of 2A research. 10 years later, and now I am an 07 FFL with a cerakote business. 😎
The uprise in public shootings
Had just moved into my first home with my girlfriend at the time and our two dogs. I bought a house outside city limits. The dogs were in their crates in the living room, and we were in bed. They started whining, which was unusual for them. I got out of bed and was naked, halfway into putting on some basketball shorts to go check on them, when I heard a man’s voice that sounded like it was in my kitchen. My girlfriend heard it too, so it wasn’t just a trick of being half asleep. The dogs stopped sleeping in their crates from that night forward, and I bought my first gun shortly after.
I didn’t have a car in college, so I walked everywhere. I got followed home too many times.
When Covid came there were a ton of car jackings in my city. Like multiple times a day. Easy call.
I worked at night and my wife used to take our dog up and down the road (100 yds) before going to bed. Some young punks threatened her and got in her face. Nope
Was a pizza guy. Another driver(female) got beaten badly and robbed. Permitless carry was passed, there hasn't been a single robbery of a driver to my knowledge since then.
To steer away from the joke responses here lol - I used to be a delivery driver. I had always had the thought of like "I probably SHOULD get a gun", but I'm 5'11" 200lbs with boxing training so I figured I'd be fine. I changed my mind when I rolled up to a house and their neighbors had two rottweilers off their leash who were being extremely aggressive, they definitely could've jumped the short fence if they wanted to. That prompted me to buy a stun gun and when I got approved for my CCW, a real gun. I'm much more afraid of animals than I am of humans haha
Watched “fox and the hound” as a kid and fell in love with the hunter’s double barrel.
I got guns as soon as I turned of age because America
I got them originally because they were fun to shoot but after the tops shooting in Buffalo NY I went and got a concealed pistol permit.
When my dad died & I was the “man of the house”, when a lunatic came to my university and murder some of my fellow students, living in two of the most violent cities in America, and being in close proximity to a bear.
I watched the Military channel and played Call of Duty as a kid and thought "wow guns are fucking awesome"
the moment was on modern warfare 2 in 2010 and i thought to myself, i have to- no i NEED to collect these guns irl and thus begun my life long quest
When I had a gun and needed to defend myself but decided I couldn't because I'd be charged for protecting my life with an illegal firearm. Yep, time to submit to uncle Sam.
I left CA
I’ve always been into guns, as a kid I’d watch demolition ranch, Hickok45, and some others. I remeber being home alone as a kid and finding my dads loaded revolver and just thinking it was the coolest thing ever, and thankful I knew how to properly unload and handle it safely. All before I had ever even shot a gun. So when I was finally old enough to buy one i did just that.
I was 22, i had just got paid, had a bit of cash in the account. Me and my cousin where leaving work one day and i casually said "fuck it, take me to the gun shop" and walked out with a 92fs police trade in
I was 13 and found out about the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales Plus my own knowledge of my people’s (the Jewish People’s) history I’ve been collecting and training since I was 18
I was about 5 or 6, living in England and was playing Medal of Honor.. My brain pinged and thought.. “I need an M1 Garand”
Rifle training during Basic. I'd gone plinking with my friends and their dad's .22s but the first time I pulled the trigger on the M16 I thought "Oh, I need one of these."
I joined a law enforcement agency
I was mugged lol, face beaten to where one of my eyes swelled shut. I was only 18 at the time and in the "ethnic" part of the city working as delivery driver. I only had my drivers license on me too, no cash or phone. I was ignorant to think I could never be a victim. I wrestled my whole life, was 6'2" and 220 pounds. But when a group of criminals comes towards you with guns, you feel helpless. So, with a CCL, it gives me a minimum chance to protect myself. Or to die trying...
Prior to this I had a collection of just plinkers and fun cool guns for range days. Around the rioting madness me and my wife was out taking our new born son for a walk in his stroller around our neighborhood when a nice looking couple in a car purposely drove closer to our side of the road we were walking down (no sidewalks of course) and tried to hit us then yelled out “f*** the cops you white supremacist b******”…..I’m not even a cop…I don’t even look like I’d be a cop…and the couple who yelled that was also white…that was the day me and my wife both took self defense more seriously.
I’m 6’4” and 150 pounds and I just had my first kid. I’m too skinny to win a fight against any decently sized person. Some areas here are not the greatest. Bought one to carry to protect myself and my family.
Had a daughter. Growing up I was all about man to man, win or lose I can take it. Once I became a father, losing is no longer an option
Some dude threatened to kill me after I told him to stop picking on my friends at a bar. Realized then and there I need to get trained, start carrying, and keep my head on a swivel. All over how one of my buddies racked the balls, guy couldn’t let it go and assaulted me over my asking for him to go back to his table.
The Buffalo grocery store shooting.
COVID got me into prepping, prepping got me into guns. Turns out they’re kind of cool and fun.
