Not really sure if this is the right forum for this thread but here goes...

This thread is not about debating if it's right or wrong to own guns but instead to find out how many of us that do and the reasons why.

Also tell us if you intend to or may change this. Like for instance "-I am going to buy myself a hunting rifle when I can get access to some place to hunt." or "-I own a pistol for sport shooting but am thinking about purchasing a self defense weapon as well".

I myself does not own any guns (air gun pistols does not count), but I am open to the possibility to get myself a hunting rifle if I ever move to a more rural area and gets friendly to the local hunting team.

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Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he doesn't become a monster.
Friedrich Nietzsche

I do not own a gun and I will never own a gun.

Why?

1- Owning a gun is not a "tradition" in my family.

2- Shooting at a target is as exciting to me as watching cars go around and around in a circle for hours.

3- I do not own a pickup truck so I would have no where to put the gun rack.

4- I am smart enough to realize that more people get shot by their own guns than who are successful stopping burglaries.

5- I do not enjoy shooting "critters" (i.e. squirrels, raccoons, stray cats) and skinn'n them.

I don't but my grandparents do.

I have however fired quite a wide variety of weapons, and will have to get up close and personal with a RK62 when I enter the Finnish military. Note the word, when.

No, never owned one but was trained to use them in the Army.

-Demosthenes

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"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower

I own guns and believe some of the greatest lessons in life can be gained by using them. Specifically: Shoot, gut, skin, butcher, cook, and eat big game using a gun/bow. You learn to respect the power of guns by doing this. You learn to respect what our ancestors have had to do for thousands/millions of years to bring us to this point. You learn to respect those little nicely wrapped packages of meat at the grocery store.

I own guns, but I'm from Texas, so it's almost required.

I grew up where guns were common and no big deal. People actually had some common sense, children listened to their parents, and I never knew of any problems due to guns.

I hunted some in my younger days, not for sport but for the meat, but that no longer appeals to me. Today I'd rather have a good steak than anything I might bring down. I've never considered it "sporting" to kill anything.

I like target shooting but don't do much of it anymore.

I like guns for the same reason I like any other piece of machinery, for the craftsmanship and technology. I've always been mechanically inclined, and like knowing how machines work and working on my own whenever possible. That's all a gun is, a machine, it is not evil.

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<<Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.>>

Yes, I do. How many? I honestly don't know - I buy several every year. Everything from historic collectibles and replicas to modern rifles, pistols and shotguns. My favorites are a P38 Walther with correct markings and a Sharps replica, much like the one carried by one of my ancestors in the 1800's.

In the time and place that I grew up, boys were expected to be able to handle a firearm and shoot straight. Growing up, I don't guess I knew of a household that didn't have at least one firearm.

I don't belong to a militia, no longer hunt, or even target shoot so much, so why do I still buy firearms? With some, it's the history or reputation... good or bad. And like Redneck, I am fascinated by the craftsmanship and design of well made firearms, and a great many other things: cars, computers, cell phones, cameras, etc. I look at many things and wonder about the mind that created the piece. I wonder about the engineer and machinist who made it "live". I don't have the skill or desire to use any of these things to their fullest potential, but I like to possess them.

OK, now the honest truth... I'm an American. I buy things because I can.

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"Tweeter was a Boyscout before she went to Vietnam and found out the hard way... nobody gives a d@mn."

i remember in 1989 shooting off thousands of tracer rounds on my M-16 in basic training for a full hour-they had to burn off exceess ammo for some reason. it was really fun just flipping that thing to full auto(A-1) and letting her rip until it jammed or the barrel glowed in the night darkness. And i remember the powerful jolt of the M-60 on semi auto-wow, what a rush of total commanding power. that sort of thing is both intoxicating and desensitizing to the kind of insane and indescriminate death they can cause when aimed at real people. so just to stay on the safe side, no guns at all. if the FBI wants to kill me, fine. i believe in God and have no doubt murder is always wrong no matter what(but that's another can-o-worms).

what is wrong with owning guns.

I own several. Off the top of my head, I have:

1873 Navy Arms Black Powder (original) - shot only on rare occasions
Beretta 96F Centurion in .40cal
Sig Sauer P239 in .40cal
Smith & Wesson 1006 in 10mm
Smith & Wesson 686 in .357 mag.
Remington 870 combat shotgun 12 ga.
H & R Single Shot 20 ga. (skeet and trap gun)

I grew up around guns, hunting, target shooting, etc.
I learned at a very young age about the responsibility that comes from guns. The most obvious and important is the safe handling of firearms. Then the maintenance and it's importance to firearms so they operate safely. I think that parents if they take the time to PROPERLY instruct their kids about firearms, there won't be any problems. As for my instruction, it was pretty simple, if I wanted to look at one of the guns, I simply asked. Then my dad or grandpa would pull out the gun in question, and answer all my questions, and let me hold it. I think this is the exact reason why I never got into trouble with "messing" around with the guns when home alone. I knew all about them, I held them, I had even shot them, so there wasn't any curiosity about them. As for the guns I have now, I have a couple of them for work related reasons, the others are for defense, and a couple are simply investments.