He was a dumbass.

The cop who gave my mom the gun did take her to their shooting range and teach her to use it.

Oh, my parents never let us touch the guns. Didn't teach us to shoot, nothing. It was a Serious Thing to leave them alone. I'm scared to think what would have happened if we touched them.

I was 9.

Always gotta one up, dontcha?? Huh, huh?? *w*

Well, another cop let me hold her gun when I was 29, but she was off duty, and I was the dumbass, because my mother walked into the line of fire while I was sighting. There wasn't one in the chamber, and there was no reason my mother expected to come round the corner to that visual.

But I gave the gun right back.

It occurs to me I've never touched a real gun that wasn't a cop gun.

I can outshoot my husband. He started bragging about it when he got over the macho-hit.

I've held an AK47 and a sawed off shotgun. I haven't shot anything but a BB gun.

The only guns I've ever fired were an off-duty cop's. Quite probably because the only one of my guy friends who ever took me shooting is a cop.

I want my daughter/son to be the one who says "I already *know* guns are dangerous" when one of their friends shows them "something cool" they found under their parents bed.

Guns aren't common around here (though I suspect they're more common than most peeps in this blue corner will admit to), but yes, this.

That said, I *still* want the one gun in this house sold, as I'm nervous having it in the (exceedingly safe combo + lock gun safe notwithstanding) house and we never go out to the range and shoot it anymore.

Which is why I'm nonplussed about hearing that you want to bring one into the house as decoration, but want it to work. Those things don't go together in my head, and I wonder if your DH isn't getting a mixed signal off of what you describe, too.

Well, it's a gut thing. If it's nonfunctional, I'd feel like I might as well get a painting. And I do want to learn to fire it. I read about stuff like this enough, and I'm consumed with curiosity to know how it works.

I just have to figure out how to explain it to DH. The problem is, since we talked last night, I've been mulling it over and getting angrier over his reaction--he made owning a gun (a muzzle-loading, one shot at a time, black powder rifle that was a state-of-the-art weapon 200 years ago, fer cryin' out loud) sound so evil in his sight that I'm feeling indignant on behalf of all the deer and quail hunters in my family, not to mention all the Army men. Not to mention that I don't feel particularly evil myself. (We never even got to the point where I talked about getting a gunsmith to make it work--he had that reaction to a replica alone.)

ETA if nothing else, I think I should get his share of the venison steak next time we're home at the right time of the year. Since VCOB uses an evil gun to obtain it and all.

Also, ETA I guess you can take the girl out of Alabama, but you can't take all of Alabama out of the girl after all.

I'm an urban Canadian. I think only criminals should have guns.

t stereotype

Well, okay, some cops and the army and uh, the guys who do the caribou cull, but they can get them out of storage.

Swords are cool, though.

he had that reaction to a replica alone

Oh, dear . . .

Until this is resolved, have you thought of looking around for a place where you could borrow/rent a black powder rifle and try it out at a range? There's got to be some re-enactment group around you who'd be delighted to help, especially when you say you're doing research for a novel and want the details right. You'll learn more about the practicalities of weapons than you'll ever need.