Being more cautious about being a overt gun owner.

[KentG]

With the recent crap going on and any possible legislation I personally have reviewed my outward daily display of being a gun owner. The lowlife "newspaper" published the list of gun owners in the north east and at least 2 known burglary attemts due to that.

Just yesterday in my hometown there was a burglary and that was followed by the suspect doing stupid shit, a police chase, wreck, arrests etc. Form inital reports the lowlife was looking to target a home with a gun to steal.

While I have no problem whatsoever making the "Armed Citizen" so to speak my wife does not shoot. And no matter what we all leave our homes and cars unattended at some point. I have no problem with the folks I know in the shooting community knowing more about what I have because its the same kind of guys.

I used to be more open about my shooting hobby with neighbors etc. but realized that word of mouth travels.

Over the last few years I have made it a point to be more careful about carrying cased weapons to and from my cars in the driveway. I now do it with the garage door closed. I did have a couple small window decals supporting shooting sports that were not really recognizable but by shooters. I took them off recently.

Also over the last few years I have made it a point when asked by neighbors about shooting that I have pared back and have very few guns at this point. Some have guns or are gun friendly but I realized that water cooler talk leads to more people knowing more about you than you know. People who you have never met. If I had it to do over I would never admit to any neighbor of owning anything unless I was spotted and then Id tell them the case had an air rifle or paint ball gun or such.

I do have guys at work who shoot and I probably still say to much in front of them but its hard to stop sometimes.

I mean I can drive down the road and see a truck or car with a few NRA stickers and pro gun stuff and its easy to see what care I would break into if I were a criminal.

I changed my screen name here for that very reason. It wont be long before criminals are trolling sites like this possibly looking to find sources to try and steal from. IF they are not already. Of course this is just my opinion and I still write and support pro gun causes. I went to the state house rally a couple weeks ago.

I remember reading that a year or two ago that gangs tag cars at gunshops and follow them for later theft. And it happend at a LasVegas event if I remember correctly.

Has anyone else rethought their personal security situation as it pertains to being open for theft or worse?

[ctay]

I'm not worried about friends and neighbors knowing about my shooting - I actively try to recruit them. I don't however put stickers on my car relating to the shooting sports. My brother's truck was broken into and his pistol stolen I believe because of his NRA sticker on the window. That tells the crooks that there is a higher likelihood of a a gun in the car. Because of my job I spend a lot of time in city buildings and banks - two places I can't carry. I am forced to leave my gun in the car and I don't want to increase the odds of a break in.

Edited January 28, 2013 by ctay

[lee blackman]

Its a trade off. By more exposure we promote growth and public awareness. When we promote positive use of firearms, we fight the long standing wall of negative firearm sensationalism put forth by mainstream media for decades.

For example, when people see a nice clean economy car with an NRA sticker on it, and a well dressed individual driving, it breaks the "redneck with the NRA sticker on the beat up old pickup" stereotype. Survival of the 2nd amendment greatly depends on making it mainstream and acceptable.

Unfortunately that NRA sticker on the car also says "This car has a gun in it." So when a criminal see's that car parked at the movie theater he knows you can't take a gun into, and will probably be inside for the next hour, guess what. Thats an easy smash n grab... And another gun in bad guy hands.

Its only been recently has secondary media such as sports channel on satellite cable, and online resources shown modern sports such as USPSA and 3 gun Nation. It is totally changing the way society perceives the very guns congress is trying to ban.

So being a "covert" gun owner may protect your individual property in some manner from a direct gun grab while your not home or present to defend it, however it may have a wider more long term effect. If your overtly present yourself as a gun owner in a positive and responsible aspect. Involve yourself in community, spread your knowledge, and share your experiences, you may put yourself at personal risk, but you also will bring new shooters to fruition and growth of our sport.

[KentG]

Its a trade off. By more exposure we promote growth and public awareness. When we promote positive use of firearms, we fight the long standing wall of negative firearm sensationalism put forth by mainstream media for decades.

For example, when people see a nice clean economy car with an NRA sticker on it, and a well dressed individual driving, it breaks the "redneck with the NRA sticker on the beat up old pickup" stereotype. Survival of the 2nd amendment greatly depends on making it mainstream and acceptable.

Unfortunately that NRA sticker on the car also says "This car has a gun in it." So when a criminal see's that car parked at the movie theater he knows you can't take a gun into, and will probably be inside for the next hour, guess what. Thats an easy smash n grab... And another gun in bad guy hands.

Its only been recently has secondary media such as sports channel on satellite cable, and online resources shown modern sports such as USPSA and 3 gun Nation. It is totally changing the way society perceives the very guns congress is trying to ban.

