"How Many Guns Do You Have?"

This is a question I am often asked by persons not fully inculcated into the gun culture.  I don’t mind the question but generally refuse to give a direct answer.  I commonly respond with some inane quip that draws an uneasy laugh, “More than I need; less than I want.” or “Not nearly enough!”  Why?  Because the information is essentially meaningless in most contexts.  People don’t really want to know the answer; it will mean nothing to them.  They have no point of comparison and comparison is the only reason to apply a numeric value to anything (my college major was Accounting, in case you were curious).

My standing as an amateur socio-psychologist with absolutely no formal training permits me to assign motives where they may not exist.  And thus I offer that people will search for ways to keep a conversation going because the social contract requires it.  If they are speaking to a subject of which they have no relevant knowledge, they will ask questions that seem appropriate but aren’t.  I know this from firsthand experience as I have done it many times, occasionally prompting a behavior modification slap.  But I digress.

“Beware the man who only has one gun.  He probably knows how to use it!”  I have run across this adage frequently in my years as a shooter.  Google search results offer the Buckeye Firearms Association newsletter which attributes it to Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch.  I do not know the Buckeye Firearms Association.  I do not know Mr. Smith (but what a great name for a shooter, huh?).  But I have heard of Thunder Ranch so it suggests some credibility.  I will not aver to the site’s accuracy. Whether true or not, the number of guns owned by any individual is an indication of nothing else but the wealth one has which can be earmarked for the acquisition of firearms.

So once again, we stand upon the precipice of a discussion of economic theory.  You can relax.  I am not going to lead you into the abyss… this week.

People own guns for a variety of reasons.  You can probably guess most of them; self-defense, professional need (e.g., Peace Officers), sporting purposes, collecting, resisting tyranny, etc.  Many gun owners I have known fit into more than one category.  The motivation, as long as it is legal, is unimportant.  The mere fact that there are many reasons explains why there is such a large per-capita firearm ownership rate in this country.

The key to understanding the true relationship between a man (or woman) and their gun(s) in not how many they possess but how well they shoot.

   

I was not brought up in the gun culture.  My first experience with firearms was as an eighteen-year-old college student enrolled in Criminology classes.  My first purchase had to be straw-manned by my father as California requires a handgun purchaser be twenty-one.  Back in those days, most department stores that offered a sporting goods department sold guns.  That’s how I took ownership of my first gun, a Smith & Wesson Model 28 revolver.  I will not bore those among you uninterested in firearms with esoterica; those who know guns already have all the information they need.

My entrance into law enforcement prompted the need for a supplemental purchase.  My revolver was too large for carry as an off-duty concealed weapon (a requirement for peace officers).  I learned, from my exposure to the testosterone fueled world of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Deputy, that the only tool suitable was Colt’s .45 ACP automatic pistol.  I purchased one; nickel plated of course.  I had achieved the age of majority by this time and didn’t need my daddy’s help.  I had launched my career as a gun collector.

Over the years I have grown my arsenal to a respectable number.  Some of my acquisitions have been to fill a tactical niche.  Still others were guns of historical significance.  I added rifles and shotguns to my inventory over the years.  I have guns I don’t need and guns I couldn’t live without.  I have been fortunate enough in my personal finances that the limiting factor in number is related more to the size of my gun safe than my bank balance.

The pride of ownership, of course, is balanced with the joy of shooting.  There is a great deal of satisfaction in mastering any tool.  And basically firearms are just tools. Any craftsman will tell you that an artisan is only as good as his mastery of the tools of trade.  Proficiency is undeniably a function of the time one spends in plying his trade.  Henny Youngman (look it up, youngsters) got it right: “I asked the cab driver, ‘Do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall?’ He said, ‘Practice, practice, practice!’”  

And that highlights the point of this post.  The number of hours I practice is far more important than the number of guns I own.  If I shoot my Winchester 1886 .45-70 rifle once in two years, I am not going to achieve the level of proficiency I have with my Colt's Combat Commander pistol, which I shoot several times per month.  But then I am far more likely to have to defend myself against an urban miscreant than I am to shoot a buffalo.

The answer; I shoot a lot!