Need Gun Owners Opinion

[Dr Rockso]

They wanted a French name, not a French company.

Yeah, I get it, but you'd be hard pressed to sell some of the folks around here a jar of French's mustard .

Now that I've got the obligatory gun-forum frog-bashing out of the way, I'll give you constructive input:

Why do you own a gun?
Self-defense, recreation, collection.

How many do you own?
About five.

When did you start getting interested in guns and why?
Hunting with my uncle and cousins, talking about guns with friends and family.

Are guns something that is a part of your regular life or lifestyle, or something on the side?
Somewhere in the middle.

What about guns appeals to you?
Depends on the gun. An antique military rifle appeals to me in a different way than a utilitarian handgun. Handguns appeal to me more as a 'tool' than a piece of art or history. That doesn't mean I won't spend good money on a quality tool.

How much money a year on average do you spend on guns?
Anywhere from a several hundred to a couple thousand.

Do you buy guns from a specific manufacturer? If so, why? If not, why not?
There are certain manufacturers I would be pre-disposed to buy from and some that will never see a dime from me. Most of that comes down to reputation for building a quality product. I would be hesitant to buy a gun from a newly-created company. Things that would help ease my mind would be third-party (especially military or law enforcement) testing of their product, an extraordinary value, or if they offered a desirable product not available from more established manufacturers.

[joemama]

Why do you own a gun?
Self/home defense purposes, hunting, target shooting, and its my favorite hobby.

How many do you own?
8

When did you start getting interested in guns and why? ever since I can remember, I was raised with guns. Started hunting and target shooting when I was 6.

Are guns something that is a part of your regular life or lifestyle, or something on the side? I would say half and half. I dont carry a gun at work which is where I am most of the time. On the other side of that I do go shooting as much as time and money permits.

What about guns appeals to you?
Well the biggest thing to me is the defensive factor of owning guns. You couldnt put a dollar figure on the peace of mind you have with a gun in the household. Plus as I mentioned above, it is my favorite hobby.

How much money a year on average do you spend on guns?
Before last year $400-$1000, but then I found out I could buy black rifles in california and well that went to $400-$4000.

Do you buy guns from a specific manufacturer? If so, why? If not, why not? I tend to do as much research as I can so I can get the most bang for my buck. If a manufacturer has a lot of bad reviews I probably wont buy their product. Because of how much guns are I prefer to get a superior product instead of junk. I also look for really good deals, I couldnt pass up the $74 mosin at big 5

Good luck with the project.

[JG87]

Thank you! If anyone would like to see the finished project, I can host it online.

[Dr Rockso]

This might be helpful to get you started. Here are some promotional photos for manufacturers that are marketed as being top of the line defensive handguns.

Khar Arms:


Walther:


Ruger:


HK:
HINT: Don't put the bullets in the magazine backwards.


Kimber:


Sig-Sauer:


I hope that wasn't too much unsolicited help. You might also want to look at some coverage of the SHOT show that you can find on youtube (SHOT is the big firearms industry trade show). From a marketing standpoint, you can not beat HK. They make a decent firearm, but the hype surrounding them is simply unreal.

[JG87]

Not unsolicited at all, I appreciate your help very much.

[atasty39]

I want to contribute having had to do a similar project back in the day!

Why do you own a gun? Self-defense, entertainment, skill-building

When did you start getting interested in guns and why? Had my own rifle growing up, just in the last 2 years got back into gun ownership

Are guns something that is a part of your regular life or lifestyle, or something on the side? Something on the side, like golf.

What about guns appeals to you? The ability to protect me and mine if necessary. The challenge of making a little ball of metal go exactly where I want it to go, being able to control the production of ammo to suit my use and firearm, shooting with my friends

How much money a year on average do you spend on guns? Ummm....maybe $1000, but this will taper off drastically after I purchase the next revolver.

Do you buy guns from a specific manufacturer? If so, why? If not, why not?
I do not buy from a specific manufacturer, I purchase the tool that will allow me to accomplish the purpose that I have chosen. I choose the best tool for the job I have in mind and if it means going to another manufacturer I will without hesitation.

Good luck, and I hope you are having fun!

[renardsubtil]

Man, college was so long ago...I had to do a similar project for a graphic design course back in the day....


Why do you own a gun?
- I own my guns because it's my right. I'm also in it for the history of each individual gun I buy.

How many do you own?
- Many. Mostly "antiques". One or two modern-ish type pistols and rifles.

When did you start getting interested in guns and why?
- A few years ago my GF at the time bought me a membership to the local gun range after I showed interest in buying a 1911 style pistol and of course buying one gun led to buying another and another. The 1911 I liked because it was an old design which has lasted since well...1911...the design was timeless, functional, and still effective in a "modern" world for what I needed it to do.

Are guns something that is a part of your regular life or lifestyle, or something on the side?
- Purely hobby.

What about guns appeals to you?
- Function. Historical significance. Form. In that order.