So being a "covert" gun owner may protect your individual property in some manner from a direct gun grab while your not home or present to defend it, however it may have a wider more long term effect. If your overtly present yourself as a gun owner in a positive and responsible aspect. Involve yourself in community, spread your knowledge, and share your experiences, you may put yourself at personal risk, but you also will bring new shooters to fruition and growth of our sport.

I have been openly pro-gun for many, many years. I really don’t care about the anti-types. I really don’t know of any in my neighborhood but I also know of a couple of neighbors who have kids that have been in trouble and spent time due to drugs. AND this is in a somewhat above average income, middle class neighborhood. Sign of the times I guess. It’s those types and the “I have a neighbor,” that we all engage in front of the wrong person. Kind of the 6 degrees of separation thing. I have heard gossip about people who I have never met and what kind of classic cars they have in a garage that I have never been to. I also have met people I don’t know very well socially and in conversation gun ownership comes up and then people blurt out that they have a friend, family or whatever that owns the xyz firearms etc. THAT’S the thing I really am starting to think about. What’s to say that kind of conversation doesn’t occur in front of a criminal somewhere downstream and then my home is targeted. I never worried about it much before and while I won’t say I’m paranoid about it I am defiantly MORE aware of this kind of thing now more so in the past.

Heck I have gone to matches for years and left keys in cars, a carry gun on the seat of my car, gear left out in the open etc. and never worried or had an issue.

Edited January 28, 2013 by KentG

[Reshoot]

I have been open about my pro gun stance, my entire life. And, I have kicked it up a notch each and every time a new threat to my rights arise. Nuff said.

[Joe4d]

ive never advertised any gun stuff on my vehicles. doesnt make sense. Around my house ? dont really care who knows. In fact Id prefer everyone know I am well armed. Gun range in backyard is a giveaway. I have good insurance. I figure if the bad guys know I am armed they will wait for me to leave and avoid me like the plague when I am home. After all , guns are just things.

[lumpygravy]

Call me naive, but it never occured to me until I read elsewhere (maybe it was here?), that such decorations would be percieved as an indicator that a firearm was in a car. However, the presence of such a decal at least indicates that the owner owns a firearm so it would not be much of an extension for someone with bad intentions to conclude that it might be worth it to chance a break in to see what was there.

I do not and have never placed any decals/stickers on my cars, but that's because I don't like any decorations of any sort on my cars at all. I like my cars clean (reminder to self: gotta wash the car) but I like them to blend in a parking lot. If I'm traveling with guns and I must stop let's say at a restaurant, I try make sure that the car is visible from the inside. Of course this is not always possible, but if I can I will. If at night I'll also park under the parking lot lights, bypassing spaces that may be closer but are poorly lit. Under lights, these spaces are little islands and stand out so that anyone approaching one is pretty obvious.

Socially, my interest and participation in shooting sports can be a sensitive topic depending on the social circle I happen to find myself in at the moment.

A few people at work know I'm a shooter and there are even a few old copies of Front Sight in my office (out of direct view but visible). I don't raise the topic unless someone asks however, I know word can get around. For example, a colleague with whom I've never discussed the topic came and asked for advice on a malfunctioning Beretta and it turns out that she shoots occasionally at my home range.

When I'm in a social setting, again I don't mention the topic unless someone else raises it first. If someone expresses a lot of interest, I'll whip out the old, mildly intelligent phone and play some match footage. More often than not, the discussion focuses on the positives of the many different aspects of the shooting sports rather than the negatives or politics of ownership. I always encourage interested parties to find out more, direct them to resources and invite them to go shooting with me if they are curious.

So to nutshell it, I'd say I'm covert unless the interest is presented.

[SiG Lady]

I've become more and more "covert" about my gun ownership and how many weapons I might or might not have. I have NEVER put "gun" stickers on the car, but did have a personalized plate at one point that was obscure enough that only a gun owner would be likely to understand. I discuss guns with deputies at the Jail because they OWN guns and often have manufacturer preferences, etc. The word about my shooting got around the Jail somehow, though, and a friendly female deputy (with whom I'd never discussed guns as such) called me "Sharpshooter" out loud one day and let the other deputies know I was a shooting enthusiast and a former competitor. But under those circumstances it was totally cool and I was a bit flattered by the attention.

But I've become lax in my carrying and should do so more often, I think.

Another deterrent to car break-ins is my lack of even a basic radio in the car. If the driver can't afford a radio or a car-wash, chances are the owner has no guns, diamonds or other bling in the car.

Edited January 28, 2013 by SiG Lady

[NoSteel]

The days of having a rifle hanging in the pick-ups rear window are definatly gone!!!

