Guns are tools that are fun to shoot to. they can be used for defensive purposes. sport and competition. And they are a great stress reliever. Thats why I like guns.
Because the Second Amendment Says I can have them
Because I can defend my Loved Ones if needed
Because I can hit the target with enough precision to make me happy
I enjoy challenging myself to see if I can perform better today than I did yesterday. I also enjoy competing against friends who are like mind, we will get together have some friendly shooting competition then have a cookout. And lastly it is the last of the steps that I can take to protect and defend my family. By that i mean that if all the steps you take to make your home less attractive to criminals you need you need that "last option"
They are beautiful machines. The greatest joy I get from guns is observing their brilliantly simple mechanical functions at work.
They are good fun. Shooting as a joyous experience filled with loud bangs, flashes of fire, sparks, and sometimes exploding watermelons. Shooting is a skill, that requires a great deal of practice and dedication to hone. A well placed shot gives a great sense of achievement, much like swishing a 3 pointer in basketball.
Most firearms have great history attached to them. If only my rifles could talk, the stories they could tell. Most of my weapons are relics of past wars, which most assuredly saw the battlefield, and possibly took the lives of soldiers serving evil empires.
Personal and national defense. They are most importantly tools to protect the lives of my self, my family, and my neighbors, from all enemies foreign or domestic. It is their most critical role, and not one that should ever be taken lightly.
Well for me it's more about the precision. Finely crafted machinery and precision shooting. However, really, really nice firearms that are to gorgeous to even touch, I have no use for because I'm afraid to shoot or handle them lest I mar them up and detract from their value. Like this one.
No! It's not mine.
When I buy a firearm that I like, for whatever reason, I shoot it to see how accurate it is, and if it doesn't meet my standards, I either fix it or pass it on.
If I do keep it, I make sure it works perfectly and set the sights to the best possible Point Blank Range settings for the cartridge commonly used in it. I also keep proof targets of it's performance and chronograph loads used in it and a log of what's been done to it.
I also reload as a hobby and I enjoy it very much also.
If I feel the need, I trick it out with whatever do-dads strike my fancy and when I'm done I take the best possible pictures of it that I can get for my album.
Then, I move on to the next one that stikes my fancy and start the whole process all over again, knowing that if I ever go back to any of the previous firearms, I will know exactly how they will perform. Nuff said.
I enjoying shooting because I enjoy the type of challenge it offers. I love focusing down the sights of my 22 or glock, slowly pulling the tigger, and then watching my steel targets go ping. When I am performing this action I am in my own world. Nothing else crosses my mind; bills, taxes, and problems simply go out the door. My mind is at peace while I am plinking on the farm. When I am done plinking sadly those things pop back into my mind again. That is why I need to do an awful lot more shooting.
I also love histroy. When I am shooting my surplus guns I feel a connection to the gun like soldiers do to theirs.
loud bangs are scary, it ingrained in our evolution that whenever a sense is so massively and abruptly stimulated you should probably gtfo of there....so i think the fact that one can willingly be holding and choosing to create crazy loud thunder claps is kind of like standing on the edge of a cliff..enthralling.
if you went back before guns and showed people they would be very terrified and impressed, and only the bravest among them would be willing to try out the freaking awesome piece of thors hammer you just showed them....
I like them because they make me feel grown up. No, really.
When I was a kid (10? 12?) my dad got a gun for home protection, and later sold it From what I remember it was some kind of K frame revolver. Both parents made a point setting us kids down and telling us that it was NOT a toy. It's dangerous and we were not to touch it! So of course, the first time they were out of the house I went looking for it. No tragedies occurred, even then I had enough common sense not to load it.
Fast forward 30 years, I was on a different forum hearing police officers saying that no, we don't get there in time to stop crimes from happening, that a smart citizen takes responsibility for their own safety. That ran contrary to what I thought I knew. I had thought about the 2nd Amendment before and thought, sure, if someone is a responsible adult, why shouldn't they be able to own a gun? It wasn't until that moment that it clicked, hey wait a minute, *I'm* a responsible adult. Why not me?
I have been a gun person as far back as I can remember. Hunting rabbits and squirrels at 10 years of age. I was a door gunner on a helicopter gunship in Vietnam in the sixties. Loved the M-60 machine gun. If I had the finances I would have one today. After retirement I became an NRA instructor in several venues. I am having a great time teaching classes on basic firearms and I have also worked at The Atterbury range for the last 13 years.Guns have always been a big part of my life. And finally as some one said about Sam Colts pistols "Be not afraid of any man no matter what his size. When danger calls just call on me and I will equalize".
Wrong question. The real question is: Why do you own a gun?
This is where Yeager gets it right. A gun is a killing machine. That's what it is for. If my wife or kid is in danger; I am going to neutralize the threat. It's as simple as that.
Target practice is a lot of fun. There's that zen thing that happens when you're totally focused on doing one thing well.
Hunting is fun. Range time with my buddies is fun.