I encountered some ignorance at the grocery store today!

My favorite S&W belt buckle is in the rotation, for work, even for dress up. My truck, I'll put any sticker on it I feel like. There's nothing in there to steal, but please let me catch someone breaking in. When I got pulled over the other day, with about 10 other unluckies, the officer never asked. He wrote me up for less than he said I was doing. I don't think I was speeding anyway, gotta be the sticker.
 
I go to the public sauna on a regular basis, together with my wife and a fellow gun owner. We make it a point to discuss guns in a positive manner whenever other people are present in the cabin, just to prove to them that gun owners are no monsters (that's us). The image of gun lovers is so terribly bad in this country that every little bit of positive action will help. I wouldn't mind wearing a t-shirt if I found one that pleases me. But most of them that I've seen so far are inattractive. Some humor in the text would help too...
 
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ogilvyspecial said:
That, my friend, is the $64,000 question, which chud333 (Chuck) pretty much asked in an earlier post but has yet to receive a logical, rational answer.

Maybe you'll have better luck......;)
Click to expand...

I wear shirts with "Dale Earnhardt" on them all the time. I wonder if that should be kept private? After all, some Jeff Gordon fan might get upset. Or wear the Cross on my hat. Some athiest might get upset. OH HORRORS!

I refuse to allow the idea that someone else might "get upset" dictate what I do or don't do. If they choose to "get upset" that's their choice. I didn't make it for them.
 
I wear a Hodgdon cap and about 1 in 1000 recognize it. And those folks just nod.

My buddy drives a Subaru with a bumper sticker that says: "God Bless Our Troops - Especially The Snipers". Now that gets a few tongues wagging.

My S&W T's I usually save for the range. Same with my "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out" Ralphie shirt.
It's like wearing a Buckeye shirt at a football game or a Blue Jacket shirt at a hockey game. "Event appropriate"?
Wear what you want where you want, but remember you could end up here:
the people of walmart photo - Google Search
 
I wear my "NRA" caps all the time. I bought a pink "NRA" cap for my daughter and she wears it also. I also bought a "NRA" cap for my grandson and it is starting to look kind of worn out.
"NRA" caps make great birthday and Christmas gifts.
 
I don't advertise either, for me the thinking is that I just don't need the hassle. Also with the random shootings going on in the country anyone who advertises they like guns or have guns is likely to be a prime target to be shot first.
I do have a Sheriff sticker on my windshield and it has helped me with a couple traffic stops by other agencies. No other stickers are on my vehicles. A friend had a DARE "dare to keep kids off drugs" on his SUV and it was keyed twice. Was it the sticker or not I don't know.
 
I'm kind of surprised by the response to my post as far as the number of you that won't wear clothing with firearm logo's. Just about every jacket I have has a S&W logo embroidered on it somwhere, although it is usually more subtle than the sweatshirt I had on, and if I'm not wearing a jacket my hat probably has a logo of some sort on it. I have to say that until yesterday I had received nothing but positive remarks, and usually end up in a conversation with a fellow shooter. I also believe, as previously stated, that any chance we have to portray shooters in a positive light, as normal everyday people, we should take advantage of it. As far as bumperstickers go, I would never leave a firearm or anything of that nature unattended in a vehicle. Being responsible with guns to me means that they are either in my safe or on my person, under my control, at all times.
Granted, here in Maine it may be different than in other parts of the country, I think we tend to be a little more laid back than most areas, but we have had a major influx of people moving to the area, especially here on the coast. So maybe times are indeed changing!
Maybe I should have responded that I was a nice guy and she was perfectly safe around me, but I didn't want to do anything to heighten her apprehension. I'm sure she would have really freaked out though, had she realized that there was a Kimber .45 under my sweatshirt! Any bets on whether she had a Prius in the parking lot?:eek:
It's funny that Border Patrol hats were mentioned too, I've got one of those I wear almost daily. During blueberry season I can empty out convenience stores around here!:D
 
I'm not ashamed of who I am or what I do. If I was, I'd be someone or do something different.

