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handguns600_1

TTAG Reader MamaLiberty writes:

Some recent comments on various message boards frequented by shooters indicate that a few people are either changing their minds or are bowing to the politically correct pressure of the day. They have begun to assert that they do not “love their guns” and only view them as necessary tools. While I couldn’t agree more that guns are simply tools, pretty much like any others, I don’t know why that would make them unlovable . . .

Most men love their tools — all different kinds — and men have always loved their guns. I’m certainly not ashamed to join them. But, you might ask, just what is it that we (who still profess it anyway) actually love about guns? Aren’t they killing machines, good only for harming others? We hear that a lot.

So, why do I love my guns? Let me count the ways.

To start with, about 30 years ago I was attacked and would likely have died if I had not been armed.

At that point the man started to walk toward me, in a few words telling me just how he would hurt me. I raised the shotgun, but he just sneered and said confidently, “You won’t shoot me,” and kept coming.

He was still too close to my car, so I aimed the .410 shotgun just over his head and pulled the trigger.

I saw the shocked look, just before I saw the blood on his face and chest where the tiny #6 birdshot had hit him. He turned and ran away, destroying a low ornamental fence in the process, but never even slowing to untangle it from his legs.

How would the world be better and more peaceful if I had been raped and murdered instead, simply because I had no gun?

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This old H&R .410 is the gun I used to save my life.

I love to take my guns apart and clean them, usually after a satisfying day at the range or out on the wide grasslands. I love their mechanical simplicity and elegance, the engineering miracle that really hasn’t changed much for hundreds of years. I love the smell of the cleaning products and the silky sound of the action when it’s oiled properly. The crisp “snap” of the trigger release is music to my ears.

Though I protect my hearing religiously, I love the sound of gunfire on the range when I’m there, and in the distance as others shoot. I’m about a mile from the range and can hear it often. It’s the sound of freedom to me – other men and women both enjoying themselves and practicing a useful skill.

carbine-crop_1

I have an old M1 .30 cal carbine. The scratches and dents in the old wooden stock have a serious story to tell… though sadly I can’t read it and the man who could is probably long gone by now. I love to shoot that gun, and imagine the story it might tell if it could. It’s a good old gun, and would certainly help me to defend myself and my neighbors if necessary.

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My ’52 Marlin 30-30 lever gun is just about perfect for hunting, which could keep me alive if things ever got to that point. That might mean bringing down deer for food, or holding off predators who would take my food away from me. The scarred old stock has another and just as beautiful tale to tell, of hunts and shooting matches and the companionship that both can bring to all kinds of people.

An XD compact 9mm (top) has proven to be the perfect carry gun for me. I carry it proudly, visible for all to admire – or take warning that this 70-year-old lady is not going to be a helpless victim. I’m not able to run or fight meaningfully with my bare hands. The gun in that holster gives me the power to overcome my physical shortcomings and equalizes my opportunity to save myself or others from aggression and great harm or death. That is a heavy responsibility and one that most armed people take very seriously.

The Ruger .357 magnum revolver is the one I carry concealed, when that seems wise. It was my very first carry gun, and I enjoy shooting it.

The most important reason I love my guns is something quite different, however. They represent self ownership and true independence. They mark me as one who is responsible for myself and willing to risk everything to protect myself and others. It marks me as a free human being and not a slave. Slaves are not “allowed” to own and carry guns. Free people can’t be stopped from doing so.

I love my guns, and the liberty for which they stand.

 — —

MamaLiberty is a NRA certified instructor, with other certifications for handguns and self defense. She has thirty years teaching and shooting experience. She is the author of “I Am Not A Victim” a story of self defense. The first chapter is the story of the man she had to shoot to save her life. Read the story and then send an email to claim your free e-book.

(This post originally appeared at The Price of Liberty and is reprinted here with permission.)

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62 COMMENTS

    • The only inanimate object I have any emotional attachment to is my car. I like my guns. I am proud of my guns. I do not, however, love them. Sorry, its not you.. it’s me.