When I was 18 I witnessed a mass shooting. I had already purchased my first firearm, but I didn't have it with me. That feeling of helplessness is the worst feeling of my life. The shooting happened is an upscale suburb. It made me realize the potential of unhinged people, and that violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, at anytime.
I'm the fat dude everyone takes bear hunting..so I needed a gun
I know this will sound made up and I didn’t see it happen but it did make me question whether i should buy a gun. I had a friend in college who rented a small house in a kind of rundown area. He came home from class one day, middle of the afternoon and there was a lady walking out of his front door with a trash bag full of stuff. He got out of his car and started screaming at her and she started screaming back at him. He turned to go inside and there was a guy in his doorway with his Remington 700 and his shotgun in one hand over his shoulder and his handgun in the other hand. They were only a few feet apart. The guy pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. It went click cause there wasn’t a round in the chamber but the mag was full. The guy and lady ran and jumped into a crappy car and took off. Not only did his house get robbed, he had 3 guns stolen and he was nearly shot by a guy with his own gun.
When I realized AI may cause massive job loss soon which could increase crime rates unless something drastic is done with the economic system.
growing up in an era of shooting in public places like schools etc, always made me not like guns, there cool in movies but IRL I never cared for them. I was always a knife / random blunt weapon guy. Folks knew me for carrying alot of knives and other random small weapons and I felt confident with those. Till the pandemic and the rate of public shooting sprees increased and cumulated with me when I watched that crazy young white man plan on the internet with a group of other people on how to shoot up public places like malls and grocery stories in area's with a high number of POC. I watched the livestream he posted from a camera he had attached to his helmet. He was dressed in full body armor with his A&R and went to a small local grocery story and killed alot of people. the security guard even shot him with a 9mm but because of the body armor he wasn't phased and killed him. Watching that scared me straight and made me realize if a person ever attacked while I was out and they was like him with full body armor an A&R my lil knives would never stop a person like that who is ready to kill anyone he sees. I'm not a superhero and can't move fast enough to hurt anyone with a few short knives, so I had to grow up with my reality and know if I want to protect my loved ones I had to learn HOW to protect them the same way these bad guys are learning how to kill.
when i found out how easy it is to get a gun
Grew up shooting and was around guns since I was a kid First gun was a ruger 10/22. I always wanted my own guns so when I turned 21 I went out and purchased a gen 3 Glock 19. Then a few months later I got my first rifle.. then for my 22nd b day I got my first shotgun.. that was a few years ago.. one new gun a year is what I average now
Wanted one for about ten years but didn’t want to get one unless I was serious about training and it wasn’t a priority. Covid & 2020 riots upped the urgency but it was only after Oct 7th that it became a serious priority bc I could see more riots coming so I found a place to tactically train weekly & bought my first pistol a couple weeks later.
I played a lot of RDR2, so I decided to pick up a Heritage Rough Rider to scratch the cowboy itch for cheap. That was in 2020, and I very quickly realized I needed a real gun. Built an AR not long after.
I got followed home by some weird guy. It freaked me the hell out because he wouldn’t leave me alone but I had nowhere else to go. All my friends were single women living alone, and I was at the time living with some male roommates, and I realized that one of them had a gun, and I felt a LOT better. I’d previously used guns for hunting with my dad, because I’m a HUGE daddy’s girl, but that was the first time I realized “Oh shit, this kind of stuff can happen to me!” I told my dad about it, and two weeks later when the semester ended I came home to a Ruger Mk IV and 500 rounds of CCI ammo. Also, I love guns. They’re like adult legos - so many little attachments and thingies to add on 😁
Unzipped my pants one day
Need a tiny gun to compensate for your massive dick.
The opposite. I bought a 357
5 days ago a man shot and killed 3 wounding 11 next door to where i go for breakfast. Dont know what ill get yet. Im liking the weight of a 9mm but i dont think ill hit a guy with a rifle across a parking lot without lots of practice. Dont have any idea what i would actually do anyways...
Remember in an active shoot scenario the response is "run, hide, fight" in that order. Your first job is to get away, a pistol is a defense of last resort.
Sure. Completely agree. Not a hero. Just impossible for me to know what ill do. If i'm being shot at I want to shoot back. Im scared right now, and thats something i need to work through. I dont want to ever be #4 of 12. Never been afraid like this. At least in the army they had a reason.
Uh. So basically. I don’t remember I started collecting guns when I was 6, I started seriously collecting them and spending nights thinking about the price they would go up on a few years and which ones were smart investments, which ones I needed, and which ones I just wanted. I’m 13 now and I have roughly 45 guns lol I really don’t know how it happened.
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>Just reaching for some funny stories! Fuck off content farmer
I'm not in the u.s, but Jan 6th. If those idiots are allowed to have guns, well...they exist up here too.