Evolution of a Gunnie

December 10, 2008 by
Filed under: Gunnie me 

Happy Birthday to me! Another year ticks by for the Newbie Shooter. I got myself a present….www.classicarms.us has Yugo SKS rifles. Get them while you can.

UPDATED: I think they sold out before I even finished the post.

I’ve been a gunnie for about 10 years now. Over that time, I’ve noticed a distinct change in my buying habits. I stated out with functional guns….a shotgun for home defense, then a Glock. I built myself an AR-15 (post-ban) because a) They were “banned” and b) I am a geek at heart and love tinkering with things. It was years before I appreciated the sheer versatility of the AR platform…what other gun can be transformed from a short barreled CQB type gun to a long range varmint rifle in 30 seconds?

After 9/11, I decided I needed a heavier rifle, and picked up a Springfield Armory M1-A…the GI looking one, not that SOCOM crap. And I decided I needed a 1911, just to round things out. A Kimber Royal joined the family. It’s a beautiful gun, with a nice blue finish and cocobolo grips. Sort of a mishmash of classic and modern. Sadly, 1911′s are like potato chips. One is never enough.

Shortly thereafter, my family and I moved to a free state, and I started looking at real carry guns. I got my first Kahr, which is one of my main carry guns to this day. It was my carry gun in Connecticut, and it’s the gun I qualified for my NC carry permit with. I have small hands, and it fits them like a glove. I bought that gun at Blue Trail Range, which is currently under fire by a greedy land developer.

When we moved to Carolina, I was able to finally get one of those banned “assault wepons” and I added a AR carbine to the mix.  I still haven’t gone back and had the barrell of my first AR threaded.  I’m not sure if it is laziness or nostalgia.  In a way, that gun is part of the story of my evolution as a gunnie, and I’m not sure I want to change it.

Lately, my taste has been away from modern guns, and onto the classics.  I’ve been picking up military surplus guns…Mauser 98Ks, Mosin Nagants, and most recently an Enfield No. 4.  I’ve been doing that for two reasons.  First, they are cheap, and these are uncertain times.  But, more importantly, I’m building up sort of a “Guns of World War II” collection.  My wife is a history teacher, and I thought about what a great learning tool those guns would be.  My Grandfather was in the war, and after he died I got his medals and ribbons and some war souvineers that he brought back.  My wife’s students were always fascinated to see those things, and to be able to touch a part of the past.  I know that there is no way under God’s green earth that she would ever be able to bring firearms to show her students.  But I can show my daughter, and tell her about her Grandfather, and we will share that part of history together.  I don’t have a Garand yet…but I’ve always wanted one.  That will be a special one.

I’m concerned about my collecting habit.  I know where this ends.  It starts buying guns of a particular type.  Then you are looking for particular models.  Then before you know it, you are wandering up and down the aisles at gun shows like a crazed spider money looking that special piece to complete your collection.  Then you start driving to shows that are “only five hours away” looking for something special.

I’ve also noticed that I have stopped thinking about “my guns”, and started thinking about “our guns”.  I’ve thought about the legacy that I’ll leave to my daughter.  I don’t just mean the guns themselves.  I mean an apprecation for the science and technology inherent in manufacturing firearms.  I mean appreciation for the craftsmanship of a fine rifle.  And, most importantly, I mean knowing that she lives in a country where she has the right to protect herself and her family…and that she needs to fight to protect that right.

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