Anti-gunners love to taunt gun owners with a simple question: why do you need so many guns? Sarcasm is not my go-to response; there’s no chance of a decent conversation if I immediately come back with sass. And I do love a decent conversation about guns. [Quick aside: I don’t consider my guns to be an “arsenal.” I have more than ten, less than 300 and not enough.] But when I’m asked to defend my guns with someone whose voice drips with condescension, it’s difficult not to respond in a manner matching their tone. I sometimes reply “Because I can never decide which gun goes with my shoes that day.” Or . . .

“It’s difficult being a woman. I can never make up my mind. I try and buy one of everything.” (Ironic sexism usually knocks them off track.) A Facebook “friend” recently asked me to explain the inexplicable fact that I own not one but two – TWO! – “weapons of war.” After all, “you can only shoot one at a time.” I responded “Wrong. I can shoot two at a time. But that only works in movies.” I’m not sure why she didn’t respond to my comment . . .

Actually, I am. The woman asking about my WoW used a “Feel The Bern” profile picture and wrote #feelthebern after every comment. I suspect that Bernie Sanders supporters share their hero’s desire to “bring people together on guns” – so they can ban them. The guns. Maybe the people too. I’ve decided it’s best to not talk to die-hard Democratic supporters about guns. They want to listen to reason about as much as I want to listen to Bing Crosby.

There are people unfamiliar with firearms who genuinely want to understand the gun owning mindset. For people who honestly ask why I own “so many” guns, honesty answer is the best policy.

I tell them how different types of firearms have different capabilities. Some are for fun, some are for self-defense, and there are different types of fun and self-defense. In the same way that significant variations between similar types of guns. I tell them that gun making is an art; that owning a gun from a particular manufacturer makes me a patron of their art, rewarding excellence with financial support.

If they’re not checking my head for an aluminum hat, I tell them about having enough guns and ammo for a SHTF scenario. I point out that the Second Amendment protects Americans’ right to keep and bear any number or type of weapon, from a few throwing stars to dozens of machine guns. I explain the difference between my right to “keep and bear arms” and my respect for laws against using a gun illegally.

When I’m in a hurry, I give people asking about the number of firearms I own the obvious answers: “because I want to” and “because I can.” It never satisfies them, but it always satisfies me.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

138 COMMENTS

  1. Have not had that question myself, really. Everyone here has more than one gun, but if someone did ask I’d say that the “extras” are loaners. I have a good many rifles I can no longer reliably shoot, being a bit long in the tooth and short in upper body strength. Those rifles and handguns I can shoot, I shoot very well, and the rest would be available for younger, stronger people to borrow in an emergency. And yes, I have plenty of stuff to feed all of them. 🙂

  2. Tell them “stop trying to ban ’em and maybe I’ll stop buying ’em.”

    Maybe being the operative word.

  3. I took 2 newbies (husband and wife) to the range the other day and she asked me why I had so many pistols. My answer was simple, living room gun, nightstand gun, garage gun, carry gun, range gun, fun gun and it’s a 1911 so I just wanted it.

    • On a side note they both have now applied for their CCLs and are looking for a couple handguns. So the range day was a success.

    • Wait…do you mean to tell me that the living room gun, nightstand gun, garage gun, carry gun, range gun, fun gun aren’t all 1911s???????

    • Why do you have more than one set of shoes? Can’t you find one pair that you can use for every occasion?

      That’s my canned response. Then I go on to explain that just like shoes you choose the right one based on your need. Running shoes for jogging, .22 for plinking, etc. And some guns you buy just because you want to or like the way it looks.

  5. I make a habit of not discussing such things with people who aren’t gun owners. It’s pointless, like trying to explain why you like cigars. They won’t get it so what is the point?

    • +1 on that. Anyone who would ask me this question does not know that I own guns at all.

    • Yeah, my first thought is that nobody that isn’t already in the inner circle should know you have any guns, let alone 50+

      • ^^ That, right there. Those that are in my small monkey-sphere know. Those that are not, I make efforts to ensure that they don’t.

