I've told this story plenty privately, but never brought it up in public. I suspect it's better public.
I had (have) a friend who was (probably still is, I've not queried on the topic) a 'gun nut'.
Now, irregardless of the 'TV News' take on these folks, I can tell you w/o question that people can be perhaps a BIT too fascinated with firearms.
To wit:
I go over to his residence to help him move a loading table from one floor to another. A 'Loading Table' (for those of you who aren't familiar), is a table designed from the get-go to be a place to reload cartridges). There's a thing to pop the cap out, and a thing to crimp the bullet in place, and between the two, there's a gun nut with gunpowder, putting what he think's is 'right' in the cartridge.
Now, I seem a bit flippant, but the guy with the table was not just a nut, but an EXPERT nut. He knew the ballistics inside-out. It was (and still is) an honor to be his friend. He's not harmful at all.
Still, the day that he had me move the table, he showed off his stuff. He didn't think it odd to have a loaded 22 caliber pistol mixed in with the potato mashers and spatulas.
He had a replaceable barrel target pistol (one shot only).
He had a lovely chrome-plated .357 Magnum pistol. It was the crown-jewel of the tour of the armory. It was a splendid armory, and I'd suspect that given notice and protection from shells, he'd be able to not only 'hold off' but likely overpower an invader.
Now, I didn't notice that as he handed me each gun, he'd carefully unloaded it. I was harmless.
So, when I reached back and picked up the .357 and pointed it at the door, and pulled the trigger, and it BOOMED!!!, I thought he'd pulled a joke on me (blanks or something).
He was white as a sheet. As I'd handed the guns back, he'd nearly subconsciously reloaded them.
His girlfriend arrived just a bit later. The hole in the glass in the door was just about where her nose was.
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