Anti Family

I was given a .22 single shot rifle by my grandfather when I was 14 years old and I used it for gopher hunting. No one raised an eyebrow in those days and my friends and I had a lot of fun. I guess I got bored or just interested in other things and got rid of the rifle only a few years later. ( big mistake) Fast forward to now.... I retired and decided to get back into shooting so I got my RPAL. I now have a small collection of firearms.

.22 cal. Venturini Largo rifle
.22 cal. High Standard target pistol
.223 Mini 14 Ranch Rifle
.223 Norinco M4 (AR clone)
.223 Tikka T3 Varmint rifle (heavy barrel stainless)

I am a range shooter and just enjoy being out on the range and popping targets etc. I enjoy the company of other shooters. It is, however, a lonely hobby for me as my wife is anti gun and the rest of the family figures I am nuts. I even got into reloading this year and thoroughly enjoy it. My biggest dissapointment was when I invited my father to come to the range with me to try out a bit of target shooting. He said " I don't like guns" This is the same guy who let me go out on the prairie so many years ago with the single shot .22 rifle so his statement really stung me. The rest of the family just doesn't want to hear about my hobby and quickly changes the conversation. I feel isolated and a bit of an outcast. The only people I can talk to are either on the range or at my local sporting goods store. Oh, and on CGN thank goodness.
 
I was surprised that I got no resistance at all from my mom and dad. Some of my friends were not so impressed - but my mom thinks it's cool and she figures I should take my dad to the range.
 
The thing I notice, that makes gun owners different from the Anti's, is that we don't take ourselves too seriously. We aren't out to force the world to change to our own narrow-minded view. I've read this whole thread, and the easy good-humor, shows a well adjusted attitude toward life. Not at all what you would expect from a bunch of right-wing, gun-toting, baby-killers.

On the subject of the thread: I truly feel for some of you guys. I grew up in northern Saskatchewan, and although my father didn't own any guns, I've been shooting since I could hold both ends of a .22 off the ground at the same time. Being a little remote, and the fact that the area had only been settled for a little more than 50 years, it was expected that even if you didn't own guns, that you could at least use them; just in case. By the time I was 13, I would load up a back-pack and a .22 and me and the dog would disappear into the bush, often for one or two days at a time. I worked all summer for my Uncle to pay off the rifle I bought from him when I was 15-Boy times have sure changed! Now I live in central Alberta, where guns are still a part of everyday life. I'm just glad that I grew up when I did, because I have fantastic memories of a time in this country when common sense was still common, a man's word was his bond, and politicians and the media weren't trying to control everything in your life.

Thanks for listening.
 
Whatever you do, don't feel guilty about your new hobby, read up on the facts and the stats, every time they challenge you, politey state the facts again and again, after awhile they will give up challenging you and if they see you enjoying yourself, they will generally get on with life and accept it. although some never will. Always offer to take them shooting.
 
I know the feeling as well. Only my Uncle shoots but I don't see him as often as I would like and I have zero friends that shoot so I'm on my own. My grandma she couldn't understand how a person like myself could be interested in shooting guns and I just jokingly replied I don't understand how a person could sit on a couch for hours on end and knit things.
 
It wasn't until I mentioned that my wife and I had taken the handgun course that I found out my mother hates all guns, and thinks they should be banned. To me this was shocking considering both my parents are are very conservative politically and had even bought me one of the high powered air rifles when I was only 11! Luckily my dad thinks guns are cool.
So now we don't mention guns in front of my mother. She pretends we don't shoot and we pretend she doesn't hate us for it.
 
KePet said:
The thing I notice, that makes gun owners different from the Anti's, is that we don't take ourselves too seriously. We aren't out to force the world to change to our own narrow-minded view.
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A large part of that is can be explained as, while we are in support of everyone having the right to choose "yay" or "nay", the anti's are vehemently out to rid people of choice altogether....:eek:

No wonder they are so wound up....:evil:

Denn0001 said:
I was given a .22 single shot rifle by my grandfather when I was 14 years old and I used it for gopher hunting. No one raised an eyebrow in those days and my friends and I had a lot of fun. I guess I got bored or just interested in other things and got rid of the rifle only a few years later. ( big mistake) Fast forward to now.... I retired and decided to get back into shooting so I got my RPAL. I now have a small collection of firearms.

