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I love people, but sometimes I wonder...

2K views 22 replies 19 participants last post by  cpmiv 
#1 ·
I played "show and tell" with my newly built (okay, so I just changed the butt plate to a stock) SBR (Vector Arms .308) and after showing it off I was taken to the side by a kindly older gentleman who said that I should take the rifle home and destroy it.... because it was illegal.

I laughed and said, no, it's legal, I have the atf paperwork.

That is when I was informed that no, the rifle was illegal and we couldn't have such things and that there was no paperwork that I could have.

I laughed (not at him, just a chuckle) and pulled out the paperwork.

No he said, it's illegal and he didn't want to but it was his "duty" to report me unless I promised to take the rifle and destroy it.

I stopped chuckling, looked him in the eye and proclaimed, "Sir, it is an abomination that we have to go through what we do in order to have such things, but I assure you, this rifle is legal and I will not take it home and destroy it. Yes, back in your day the GCA of 1968 really screwed us gun owners but there is a way, albeit expensive, in order to have such weapons".

There was no way that I was going to change his mind and with a saddened look in his eye he turned to go out and said out loud, "I don't know what to do, it's my duty to turn you in because that gun is illegal".

As I turned and faced the crowd (this was in the local firing range), the son of the gentleman looked at me and said that he would try to explain to his father that yes, indeed, the rifle was legal and that I had to basically pay for my Right to have it.

I wasn't afraid that he is/would call the atf, for I have the stamp, I was just stunned that this gentleman, who grew up when you could walk into a store and purchase a firearm at almost any age, felt that he thought it was his "duty" to turn me in.

I was more disheartened talking with his son. Turns out that this gentleman doesn't like the idea of people having guns like mine (HK clones), AR's, Fal's, AK's, etc.. but has a large collection of M1's, Garands, and other post modern battle rifles.

He has his original GI issued 1911 (I wanted to ask if he got it with permission or stole it from in-country, yes, I was kinda ticked) and a couple of other "battle pistols" that he had brought home from the Korean war.

After I was over being ticked, I became sad. How many of our veterans, or others of older age, have swallowed the anti's lines over the years and would destroy what they once had for the future generations?

I mean, upon hearing more and more from his son, he favors the gun control, the NICS, etc.. that is around today when he himself had more RKBA freedoms that we can only dream about.

In one way it really pisses me off that he would take away what he had, and in another I am really sad by what he has become.

Wayne
 
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#3 ·
Wayne, I have a standard reaction to things like that. I pull out my cell phone and give them the number to call. At that point it becomes put up or shut up - I don't really care. They back down and forget it or they make the call and get the same answer I was giving them. I respect my elders, but when they make fools of themselves it is time to help them to mend their ways. I have only had a few occasions to use this method and it requires a lot to get me to do it, but it has always solved the problem. Offering to help make the call and stand there while it is made seems to impress people more than all the paperwork in the world.
 
#8 ·
There is a saying...."If you hear the negative for long enough, you will begin to belive it."

This situation is proof positive that the saying is absolutely true. However sad it may be.
 
#9 ·
You know it's strange how some people react but then we don't know the details of his life so I wouldn't be too harsh until we do. Not saying I agree with him or what he did, just you never know why some older folks are the way they are.

My dad hated the sound of gunfire or explosions and swimming. If he saw someone doing something stupid with a weapon he could be mighty harsh and question whether or not they should have a gun. But then he did support ownership of firearms by competent people. In later years I learned why and he'd paid dearly for his opinions.

I don't go along with people like this but I've given up questioning their motives. My lifes too short anyways.....
 
#11 ·
Sad story. Don't be too hard on the old guy.

He doesn't know what he's talking about, and the legal status of your rifle is none of his business anyway. But there's no need to humiliate the poor guy.

If he calls the "proper authorities", he may be set straight (hopefully gently).
 
#12 ·
You either get one of two extremes:

In your case, 'that's illegal, & you shouldn't have it'.

The other is what antis say...'you can buy a full auto weapon at any convience store & since they are so easy to get we need more laws against them'.

Don't you just love ignorance & stupidity? (Ignorance can be corrected with education, stupidity is FOREVER!)
 
#15 ·
Unfortunately many people fall for the idea that we only want, "sensible gun laws" garbage. I always ask, who gets to define "sensible"? It makes me sad when I hear gun owners say they are against CC for instance because they don't see the need to carry a gun. They are the type that haul out a deer rifle once a year, send 6 rounds down range to sight it in, shoot once at a deer and call themselves gun owners. Unless we support one another the time will come when even they will not be able to do that little amount of shooting.
 
#16 ·
Gary:

I didn't mean that I don't have the RIGHT to give the guy a lesson. I guess I do.

I'm just saying I probably wouldn't do it because it's not (personally) my style. It does nothing to make less of a scene. It does the opposite.

Other people's mileage may (and yours apparently does) vary here.

apprécier les différences!
 
#20 ·
Hmmm.... Using French to an Englishman... Is there a wind-up here? :image035:

I try to be a nice guy - I think most of us, especially the kind of folks that are posting here, do. But I have a pretty low tolerance these days for folks that won't accept that they may not have all the facts. He was offered paperwork - "oh no, can't be!". Potentially, if that were me, I'm looking at having my time wasted by police and/or ATF. I'm not a fan of frivolous lawsuits, but if I've tried to explain, and someone still takes my time away like that... I'm going to be looking to sue someone. Aggressively.

His age doesn't get him a pass on being that ignorant, and potentially problematic, in public.

Just my two-penn'orth.

G.
 
#17 ·
Randy, I don't think that doing what is necessary to correct the man is humiliation. He has already humiliated himself by first involving himself in something that is not his affair, secondly by making statements that are false and foolish, thirdly by refusing to even acknowledge that Wayne has documentation to prove his position. The correction that needs to be made is not intended to humiliate him, that's already done. It is to correct his assertions not necessarily in his mind, but in the mind of others who are standing around listening without knowing who is correct. We are a nation of intellectually lazy people and if we do not provide the correct answer when presented with the opportunity then we become complicit in perpetuating the wrong information. This is a teaching moment, not so much for the man making the accusation as for those others who are listening.
 
#21 ·
I wouldn't get too bent about this.

First, the guy doesn't sound confrontational. It sounds from the description that he took Wayne aside and, at least in his own mind, tried to warn Wayne in order to help him avoid trouble with the law.

I think Wayne handled everything OK. Since I generally keep business cards with me, I would probably have said, "well, if I'm wrong, maybe I need the ATF to educate me, so here is my business card. You can use this to report me."

Once it is obvious that you can't get through to the old guy, just let it be.

I think Wayne did good and while it is sad, there is probably no way to change the old guy's mind.
 
#22 ·
I liked the "Hand him the cell phone" idea.

Really this is the type of individual who only knows what they hear and they only listen to themselves and Dan Rather.
 
#23 ·
He didn't sound confrontational until he threatened to call in and report the weapon as a violation. If he passing out friendly advise he wouldn't have gone there. I know as we grow older we grow "wiser" but we get more stubborn as well. Sometimes the wisdom has to be pushed as the stubborness takes hold faster.
 
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