The Homestead Firearm

Image Gallery [1] The only way to learn to shoot where it's gonna be is to practice.

The decision to buy a gun is a weighty one. Should you conclude that you want to do so, the information in this article will help you choose the tool intelligently, and use it safely and well.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Although the purchase of firearms has occasionally been recommended in our Economic Outlook columns— and such weapons have been mentioned in any number of our feature articles over the years—MOTHER has never published any piece specifically about guns . . . until now. However, the fact is that this has always been a magazine devoted to presenting alternatives rather than to preaching. That's why we can run articles praising vegetarian living and stories describing how to raise meat animals in the same issue.

Well, many folks who head back to the land do feel the need to own weapons . . . and an inappropriate firearm—in the hands of someone who isn't aware of how to maintain it or use it safely—can be terribly dangerous. So we decided to provide some basic information for those readers who might profit from it. If you are confirmed in your choice never to own a firearm, be assured that MOTHER respects your decision. On the other hand, if you think you should own a gun, we respect that decision, too . . . and suggest you read what Gary Kent—experienced shooter and regular contributor to outdoor and firearm-enthusiast publications—has to say.

When a family moves from the city or suburbs to the country, its members will quickly recognize the need to buy, swap for, or otherwise acquire tools that they aren't necessarily familiar with. Some of the items are simple . . . others are complicated, powerful, and perhaps intimidating. In either case, the family must first choose which devices are truly necessary, and then learn to use the tools safely. Many country dwellers soon find that one such necessary implement is a firearm.

Tools, of course, are devices that help men and women do work. And a gun is a tool that's uniquely suited to three specific jobs: protecting people, protecting crops and livestock, and putting food on the table.

IN THE HOME

The decision to keep a gun for home protection should not be made lightly. Before making up your mind, you'll have to face squarely the idea that—if you do keep a gun for self-defense—you might someday (although the likelihood is very small) actually have to shoot someone. And if you think the matter through and come to the conclusion that you couldn't fire at another human being, even if he or she were threatening your life or the lives of your family, then don't keep a ;gun for protection. Bluffing with an unloaded firearm, or with one you don't intend to use, could very well cause a tragedy where one might not otherwise have ;occurred.