        • I used to do the same, and I’d prefer to do the same, but rampant ignorance about firearms and the tendency of those in power to exploit that ignorance convinced me to “come out of the gun safe” before the RKBA is sacrificed at the altar of Common (Non)Sense.

          There are still details nobody needs to know, like exactly what I own / how many / where I keep them, etc. But I’m happy to not hide the fact that I own guns (like telling people “I’m going shooting this weekend”) precisely so I can invite questions like “why do you own [so many] guns?” Any expression of curiosity like that is an opening for me to bring new people to the range and let them discover for themselves how different firearms make for different experiences. Ignorance is curable, and the less of it that’s out there the harder it will be for antis to exploit people with emotion-laden lies.

    • Well, there are differences. I for example, don’t like cigars at all. But never in my mind I’d think I would ask someone to not have them or limit them, even if I had to smell them (and I have been a cigarette smoker). Some intolerant twats instead are preconceived on both cigars AND guns and won’t be able to have any conversation regarding both. Twats.

  6. You should fire back by asking how many guns those poor souls who were slaughtered in France would have been happy to have when the savages started killing them. France is a gun free country and as it always happens , it’s the bad guys who always manage to have the guns. Why not ask the Muslim savages why they needed so many guns.

    • France is not gun free, please stop parroting that. It is highly regulated, but you can own guns even in Paris itself. Where France fails is in allowing their use in self-defense, where it is pretty much guaranteed you will be prosecuted. Even those lucky enough to get a CCW license in France can barely count on being legally in the green to use it if they have an angry crowd bearing down on them – as was recently seen in a Youtube video released from France of a CCW holder being shadowed by a group of angry African Muslims.

      The real problem is cultural.. Many French citizens are concerned primarily with the imagined dangers of gun ownership, then they are worried with the actual safety of their own lives.

      A recent post on another forum I’m on, a used posted a Facebook conversation from a French friend of his. He asked his friend if he thought increased CCW in France would help. The French guy’s answer? “No, because then the police would be paranoid of everyone carrying guns, and would start profiling arabs and blacks, then you would have police shooting unarmed blacks like they do all the time in America.”

      The French people are, without a doubt, just as brainwashed against the idea of armed self-defense as many liberal Americans.

      • So what you are saying is that while you can have a gun, you almost never can carry it in public and, even if you do, you’ll probably be prosecuted for doing so. Please explain how that isn’t a de facto ban?

      • OK, “effectively gun-free”, and I’ll continue to regard the French as such until shall-issue concealed pistol licenses are the norm.
        Also, compared to the US and UK, where they draw their lines in the sand regarding civil and human rights has always struck me as odd.
        All that said, my heart goes out to the French at this time.

      • French here living in Texas for the last 10 years, you nailed it, I’ve my CHL and daily carry my G43, it took me 10 years to be comfortable around guns, I went thru some training and go to the range at least twice a month.

  7. That is, officially, only one crapload of rifles.

    You’d better get started on the second crapload, posthaste.

    • Well, I now know what to do with the small, extra walk-in closet upstairs shall be used for: Safe overflow!

    • It looks like somebody bought a case of M44 Mosins. I think I spot at least 6, plus an M38, and maybe a 91/30. Way to go!

  8. One of my friends discovered roughly how many guns I own, shook his head and told me I’m crazy.

    But then, I got him to buy his first gun last year, and he’s off to CPL class in a few weeks, so who’s laughing now?

    Score one more for the “just invite them shooting” method.

  9. It’s like asking why are there so many roller coasters in an amusement park or so many flavors of ice cream or so many different clubs to hit a small white ball, or different colors of people.

    Fun doesn’t come in one flavor, each ride appeals to different sensibilities, each club is used as the situation demands, and variety is just generally good.

    The only duplicates I have in the collection (or as I call it, my Limited Access Micro Museum) are sentimental family hand-me-downs. That’s not saying I don’t have 5+ AR15s or multiple handguns, just that each has a specific purpose or competition event it gets used for.

  10. Excellent. Snark is usually ineffective and does nothing to further an argument from an intellectual standpoint. And, not coincidentally, it seems to be the tactic of choice for the antis; along with hyperbole; often paired together.

