If you’re a gun enthusiast, you may hear this question a lot. Chances are, it’s asked in a tone of outraged disbelief, and is not often followed by a respectful silence while you answer.

Me, I do not love guns. They scare me. I know all the reasons I don’t love guns, but I don’t know any reasons why anyone would. I have gun enthusiasts as friends, though, and I said to myself, I said, “Self,” I said, “if you don’t understand something, ask somebody who does.” So I asked, and this was the answer I got, which he shortened because his reasons are many.

Because he’s my #1 grandson, he had to begin by making his grandmother go, “Ohh, nooooo!” But then he gets down to it and you know what? I can begin to understand.

GUNS
by Dillon Cox

Unloading a thirty-round magazine of 7.62×39 caliber hollow-points into a hard disk drive is thrilling. Detonating a canister of tannerite from 75 yards with a .22-250 is exhilarating. And there’s nothing like dumping a full tube of 12 gauge double-ought buckshot into a teddy bear. I’ve spent hours on the range with good friends, spent hundreds of dollars on ammunition, and the only regret I have is that I’m not out there, right now, popping off shots. If you don’t know what I mean, then chances are you have never fired a gun, and that’s really a shame, because you’re missing out on one hell of a good time. Now, just so you know, I’m not here to defend gun rights, I already do that elsewhere. I’m simply here to talk about my passion for guns. So with that, let’s begin.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about why I like guns is the history behind them. When you’re holding a Mosin Nagant rifle, you start to wonder what that rugged old woman has seen. As you clutch that contraption of cold steel and wood in your hands, you can feel the history oozing out from it like cosmoline. You start to wonder if each nick and scratch on the receiver has a story to tell. Did this rifle play a part in the battle of Stalingrad, or did it languish in a soviet storehouse for years until some kind soul brought it out into the light? You wonder if the designers, Sergei Mosin and Leon Nagant, who patented the rifle in 1891, knew it would go on to play a pivotal role in not only both World Wars, but also six civil wars, three revolutions, and countless others, even up to modern day conflicts in the middle east. Could they have possibly imagined that, in World War 2, a soviet by the name of Yuri Zaitsev would virtually single-handedly create the art of modern sniping as we know it? Or that a man named Simo Hayha would modify and use the rifle to play a deadly game of cat and mouse against foreign invaders in the Winter War? All of this only begins to scratch the surface of what there is to know about this rugged soviet workhorse, let alone the countless other firearms out there.

The mentality behind a firearm design is also something I find interesting. You can usually look at a design and see what use it was intended for. The French Chauchat projects a distinctive image, but maintains an infamous reputation for unreliability, yet the Russian-designed AK-47 is known for being nearly unstoppable. You can dunk it in mud, sand, or water and it will still function flawlessly. I’ve even seen a guy shove a Twinkie into one, insert a magazine, chamber a round and fire away with no problems whatsoever. A good design is the key to a good firearm, and it’s interesting to examine the different ways these designs work. I won’t go into the specifics of operating mechanisms here, but there are quite a few different varieties. Firearms design has come a long way since its inception. There are examples of very rudimentary designs from as far back as the 11th century, and the Italian firearms company Beretta has been manufacturing firearms for over 500 years!

There’s a few other things I think are valuable about guns. I believe marksmanship is a valid skill, especially in this day and age of uncertainty. You can never know enough life-sustaining skills, and good marksmanship is important when hunting, which would definitely be a great complement to fishing, foraging, or farming in the event that you have to provide food for yourself or your loved ones. Marksmanship is also extremely vital if you must protect yourself. If someone is trying to harm you or your loved ones, obviously call the police if you can, but be prepared to defend yourself if you must. A gun, with proper training and practice, can be a convenient and safe way to keep you and your loved ones protected. It’s much more effective and practical than trying to fight someone off with nothing but your bare hands, a blunt object, or a bladed object, but only if you know how operate it correctly and safely, and only if you can hit your target, which is where marksmanship comes into play. A gun also has the benefit of an intimidation factor; you may not have to use force at all once the criminal sees what they are up against, and you can keep them compliant until the police arrive.

That’s about all I have to say about this. The bottom line is, I like guns, and I don’t care if other people don’t. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However I do think everyone should definitely take a trip to the range at least once; they might learn something, or maybe find a new hobby.

Be safe and have fun!

~  *  ~

So there you have some reasons. I like them. The reasons, I mean. Guns, I’m still not sure about.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Ask somebody about an opinion you don’t share or understand. Listen to the answer.

MA