I get questions all the time from people I shoot with:

"hey, I am going shooting with my (other) friends in a couple days, can you loan me your ______". (usually a 357 or 44 magnum)

I always politely decline, most of the time they will come back with "Hey, any time you want to borrow my _______ I will let you".

It puts me in an uncomfortable position, but I always say know. For obvious reasons.

I don't think I am, but i'm not being unreasonable am I? Too many things could go wrong, the least of which is the gun getting damaged or lost.

The ONLY people I have ever loaned a handgun are immediate family (brother who is a shooter and mother, when father was on a long out of town trip and he took his only handgun). I have loaned rifles and shotguns to friends who I know are going on hunting trips on a couple occasions, I am fine with that, as I have hunted with these people and I know they are responsible and will not do anything illegal with my gun.

I'll take a customer's odd gun in order to build a holster to fit it. Other than that, I'm not in the borrowing or loaning business.

I'm 60 years old and have owned guns since I was 13 (since Dad was always too busy to take me to the gun shop, my big brother would buy them for me before I was 18). I have never, ever loaned a gun to anyone, even my brother (of course, he's like me in this regard and would never ask ). Frankly, that brings me to another point, IMHO anyone that would make such a request probably doesn't respect firearms enough. They seem to think of them the same as hedge trimmers or pruning shears.

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1st Signal Brigade, RVN '70

I don't loan tools,money,or guns.No exceptions.

Excellent point. I have always felt that way but was never clever enough to put it in words. To the OP: No - never a good idea to loan a pistol to anyone. You're not unreasonable.

I don't like for anyone, even my wife, to handle my guns...but because my wife sleeps with me, I agree on occasion. If someone else is willing to sleep with me, I might consider loaning them a gun...but if they are that desperate or crazy, letting them handle a gun is not a good idea, so no.

Nope, to much responsibility! The closest I have come to loaning a gun is to my brother when we are at the range together.

If I have a situation where "WE" are headed out I'll loan a gun afield as required... that way I can account for it. That is the only way anyone will fire one of my guns.

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it just needs more voltage

Nope, never have nor will I.

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Memory of Randy Freas-Rimfired

Only to immediate family and that goes for tools as well. Friends have not asked to loan them a gun.

I have no problem providing a loaner as long as I am with the person the entire time. If we part ways, my pistola goes with me. Way too much liability these days. I also have no problem loaning a rifle or shotgun for a hunt but I have to know the person borrowing very well. Other than that it's a flat out "NO".

This pretty much sums up my feelings on the subject.
I've got a buddy who is like a brother to me and he's
loaned me rifles for deer season and his TC pistol as
well. But we hunt "together" on his farm. I've told him he's
always welcome to anything i have. Outside of him i don't
believe i would loan anything other than a shotgun to a friend who needed one for rabbit or deer season. And he'd have to
be a friend i had hunted or shot with and trusted. But "no way"
to a pistol.

Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

I don't loan tools, vehicles, fishing tackle,dogs, wives , money, or guns. Saves a lot of problems.

I must be the odd man out on this one....as an instructor I loan firearms to students all the time. All I ask is that they use factory ammo in them.

Many times students will try something on the table that fits them much better than what they brought out which makes their day much more pleasant all the way around.

Randy

Back in 2004 my Dad loaned one of his shotguns to one of my brother's who
had told him that he was receiving death threats.

He wasn't exaggerateing since there was indeed a serious threat to his life.

He used the gun on himself.....

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Ogy

Oh my god, that's awful... sorry

Thanks nipster.....yeah, it was a bad situation.

I now own that same gun.....

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Ogy

I bought a marlin 30-30 for $125 and put a $50 dollar scope on it. That is my loaner gun. Even then it usually only gets loaned at deer camp.
Old uncle Kenny said he was done hunting so gave all his guns away, usually shows up and hunts one morning. Also good for helping someone with a bad scope or broken gun finish a hunt.
But my hand guns or any other guns heck No.

No, no, and no...

Same with money, tools, vehicles, trailers, and just about anything I have. I don't ask to borrow stuff from them so don't ask to borrow my stuff.

I'm really particular about my things and people who borrow things generally are not.

Edmo

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TRUTH: Don't delete my posts!

I have to know and trust the person to loan a firearm. I don't do it very often, but I have done it.

I have borrowed a few, but once again, I have to know and trust the person. The exception for borrowing is my brother. He'll let me borrow just about any firearm because he knows it will be very well cleaned when he gets it back.

I'll loan out just about any gun I own for someone to use. But,only if I'm standing next to them..