  1. Someone on Facebook called me an ammosexual when I posted a response to an egregious disarmist article. The next time that happens my response will be, “I can’t help it, I was born that way.”

  2. Great selection of guns. I’d recommend adding a .22 rifle to round it out.

    I love my guns too. Especially the older ones

    • Nobody said that these are my only guns. 🙂 Article would be book length if I really got into all the guns I’ve owned, and the stories of what I’ve done with them. LOL

  3. Definetly love my guns because they ARE tools. Well crafted
    and purposeful tools. It’s the same kind of admiration I have for my many hand planes and chisels or my wood lathe (powermatic 3520b) and lathe tools.

    Tools that allow me to excel at the task I apply them to. Wether taking a perfect wood shaving from the peice of furniture I’m working on, cutting away the extra wood from a block of wood to expose the form within, or banging steel some 700yds down range, or burning down a 3 gun stage. All tools being driven by my hand to execute a task to the best of my ability. That is why I love my tools.

  4. I love my guns if it pisses off a liberal.
    Yeah, some guns are loveable.
    Some guns that I do love…
    Ithaca 37, Winchester Model 12, Browning Auto 5, 870 Wingmaster, Nylon 66, Ruger 10/22, Bearcat, Colt Peacemaker, Winchester Lever Rifles, S&W 1917 Revolver, Mauser 98K, M14, AK-47, 1917 Enfield, and a few others. I do like most guns.

    • They selflessly and bravely jumped in after mine to attempt a daring rescue, but, sadly, their passing will be remembered in the annals of history.

  5. I don’t love my guns.

    I do love the people who made them, who forged the metal, engineers who design, the manufacture of the cutting oil, springs, polymer. Man hug to who programmed the CNC, Rugers customer service, each salesperson who took their time and effort to present the best value to the manufactures. I love the people who toil through fitting, who polish, who inventory, who ship. I love the greatest generation who made the arms industry their passion, their charge, their value.

    I only bend my knee to the tomb of unknown soldier and to the ones who build the armaments for the people.

  6. I think it’s a passion many in the other camp don’t and won’t ever understand. There’s a lot of facets as well from the machining and craftsmanship to the engineering to the history to the self sufficiency and self confidence you get from firearms ownership. A day at the range or a tinkering with my firearms or reloading ammunition is a fun distraction from the rigors of every day life.

  7. I don’t love any of my guns. I like my all my guns very much, but I could never settle down into a stable and exclusive relationship with only one. Maybe I just haven’t found the right one yet. Until I do, I prefer to play the field.

    Not that I’m promiscuous. I don’t sleep with any of my guns. Because there’s always the risk of having a little derringer, and I’m not ready for that. At all.

  8. I love my wife, my son, my extended family.
    I really, really like my guns. Would I be devastated if I lost one of my guns in a boating accident like if one of my loved ones died? Nope. I can always get another gun.
    Just keeping things in perspective.

    • Yeah. I’m too anal retentive. I reserve that word, and what it represents, to those that can return the feeling, and that I would die to protect.

      My friends, my family, my fellow Americans and other human beings, even my dog.

      But to say I love my guns? If they all died in a boating accident, I would not hold a funeral and they would not have an afterlife in heaven. And the only tears I would shed would be at the amount of money I would have to spend to replace them. But I really,really, really, really, really like them. Alot.

      “I love not the sword with it’s shiny edge, nor the sound and the fury of battle, nor the armored warrior seeking glory in battle; I love what they defend”

  9. Well done, MamaLiberty, and well said.
    Glad you defended yourself so you could live out God’s plan for you and those whose lives you’ve touched over the years.