    Not that I have any sort of vast collection, but I’ve also found that relating it to a hobby of theirs (“Why do you have so many camera lenses?” “Why do you have 15 different sets of socket wrenches?” “Why do you have a television in EVERY room of your house?”) can also diffuse conversation, even if the comparisons aren’t exactly one-to-one. (No one buys paintbrushes and acrylic paints for self-defense.) If they “get it” on a hobby level, then you can move into the 2A stuff and talk about how, besides being a fun hobby, it’s a right that was given to humans by God – just like free speech and (theoretically) freedom to not have government agents rummaging through your house willy-nilly – and was specifically recognized and called out by the people who built the framework upon which this country was built.

    And, for the record, I am SO stealing the “reason and Bing Crosby” line. Actually made me chuckle audibly.

  11. I currently own 4 guns and a shotgun. Glock 21 gen4 Glock 30 Gen4 Glock 43 and a Colt Python 357. Looking to eventually buy an AR15. I have a concealed carry license and carry the G30 and will be carrying the G43. I dont plan on being a victim.

  12. “If they’re not checking my head for an aluminum hat, I tell them about having enough guns and ammo for a SHTF scenario. I point out that the Second Amendment protects Americans’ right to keep and bear any number or type of weapon, from a few throwing stars to dozens of machine guns.”

    “Oh, they’re all different. Do you want me to show you?”

    The thing is, for many folks who ask that, it’s a totem, not a gizmo. The question is often a variation of: “Why do you need so many red convertibles to compensate for the size of your pee-pee?”

    Of course, if that isn’t what they meant, you can choose to understand it that way. So, normalize it.

    The best way to normalize gun ownership is to treat it as something normal. Don’t make it dramatic. The more “dramatic” the claim, the more matter of fact to be about it. So, “natural, civil and constitutional right” has its place. Sometimes hold that back … until the conversation becomes about rights and safety.

    So, you have a bunch of guns because each one is interesting, useful, and cool in its own way.

    The thing is, seeing a gun as a gizmo, and even interacting with it, reduces it’s weight as a totem – of evil, of violence, of OFWG being tacti-cool. Usually, the guy with the surrogate-car, and the pneumatic blonde doesn’t otherwise spend a lot of time with cars … or girls.

    • That totem-vs-gizmo thing is actually really instructive, and a good way to approach discussing guns with the dubious or worse.

  13. Just say variety. And if they use the term Weapon of War they probably don’t give a flying at’s rass what your answer is, they be trollin’. Maybe if you didn’t friend people who you aren’t friends with, which I’m assuming is the case because of your quotations, you and everyone else wouldn’t have such encounters. Everyone I’m friends with on Facebook add people that are active in my life. If you live 3k miles away from me a text or call will suffice. I don’t need a play by play, cause your life is either better or worse than mine, and I don’t need to be reminded either way. Maybe next time instead of a selfie at the range and sharing it with friends, actually take your friends! This “friend” of yours wouldn’t have had an attitude in person.

  14. Because I can…seriously my wife asked me why I needed another gun after I had ONE. That was a while ago and since then she applauds every purchase. I also don’t tell anyone what I got-or EVER post pictures. YMMV…

    • No pictures, no ‘Protected by Glock’ stickers on the trucks, no ‘Forget the dog, beware AR15’ placard on the window, etc. Advertisements for serious B&Es to come steal my stuffs. 😉

  15. The closest thing I can thing of to equate this to is kitchen implements; They all are used for cooking and consuming food, but using a whisk for a job that you need a chef’s knife for is going to likely have a less than stellar outcome.

    The other side of it is more like cars; Some people have one they use every day, others that get brought out for special occasion and some that they own just for the sake of applying excessive amounts of wax.

    Then again there’s always the Hickock45 rationale which is that you can buy a gun just because.

  16. Depends on who I’m talking to. If it’s someone who clearly just doesn’t know things and wants to learn, I’m happy to answer.

