Do you baby your guns?

[ronl]

I don't really baby my guns, but I do take care of them. Only guns I baby are my 1943 95% Lend-Lease Colt 1911A1 and my '43 Garand. The other weapons I own are tools and they get used.

[Drhc116]

NOPE. Use and Abuse. Clean then oil. and Repeat

[Aaron1100us]

The only guns I baby are my Arsenal SLR-101S, 1962 Seneca Green Nylon 66 and my Dragunov Tiger. The rest I still take good care of but don't mind if they get dirty or rained on. Don't want scratches on any of them. I want them all to be nice for when my Son inherits them and for his kids to inherit them.

[Achilles11B]

I wouldn't say I baby them. I find the grey area between the 'tools, not treasure' and 'I busted my ass to build/buy these, I want them to last me a long, long time' mindsets.

[SPEMack618]

Some get "babied", others do not.

The tale of two duck guns...

My Grandpa's Sportsman 58, which according to my Gun Trader's Guide is worth about $700 bucks gets used very gently, and the one time it actually went in a duck swamp, I was very careful with it, and cleaned it very well when I got back.

My Benelli Super Black Eagle II, worth about a $1000 or so, gets beat around hard, it is a working gun.

It's all about perspective.

[reynolds357]

I have "safe" guns and "truck" guns. The "safe" guns mainly get left in the safe and the "truck" guns get treated like the tools that they are.

[FairWarning]

I do baby my scoped bolt guns, but that's mostly because of the scopes! I am more casual with my iron sight guns and very relaxed in fact with the SKS (no eggshells to worry about, it can take it).

[tahoe2]

I hunt, therefore the use can be harsh, I live in Western Washington, that means rain, snow, dirt & dust etc..
Then when we get home, they get the spa treatment and put in the safe happy, knowing they gave their all and were rewarded for their deeds.

[Justice06RR]

Yep, I baby my guns to an extent. I'm not OCD on cleaning them after each range use, but I do maintain them and make sure they are lubed and in good working order.

[stubbicatt]

Sort of like a new car. Until that first door ding in a parking lot, I am so concerned of a scratch or dent on my new firearms that taking them to the range is almost cause for anti anxiety medication! After the first time they get a hickey on them, the anxiety is gone, and I have progressively less and less of an issue just using them.

[Meeteetse]

Do I baby them, absolutely! Do I use them, of course and they are well taken care of. Never bought a gun I wouldn't use. No safe queens at my house, but no abused ones either. Half the fun is using them and then taking care of them.

[defcon]

Yes especially when my dad is pushing my .22's on my baby stroller

[Tactical Jackalope]

^^^ that's awesome. Pops took it to a whole new level lol.

[jimbob86]

They're tools not treasures.

Though mine are tools, I treat them better than some of of my other tools.

"Some tools are more equal than others."

[Saltydog235]

I keep my nice guns looking nice but I do shoot them. Sort of depends on what and where I'm hunting on what I decide to take.

Heck, I take care of my synthetic guns but I use them harder than my wood stocked counterparts. Things last longer and have better resale when they are taken care of.

[curmudgeon1]

'Babying' is such a relative term. I shoot once a week (usually 2 guns) and field strip and clean the guns within a day or two every time. Now, detail strip cleaning is another matter, that I very seldom do; just don't have the patience for it, so from that standpoint, I'd have to say no, I don't baby 'em. ymmv

[4thPoint]

After serving in the 82nd Airborne and doing fifteen years in the service...No. I take them out in the rain, the snow, the sand and surf. They get thrown in with other guns in the trunk.

I DO baby the bores and internals, cleaning is one of the fun things I do with them (besides shooting, 'natch.)

[Quadpod88]

I baby my guns. I may take them out into rough conditions and beat them up a bit, but when I'm through I give them the equivalent of a bubble bath. And once a month I do the same whether I've shot them or not.

[MA45XP]

Mine are almost all ex service rifles, and as such are treated with the respect a seasoned veteran deserves. I do however shoot every one of them, except this one..... unfired from the factory proof Yes, it gets very babied!

[mrbatchelor]

Originally Posted by breakingcontact

They're tools not treasures.
[...]
I don't abuse them, but yes, I'll shoot in the rain, magazines get ejected onto the marching surface.

While I do have a couple of family antique pieces that have infinite sentimental value but very little real street value, the rest of them are just tools like you say.

Sure, I don't purposely abuse them them. Sure, I clean them properly and take care of them. But I use them as designed, and I expect them to do their job.

I have a hard hat hanging in my office with a big gash in the side that was my "favorite" hard hat for 20 years. Until one day it did its job. My head doesn't have a gash in the side. I was upset about losing my favorite hard hat for about 15 minutes, but I figured out that it's a tool.

Tools have a job. Treasures have a place as well, but it's a different place.

[Come and take it.]

I had a springfield armory m14 once that I was afraid to scratch. I didn't keep it very long. If I have to worry about putting a scratch on my gun I don't need it.