  10. I came late to gun ownership. Up until early 50’s of my life was busy establishing a career, marriage, relationship with my stepson, changing relationship with parents from their kid to their caretaker and later, having to parent a parent, bear the grief of no longer being anyone’s daughter. Moving on to the pride and joy of watching grand babies growing into future adults. Learning what love really is all about.
    So do I love my guns? No I enjoy the workmanship that went into my Ruger GP 100 WC version, one of the very few handguns I did not change our a front sight or grip. I appreciate the beauty of my SP101 with addition of wood grip with SR on the medallion I snagged off EBay. I enjoy the deep shiney blue finish of my Colt Detective. But do I love my guns? Nope, I love my husband, son & daugter in law, grandkids, my brother & sister in law, Aunts and Uncles that are still here, I love my Golden Retrievers. But I don’t love my guns. I do enjoy shooting them, cleaning them, buying good looking holsters. I enjoy the jouney from not able to hit the side of a barn to being a very good shot. I can’t imagine loving an inanimate object. Life is too short to love something that can’t love you back. It’s a silly question don’t ya think?

    • A silly question? No, I don’t think so. There are many kinds of “love” and I’m not talking about an emotional, personal relationship here. My love for my guns is about self ownership and personal responsibility. More like all those who say they love their country.

      I love my guns, and the liberty for which they stand.

  11. I cant say I love my guns. I have too many. I do like them all though as one would love a pet. Id be lost without one.
    I will however say I love the smell of burnt gunpowder.

  12. I absolutely do love my guns and the peace & security that they provide my family. I will also proudly don the moniker of Gun Nut, Ammosexual, Gunsplainer, or any other ridiculous term a gungrabber might label me with because it does not bother me. Lastly, if I cannot change their minds with reason, logic, and facts, I will tell them to go fuck themselves.

  13. I cannot love my guns because I reserve the word Love for people and pets who can return that love.
    I have guns that are products of modern manufacturing that are amazingly accurate, with stocks that will not warp and steels that will not rust. They are tools.
    But I also have guns from a previous time when a manufacturer had other concerns besides their profit/loss statement. These guns speak to me in a way that a tool never can.
    My M1 Garand helps remind me when of when a generation of young men willingly defended our way of life. A Hopkins & Allen 12ga. single shot tells me of a time when life was slower and even though only a single shot, it was built with style and grace.
    I have Brownings, Colts , Smiths and Remingtons that are more than just tools. They are blued steel and walnut art, and they are American history. These will never be sold, but will continue to tell their stories to my children and their children.

    • “I reserve the word Love for people and pets who can return that love.” Guns can’t return love, but they can return fire against someone trying to kill me. And I love that about them.

  14. Yeah – I don’t know what’s a matter with these people. I love all my guns – the ugly ones even more than the pretty ones. I’ve got sentimental heirlooms, I’ve got 100 year old historical pieces, I’ve got ARs I made myself. Lovem.

    Great article by mamaliberty. I had no idea she was twice my age. That’s the Internet for you.

  15. I like my guns but I love my M1 Garand. I just don’t love the ammo prices so I stick to 5.56 and 7.62×39 chambered guns more often.

  16. To love a firearm is the same to me as to love art. The love I have for my family is different. To me a firearm is not only a tool, but an art form the beauty of the wood the blending of the parts, the functioning of the mechanics. Thats one thing tho that these new generation firearms are starting to lack tho. Heck the cap gun I had when I was s kid had more appeal.

  17. I love my 1894-1994 carbine because it was a gift as my first rifle. I love my old loose taurus .357 because it too was a gift and my first handgun. Everything has been appraised and is readily for sale whether I need to cash or someone wants to put down the money.

  18. I love guns in the same way I love cars. My first gun was for protection, but isn’t it OK if it becomes a hobby? I started learning more and more about firearms and became fascinated by how they work. They are engineering marvels with an incredibly long history. They basically have to contain and direct the force of an explosion. Working on marksmanship has been just as challenging as working on driving and putting. When antis ridicule us for loving our guns, it’s just a cheap attack on our masculinity. I’ll bet there are many TTAGers that have gone in harm’s and danger’s way without thinking about it.