    If they’re anti-gunners or liberal nut jobs, I just give them a sarcastic answer or ignore the comment if it’s online. There is no hope for the “true believers” like the people who worship the openly Socialist candidate

  17. I’ve got several reasons:

    1. Firearms are the finest self defense tools I own. Tools break. I have spares.

    2. I celebrate ballistic diversity.

    3. I support ballistic freedom of choice.

    4. Because I want to continue practicing building and using my own firearms.

    5. When Democratic candidates blather on about adding gun control after a mass murder in a “gun free” zone, I know that prices on 9mm, .223 / 5.56, and .22 LR will go through the roof. So it makes sense to have “oddballs” like the .40 and 6.8 SPC.

    6. I’m proud of my gun collection and the condition of the guns in my care, but I’m free to loan them out to other hunters, or God forbid, loan out in a self defense situation.

    7. It wouldn’t be safe to go trap shooting with a .338 Lapua.

    8. I’ve yet to find a perfect combination of power, accuracy and efficiency (but I suspect a 6.5 Creedmoor or .308 Winchester would be pretty close).

    9. They made a Ruger 10/22 takedown and I had to have it.

    10. Everyone should rack a 12 gauge at least once in their life.

    11. Everyone should rapid fire a 12 gauge semi auto at least once in their life.

    12. .45-70s are cool.

    I’d say more but I’ve got a 2 year old climbing on me.

    • Cause they made a takedown 10/22 and I had to have one. And a sig brace, a 9mm carbine that folds in half, a 22mag revolver as small as my thumb, a 33rd pistol mag, a laser/light combo that means I can dump lead at steel from the hip…

      Because I’m a goddamn American. What are you?!

    • Sir, YOU have a very sellable t-shirt or bumper sticker…
      “2. I celebrate ballistic diversity.”

      Me likey!!
      I’ll take one of each. (XL please)

    • Exactly. Why so many shoes or purses when one will do? After all, a purse is “just” a container and a shoe is “just” there to protect your feet.

  20. “Why do you have so many damn shoes, 95% of which are totally useless overpriced crap.”

    Useless = you couldn’t “run” one mile in 10min if your life depended on it.

  22. simple: why do you need so many pictures of your family? because we both love something and its hard to get enough of something you love.

  23. Tell them, “Because it’s fun – and that’s in the Constitution (the pursuit of happiness 🙂 ).” And for the record, I happen to like Bing Crosby, and I like Bing Crosby’s guns too.

  24. I usually draw an analogy to sports or other tools as I ask “Have you ever seen a golfer who owns just 1 putter or 1 driver” or “Have you ever seen a carpenter with just 1 hammer or mechanic with just 1 box end wrench”. Then I’ll point out that just as each of the mechanic’s tools has a specific function, so do each of my tools that go bang. this one is for concealed carry, this one is for shooting deer, this one for shooting clays , this one for shooting squirrels, this done for shooting paper, this one for shooting for fun, this one for protecting my house, this one for protecting my liberty. Same with similar guns of different calibers, just like any golfer has a dozen putters and a dozen drivers as the keep trying to find “the right one”, I have a bunch of same but different guns as I try to find “the right one” that points naturally, as good ergonomics, has the right recoil, has the right features, shoots the flattest, shoots the farthest, and on and on.

  25. Usually the person asking likes to cook, bike, ski, golf etc.

    Each one would tell you they can’t have too many different pans,rides,boards, or clubs.

    Same for guns.

  26. “with a simple question: why do you need so many guns? . . [] there’s no chance of a decent conversation ”

    fixed ya.

    WITHOUT sarcasm a response might be “why, do you feel inadequate?” “Why do you keep checking your pen1s size (you’re a girl)?” “Do you feel threatened?” “Do you need counseling or perhaps to be involuntarily committed?” or “have you met your minimum required gun purchase?”

  27. I’ve gotten terrible reactions by being honest. The asker expected something like “because I can” or “none of your business” and instead got “that’s my deer rifle, that’s my skeet shotgun, that’s my high-power rifle, that’s the wife’s high-power rifle, that case of twenty over there is our SSP, ESP, SSR, ESR and CDP handguns for IDPA, on the wall there is our cowboy action gear….” It goes on like that for some time.

    The response is a robust “f@ck you.”

