I own guns. I love my guns. But I'm not weird about it, I'm all about responsible gun ownership, I don't have an entire armory, and I ESPECIALLY don't open carry.
Ammosexuals give the rest of gun enthusiasts a very bad name.
No fucking shit. As a redneck that hunts and goes fishing, it's miserable being around pretty much any other dude that is a hunter and finds out that I hunt. No hunting buddies or anything for me. I've seen a prayer circle at the gun range before.
Guns get treated like fashion accessories and articles of declared personal identity. They’re equally treated with disregard like a pair of earrings you throw in the cupholder of the car or leave on the kitchen counter at home.
A radical change from when I was a kid 40 years ago. Gun nuts were nuts and viewed as such. Look at action movies from the ‘80s. If someone had a shitload of guns he was usually crazy.
I'm weird about it. But I've always been weird about it. I'm diagnosed as on the autism spectrum, and it's been a particular interest of mine since i was in elementary school. The only reason I don't have an entire armory is because I'm far, far too poor. As it is, I've got, um, 10?, I think? With three more planned, plus an SBR and silencer(s)? And yeah, I'll talk your ear off about gun rights. And motorcycles (I only have one of those).
OTOH, I also care about LGBTQ+ rights, and I'm working on an instructor certification specifically to train LGBTQ+, racial/ethnic/religious minority, SW, etc. people that aren't going to feel comfortable in any traditional gun space. If it's uncomfortable to me when an instructor goes off on a Christian nationalist rant, it's gotta be 10x worse for people that can't pass as a cis- het- white person. No one should have to deal with that shit just so they can get basic safety and marksmanship instruction.
I don't use a lot of them regularly, or at all. I use my Canik, Rock Island 1911, and AR-15 for competitions every month. If I don't use it, I don't think about it very often. Like, my Mosin Nagant? That was a gift from my dad. I've shot it exactly once, and realized that 7.62x54mmR from a bolt action, stipper-clip-fed carbine that has a 10#, gritty trigger, and exceptionally poor iron sights is not a fun rifle to shoot. Now it's hanging on a set of deer antlers that I inherited from my grandfather. The Winchester 1894? It's over a century old, and while it's still functional, .38-55 ammunition is somewhat difficult to find.
Just stuff like that. I don't think about a lot of them very often, so counting them gets difficult.
Once I get my pistol instructor certification, I'll probably be using my Ruger Mk IV mostly as a gun to let other people learn on. It's .22LR, so it's a very forgiving firearm.
At this point, I'm getting guns for a specific purpose. For instance, I want an SBR AR-15 and silencer mostly for doing PCSL. I plan on getting a CZ Shadow II Compact as a carry gun, and also using it for IDPA. I need (well, want) to get a Glock 17P to use as a training aid; it does all of the things that a regular Glock 17 does, but it's incapable of firing.
That makes sense to me; I think most EU countries that allow private gun ownership require licensing for each firearm, or something similar. I know that it's exceptionally difficult in many areas, and the guns that I shoot matches with--semi-automatic pistols with 15-20 round magazines, and semi-automatic rifles with 30 round magazines--are very tightly controlled in many places.
How many pairs of underwear do you have? How many screwdrivers? After you pass 2 of something, it becomes something you don't keep in mind. I know where all the guns I have that are not in the safe are around my house (no kids), but I have to take mental inventory to get a count of how many I own. Same thing with computers, rc cars, and other hobbies.
I like my guns and I am weird. I do try to not let most folks know about my gun hobby because they'll make assumptions about me that I don't have the energy nor patience to dispel.
There used to be a FB group called something like "gun people who hate gun people"
I do clay shooting, and some. 22 pistols and its great fun. And while I respect those who hunt (and hit not just wounds the damn birds with one unlucky shotgun pellet. See so many poor shots who turn up at the range in August, shoot a few rounds of trap, miss 7-10 clay pigeons and off they go to shoot birds) I can't do hunting as I don't really like the kill.