.22 cal. Venturini Largo rifle
.22 cal. High Standard target pistol
.223 Mini 14 Ranch Rifle
.223 Norinco M4 (AR clone)
.223 Tikka T3 Varmint rifle (heavy barrel stainless)

I am a range shooter and just enjoy being out on the range and popping targets etc. I enjoy the company of other shooters. It is, however, a lonely hobby for me as my wife is anti gun and the rest of the family figures I am nuts. I even got into reloading this year and thoroughly enjoy it. My biggest dissapointment was when I invited my father to come to the range with me to try out a bit of target shooting. He said " I don't like guns" This is the same guy who let me go out on the prairie so many years ago with the single shot .22 rifle so his statement really stung me. The rest of the family just doesn't want to hear about my hobby and quickly changes the conversation. I feel isolated and a bit of an outcast. The only people I can talk to are either on the range or at my local sporting goods store. Oh, and on CGN thank goodness.
Click to expand...

We're here for you, pal...:cheers:
 
I will admit that I am not into hunting, just target practice at the range, but I do not have a problem with, or think that people should not hunt, to me that is rediculous! Everyone has the right to choose what they want to do. I say don't worry about what she says, just do what you want to do, which I am sure you were going to do anyways!!
 
boomboy said:
Well today at a family dinner with a few aunts and uncles it came up that I've recently taken my CFSC/CRFSC. One of my aunts looks at me like I just told her wanted to become some sort of baby killer.

"Why would you want a gun?" with this disgusted look
"So I can get into hunting" replying in a very non-confrontational wayf
"And why would you want to do that?" even more disgusted

REALLY?! I mean I'm all for the whole belief of 'to each his own' but I mean come on, in her mind I may as well of become some sort of rapist right then and there. Since when has the choice to own a firearm and hunt become such a faux pas. I know I am the only one in the family with an interest in it, but I never realized just how bad it was. I don't know, maybe it's the little amount of sleep or the beer talking but I just felt that I needed some outside opinion, am I the only on this board who has faced this scenario from close family?
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My mother wouldn't sign the card for me. This easter with the kids talking about how they can't wait to go to the range and how much fun my cousins son had going to shoot.
Suddenly she's fine with it now. It's just a matter of time. Unless they are crazy. Then you'll never get them around to it

MY wife has taken the "boys and their toys point of view" we still disagree about how many of them I "need" and about getting the restricted guns.

Get your stuff safely stored whatever it is you do to meet or go beyond legal requirements and after a while of seeing you do it safe they relax. Big one that helped my wife was locking the guns and the ammo up in another container.
 
i guess i'm lucky first because my grandfather and father were both shooters, and second because my wife wants to get her RPAL so she can get her own pistols to come shoot with me =D. she's kind of awesome that way, if she doesn't know about something, she doesn't condemn it out of hand.

i feel some of you guys in your situations with intolerant/ignorant family members who just don't want to learn or are unwilling to change their positions. i'm a born arguer so it's nothing at all for me to challenge false assumptions and dissect arguments and positions in a very short time. but not everyone is like me and not every gun owner wants to or feels the need to defend their sport/hobby.

but for those of you out there who aren't interested in arguing with anti family members, there's plenty of ways to avoid arguing or having conflict. perhaps don't make it known to people that you are an owner/shooter. where i live, it's pretty common practice to keep that sort of info to yourself (at least in public) because you don't always know who might overhear and be a less than savory character. also, it might not be appropriate to discuss in mixed company things like firearm ownership or hunting, because they are, like it or not, politicized subjects (especially the former). so if it comes up, one can easily decline the argument by saying 'oh, i don't/was raised not to talk politics in mixed company, but if you want to discuss it privately, we can yak it over some other time'
 
I was raised in a hunting family and for a long time I was worried hunting/shooting was going to become extinct.

It really makes me happy to see all of the posts from people that got into it on their own, never mind those born to it.

Maybe my favorite past time isn't going to die after all.

....you make me all ....sniff..... so proud....!
 
My Father just recently handed me down an Enfield P14, still trying to determine between Winchester/Remington/Eddystone, my google-fu is lacking these days. I love the gun to death, just recent got my Possession/Acquisition license, so I'm more happy than, well, anything.

My girlfriend is also more than ecstatic. Never fired a gun in her life, let alone held the real deal. She is definitely not opposed to such, though, as we play a lot of airsoft, and it's a good way to teach basic gun safety without having to drag a firearm into the picture.

