Got Firearms?

[Don Alaska]

I don't do concealed carry, and when I bring something to the farm for varmints, it has to be unloaded in the vehicle here. It tickles me, the thought that I have to make sure to say Wait a Minute to the fox carrying my chicken off as I load. I could keep something in the barnhouse but worry about it being used by someone other than a fat old lady.

We are allowed to carry loaded weapons in our vehicles, but if a cop stops you for any reason, the first words out of your mouth must be "I have a loaded weapon in the vehicle and it is (here)" If you don't immediately announce to the cop tat you are carrying, you are subject to fine and/or imprisonment.

 

[Cody Fousnaugh]

When we go to local indoor range, we only take a couple of firearms. The ammo is put in the very rear of our Durango and the firearms are in cases sitting on the backseat. Ammo and firearms are not transported next to each other.

We don't shoot nearly as many rounds of ammo/magazines as others do. We will go thru four magazines, two for each of us, for each firearm, and that's basically it. We have to stand the entire time we are shooting, because there isn't enough room for any kind of sitting. And, can't shoot off of a gun bag, because the bench in each lane is only waist high. However, do like, very much, the electronic target "out and back in" that is run by a switch.

At a range we went to in Florida, which was totally outdoor, we loved to do Plinking. And, being the range was outdoors, gun firing wasn't nearly as loud. We have electronic ear protection that helps us at an indoor range. Can be very surprising how loud a 380, 9mm, 44 or 357 can be!

 

[Yvonne Smith]

Growing up back in the 50’s, almost every home had some sort of weapon, usually for hunting, and if you lived in the country on a farm, then you needed to to shoot predators after the chickens. During hunting season, most of the high school age boys drove the family truck/pickup to school, and there was always a rifle rack on the back window with their hunting rifles ready in case they spotted a deer on the way to or from school.
The principal knew about this, and if he said anything, it was to admire the rifle, and ask how the hunting was going. Many boys missed schools during deer season because they went to “hunting camp” along with their dads.

My folks had hunted deer and elk , and helped other families during the Great Depression, and Mom told me that the game warden gave them extra ammunition to help families that could not hunt to have some meat for the winter.
So, I grew up around guns, like most of the kids my age, and we all knew never to touch any of those weapons.

By Jr. High, I was old enough to join the local gun club , and with other kids my age, learned to shoot a .22 rifle at the shooting range. We had veterans from WW2 who were happy to teach us how to properly load, hold, and shoot a weapon, and we went through all of the regular positions , like the military trained for. Prone, kneeling, sitting, and standing. We had our targets scored and graded as we progressed from one position to the next one, and I soon became proficient at grading the targets after i learned how to do that, and I enjoyed being one of the helpers at the rifle range.

 

[Cody Fousnaugh]

Back on the old hog farm in northeastern Indiana, IOW, just northwest of Ft. Wayne, my stepdad had an Over/Under (.22 and shotgun) that he used to kill bats during summer months. A shotgun has to be used on bats, because how they fly.

When I was a Sophomore in high school, my step-parents bought me a Daisy Pump-Action BB Rifle Christmas. I was told that I could kill all of the Sparrows I could see/find. Why Sparrows? Because they crapped all over our farm equipment! Anyway, at night, they would sit in the roof rafters with mainly their butts showing. At first, I could get them with only the barn light on, but later I came up with the idea of holding a flashlight by the rifle in my left hand. Boy, that worked great! Next thing I knew, I had company in the barn, as in a neighbor of mine, who was a year younger. The farm equipment pretty much stayed clean after that.

Sorry Yvonne, but I need to add this: Concerning my wife, her mom's boyfriend, when my wife was 14, would go Pheasant hunting and take her mom with him. Her mom got into Pheasant hunting, as well as deer hunting and wound up with a number of rifles and a few handguns. My wife, but not her two sisters or brother, was interested in her mom's firearms, but never shot any. In 2003, when I brought buying a rifle up to her, she completely went for it. So, our first firearm was the Ruger 10/.22 rifle that we still have. Got three other rifles, but sold the Remington Express Shotgun and the Winchester Lever-Action 30-30. Ended up getting a Henry Lever-Action .22 that is fun to shoot. The Winchester was going to be used for deer and/or elk hunting, of which I never did.

As for hunting, we have absolutely nothing against it and totally love looking at trophy mounts in Bass Pro, Sheel's and Sportsman's Warehouse.

The two best pistols we have, that we both can use, is the Sig Sauer P-365/380 and the Smith & Wesson Shield M&P 9mm EZ. Both pretty easy to shoot, but the EZ still has some recoil that can be hard. However, the Slide is easy to use and take off for Field Cleaning.