How much money a year on average do you spend on guns?
- $1-2K

Do you buy guns from a specific manufacturer? If so, why? If not, why not?
- I bought a few early european type rifles because they're extremely well made and not to mention still quite accurate, these were mostly 30s and 40s era rifles with no manufacturer label since they were government models. I've also bought a few 40s era American rifles (Remington and HRA) but the manufacturer doesn't totally make a big difference to me other than to add to the collectibility of the firearm. The only two modern type firearms I own (both from different manufacturers) were purchased because they were unique and they received high marks on the form and function.

[SwissFluCase]

Thank you! If anyone would like to see the finished project, I can host it online.

Yes. Please do. You picked a challenging project, but it looks like you are doing your due dilligence. Good luck.

Regards,


SwissFluCase

[SwissFluCase]

This might be helpful to get you started. Here are some promotional photos for manufacturers that are marketed as being top of the line defensive handguns.

Gun pr0n, eh? Ok. I'll play...

Simply the finest concealed carry piece extant:



Regards,


SwissFluCase

[aklon]

I personally am not too thrilled on the name, but my group members wanted something French.

Why not "Fusil Neuvieme"? It means "nine gun", not too good in English but a more "gun" sounding name, even in French. "Pistolet" is technically correct, but it sounds like, well, a piece of jewellery - like the group wants.

[JG87]

Thank you for the suggestion! I'll see what my group thinks.

[SwissFluCase]

Why not "Fusil Neuvieme"? It means "nine gun", not too good in English but a more "gun" sounding name, even in French. "Pistolet" is technically correct, but it sounds like, well, a piece of jewellery - like the group wants.

You know, Fabrique Nationale de Herstal has a nice ring to it. They are Belgian, and have been around since forever. Take a look at their site. You might get some French language ideas.

Wasn't there also an armory in St. Etienne? They had fairly good rep.

Regards,


SwissFluCase

[Gunaria]

Hi JG87 here's a couple of question to you and your parters.

Do you or anybody else in your design group own a firearm or have shot firearms in the past?

Do any of you hunt or enjoy the outdoors?

Here's a suggestion, why don't you and your design team go to a local gun range where they rent firearms so that you can shoot and get the feel of what you are trying to do.

To me it sounds like you are trying to design and sell cars without knowing how to even drive one.

I not trying to tell you to live the gun culture but you must experience it to understand it. Also maybe you and your team members should go and check out the local gun shows.

Hope this helps give you some ideas.

[JG87]

We actually plan on going out to a firing range, it was one of the first things that came up while we were planning things out. It's a three-week project only, so there's not much time to immerse ourselves in the culture, but we're doing what we can. One of the group members is also a former marine, so at least one of us has gun knowledge.

[rabagley]

Our group has decided to market guns to young business professionals. Our manufacturer name is Pistolet. We'd like to get some feedback from gun owners to help us have a better sense of the industry we're marketing in. Any and all feedback is very much appreciated! Feel free to answer as many or as few of our questions as you feel comfortable with, we're grateful for any help you can give us.

Well, I'll wing it and just throw out some quick answers (it's getting late). I hope this helps.

Why do you own a gun?

I believe that owning a gun is a critical part of taking responsibility for my safety and the safety of my family.

How many do you own?

Five handguns, one shotgun, and a large variety of rifles from very modern to civil war era.

When did you start getting interested in guns and why?

Through hunting with my father and grandfather. My first time hunting, at the age of 17, I harvested a deer, but I felt both elated and guilty during the experience. It took a slightly unauthorized tour (a friend of a friend let me in and showed me around) of a modern feedlot to make me understand that hunting was a much more responsible way to feed myself. From that point, I started to deliberately think about firearms as tools that could be a net positive and learned from there.

Are guns something that is a part of your regular life or lifestyle, or something on the side?

Awareness of my personal context, a willingness to take responsibility for my safety, etc. are a part of my identity. My history with guns, my decision to take a CCW permit class when I lived in Texas, quite a bit of reading and discussing led me to the point where I'm more comfortable when I know I'm near a gun than when I don't know where one is.

What about guns appeals to you?

The fact that my wife can use a gun to defend herself against a much larger attacker, Kellerman's bogus study nonwithstanding.

How much money a year on average do you spend on guns?

Since I've had an income, it appears the average is only about $1000/year. But I've been getting back into shooting recently, so the consumable costs have been going back up. In 2008, I probably spent close to $5000 on guns, equipment, ammo, range time, etc.

Do you buy guns from a specific manufacturer? If so, why? If not, why not?

For handguns, I'm partial to Glocks. I like the weight, the grip angle, the feel of my favorite trigger kit, the philosophy behind the gun, etc. Otherwise, I buy the best set of trade-offs for my needs. Recently, this meant a Marlin 45-70 lever action, and a few AR-15's banged together from parts made by a dozen or more manufacturers.

Good luck, I hope this helps!

Ross