  19. While I can’t quantify the love for my material possessions, I do like them … A Lot and care for them as such.
    I own a small plane, motorcycles and guns.
    I appreciate the quality of life they afford me.
    I am going to keep this one and show it to my wife and others.
    Thank You Again
    Very well written article

  20. I love my Win 70 .30-06, my Win 70 .300 Mag, Marlin .45-70, Benelli 12 gauge, etc. Some guns have timeless class and style. I have a serious affinity for guns I’ve used in self defense and for the tactical capabilities of my ARs, Mossberg 930, Rem 870, Sig 226, Glocks, etc.

  21. Good article. I am a wife. Lucky for my husband, I love guns as much as he does. I’m usually urging him to buy the gun he wants. Then, I find something I want.

  22. I think the problem is that many people object to the word “love.”
    No, I don’t love my guns like I love my family, my God, or my friends. But I certainly love my guns as much or more than any dog I ever had. The “guns are just tools” statement is true, as is the “dogs are just animals,” but most would not take issue with describing their appreciation for them as “love.”
    I certainly don’t. Some of my favorite dishes just wouldn’t be the same without them.

  23. Great post, Mama Liberty.

    For most of my adult life I’ve spent a lot of time driving around Texas, for work, school, and fun.

    I truly love the modern things that allow me to be independent as well as safe: cell phones, GPS, reliable modern cars, reliable handguns, and laws that allow me to have a gun on my person or in the car. (If it were still illegal, I would carry illegally as I used to, though.)

    • Indeed.. and none of that was available when I was going to college, or the most of my nursing career driving 300+ miles a day all over southern Calif. visiting patients in their homes and skilled nursing facilities. I learned “situational awareness” the hard way, on the mean streets of the worst areas there, with nothing but my gut instinct for defense. That, and understanding when it was best simply to drive away. Sadly, it is no better for nurses or anyone else there today, far as self defense tools are concerned.

  24. College girls give names to their vibrators, usually either Brad or Greg, sometimes Brandon. Is that love?

    If an inanimate object gives you sufficient pleasure then you may well love it, be it gun, car or vibrator. Nothing too unusual there.

    Do we really have to analyze everything to death this way?

    Hidden deconstructionist agenda here, maybe?

    How about “I love shooting”? Does that give less fodder to the amateur Freudians? Probably not. They’ll stay alive on the thinnest of fare, even if they have to make it up themselves.

  25. I “love” the recognition of a freedom I still have (at least for now) when I strap on my XD or Beretta. I “love” the extra little bit of security my P3AT deep in a pocket provides in places I otherwise couldn’t carry.

    I LOVE my Dad’s Remington 30-06 and bolt-action .22 I inherited, because every time I pick them up I think about how much he loved deer hunting in South Dakota, or how he used to help provide rabbit, squirrel, and yes, possum for his family dinner table growing up in the Tennessee hills in the 1930-40’s…

    Thanks for a great post Mama.

  26. I only love two of my guns. One is my first gun that I bought when I was 11 with money from my paper route. A Romanian M1969, shooting 22LR. I use it for rabbits and squirrels to this day. The other is my M1A NMB that I bought after carrying a M14 for a year in Iraq and consequently falling in love with it. The rest are just tools.
    And God bless MamaLiberty. Thanks for the great post.

  27. So you discharged a single shot H&R and he ran away? I’m sure you realize you got lucky that you didn’t end up having to use it as a club…

    As far as Love and Like thing… I think people use/perceive that word in different ways and in different contexts. If someone said: ‘I Love ice cream’ – people wouldn’t be so quick to say: ‘I Love my wife, kids, family, freedom, God, etc… I only extremely like ice cream’.

    Of course the Love we share for other people (and dogs!) and things like Freedom and God (however you may perceive that) is something different than ice cream or guns or flying or whatever. Yes, I love guns. But of course not in the way that I truly Love my family or my girl or even my dog, or Freedom or (what I perceive as) God. But that doesn’t mean I can’t use that word – in the right context of course.