 

[Jacob Petersheim]

I've never owned any. Used a few, but only for instruction and target shooting.

Growing up, there were plenty of hunters in the family though. Parents, grandparents, uncles, cousins.

When fairly young I did get a CO2 pistol. I'd left it behind after going off to college, but it later came back to me in pretty bad shape with lots of rust. It is in the garage but pretty useless and might not even be restorable. I never got much use out of it. The required supplies were out of my budget as a kid, and there weren't many safe places to use it.

I also have more recent target airguns. One is a "rifle" that shoots BBs or pellets, single-shot and hand-pumped lever action. The other is a pistol that fires the same pellets. Also single-shot hand-pumped lever action. Strictly designed for accuracy, they are target weapons. They've seen far more use and are still in good working order.

My ex was dead set against the boys ever getting firearms instruction, much less having one in the house. But then again, during our divorce and reconciliation counseling... well I found out obliquely she was carrying a lot of baggage. So who knows? 15 years and you think you know somebody?

 

[Mary Stetler]

Back on the old hog farm in northeastern Indiana, IOW, just northwest of Ft. Wayne, my stepdad had an Over/Under (.22 and shotgun) that he used to kill bats during summer months. A shotgun has to be used on bats, because how they fly.

When I was a Sophomore in high school, my step-parents bought me a Daisy Pump-Action BB Rifle Christmas. I was told that I could kill all of the Sparrows I could see/find. Why Sparrows? Because they crapped all over our farm equipment! Anyway, at night, they would sit in the roof rafters with mainly their butts showing. At first, I could get them with only the barn light on, but later I came up with the idea of holding a flashlight by the rifle in my left hand. Boy, that worked great! Next thing I knew, I had company in the barn, as in a neighbor of mine, who was a year younger. The farm equipment pretty much stayed clean after that.

Sorry Yvonne, but I need to add this: Concerning my wife, her mom's boyfriend, when my wife was 14, would go Pheasant hunting and take her mom with him. Her mom got into Pheasant hunting, as well as deer hunting and wound up with a number of rifles and a few handguns. My wife, but not her two sisters or brother, was interested in her mom's firearms, but never shot any. In 2003, when I brought buying a rifle up to her, she completely went for it. So, our first firearm was the Ruger 10/.22 rifle that we still have. Got three other rifles, but sold the Remington Express Shotgun and the Winchester Lever-Action 30-30. Ended up getting a Henry Lever-Action .22 that is fun to shoot. The Winchester was going to be used for deer and/or elk hunting, of which I never did.

As for hunting, we have absolutely nothing against it and totally love looking at trophy mounts in Bass Pro, Sheel's and Sportsman's Warehouse.

The two best pistols we have, that we both can use, is the Sig Sauer P-365/380 and the Smith & Wesson Shield M&P 9mm EZ. Both pretty easy to shoot, but the EZ still has some recoil that can be hard. However, the Slide is easy to use and take off for Field Cleaning.

I don't shoot in the barn unless target is at the floor. There are enough holes from hail and stuff.

 

[Don Alaska]

I saw comments that the Defund the Police movement has taken away the training budgets for many police departments and the cops are losing their familiarity with their weapons. The incidents of officers mishandling their weapons has apparently gone way up. The most common issues seem to be a finger remaining on the trigger as the weapon is re-holstered, and clearing the chamber BEFORE removing the magazine. Sad state of affairs.

 

[Don Alaska]

Canada has now gone full "Surrender, don't fight back". It is the opposite of the Castle Doctrine and Constitutional carry in the U.S. Canada, and most other nations, don't have the equivalent of the Second Amendment. Our Founders knew full well the danger of an unarmed citizenry and the risk it posed to a free society. Canada was never as gun-friendly as the U.S. was, but Canadians were always allowed to possess guns for lawful purposes until recently. Mr. Trudeau did a lot to destroy firearm ownership in the nation of Canada.

 

[Mary Stetler]

Canada has now gone full "Surrender, don't fight back". It is the opposite of the Castle Doctrine and Constitutional carry in the U.S. Canada, and most other nations, don't have the equivalent of the Second Amendment. Our Founders knew full well the danger of an unarmed citizenry and the risk it posed to a free society. Canada was never as gun-friendly as the U.S. was, but Canadians were always allowed to possess guns for lawful purposes until recently. Mr. Trudeau did a lot to destroy firearm ownership in the nation of Canada.

Western Canada is sick and tired of Ottawa. They might be joining us soon.