So what got you into firearms?

[AnthonyCumia]

52 years ago Colt introduced the AR-15 to the gun buying public, and they were not particularly popular. About 1976 I began to notice civilian interest in the Fn Fal and its variants, HK 92's, Cetme's, and an occasional Beretta rifle. Ruger's Mini-14's(not assault rifles) became popular as a police weapon, behind the door rifle, and close range pest shooter. Once popular and incorrectly put in the assault rifle category, the Ruger has not maintained its once high popularity level. By the early 1980s, assault rifle popularity climbed. My unsubstantiated opinion is that law enforcement adoption of the AR made it much more visible to the guy in the street, who had once associated the AR with Vietnam's slightly evil M-16.. The early 80's saw the emergence of drug wars, which in turn initiated and fueled rearming the cop on the beat with modern weapons. Miami's war zone, crack cocaine violence, and the infamous gun fight that killed the FBI agents remind me of events spurring "police militarization". I HATE this term, though.

In summary, we wanted what our local police wished that they had and finally obtained, and we started buying assault rifles on a large scale beginning in 1980. The more we bought, the more respectable that the black rifle became. Here we are.

Yeah, that and Bill Ruger supporting gun control really did poison the name Ruger, and rightfully so.

HK92..That is a blast from the past.

So do you think if we had the internet in the 80s more people would have own machine guns?

I ask because if was only after we had the net that people could get such info first hand.

[williejc]

Yes. The net in 1980 would have fanned the fire on A. rifles and machine guns. In my neck of the woods--rural Mississippi--machine guns were more common place than you would ever imagine. A large number were illegal WW2 trophies that did not concern law enforcement. A friend showed me his German MG 42 that he brought back through NYC harbor in a duffel bag. My uncle did the same with two submachine guns. The local police chief and the county sheriff wanted to buy one of these, and neither intended to register it(if it could have been done)because each distrusted the federal government. Later, the 1968 no-questions-asked amnesty allowed owners to register any class 3 item by completing a single page form that was simple and straight forward.

Before things got crazy, the $200 tax stamp and not the weapons' cost discouraged a lot of class 3 purchases.

[Airhasz]

Father turned me on the shooting sports like many I'm sure.

[zombiescometh]

Always had bb guns and got a bolt action 22 when i was 10 but i didnt really get serious till i turned 21 and my brother introduced me to pistols from there i was hooked.

Sent from my SM-T237P using Tapatalk

[AnthonyCumia]

Yes. The net in 1980 would have fanned the fire on A. rifles and machine guns. In my neck of the woods--rural Mississippi--machine guns were more common place than you would ever imagine. A large number were illegal WW2 trophies that did not concern law enforcement. A friend showed me his German MG 42 that he brought back through NYC harbor in a duffel bag. My uncle did the same with two submachine guns. The local police chief and the county sheriff wanted to buy one of these, and neither intended to register it(if it could have been done)because each distrusted the federal government. Later, the 1968 no-questions-asked amnesty allowed owners to register any class 3 item by completing a single page form that was simple and straight forward.

Before things got crazy, the $200 tax stamp and not the weapons' cost discouraged a lot of class 3 purchases.

I wonder if they got them in before the 86 ban....If not I hope they stay safe.

Did they have to pay the tax in 68?

We need to have a another amnesty/over turn Hughes..

Did you you ever get to fire the MG42.

[williejc]

Amnesty registration was stamp tax free. I don't know or forgot the numbers registered, but I suspect that most were not because of government distrust. I never fired the German gun. I did know a couple street cops who carried illegal Thompsons in their car trunks. A local FBI agent would tell them they ought not do that because "them guns" are illegal . Different time and different world and forever gone.

Another story. The FBI agent told a city fireman and city cop to give him that goddamned .50 cal machinegun. The two guys complained that they had to pay money for it and continued to bitch. He gave them the choice of give me the gun and go back to work or go to jail. They gave the man the gun and went back to work, and nothing else was ever said. Rumor was that they made too much noise with it,

[Dist. Expert 26]

I started shooting BB guns in cub scouts, found out I was pretty damn good at it, then my dad got me involved with the Jr Rifle club at the local range. The more I learned, the more I wanted to shoot and fast-forward to today where pretty much all my disposable income goes to guns and ammunition

[AnthonyCumia]

Amnesty registration was stamp tax free. I don't know or forgot the numbers registered, but I suspect that most were not because of government distrust. I never fired the German gun. I did know a couple street cops who carried illegal Thompsons in their car trunks. A local FBI agent would tell them they ought not do that because "them guns" are illegal . Different time and different world and forever gone.

Another story. The FBI agent told a city fireman and city cop to give him that goddamned .50 cal machinegun. The two guys complained that they had to pay money for it and continued to bitch. He gave them the choice of give me the gun and go back to work or go to jail. They gave the man the gun and went back to work, and nothing else was ever said. Rumor was that they made too much noise with it,

Let that be a lesson, never trust the dems, never give them an inch and always destroy treason of the Neo Cons/Cuckservatives.

I started shooting BB guns in cub scouts, found out I was pretty damn good at it, then my dad got me involved with the Jr Rifle club at the local range. The more I learned, the more I wanted to shoot and fast-forward to today where pretty much all my disposable income goes to guns and ammunition

Always a great investment, they will never be worth less then what you pay for it.

[nof555]

I grew up in a more or less anti gun Democrat family, with a dad who had one 9mm he kept in a safe. I remember being 10 or so and he taking my older brother shooting, but wouldn't even let me watch. I think this was the beginning to my interest and I started collecting spent brass of different calibers I came across. Unfortunately still never firing a weapon besides a BB gun.

I finally shot my first .22 at boy scout camp around 12. First time shooting and out-shot everyone in the class. I became the range instructor's "peg board loader" and loaded rounds for the other students in their boards while they tried to pass the class. I pocketed two .22 rounds, shot one when I bought my first house and saving the other for my kid's first shot. This same year I shot my first trap with a 12 gauge for another merit badge at the same camp. Again, shooting better than kids who grew up around guns. I realized I had a gift and it blew my interest in guns to a whole new level.

Didn't shoot again until buying my first gun at 18, a savage bolt action .22, this was followed shortly thereafter by a mossberg 500 12 gauge. At 21 I found this site, bought my first handgun (a M&P9 compact), and a WASR 10. It's been an unstoppable growing avalanche of purchases ever since, some being smarter than others.

My dad is still as anti gun as ever (maybe more so), and had an Obama 2012 bumper sticker on his truck It blows my mind, he is literally the smartest person I know. He can do anything, and I mean anything without so much as looking it up. Yet he is still a die hard democrat, this has led to many an argument. I have only shot with him once, in fact I've shot his gun more in the last 10 years than he has. We've learned to accept our differences and try to avoid the subject of politics, but if I see a Clinton '16 bumper sticker on his truck........

[Mars attacks...]

I grew up with them having a father that is a prominent collector, but at a certain point I shifted from the "Collector" mentality to the "Practical" mentality. Then a few years later I had some unfortunate circumstances that pushed me into learning the mechanics and manufacturing of firearms. Still learning, growing and evolving. It rarely has been painless.