I used a handgun today

[valis23]

Kudos for tasting the poison! This world would be a better place if everyone took a close look at their fears. It's hard to say a fear of handguns is irrational. As you said, it really comes down to what Some people do with them.

 

[kevbo]

You're no pansy

You had the balls to face your fear

 

[Croynan]

well as someone who had his car surrounded by about four police cars and had a gun pointed directly at his head by a police officer, i can tell you that is something one never, ever forgets.

that an being taken into a police car by handcuffs and then handcuffed to the leg of a table for about an hour while i tried to prove my innocence that i was not driving a stolen car, but actually my own car.

i won't go into all the details except to say that i did file grievance against the police officer and i won my case. he was due for a promotion and it was put on hold for a year that i know of.

i thought the worst of that incident was over, when i was asked to come to the police station to discuss with the commander the incident that had happened. the conversation was going nicely when all of the sudden the commander drew his weapon and told me to get down.

some man they had arrested and sitting in the station. he was wearing a leg cast. the police did not realize he had a gun in there and he drew it out in the police station.

when it was safe to stand up, i could see almost all the officers with there guns still in there hands.

needless to say, i decided to end our conversation and left the station.

a friend of mine talked me into firing a small shot gun. to this day i have always regretted doing that.

i detest guns and the sight of them makes me ill.

eM.

 

[tonyboy]

I have never fired a handgun.
A few years ago I was camping in the mountains near Bear Lake, Idaho. Up there with some friends. Around the campfire the first night this guy, I didn't know him or his wife too well, showed us this hugh weapon he'd brought up. I don't remember the name of it but it was the one that Clint Eastwood used in his old movies.
This handgun was huge. I have no idea why he brought it up there, it'd never even been fired. He was sort of a macho guy and maybe figured he could do some target practice up there. He never had been camping before and I think he figured since he was in the great outdoors he could shoot the damned thing.
Well I didn't even like to see the thing.
Now, I grew up shooting rifles. My dad used to take me and my little brothers shooting rabbits and targets..... back when there were no people around to bother. Times have changed, at least where I live.

I used to love taking my 22 caliber rifle down to my uncles farm and shoot.... Just shooting was fun. Still like to shoot a rifle at times. I don't really know why, it's just fun.

When I was 13 I went deer hunting with my dad and his buddies. My dads friend had a Mauser... I don't know the caliber but we were target practicing and they let me shoot it. I crouched down on one knee like they told me. I fired the first round and the kick of the weapon knocked me on my back. I did as I was told and kept the rifle pointed upward (my dad told me later he was proud of me for that).... of course I was a skinny kid back then and didn't have much muscle power for a weapon like that.

I used to go rabbit hunting with my friends out in the deserts near where I live. They used a shotgun, I always used a 22 caliber. I always figure that gave the rabbits a fighting chance. A shotgun can blast over several feet, my 22 had to be dead on. The rabbits always had a chance with me.... fact is I think they used to tell their friends that it was ok to run about if I were there.... they never got hit.

Yeah, it was fun to go out and walk throught he desert with my 22.... don't think I ever hit more than one or two rabbits though in my entire carreer.

 

[Negasta]

I love guns myself and I love shooting them, especially handguns.

I also sometimes get nervous around guns, but only if I don't trust the person who is holding it. You imbue guns with some sort of inherent evil quality MattieMich, but the fact of the matter is that a gun requires a finger to pull its trigger. A gun has no mind of its own and need not be feared if the person holding it is responsible and good.

...I shot a Magnum Desert Eagle Mark 19.

I envy you. I've wanted to shoot a DE for years and now you've shot it and can't even truly appreciate firing the most powerful semi-auto handgun in the world.

I don't remember the name of it but it was the one that Clint Eastwood used in his old movies.

The model is the Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum.

My dads friend had a Mauser... I don't know the caliber

It was probably chambered for 7.92 x 57 mm ammo.

 

[jackoroe]

It's a shame that folks ascribe evil to an inanimate object like a gun. They are incapable of good or evil. They are simply a tool, nothing more. I do commend your facing up to your irrational fear. You shot one of the most powerful handguns on earth and nothing bad happened. I think in time, that good experience will make you feel better about guns.

 

[gsdx]

I've never even seen a handgun except on television and in movies.

 

[Pushyourluck]

My friend in Turkey showed me his handgun once. It was quite a dull afternoon for the both of us, me in particular. I think I just said the word "lovely" and went to get a lie down afer the thrill of it all.

 

[robbieadam]

I'm not really afraid or nervous around guns. But it's a totally different situation if you have one pointed at you.