I learned my lesson a long time ago lent out a model 12 in 20 gauge to my brother, seems he leaned it up on the back of his truck at the skeet field, and forgot about it when he left.....

never again.

[QUOTE=kritter;136491013]I'll loan out just about any gun I own for someone to use. But,only if I'm standing next to them..
Yup!!!
I will let you shoot anything I shoot, if I'm with you.
Guy22

Illegal to loan a handgun. Shotgun and rifle OK. No pistola's.

Loaning guns, money or motor vehicles will only create rifts, whether it be with family, friends or neighbors. I agree that most folks that borrow things would not respect them. They obviously don't care enough to save money to purchase said items.

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GMC-USN, Retired/1978 to 2001

I've loaned and borrowed firearms on a few rare occasions. Last year a nephew was working on his Masters and paying for it by being a member of the Air National Guard and working part time jobs. My sister called me and said the he had been hired as a security guard for his last year of school but that he had to provide his own firearm for his certification training and work. She said the local gun shop had High Points on sale and that was all his budget would allow, what did I think. I said go to the store and buy 5 boxes of 9x18 ammo and I would loan him a CZ82. So he qualified and carried my CZ82 his last year of college.

Couple years ago I had to I had to work late, then go to downtown Columbus to pick up my son after a hockey game. Where I work has a strict no weapons policy, however a good friend lives between work and Columbus. So I swung by and borrowed a 30-1 to carry in my pocket and returned it a couple days latter.

So on occasion I'll both load and borrow but those are few and far between.

It's best to just go ahead and give it or trade it to them.

My father had one friend that he did loan his old shotgun to...but that's because after that fellow got divorced in the 1960's, he had to hunt to eat. He always brought it back- it was different back then.

I have loaned guns to people when I've gone to a shoot before- but I guess technically, that isn't loaning it, is it?

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Lost it all in a boat accident

There are only two people in the world that I would loan a gun to. One is my brother and the other is one of my cousins. The only reason I would loan a gun to either one of them is simply because if they asked, they would have a really good legitimate reason. Cousin has a 200 acre farm, brother is the armorer for the Sheriff's Department he works for and both of them have more guns than I do so neither one of them is going to ask.

Oh btw, even with my cousin or my brother, if they wanted to borrow my Colt, the answer would be no.

CW

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μολὼν λαβέ

I have two friends I would loan to, mainly because a) I trust them with my life and b)they would never ask. I would loan guns to my brother, he has the same respect for them and sense of responsibility as I do.

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Even older, even crankier....

Normally no....but if they are real mad when they ask, then I feel like they really need it.

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

I've brought a couple different really close friends to the range and loaned them a gun to shoot in the next lane but as far as anyone walking out the door with one of mine. Not a chance.

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sticks-n-stones&hollowpoints

No I do not loan or borrow guns from anyone. Just do not feel comfortable borrowing or loaning out guns. I will let someone shoot one of mine if I am there, but only someone I trust.

In Michigan it's illegal to loan a handgun unless the borrower has a CPL. I have let others shoot my firearms while we were at the range. Never loan my guns. Oh, I did loan my .22 single shot rifle to my brother many years ago. He brought it back with many scratches and the end sight broken off. He said that was from the gun bouncing around in the bed of his truck without a case.

Someone once asked to borrow my boots... Yeah right.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

I let family fire some of my samples, in my presence. I've never asked to borrow but have been handed a piece (long ago when I was in the big city) by a closest friend who indicated that things had changed around there since I left. Carried it while there and returned it without firing a shot before I left (I had flown in).

I will loan to family (mother, sister, daughter), but only after I have taken them out to shoot said firearm. I have specific guns for such (inexpensive revolvers).

I’m barely OK with someone handling my revolvers; get the vapors if someone actually had the audacity to ask to shoot one. Do you really think I would loan one out?
Now I’ve given away, a Dan Wesson .357 Magnum, S&W M10 2”, and a Raven Arms .25 auto, but that’s a different story.

I won't loan them out but fellow members at my gun club are welcome to shoot one of my guns if they would like to.

My guns seldom ever sit idle long enough to be loaned. I don't loan tools like chain saws or lawn mowers and I don't loan my truck. I let my son drive my truck one time to go to work and he hit a deer coming home and did over 2000 bucks, no pun intended, worth of damage, so he don't even ask. I do loan money to friends if I have it to spare so that takes care of that.
Peace,
gordon

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better have that checked

NEVER EVER. I'm also VERY picky who I shoot with. If "we're shooting on the range and some has a new weapon, we'll all give it a test fire to see how we like it. Ya never know,might need one too and didn't know it (HA HA). But it NEVER leaves the owners sight.

