On Dec 19, 8:33*pm, Dave Smith > wrote:
> On 19/12/2012 9:00 PM, graham wrote:
>
> >>> Am a lifelong hunter, own 2 rifles, 6 shotguns, no pistols.
>
> >> You're not one of those I'm worried about.
>
> > Why not?
> > Why the hell does he need 2 rifles and 6 shotguns? He's only got one pair of
> > hands!
>
> Maybe they are upgrades. I have two shotguns. One is an old single
> barrel that I got when I was a kid. The other is a nice double barrel
> that I go years later. *I have a cheap semiautomatic .22 that I bought
> for plinking and when my brother got depressed he had a nice .22 target
> rifle. I had .303 that my parents gave me when I was 16. The extractor
> spring keep breaking and they are getting harder to replace so I recenly
> pickup up a nice Russian made surplus semi auto that costs about half as
> much to shoot and is more accurate.
>
> About 20 years ago I tookup handguns target shooting and started with a
> .22. I upgraded to a 9mm, but that thing is not very accurate and I
> recently picked up a new one that is highly rated for target shooting.
> It's not like I am stocking up for Armageddon or to fight the
> government. *They aren't worth much to sell, so I hold on to them... all
> in a locked steel cabinet. *Who is it hurting?

That's pretty much how it works, they just accumulate over time,
inherited from relatives, maybe an upgrade or two and such. How many
screwdrivers do most people have? A lot more than needed I bet. Have
known guys who are by no means gun nuts or even collectors, and have
20+ weapons. These guys tend to like a wider variety of hunting; deer,
elk, boar, duck, dove and pheasant. It's not as if one gun can be used
for them all. Though one shotgun with multiple barrells might come
close. For hunters like this guns are a tool. Not a symbol of
patriotism or freedumb from somed imaginary tyranny any crap like
that. Just tools, like fishing rods, but hunters can see what they're
after. Big reason I never took much to fishing; can't see the damn
things.
Good excuse to sit around drinking beer though.

They're not a PC or TV, these are machined steel tools with a long
life.
People don't hear too much from the normal hunters and gun owners
though. It's the loudmouth extremists that get all the attention.
Seems like these vocal minorities (often funded by not so nice people)
are running the US in many ways these days.
Or at least framing the discussions and leading them.