When I was on holiday in Egypt, me and Adam were walking down the main street in Luxor. Now in Egypt, the police offers carry sub-machine guns and sometimes a handgun. We passed by a police officer at least every 200 metres and the guns didn't unnerve me. However, this one officer suddenly jumped up from his station and pointed his gun at me for no apparent reason. I instinctively raised my hands and he began to search me. He couldn't tell me what the problem was because he was one of the few people that couldn't speak English. When he had finished searching me, he simply ushered me on. That's my only real encounter with a gun. When he first jumped up, it scared the shit out of me!

 

[ks110x]

IMO guns aren't something to be feared, they are tools to be respected. They are not toys by any stretch of the imagination nor are many other things we use in our daily lives.

I own over 70 firearms of various kinds and enjoy collecting/shooting.

 

[Pushover]

When I turned 18, my father and I went out to a shooting range. To make a long story short, I shot a few rounds and that was that. My father owns a gun for simple household security reasons. So, I've shot a gun before, but I don't particularly care for them nor would I choose to own one myself.

I tend to look at guns as cowardly; if you want to kill somebody, do it to their face and not from hundreds of feet away. That way, you can look them in the eye and see what stupidity it is.

 

[frankfrank]

I don't really "like" guns, but I fully agree with the right to have private gun ownership, and I doubt I'll change my mind anytime soon. I don't think that even being robbed at gunpoint by a criminal would change my mind.

Back in the 1970's and 1980's I used to take business trips (searching for collectibles - often in Texas) with a guy who lived in Memphis. Usually we were in his car, and he always kept a loaded pistol under the front seat.

These are the only encounters with a "real live handgun" that I can think of, and surprisingly it didn't make me feel uncomfortable.

 

[Shepherd 2]

Damn..... I respect your opinions, but I sleep with a Springfield XD-45 (.45 ACP) under my pillow at night!

I promise I will not make a surprise visit. I am convinced that it is not the gun I should be most afraid of, but the man whose hand holds the gun. I am partnered with a police chief whose gun is in his locker at the office. We do not have a gun in our house. But we do have the capacity to defend ourselves if needed, and I hope it is not, for it is not the gun but the man, woman or child whose hands hold it that I fear.

I am not afraid of guns, but I do know the statistics about the number of people who own guns and are shot when someone takes that gun or one of the guns and shoots them. I also know the temptation of having another man, a despised person by me, in my rifle sight not once but three times, and I would not pull the trigger. I fear the man whose hands holds the gun.
Shep+

 

[Berbenli]

My brother and his friend were trying to hit a far away target with a rifle out on a lot his friend was building a house on.

They missed repeatedly; I shot once and hit it....with a pistol :\

 

[jackoroe]

Is it really the most powerful handgun? Or is it one of the most powerful? Doesn't it also depend on the ammo used?

The DE comes in a number of different calibers. The .50 cal is the most potent in that particular pistol. Smith &Wesson makes a .500 magnum revolver which is really quite a hoot! The baddest handgun I could find is the .600 rifle round shooting revolver. I can't quite imagine holstering something quite that big!

http://www.vincelewis.net/60magnum.html

 

[Berbenli]

The DE comes in a number of different calibers. The .50 cal is the most potent in that particular pistol. Smith &Wesson makes a .500 magnum revolver which is really quite a hoot! The baddest handgun I could find is the .600 rifle round shooting revolver. I can't quite imagine holstering something quite that big!

http://www.vincelewis.net/60magnum.html

Holy Fuck!

....

I want one

 

[PreTTy PeTe]

i hope i never touch a gun
and never plan too

why do people collect weapons that kill others?

death it is

 

[jackoroe]

How about that same round in a Thompson Contender. These rounds are also like $40 each.

 

[Huskerboy]

I keep a .45 in the night stand. If someone comes into this house looking for trouble, they're going to find it. I dislike the thought of ever having to use it, but I also don't like the idea of being unarmed in a situation like that. My home is my home, and what's in it is mine (well, ours... sorry, honey) and I'll do what I have to protect it. Same goes when we're at a campsite with the 5th wheel... there's always a 9mm stashed somewhere close - just in case.

 

[Kyanimal]

I've had the experience of shooting everything from a black powder "Kentucky" long rifle, to a 9mm Glock. Including shotguns, with various loads, and an original Colt .45 "Peace Maker" revolver. But, as much as I "enjoy" guns, I will not abide having one in my home!

That said, I can hit anything with a rifle, or shotgun, from just about anywhere! But, for some reason, I can't seem to hit the "broad side of a barn" with a handgun!

I'm not sure why that is! Must be the shorter barrels, and a hand/eye co-ordination "thing"!

Shooting at targets, and skeet, is a "Fun" thing!

But, having some fire power, close to Home, is not something that I desire! Or, feel that is needed!

Keep smilin'!!
Chaz