A Healthy Breakfast

[Bailey Guns]

I was having breakfast yesterday morning in a small, local cafe with a friend and there were several regulars in the place...couple of families with kids, too.

The sheriff came in and sat down with his teenaged son and the waitress made a light-hearted comment about not getting his order wrong because he had a gun. I didn't hear exactly what the sheriff said but it had something to do with everyone in the place having a gun...he knew because he'd signed the permits.

At that point most people continued the joke and said that's why the service and food were so good, etc... Most everyone got a kick out of it. Even the families with kids were laughing about it and one of the dad's made mention he and his wife "never leave home without it", obviously referencing their carry guns.

Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things and the conversation changed rather quickly and everyone went back to minding their own business.

It struck me, though, how different things are in my community in terms of accepting firearms as a means of personal defense of self, family and community. I can only imagine in small communities all over the country how normal that sort of talk would be. I really felt good about where I chose to live after hearing everyone talking normally about carrying guns...even around kids. I doubt any of the kids will be the type of person who grows into adulthood who is traumatized to think people around them might own and carry guns.

Can you imagine having that conversation in pretty much any metro-area restaurant? I just thought it was refreshing.

[Batteriesnare]

Man that is awesome! I wish I was fortunate to live in such a responsible and friendly community. Good to know such a great place still exists....

[GreenScoutII]

I live in rural Pueblo county. Its a whole different experience out here. I have 40 acres as do most of my neighbors. EVERYBODY I mean EVERYBODY out here shoots. My neighbor across the road is a retired cop/police firearms instructor. My neighbor to the south is a prison guard, the neighbor to the north is just a guy like me who likes to shoot. I had a lot of reasons for oving out here. One of the biggest reasons is the ability to shoot in my back yard, literally!

When we first moved in, I introduced my self to the neighbors to the north and south. I explained I like to shoot, but would limit the time and duration if they were bothered by the noise. Both laughed and said they were worried the new neighbors (us) might be bothered by their shooting.
The retired cop is a nice guy, but a little reclusive. If I see him outside he always has a gun in his hand as he is most always shooting. He will pause to wave...

The Pueblo county Sherriff's deputies who patrol the area are pretty laid back. I had just blasted a rattlesnake one day and still had my shotgun in hand. The rattlesnake was by the mailbox right by the road. I saw a Sheriff's car coming down the road. I waved. They officer waved back and kept driving.

Try that in the city!

I love living out in the sticks!!!!

[Pistol Packing Preacher]

Sounds like a very pleasant conversation! Love the small town 'feel' to this! This is the real America!

[TFOGGER]

I live in rural Pueblo county. Its a whole different experience out here. I have 40 acres as do most of my neighbors. EVERYBODY I mean EVERYBODY out here shoots. My neighbor across the road is a retired cop/police firearms instructor. My neighbor to the south is a prison guard, the neighbor to the north is just a guy like me who likes to shoot. I had a lot of reasons for oving out here. One of the biggest reasons is the ability to shoot in my back yard, literally!

When we first moved in, I introduced my self to the neighbors to the north and south. I explained I like to shoot, but would limit the time and duration if they were bothered by the noise. Both laughed and said they were worried the new neighbors (us) might be bothered by their shooting.
The retired cop is a nice guy, but a little reclusive. If I see him outside he always has a gun in his hand as he is most always shooting. He will pause to wave...

The Pueblo county Sherriff's deputies who patrol the area are pretty laid back. I had just blasted a rattlesnake one day and still had my shotgun in hand. The rattlesnake was by the mailbox right by the road. I saw a Sheriff's car coming down the road. I waved. They officer waved back and kept driving.

Try that in the city!

I love living out in the sticks!!!!

We have gunfire in my neighborhood almost every night....I live in Aurora...LOL

Actually, I am just north of the police range near Buckley, so it sounds like downtown Beirut some nights, particularly as 10 pm approaches, and they have to quit shooting, so they empty their magazines, rather than having to unload 'em....

[Bailey Guns]

My wife and I bought this house about 8 years ago. It's on 16 acres and is surrounded on two sides by about 600 to 800 vertical feet of mountain with nothing on it. I have a good backstop.

