Guns are addictive, no joke.

Posted by lost_in_the_town_@reddit | Firearms | View on Reddit | 27 comments

A little tongue in cheek, but yeah. I know addiction. I was a (very functional) alcoholic for a decade and a half, give or take. I gave all that up six years back, never looked back. Anyway, I'll get to the point. When I'd drink back in the day, the feeling of wanting to drink went away for a bit, not very long, then I'd be right back at it. That creeping feeling of wanting another drink just kept calling, like a ghost.

So, guns. I've always loved guns, but I didn't always buy them. I had my trusty .357 for a good 15 years before I bought another gun. This was after I quit drinking. I picked up a 12 gauge, and that was nice. Really nice. Then I got that itchy feeling, I don't know what else to call. The feeling of wanting another thing that goes bang. So, I went and got another revolver, because I'm a wheel dude at heart. Just a little .38, but I love that thing. It was my first everyday carry piece, even though I had a shoulder rig for my GP100. So then, not long after, I got itchy again, and picked up a 9mm XD because, well, I didn't have a semi auto and wanted to train on one and eventually carry it too, off and on. So, I did that. Then I started thinking about upgrades, because I never really thought about it much before. So I started doing that, nicer grips, sights, red dot, whole shebang. Then I thought, dang, well, semi auto pistol is fun at the range, and I'm getting proficient with it, so, naturally, a rifle would be more fun to get proficient with, yeah? So I went out and picked up my first AR-15 style rifle. Fell in love, head over heels. Went straight to upgrades, everything. Fell more in love. Then I started thinking about defensive ammo versus everything else, for everything I had so far. So I went and did that. Stocked up. Put in a nice safe in the bedroom closet. Got a rack, hermetic crates, etc. Then I started thinking, dang, my first gun was the GP, 6 inch, which to me is a wee bit too big for EDC, but I want to EDC a GP really bad because I feel so close to that gun, being my first and all. So I went out and got a 4 inch GP100, blued, and custom holster, a couple little upgrades. Started training on that, which isn't really like training because I'm already so comfortable with a big revolver, but more just breaking in. And then.....

I'll stop there. You get the picture. Guns are damn addictive. I may have traded one addiction for another, but at least this one doesn't kill my liver and kidneys. It does stress my wife out a bit when she looks at the monthly cc statement, so I got to cool it time to time. I know some of y'all feel that pain. Anyway, just wanted to say that. Carry on.

[-]

CD_Repine@reddit

I work at Sportsman’s Warehouse. That’s how I continue to feed my guns & ammo habit…

VBull_Scared@reddit

Does the US have a big shooting sport culture, or just a gun culture?

I swear, I see a lot of content on Instagram and Youtube of folks from the US shooting stuff, but its never more than a couple rounds at steel plates.

Is there an ISSF or ICFRA presence in the US?

Sandman_LA@reddit

The US has a cornucopia of shooting sport culture.

USPSA (United States Practical Shooting Association)

IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association)

PRS (Precision Rifle Shooting)

NRA Competitive Shooting

CMP (Civilian Marksmanship Program)

USA Shooting (Olympic and Paralympic)

SCSA (Steel Challenge Shooting Association)

A lot of clay target and shotgun sports.

A plethora of niche shooting sports too:

Cowboy Action Shooting (SASS)

Black powder firearms, so on and so on.

If you are so inclined, the internet is ripe with information.

DashMcGee@reddit

It's not that you are addicted; it's that you are caring. Guns get lonely. They are social animals and need companions. The tribe needs new kinfolk, and you are providing it. Good on you, sir. Good on you. The world needs more people who care about the needs of others.

Ok_Muffin_925@reddit

I've never bought guns until now. I have had a few. But was in the Army and always felt like I got my fix at work. Now I am buying multiple gun lockers because I can't keep up with my own personal, growing demand. It is highly addictive.

1Crusty_Old_Man@reddit

Paragraphs are free and make it FAR easier to read your post. That big wall of text....maybe 1% of people will read it.

Big_Hat1751@reddit

I’ve always viewed it less as a gun thing and more a buying thing. Maybe it’s the dopamine but I think something gives them a rush when they buy it.

DNCOrGoFuckYourself@reddit

In my experience, it will plateau either because you have what you want, most of what you want, or what you can reasonably afford.

I have 3 AKs, 4 shotguns, 5 handguns, 3 complete ARs and 2 or 3 complete uppers.

There’s a few niche AR variants I’d like to build, and then 3 other AK variants I want, 2 more shotguns, and 4 more handguns.

I am in the “most of what I want” category now, once those are done I’ll be in “this is what I can realistically afford”.

Quw10@reddit

It's that or you get a wide enough variety of calibers it gets expensive and annoying to feed all of them. I had like 20 calibers and ended up dialing it back some.

jscores555@reddit

Yeah, the worst part is definitely when cheap guns/accessories arent good enough and you become a snob😂

dovahbe4r@reddit

And then you hit the other side of the bell curve and you just start buying cheap shit for fun. It’s pistols for me. $300 DA Sigs, those $200 Stars that have flooded the market, maybe the gun store has a cheap CZ75 in on a local trade… I just tell myself they’re all deserving of a good home lol.

Alita-Gunnm@reddit

I think it's perfectly natural for a human being to feel better with a good weapon in hand, just like a good set of tools, or being in the woods near the water. These are the things that allowed us to survive, advance, and prosper as a species.

theRealDirtyNerd@reddit

Its an extention of one of the things that sets us apart from other mammals. We have the arm strength to kill with a throw as well as being super accurate.

And we have brains and thumbs for making better tools and weapons.

xricardobh@reddit

I completely agree with you.

My first firearm was actually two firearms, a Luger P08, manufactured in 1912, and a Walther P38 manufactured in 1944. Those worked very fine, but due to its being a more collective firearm, I almost didn’t fired it a lot.

Then I started I said “well, I need some guns to actually shoot”, and I bought a Taurus PT92 and a Taurus PT1911. I’ve carried this PT92 for a long time, until the necessity of a smaller firearm came.

Well, I bought then a Taurus G2C. And that happened just when the government allowed us to buy semiautomatic rifles. So you know what happened. I bought my AR15 style rifle.

But I also wanted an AK style gun, and I bought a KUSA KR9.

Now I want a bolt action .308 rifle… let’s see what future brings to me…

Just forgot to say, I think I will get a license to buy a defensive pistol, and maybe I will buy another pistol too… this shit is crazy

Of course, I equiped all of my firearms… that makes part of the addiction

imtheonehere62@reddit

Run run now it never stops.

jychihuahua@reddit

A little is never enough and enough is just too much...

I was always into cheap guns until I inherited my fathers collection. He had more nice stuff that I never had a clue that he owned. so, yeah...

quality guns is a thing too and that can fuck your bank accounts...