If you’ve been in the gun community for a minute, you’ve seen a shift in people and attitudes

Reminds me of a comment my buddy made about motorcycle culture back in the day. <br><br>He used to be in a “gang” back in the day, refusing to call it a 1% club or a crew. What it was, was a group of 6 guys, all with Harleys, who rode, hung out, and partied. <br><br>He loved it. <br><br>He got back into motorcycling a few years ago. <br><br>He hates the current biker culture. <br><br>Now, the “gang” is full of wanna be tough guys who don’t ride that much, do a ton of drugs, and overwhelmed the group with their numbers. The personality is gone and the original guys don’t want to be involved anymore. <br><br>I have a similar experience with people in the “gun community”. <br><br>I’ve been interested in firearms since I was a kid. I have my first firearm, a Remington 870, when I turned 18. <br><br>My dad and I used to go to the range and shoot together. It was our time, and it was something we both loved and enjoyed together. He passed about 10 yrs ago, but that’s a memory I will always cherish. <br><br>Back 15-20 yrs ago, there were some gun assholes, but a lot of people were just like my father and I. We loved firearms, enjoyed the hobby, and didn’t let it overwhelm other aspects of our lives. There were some conflicts with anti-gun people, but it seemed manageable and most people agreed that we should find a happy middle ground that worked for everyone. <br><br>That’s not how it is anymore. <br><br>I don’t go to the local gun store anymore because there’s usually some “patriot” ranting about the government, or some police and military types bragging about the nature of their work or the hardware they’ve used. <br><br>I’ve had multiple guys approach me asking if I’m a fellow Christian and a patriot, because apparently you can’t be a gun owner unless you believe in God and the USA. <br><br>If I go to the range, it’s usually some white, right wing, nationalistic assholes taking up most of the space and being generally inconsiderate. Sometimes the range master says something, sometimes not. It’s a majority, so fuck it, I guess. <br><br>Everyone has to have the “best” hardware. No, your AR is not the best, and frankly, if you’re at a indoor range with open targets, shooting an AR at 25ft is dumb as hell. <br><br>I get daily texts from a gun buy/sell/trade group I’m in and it’s nothing but assholes trying to make a profit off of people panic buying. <br><br>I don’t really talk about guns anymore unless I know the person is rational. <br><br>The gun culture isn’t fun anymore. <br><br>All of that being said, I still love my firearms. I still enjoy recreational shooting. I believe people have the right to own and use firearms. <br><br>But fuck modern gun culture.