One day not long after we bought the place a guy who lives on the other side of the mountain (600 feet above and 1/2 mile away) complained to the sheriff's dept about me shooting. Well, I know all of the deputies and they know me very well. They are 100% confident I would not shoot in an unsafe manner.

But, 2 deputies came out basically to BS. They asked what I was shooting...don't remember what it was at the time but they thought it was pretty cool. Then one of them...a friend of mine...got a big s**t-eating grin on his face and said, "Wait'll you see what I just got issued." He went back to his patrol car and returned with a brand new HK UMP-40...yes, select-fire. He said we could shoot it but he didn't have any ammo. Well, Hell! I owned a gun store. Ammo was not a problem.

Long story short we went through about 600 rounds of ammo to "break in" the UMP. The Sgt eventually showed up with a real USGI surplus (department issued, of course) Winchester M14, also with a fun switch.

The neighbor with the house that overlooks part of my property...the one who complained? After seeing 3 patrol cars and hearing a butt-load of automatic rifle fire, has never complained again.

Try THAT in a big city!

[GreenScoutII]

We have gunfire in my neighborhood almost every night....I live in Aurora...LOL

I hear ya! My old house in the Springs was in a neighborhood called Knob Hill. AKA the white ghetto. Guys in the Springs will know what I'm talking about. Gunfire was a pretty common thing at night. Especially on the weekends. The police helecopter, AKA the ghetto bird, was constantly 100' above the houses at night spotlighting some fleeing criminal, and the very first murder of 2008 was one block from my house. It was time to move....

[GreenScoutII]

My wife and I bought this house about 8 years ago. It's on 16 acres and is surrounded on two sides by about 600 to 800 vertical feet of mountain with nothing on it. I have a good backstop.

One day not long after we bought the place a guy who lives on the other side of the mountain (600 feet above and 1/2 mile away) complained to the sheriff's dept about me shooting. Well, I know all of the deputies and they know me very well. They are 100% confident I would not shoot in an unsafe manner.

But, 2 deputies came out basically to BS. They asked what I was shooting...don't remember what it was at the time but they thought it was pretty cool. Then one of them...a friend of mine...got a big s**t-eating grin on his face and said, "Wait'll you see what I just got issued." He went back to his patrol car and returned with a brand new HK UMP-40...yes, select-fire. He said we could shoot it but he didn't have any ammo. Well, Hell! I owned a gun store. Ammo was not a problem.

Long story short we went through about 600 rounds of ammo to "break in" the UMP. The Sgt eventually showed up with a real USGI surplus (department issued, of course) Winchester M14, also with a fun switch.

The neighbor with the house that overlooks part of my property...the one who complained? After seeing 3 patrol cars and hearing a butt-load of automatic rifle fire, has never complained again.

Try THAT in a big city!

Awesome! You win.....

[Mtn.man]

Well it IS Bailey,, LOL

[sniper7]

My wife and I bought this house about 8 years ago. It's on 16 acres and is surrounded on two sides by about 600 to 800 vertical feet of mountain with nothing on it. I have a good backstop.

One day not long after we bought the place a guy who lives on the other side of the mountain (600 feet above and 1/2 mile away) complained to the sheriff's dept about me shooting. Well, I know all of the deputies and they know me very well. They are 100% confident I would not shoot in an unsafe manner.

But, 2 deputies came out basically to BS. They asked what I was shooting...don't remember what it was at the time but they thought it was pretty cool. Then one of them...a friend of mine...got a big s**t-eating grin on his face and said, "Wait'll you see what I just got issued." He went back to his patrol car and returned with a brand new HK UMP-40...yes, select-fire. He said we could shoot it but he didn't have any ammo. Well, Hell! I owned a gun store. Ammo was not a problem.

Long story short we went through about 600 rounds of ammo to "break in" the UMP. The Sgt eventually showed up with a real USGI surplus (department issued, of course) Winchester M14, also with a fun switch.

The neighbor with the house that overlooks part of my property...the one who complained? After seeing 3 patrol cars and hearing a butt-load of automatic rifle fire, has never complained again.

Try THAT in a big city!

awesome story