Her parents on the other hand, condemn her AND I for even touching a gun. "Oh, I don't want you out there in the woods with a loaded gun, I don't think that's right at all."

I am 21, and she is 18/almost 19. I feel she is old enough to make a rational decision about whether or not she wants to be around a firearm, and she seems more than enthusiastic about it.

I just really think it's sad how society portrays firearms as "death sticks". It's almost like racism in the sense that you are judging something based upon a small PART.

I hate to sound cliche, but guns don't kill people, people kill people.
 
I tried the waters first by asking my father and mother to sign my application and my sister to sign the photo. They all agreed, although my mom was a bit concerned, but I attributed it to regular mom-concern. When I got my PAL I was all proud to show her what I had bought. I showed her a picture of a 870 with a synthetic stock and she was 'omigod, I don't like this'. Then I showed her a picture of an SKS, she nearly fainted...I figured I have a major case of careful education ahead of me.

I plan to show her the muzzle loading antique shotgun I just bought and a .22 for starters. I hope an old thing and a tiny thing like those are a soft start. Then I'll dress the .22 in black plastic to highlight the whole 'black guns are fundamentally evil' thing.

As long as they are not full fledged antis I figure i'm on the plus side.
 
You will be amazed at home many antis you can turn over time, you may no make them into shooters but you can usually start to show them the flawed logic they're using. I like to show pics of a factory norc m14 which many say "it looks ok, it's just a hunting rifle" then i show them one fully dressed in a troy mcs stock and after they stop panicking i explain to them it's the same rifle... "we just changed it's clothes" this usually starts to soften them up... Be patient, it's a slow process but well worth it in the end!
 
Torch said:
You will be amazed at home many antis you can turn over time, you may no make them into shooters but you can usually start to show them the flawed logic they're using. I like to show pics of a factory norc m14 which many say "it looks ok, it's just a hunting rifle" then i show them one fully dressed in a troy mcs stock and after they stop panicking i explain to them it's the same rifle... "we just changed it's clothes" this usually starts to soften them up... Be patient, it's a slow process but well worth it in the end!
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Try my parent,
My dad still has his views from the three years he served in Taiwan as 2nd lt during conscript. He simply hates firearms.

My mom often accuse me of mass murderer simply I like firearms. (and swords) yet she sees cars as okay (plus she over drive above speed limit. Especially on high way...110 becomes 160)

My brother is as socialists as he can get, he believes in the entire gun registeration as the IANSA sells in its utopian mode. He also believes its easier by fixing 90% of registeration problems and 70% of licensing errors... (I suggested that we should start the registery all over again and have the gun owners support...minus those who dont want it. (where it would be solely used to benefit the owner aka control by a civilian or firearm organization seperate from the government) Oh and he believes in the socialists disarmed society where its better to be the victim thats dead and the cops finding you rather than right to self defense. (He belives in basically what I want people to think I was in my Grade 12 social class -A Fascist supporter (When class points racism, I just move topic simply its a dirty game)
 
Got to the root of why firearms are verboten in the house, one of my parents is afraid of them. While the other simply refuses to give me an answer other than "no guns in my house". Guess my tools will have to sleep over at a friend's house.
 
my mother hates the fact that i want to own guns. but she cant argue with me about it cuz i always have very strong reasons.

1. A government cannot be corrupt or betray the people if the people have the means to dismantle the corrupt government.

2. A society without power is open to more and more attacks from without and within from unsavoury characters like current movement in Canada by the wealthy to strip the public of power so theirs cannot be challenged due to their constant fears of being overwhelmed by the poor masses that they have economically subjugated.

Note - The gun laws and the ridiculous rules are for the poor only. The wealthy can obtain anything with their connections with the powerful and their economic might.

3. In today's world with oil & fresh water running out in most parts of the world, Canada is too weak to defend itself against invading forces looking for our vast resources of water (USA for one has always had one eye on our vast fresh water resources). Comparably, USA is strong against such threats. Its citizens are armed to the teeth.

P.S Notice how these same people that own the media brain wash the gullible masses to avoid guns and gun owners like lepers. The reason Canadians are in that position now is due to the information blackout imposed by the same media moguls. When the public hears the same opinion from all the media outlets they accept it as truth without realising all those channels and radios are owned by the same group of people, hence the same opinion.
 
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