    “Because I want to” or “because I can” or “because I like them” is too easy for an anti. Giving each one specific purpose makes them see just how personal their attacks are to us and how steep their long uphill battle is. Mentioning the wife’s gear is just icing on the “small penis!” cake.

  28. Well since I live in Washington, where our new UBC law makes it a pain in the ass to sell & trade guns privately, the answer I’ll give is – “it’s your fault – since I have to arrange an FFL transfer just to sell a gun now, I don’t sell much of them any more, I just keep buying more and more.”

    Really, the UBC laws backfire, and they don’t even realize it. You end up with people just collecting more guns, rather than going through the hassle of involving an FFL to sell one privately.

    • Being a resident of Washington as well, I feel your pain. I have sold a rifle post-594, and it was doable, but I also have a FLGS close by that helps make it so for a $25.00 fee which I passed on to the customer.
      Not that 594 doesn’t just chap my @$$…

  29. I don’t advertise the size of my collection for the same reason I went dark on Facebook: No upsides and too many potential downsides. But that’s just me. Your results might vary.

  31. That lil pink .22 in that pic is surprisingly accurate.. My 12 year old daughter has one and can hit a pie tin @100yd with irons.

    I keep asking myself why I have built so many lowers and have so few uppers.. :/

    When I’m asked about my stash I usually relate it to guys that like to work on cars.
    I enjoy taking bare parts and making a functioning machine out of them. Then building the custom ammo for the purpose of that specific firearm.
    NASA might not hire me, but I still like tinkering with shade tree rocket science. Making a bullet perform exactly like I want it to, fired from a gun I built from scratch is my version of building a engine for an old camaro. But more funner. ☠

    Plus, my wife has a Tannerite fetish.
    If you’ve ever heard the goulish laugh following the mushroom cloud she just created, you’d have a stash too. Lol

  34. My wife is the only one who asks that, and it’s really more from a budgetary perspective. I tell her that most of her friends’ husbands have hobbies that are more expensive and less useful in a zombie apocalypse.

  35. Guns have families too and they get lonely without them so I had to invite the Browning and Vukovic families into my house.

  36. Do you use a hammer to fix your plumbing, paint your house or change spark plugs? No, you use the right tool for the right job.

  37. “How many do you think is an appropriate number to have?”

    Because chances are if they ask this question, they really think that the correct number to own is 0. On the other hand, if it’s a genuine question, then segue into explaining. This one is for conceal carry, this one is for full size because LCPs are not particularly fun to shoot, this one is for clays, this one is a WWII surplus so I can have a piece of history, etc…

  39. My typical response:

    “Oh trust me, I’m a junior collector. I know guys with whole rooms of their house dedicated to gun and ammo storage.”

  41. There’s something to be said for supporting a manufacturer that produces a “work of art.” I’m a big fan of movies of all sorts also (in addition to firearms, that is), with a particular soft spot for cult films of the ’70s, ’80s, and 90s. Shout Factory! has done much to honor these kinds of movies and to give them to fans in as nice a package as possible. Unless I have zero interest in a particular movie, I’ll usually pick up new Shout Factory! Blu-ray releases since I want to support a company that preserves these movies.

    • I like that phrase also, and it fits me as well.

      I like to think in terms of categories.

      .22 rifle , and then one or more spare .22s for friends to use

      .22 pistol, and a .22 revolver

      Pocket revolver, plus pocket pistol, and maybe a spare or two

      family heirlooms

      Collector’s items

      Larger defensive pistol, plus a spare or two

      Larger revolver or two

      Single action revolver

      Lever action rifle

      Shotgun, and maybe a spare or two

      Defensive rifle AK/AR/SKS/Mini14, and then a different one too

      Full power hunting rifle, plus a spare or two

      Milsurp rifle and maybe a spare or two

      Milsurp handgun or a few

      Pistol caliber carbine for the little people and recoil shy

      That is just the basics.

  44. As Andre the Giant would say, “none of your business!” I don’t bother people about what they waste their money on, and I’d appreciate reciprocation.

  45. Sarcasm is not my go-to response; there’s no chance of a decent conversation if I immediately come back with sass.

    Sassy Sara!