    Note: yes, I purposefully left out cats there 🙂 that’s a separate conversation

    Anyway, good post. Thanks.

    • “So you discharged a single shot H&R and he ran away? I’m sure you realize you got lucky there and didn’t have to end up using it as a club… ”

      Yes indeed… and if you’ll read the book, you’ll see that I go into some detail on that factor and the other mistakes I made. Discovering those mistakes and looking into how to avoid them, was what got me into serious shooting, multiple shooting schools and actually teaching what I’d experienced and learned.

      Sure like to help people avoid making quite that many mistakes. 🙂

      • Well, your book (“I Am Not A Victim”) just hit the top of my ‘must read’ list… I’m looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing your story. “The only source of knowledge is experience” – and you can only learn from other’s experiences if they share 😉 so thanks!

        • Did you send for the book? I’ve had dozens of requests for it today, so have no idea myself. If not, read the link above and you’ll find the email address. 🙂

  28. IMO, TTAG engages in this political correctness in continually referring to AR-15s as “Modern Sporting Rifles” or MSRs. That feeds the narrative of the anti’s that civilians have no right to weapons of war. My response to any such statement is that YES, an AR-15 IS a weapon of war. Because war is not something that just countries get into, it’s something that individuals can engage in as well. If someone is trying to maim and/or kill you, that’s a declaration of war on your person. And you have a right to utilize the basic tools of warfare to defend yourself by making war back on said person. Every free human being has a right to engage in a private war for self-defense.

    Firearms, being tools of war, are just one type of weapon of war, one that is utilized by civilians, law enforcement (also technically civilians), and by the military, who also utilize various other weapons of war that would not be classed as arms under the classical definition.

    You are supposed to have every right to keep and carry such basic weapons of war. If a cop stops you and sees you are carrying a hatchet, and asks, “Is this a weapon or a tool?” you are SUPPOSED to be able to come right and say, “It’s a weapon. I carry it for protection. It’s primary purpose in design is so that I can hack and cut up other humans (or the odd animal) if I should need to.”

    If you are stopped carrying a medieval war hammer, you ought to be able to say, “Yeah officer, it’s a weapon. It’s primary purpose is to let me smash the skull and/or shatter the bones of anyone who decides to attack me. It’s a tool of war, in case I should have to engage in a private war of self-defense.”

    Possession of arms, the basic tools of war/combat, by humans, whether a stone axe crafted in the woods to a modern AR-15, is a fundamental right of every free human that the government is supposed to protect.

    As for love of tools, I love lots of tools, from hammers, to lathes, to guns. But you know how the Left have this thing about men into guns being a sexual compensation thing or something, or something mentally ill or weak about emotional attachments to any tool.

  29. Some of my guns have been in the family for several generations, and will be passed on to the next. Some have historical significance, and others hold sentimental value.
    I respect the classic designs, and honor the service and sacrifice they represent.

    They are more than just tools.

  30. i absolutely love unconditionally my mom, wife, kids and siblings and would place all of them before any other. that love stems from duty, obligation and indebtedness. i also have a love and deep respect for the grand architect and my fellow brethren. i hold a loving place for the teachings of bob dobbs.
    i love my italian motorcycles, vacuum hi fi equipt., convertible auto, firearms, knives, beer and women half my wife’s age more, though.

    got some real literalists here. that’s good.

  31. When you aimed above his head, were you trying for a warning shot or were you trying to pepper him as you did?

    It may be fortunate he was too panicked to realize your gun was unloaded.

    • Neither one. He was too close to my car, and I didn’t want to damage it. Foolish in the extreme, of course, and it is very good that he was not familiar enough with guns to know that had been my only shot. That experience was the starting point to a lot of learning, and a lot of better experience. I was very, very lucky to survive, no doubt.

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