Nope!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Mighty 90's,Trying 4 a 100!

Yep. A good friend of mine turned in a local poacher and was getting some death threats. He didn't own a handgun, so I loaned him my old Model 12 .38 and a box of ammo. I also gave him some 00 buck for his shotgun.

The situation resolved itself, and he brought everything back.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept of friends even asking the question.

In my much younger days I loaned a Blackhawk 357/9mm to a co-worker to go hog hunting with. A few days later, he got laid off, and I never saw him or the gun again. Lesson learned. I will loan to my son, since he'll end up them anyway. An ex-brother in law would borrow a shotgun during dove hunting season, but usually returned it in a timely manner. He came over to the house one evening and started apologizing for not returning a rifle that he said I loaned him three years previously. It was a Remington Model 660 in .222 with a 6x Weaver scope. I had never seen that gun in my life, yet he insisted I loaned it to him. He refused to take it back home with him. Nice rifle, but not very accurate.

My Uncle brought back a "German" Mauser and gave it to his younger brother-in-law (my Dad). Dad loaned it to someone to go deer hunting a few years later and never got it back. He always regretted that I never got to shoot it, so when the Yugo Mauser hit the market in the 90's, he bought one for me for Christmas.

I've only once borrowed a handgun. A Ruger SS Security Six.357 (for protection working 3rd shift downtown) from a buddy who had multiple handguns when my only handgun was sent back to S&W for repair. The same friend loaned me an AR15 for me to use in my first 3 gun match.

Pnly twice. I have ever loaned a gun. That was when I lent my M629 Mountain Gun (twice) accompanying two of my closest friends for horse back Elk hunts high in the Colorado mountains.

I've given to a dear friend in Arizona who would take me into the desert and mountains, a 17-2 that I had for 20 years and a Colt Jr. .25. He was retired, on a limited budget and went way out of his way to befriend me and keep an eye on my family when they retired to AZ. He had only a Combat Masterpiece .38 Spl, so I thought the 17-2 that I kept in AZ would find a better home with him as he didn't have a .22 pistol and I had another at home.

I also gave my nephew "Jarhead" a Beretta 92-G (decocker/no safety) on his 21st birthday after his return from Iraq with the Marines.

Dad and I would without question use each others guns at anytime as we considered each others guns to be collectively "OURS".

I guess I'm in the minority here, I've lent one handgun, a 2 1/2" Model 19 to a friend when he was made a narc and transferred to NYC. Our agency issued Walther PPk's to narcs at the time and I wanted him to have something a little snottier.

I also lent a Marlin in 375 win to a friend's son. The dad never hunted but this kid had been bitten by the hunting bug. His Dad was on the stand with him (unarmed, he still doesn't hunt) when he shot his first deer, a nice eight pointer. Don't regret being a small part of that memory.

I've also given a couple away over the years to kids that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford them.

I've also given a couple away over the years to kids that wouldn't otherwise be able to afford them.

Some 20 years ago I started to buy Marlin 60's if under 40 bucks. I ended up with ~ 15 of them. I am now down to 6.

My Daughter has one, the rest I given to kids that I have met. First shoot with them, and ask how they like it.
If they show real interest, and promise to care for it. I give it to them. Parents in the know.

Brings a smile to the kid's face. Plus I hope in a way it's helping to keep America, the home of the free.

Guy22

I loaned my brother a Ithaca m37, back in 1976. The conservation officer
Ended up with it and not to be seen again.
I learned my lesson while I was still in my teens

Vic3620

I have offered the use of a firearm to people I cherished,
if I thought they were going in harm's way. Usually, I offer
to stand watch through the bad time. It has to be
someone I'd trust with my life, plus, they have to have
a proper respect for all the things that I myself hold dear.
There are very few people I trust that far. Leo or (ex)military.
And those people usually don't need to ask anybody for a weapon.
Hunting guns I'm more lax about, but I've hunted with the
people I'd trust with a firearm. Missing fingers or a pronounced
limp are a hint that maybe there'd be a problem.
TACC1

I would loan one too Hickok45. Never think twice about it.

Guy22

My shooting buddy who isn't mechanically inclined sends guns home with me all the time for cleaning. I always seem to have a couple or three of his guns at any given time. He likes to shoot and collect, but doesn't like cleaning them. Since he supplies the shooting venue and buys the bullets, I do the reloading and cleaning.

If anyone is interested in any of my guns, we go to the range together, and I supply the ammunition. A lot of people have had a good time with my guns. That is the only way anyone will ever shoot my guns. I will not jeopardize my job or my retirement by loaning someone a gun without my supervision.