Gun Fun

Kim du Toit has invited his readers to participate in a hypothetical gun shopping spree.  You have inherited a from a crotchety old uncle a gift certificate from a local gun store worth $10,000.  What guns do you buy?

I have my ideas.  But this is about as close to a gun shopping spree that I am going to be for quite some time.  I came to the realization a couple of years ago that my gun buying days were over, or at least postponed for a while.  With 3.5 kids, a stay-at-home homeschooling wife, and a new house payment, a $1,350 Springfield Armory M-1A is simply not possible right now.

Gun owners regularly argue and bicker about which gun is the best.  Gun owner A will praise his new Model X in caliber Y, which will be immediately followed by someone saying that Model X is a POS and besides, caliber Z has more stopping power.  It's a natural feature of any discussion of guns.

But there is definitely a "Ferrari Mentality" among gun owners.  I've seen people recommend an expensive, match-grade pistol to a novice who has never been shooting in his life, or suggest a custom-built hunting rifle in some obscure caliber to someone who only hunts once or twice a year.  Nice guns, but for working-class stiffs like me they are grossly impractical.

It's like recommending that I buy a Lexus to drive to work.  Now the Lexus is a fine automobile, probably one of the best money can buy.  But for the price of one Lexus I can buy two Chevrolets, and keep them registered, insured, maintained, and filled with gas for one year.  They will get me to work just fine.  And I won't be so paranoid about having them damaged or stolen, either.

Same thing with guns.  I don't dispute that a SIG or a Kimber are excellent pistols, or that Weatherbys are fine rifles.  I just can't afford or justify spending that kind of money.  A cheap gun in the hand is worth two expensive guns in the store, and the highest-quality gun is worthless if you can't afford to buy it or even shoot it regularly.