  48. I like to quote that famous liberal philosopher, Bob Dylan:

    “And Ruthie says come see her, in her honky-tonk saloon,
    where I can watch her waltz for free ‘neath the Panamanian moon;

    And I say, ‘Oh come on now, you know you know about my debutante.’
    And she says, your debutante just knows what you need, but I know what you WANT.”

    It’s my money, my CHOICE to buy guns.
    Then I ask them what makes it any of their eff-ing business.

  49. I usually respond with, “because I’m terrified”. Which alway prompts the question, “what are you so afraid of?”. Which redeems my response, “Democrats!” .

  50. Even with the stricter gun laws (and probably hire prices on guns) here my godfather has at least as many as you can see in the picture above. He is a hunter and has 4 pistols and 1 revolver in different calibers, right now not quite sure which. Then after his last birthday gift from his wife he has a few more rifles and shotguns since before, but I think it is as many as Sarahs now at least.

  53. My sister, who claims to be a conservative but always votes for the liberal candidate, once asked me why I have so many guns. I asked her why she has so many shoes. She dummied up after that.

    • The usual liberal response is a snarky ‘but shoes don’t kill people’ at that point.

      Well, I hope that is a comforting thought when you are cowering in the back of the closet with all your shoes when the rapist is in the next room.

  55. It’s a way to diversify my investments. So when the markets crashes and SHTF, these investments will continue to provide.

  56. Anybody who knows roughly how many guns I own (nobody but me knows the real number) is a close friend, and I know their passion. I always turn it around on them; for example, a buddy recently asked why I have so many pistols, and I asked him why he had so many fishing rods. His response was that they all do something a little different, and my response was that it is no different for my hobby.
    Especially when interacting with liberals, or is important to play on empathy. When people ask me why I am so passionate about gun rights, I tell them that they would be passionate too if someone was trying to take away their favorite hobby.

  57. respond to the question with 3 more questions:
    1. a.What do you mean by why?
    b. What do you mean by “so many”?
    2. How did you come to the conclusion that there is such a thing as enough or “too many” guns for a private individual?
    3. what are the implications of your thinking it’s your business or that there should be a limit?

  60. Because each gun is like a piece of pu$$¥.

    No two look the same, feel the same or handle the same load.

  62. I never understood why it would matter to anyone if I owned any more than one firearm. If they are afraid I’m going to inexplicably become unhinged one is all I would need, and maybe five would be the most I could realistically carry along with ammo.
    Now my wife and I have a bunch of pistols in our collection. 22s for more cheaply working on form. Small centerfire autos for carry. Full sized centerfire for the occasional competition. A 10mm for a concealable woods gun and hunting backup. A 357 king cobra that my dad bought as a set, one for me and one for him when I got my ccw. His words at the time “everyone needs a good solid revolver in a serious caliber. This fits that bill and luckily, I could afford to buy two.”
    Shotguns? Trap skeet and sporting clays all require guns specific to the sport. Turkey hunting, deer hunting, predator hunting? Different configurations. Home defense. Grizzly defense? Again different configurations and I’ve had a need for all of the above at one time or another.
    Rifles? .22 for target, teaching new shooters, small game, predator. Different configurations for each, and that’s just one caliber! Different centerfires for different types of game, plus different levels of target shooting depending on range. I could go on for many more paragraphs.
    Bottom line, how many golfers do you know that only own a single club?

  63. “Because they are fun. Every one of them is lots of fun. Wanna try one?”
    This works to get a gun in their hands just about every time, and then they either buy one or I give them one. This is what usually happens when someone sees my full gun case, which is inside my full gun closet, which is inside my full gun room, which is inside my office, which also has another gun cabinet, which is full, so I have a few rifles and pistols laying around in the open, along with a bunch of dead animals I don’t have anymore wall space for. I used to keep an excel spreadsheet to keep track of the guns, but I bought and sold and traded so many so often I just gave up.

  64. Why would somebody own more than one pair of shoes? A person can only wear one pair at a time. Therefore, the Government should regulate the quantity of shoe buying of the people.