[junkie]

I am a bit more vocal about it in my neighborhood and my social circles don't include people who are not like minded, If they are then too bad. I can understand from a pure sense of profiling that you want to make it look like you are unarmed not a threat. That is indeed a good idea. The idea of hiding it from everyone does seem strange to me.Like you are ashamed that you are exercising your constitutional rights, do you do the same with speech, religion, privacy?

[KentG]

I am a bit more vocal about it in my neighborhood and my social circles don't include people who are not like minded, If they are then too bad. I can understand from a pure sense of profiling that you want to make it look like you are unarmed not a threat. That is indeed a good idea. The idea of hiding it from everyone does seem strange to me.Like you are ashamed that you are exercising your constitutional rights, do you do the same with speech, religion, privacy?

I am more concerned with a criminal targeting my home when I'm not there. I do discuss things and have no problem getting up close with anti types on issues. I don't think a lot of us consider enough we are potentially targets of opportunity and all the chest thumping in the world won't change that.

[Alan550]

I am a bit more vocal about it in my neighborhood and my social circles don't include people who are not like minded, If they are then too bad. I can understand from a pure sense of profiling that you want to make it look like you are unarmed not a threat. That is indeed a good idea. The idea of hiding it from everyone does seem strange to me.Like you are ashamed that you are exercising your constitutional rights, do you do the same with speech, religion, privacy?

When I taught CCW classes here in VA, we stressed not having "stickers" on a vehicle for several reasons. The main one was that someone seeing that, even if your wife has it at the grocery store, could follow her home to see where you live and hit when you're gone.

As for theft from the vehicle, a friend was in San Antonio TX for a match and got "hit" in the parking lot at Academy Sports. They broke into his truck and got his match guns and several hundred rounds of ammo while he was inside shopping. It DOESN'T pay to advertise, IMHO!

Alan~^~

[Reshoot]

Of the dozen or so posters in this thread, I was able to retrieve the following information: the name, and city of residence, for 7 gun owners . . . that most likely own a high dollar competition gun(s)

Being pro gun, or a gun owner, a requirement for joining this forum?

How may of you are going to go in, now, and delete information in your profile?

I believe the NRA decals, as well as the trespassers will be shot signs, on my truck bumper and home are deterremts to crime. Oh, there are the Farm Bureau $2,500.00 reward signs too. Not to mention the shooting range 40 yards from my back door.

Of the 7 homes on my rural road, one has been broken into and robbed not once but TWICE. It was my sisters home . . . they lost every gun they owned. They sold the place and moved after the second robbery. Could I be next? Sure, that the law of probability

[lumpygravy]

Well, I can't speak for others, but I prefer the "don't advertise" approach because I've always been an "under the radar" kind of guy. I'm content to leave my profile info on this forum intact, though I understand the concern.

My home was burgled in 2004(?) and they found but passed on a Henry rifle replica. Fortunately, they did not find my game guns which were not secured at that time. The next day, I bought a safe for the guns and I had an alarm installed which I think is a reasonably effective deterrent. I know it's not perfect, because everyone knows that it would be at least 15 minutes (if not more) before SFPD would show up.

I wish I had a shooting range 40 yards from my back door...

[jester121]

It's interesting to consider that this applies to nearly every member of this forum -- Imagine you were involved in a self-defense shooting outside your home, and the police went to your home to investigate you. The story on tonight's news would begin:

"Police searched a local man's home following a shooting today, and seized a small arsenal of semi-auto handguns and assault rifles, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition. The police also found materials for making ammunition including several pounds of gunpowder."

Any place but among other shooters, that sounds ominous and scary.

Never happen? Reference the news story from last year with the young guy who got pulled over with his $99 Mosin Nagant 91/30 rifle and a couple spam cans of surplus 7.62x54R foreign-made ammo. The DA was out in front of the cameras the next day, saying, in effect, "We wouldn't have charged him, but it's a Russian rifle, and he had 880 rounds of ammo!" Of course for you and me, 880 rounds is somewhere between "a good start" and "not nearly enough".

The truth doesn't matter. Perception becomes reality.

Think it through so you know how to react, what to say, etc.

[PROBIKE101]

i feel the same way people have really become arguementetive about guns,use to be motorcycles,now its guns the liberals

are making it uncomfortable but its are rite as it is theres they just dont understand it yet.we do and i dont speak

about guns any more to any one its my secret now,back in the closet, what away to have to enjoy somthing you love.

i have removed stickers sorry nra replaced it with a newtown ribbon and all is good with the world now.no one will complain about that sticker.it is kinda like urban camo hide in plain site ,things have surely changed.

you wood think after 200 years of war everyone wood be used to them buy now.

