Malcom's First Time Gun Ownership Story

 Growing Up: Wanting What You Can’t Have


I’ve always had a fascination with guns ever since I was a little kid. I loved playing shooting games and watching action/war movies. On top of that, I had cap guns and airsoft guns, went paintballing occasionally with friends, you name it, I probably did it with exception to the real thing.


My dad had shot some firearms when he was younger but my mom had absolutely no experience with guns. She was very protective and obviously saw guns as dangerous, so I never even knew they had a gun in the house until I was about 15. 



First Time Shooting: Jumping Off the Deep End


When I was in high school, my friend invited a group of us to his ranch for the weekend. Growing up in Texas, this wasn’t out of the ordinary. We hung out, did typical country things, and of course, shot some of his grandfather’s guns. This included a .22 bolt action rifle, a 30-06 hunting rifle, an old Winchester lever-action .30-.30 rifle (which to this day is still one of my favorite guns to shoot), and an even older single-shot, break-action shotgun that knocks the wind out of you every time you shoot it. It was like a buffet of guns, one awesome adrenaline rush after another. I was immediately hooked, and from that day on I knew someday, when I was old enough and had the money, I would get myself a gun. 



First Gun: German Performance


I was a senior in college and just moved a bit further away from the typical student housing area; it was trafficked more by locals - including the homeless. I had saved some money up working part-time jobs and knew it was about time to buy my first gun for protection and recreation. I had done my research and knew I wanted a striker-fired pistol in a somewhat compact size. I went to the shooting range and tried out a variety of handguns, finally landing on the HK VP9. It fit perfectly in my hands, was easy to shoot, and looked damn good. I went home and couldn’t stop thinking about how fun it was to shoot that pistol. 


I did some more research to confirm my opinions and eventually I purchased it. It initially felt strange being not only the youngest person in that gun store but also the only Asian there. Luckily, the worker was super friendly, mentioning that it was refreshing helping out younger people from time-to-time over your typical older guys or Fudds. The overall gun-buying process concluded without a hitch, and the only obstacle was telling my mom afterwards. Leading up to the pandemic and the rise of Asian hate/violence, she was constantly asking why I needed a gun, let alone multiple guns, stating I could be saving my money for other priorities. Nowadays, she's almost completely flipped her views on guns. All-in-all, as my experience with firearms (and my collection) grows, I still love going back to my HK.


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