    Ideally, we could all walk freely with AR-10s. We could use these rifles to feed and protect ourselves, and even have some sporting fun.
    But we can’t.
    Some states do not allow hunting with semi-auto rifles…..so we also need a bolt action.
    Some animals are too hard to hit with a rifle bullet, like birds…..so we need a shotgun. But some areas do not allow hunting with buckshot….so we need a rifled shotgun for slugs.
    We could be seen as negligent if we were to injure another while protecting our home from an intruder….so we need less-powerful options for use in self-defense.
    Some areas have rules against carrying our legal AR-10s on our person during the course of our daily lives….so we need handguns to conceal on our person for self defense purposes.

    Just a few examples. So why do we need so many firearms? Because government has made too many silly laws that require us to use differing firearms in different situations.

  65. I’m a hockey player when I can find ice time, and it’s the same analogy as a golfer, a mechanic or anyone who uses a tool kit to get the job done. Why do you have so many hockey sticks, I’m asked. I reply because they all have different purposes-play goalie, play street hockey, play forward, play defense-and because I can. The joy of guns is that there are many more uses for them and I have not yet begun to acquire!

  66. This thread just made me count mine… an even 100, although I suspect I missed one or two… 😉

    But seriously I do not let people who are not close know this kind of info.

  68. My wifes atheist liberal uncle asked me why I have so many guns.. Every time I see the guy at every family function its the same anti gun spiel,guns are baaaaaad… I tried believe me, I tried, to at least have an open discussion, at this point I usually just change the subject, its not worth getting mad over. Anyway he has his own library in the basement of his house and on this particular day we were standing in in. I looked around and asked him why he had so many books? Im sure he will have an answer for me at Thanksgiving

    • Books, even if you throw them real hard, don’t kill. Gun ownership has more than one valid, and intelligently arguable position than the one proposed above (sarcasm in your expedience of a point not lost, and not falling on deaf ears), but comparing it to other personal or social collections like books, and other commenters above and below aligning gun collections with shoes, static collectables, or other non lethal or non physically harmful objects gathered in excess (conceding anything can be harmful if you try hard enough) as a way to demonstrate gun ownership in equality with unexplainable closets of shoes diminishes the responsibility of legally owning and managing a serious piece
      (or pieces) of hardware. I own firearms and agree with gun ownership. Leading with apples to oranges comparisons will not help educate the public. Due respect.

  69. Just ask them why they own so many books.

    Some are for fun reading, some are cookbooks, some are history some are repair manuals…

    Aaaaand some are porn. 😉

    *wink*

    • I’ve actually tried this one, and had it backfire…

      The anti-gunner in question didn’t own any books.

      Because she didn’t know how to read.

      And still, I was declared to be the stupid one…

  70. An arsenal is where firearms are manufactured, an armoury is where firearms are stored.

  72. Ask them why they have so many pairs of shoes. A friend of mine said that to his wife who couldn’t understand why he wanted to buy a Corvette. It must have worked because he now has both the car and the wife.

  77. Why do you need so many golf clubs? Why are there 14 clubs in a golf bag?
    Because they a little bit different and are uniquely suited to different situations.
    Guns are the same. Anti gunners lump them all under the ‘death stick’ category. They will not change their minds, don’t waste too much time trying. Spend it buying more guns.

  81. For them to be satisfied, they don’t need a better answer from you, they need a better understanding of the topic.

  82. The first time my wife asked me that question, I told her it was because I was trying to make up for the fact that I had a small pecker! Never asked again, especially in front of company.

  84. I collect for a variety of reasons. I own several of the “same” gun for the collection purpose 1918 smle, no.4, Hunting rifles based on the type of game from squirrels to deer and the maybe ill go elk hunting rifle. target guns, duck gun clay gun. guns that are easier for my wife to shoot. Guns that i carry the larger ones don’t conceal as well when its 98 out.

  86. There is no logical response to this question for an anti. Instead, I’d ask how long it’s been since they’ve shot a gun. Then invite them to the range to try a couple out. After shooting two different guns, odds are they want to try another.

  87. I usually respond with a question like “Why do you own so many spoons?” and the response is usually something like “What does that matter?” to which I say “Exactly.”

Comments are closed.