[HRider]

My Wife's Expedition was broken into at Disneyworld, inside of a gated Disney resort, and a gun was stolen (later recovered and returned to me, Thank you Orange County Sheriff'sOffice). There is a small Mobile Pistol Shooters Association sticker on the back glass. Our truck was parked under a light, close to he building. Two rows over, a Licoln Navigator was broken into the same way (busted the driver door lock, unlocked the door without the alarm going off), it didn't have any stickers on it. The Investigating Deputy told me of an F250 in another lot hit the same way, don't know if it had a sticker or not. Sure, there may be some crooks that will research their victims, but some of the crime is just random.

Hurley

[JKSNIPER]

I agree with Kentg When my gun safe was delivered the driver asked me what I needed it for and I told him that I planned to store some tools in it due to a prior theft.

In Massachusetts if you have a firearm stolen from your car YOU are guilty of a felony.

No NRA or other pro-gun stickers on my vehicle and I am careful who I speak to about my firearms.

Remember " Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that they're not out to get you."

[mpeltier]

And if you have school age kids at home, drill into them discretion. When I was a kid our house was broken into twice, both times firearms were stolen and on the second theft the culprit was captured soon after. The Sheriff's informed us it was the older brother of someone we knew at school who heard we had firearms. Lesson learned.

[JimmyZip]

People who carry a gun in their car, have you EVER tried to retrieve your pistol in a hurry to see what kind of speed you can acquire? If you are not practiced at this type of presentation, you may want to think about just leaving it at home. If you want to carry, please do so with the responsibility that you will keep it secure and know not just how to fire it, but how to really shoot it. In this way, I will be more likely to hear of how you never needed it as opposed to how you lost it to thieves.

I do not wish to look down the business end of YOUR pistol. Keep them secured if not on your person.

I care not who knows, but my wife, an educator, must be careful what she says.

I have a pool, and firearms. Which do you think is more lethal statistically? I cannot remember when I was last asked if it was fenced. I have been asked conversely if I had a loaded firearm where children can reach it.

People are sheeple.

JZ

[kita]

People who carry a gun in their car, have you EVER tried to retrieve your pistol in a hurry to see what kind of speed you can acquire? If you are not practiced at this type of presentation, you may want to think about just leaving it at home. If you want to carry, please do so with the responsibility that you will keep it secure and know not just how to fire it, but how to really shoot it. In this way, I will be more likely to hear of how you never needed it as opposed to how you lost it to thieves.

I do not wish to look down the business end of YOUR pistol. Keep them secured if not on your person.

I care not who knows, but my wife, an educator, must be careful what she says.

I have a pool, and firearms. Which do you think is more lethal statistically? I cannot remember when I was last asked if it was fenced. I have been asked conversely if I had a loaded firearm where children can reach it.

People are sheeple.

JZ

It seems to me that you would usually be able to tell that something was up and have it ready just in case, hopefully not needing it. Or it could be a way to have it with you without having it on you.

[Nik Habicht]

I cannot remember when I was last asked if it was fenced.

So is your pool fenced? How about alarmed? :P

[bountyhunter]

I am a bit more vocal about it in my neighborhood and my social circles don't include people who are not like minded, If they are then too bad. I can understand from a pure sense of profiling that you want to make it look like you are unarmed not a threat. That is indeed a good idea. The idea of hiding it from everyone does seem strange to me.Like you are ashamed that you are exercising your constitutional rights, do you do the same with speech, religion, privacy?

I am more concerned with a criminal targeting my home when I'm not there.

That's what gun safes are for.

[KentG]

I am a bit more vocal about it in my neighborhood and my social circles don't include people who are not like minded, If they are then too bad. I can understand from a pure sense of profiling that you want to make it look like you are unarmed not a threat. That is indeed a good idea. The idea of hiding it from everyone does seem strange to me.Like you are ashamed that you are exercising your constitutional rights, do you do the same with speech, religion, privacy?

I am more concerned with a criminal targeting my home when I'm not there.

That's what gun safes are for.

And I DO have a large, quality safe. I see no sense in advertising. And above all else I don't want to invite a home invasion when I'm not home and my wife is since she does not shoot.

If instead of blustering try thinking how a criminal might for a few minutes. Dillinger was asked why he robbed banks. He found the question funny and replied "because that's where the money is". I bet you would be suprised how many people know you have guns that you have never met. And they may not be the type you would want to know what's in your home.

[Miranda]

once upon a time the criminals could buy a gun...

and once upon a time shooting a criminal was not a crime

and once upon a time it was common for people to carry a pistol.

sorry guys the anti-gun-ownership league have already

caused us to hide. the sheeple are afraid of guns.

Anyone who has one is to be feared.

and the sheeple will not defend themselves

except in what ever way trampling anything is a defense.

guns and ownership rarely come up in conversation in my world.

I have always assumed everyone around me owns them.

miranda