I usually wear an NRA, Colt or other firearm related ball cap.

Not too long after Columbine, I was in a Starbucks with a friend after leaving a rifle range. The slacker behind the counter saw my NRA cap and said to me, "Boy, it must take a lot of guts to wear that cap these days!", to which I replied, "Why? Who's going to make me take it off?"

A few years ago, I was in a Lakewood, Ohio McDonalds. An elderly cleaner started hassling me about my NRA ball cap and telling me that the NRA should be "banned". I noted that the last time organizations started getting banned, we misplaced 6,000,000 Jews somewhere. His reply? He "wasn't so sure that was such a bad thing."

I HATE bullies and react VERY badly to being bullied. The last incident told me all I need to know about anti-gunners... as if I didn't already know what their inner motivations were in the first place.

Don't like my hat? Stick your head back up your fourth point of contact where it's been for most of your life. You won't have to worry about seeing it.
 
Thursday I was working in a Cleveland Clinic facility and a patient(?) walked past me wearing an "XDm" shirt. I'll bet one person in ten thousand understands the meaning.
 
Placing a bumper sticker on your vehicle such as one that proclaims"This truck protected by Smith & Wesson" in general only serves to inform a thief that there is a high likelihood that a very nice piece is under the driver's seat.
I do not have any stickers on my vehicle. I use to have a DU sticker, but I don't even place one on my window any longer.
As for t-shirts and the like I have a number like most of us. If it is a logo only with no writing I am more inclined to wear it in public. Everything else gets worn only to the range or around the house.
The reason in my mind is that the public is fickle. As a community we know all the good and right reasons for gun ownership. But I find that t-shirts with Heston like sayings, while I love them, only serve to inflame the ignorant while doing little for the converted. Living a good life, setting an example, teaching and talking to your kids and neighbours is still the best way to either make converts or nullify opposition. Everything else is just a red flag in the face of an already angry bull.
 
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The Last Standing Knight said:
I had a similar situation some years ago in a Wally World. I was having my truck's oil changed and was reading a gun rag at the magazine stand...an older guy was staring at me and when I asked if I could help him, he merely replied to the effect that enjoy my guns now because "we're going to take them away from you..." He walked away from me and disappeared. I've gotten used to dealing with weirdos over the years and Wally World tends to attract them.
Click to expand...

You should have taken your cell phone and snapped his picture. Then tell him, "When y'all start taking our guns, WE will come looking for you."
 
In most urban areas, wearing gun related clothing may make many people feel uncomfortable, and set you apart. With all the shootings in the news don't advertise you have anything to do with guns. Same for your vehicle. Save the gun caps and shirts for matches. I put my NRA stickers and gun stickers on my shooting box that I take to the range.
 
I think the OP responded very well. I probably would have had a wisecrack remark for her. I have no problem with shirts and caps with gun logos. I don't put the NRA sticker on my truck anymore, because I don't want the local hoodies looking in it. I'm not hiding where I stand on gun issues. I think it's beneficial if these people think you're a little nuts. They tend to leave you alone and be quite polite. Many of these types are outright cowards, and think anybody who fights back or shows any spine, is just insane. I will drive them into hiding before I hide from their ilk. Ya seen any PETA or Brady T-shirts lately?

My favorite shirt; 3 of the 5 voices in my head are saying "Don't shoot."
 
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I have a bumper sticker on my truck that says: COEXIST, each letter is taken from a letter or symbol from a gun manufacturer - C/Colt , O/Glock, E/Baretta, X/Springfield Armory, I/Winchester, S/S&W, T/Mossberg.
The only people who have commented on it were fellow gun owners who wanted to know where I got it. I found it at a local gun show a year or so ago.
 
you DID say you were in the vegetable section!! ;)

It obviously wasn't THIS old lady. man she is great.
old-lady-guns.jpg
 
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