TOYS!

[Scotsgun]

Call or whatever you want but if you treat it like a toy around me then be prepared for my boot up your arse.

[Dougan]

Call or whatever you want but if you treat it like a toy around me then be prepared for my boot up your arse.

If I came stalking with you, I would treat the tools of your trade with great respect...but if you came on a range day with me, I would take your safety as a given (knowing your experience), and expect you to have some fun with my toys

[M1Charles1M]

If people cannot understand the term is a euphemism used in a light hearted context then perhaps they should do one of the following:
1: Get a life
2: Get an education
3: Mind their own sodding business

For goodness sake let us stop being apologists for our interests, we do nothing wrong, we simply enjoy Shooting. A gun is not a Weapon until it is in the hands of a person with intent, until then it is no different to any other implement and any implement, even a stuffed teddy bear can be used as a weapon if you intend it to be!

[Polchraine]

My dictionary defines a Toy as being something that that is intended to be, or that is thought of as being, for amusement or pleasure ...

I have three sets of Toys: My Woodworking and DIY machines, My Cameras and My Gun Collection. I refer to them that way, my wife does and so do my friends. One of my friends has a HiFi system worth around £100k - I refer to it as his Toy and whenever he says to his wife "I am going to xxxx Town, she says - "what new Toy are you buying today"

Call or whatever you want but if you treat it like a toy around me then be prepared for my boot up your arse.

I treat most of my "toys" with great respect! What you really meant was "treat is like a childs toy" ...

[Blackstuff]

If you have a gun for self defense, then it's a weapon - if it's for hunting, it's a tool...but if you just have them to go to the range with your friends and see who can shoot the most bulls-eyes, which is essentially 'play', then it could be considered a toy...

...if you are competitive, it could be called 'sporting equipment'...but this would be a very cold term for some guns, especially classics which have character and history...which is why I confess to calling mine 'beauty' sometimes razz

I do know what you mean though, in that the word 'toy' may suggest that the user is not taking it seriously - but I think shooters are in a league of their own for making a potentially hazardous sport incredibly safe while still having a lot of fun...it's a mind-set that unfortunately many others who play with 'big boys toys' don't always have; like those who regularly come a'cropper playing with speedboats, jet-skis, sports cars etc....

+1

The only term that really gets my goat is referring to a shotgun as a 'shottie' But thats just me being a grumpy (not so) old man :roll:

[Thomas Turner]

This thread tipped me from following to joining in :lol: by the time I'm registered and all it's moved along a way, Sendit said

euphemism used in a light hearted context

I can live with, as long as it is clear that the person using it (the euphemism) clearly knows and respects them for everything they can be, I'm in it for pleasure, for family, community, at a club range, should I go down a hunting/pest control road at a later date, I'd hope it was still more for pleasure than need, as for self defence, unless we're talking zombie attack, I can't see anything other than a shotgun in a rural area (which was in it's normal use before the situation occured) fitting that bill, as most other guns even for the owner generally have access issues which point toward premeditation, sure it could happen, but in the UK a rarity surely?

That said It's not a euphemism I'll be using just yet.

[M1Charles1M]

This thread tipped me from following to joining in :lol: by the time I'm registered and all it's moved along a way, Sendit said

euphemism used in a light hearted context

I can live with, as long as it is clear that the person using it (the euphemism) clearly knows and respects them for everything they can be, I'm in it for pleasure, for family, community, at a club range, should I go down a hunting/pest control road at a later date, I'd hope it was still more for pleasure than need, as for self defence, unless we're talking zombie attack, I can't see anything other than a shotgun in a rural area (which was in it's normal use before the situation occured) fitting that bill, as most other guns even for the owner generally have access issues which point toward premeditation, sure it could happen, but in the UK a rarity surely?

That said It's not a euphemism I'll be using just yet.

Is not the word 'Weapon' also often used as a euphemism for any firearm when in reality it does not become a weapon until it is used with intent. I flatly refuse to pander to the PC brigade when in common parlance everyone except the obtuse or deliberately irrational take exception to common sense or flippant use of language in normal society. If the same term was used to represent cars, golf bats, model aircraft, etc, no one would think twice about the use of any euphemistic term. I have said many times I will not be an apologist for owning, using and greatly enjoying firearms, that does not by implication mean that I treat them any less seriously as potential hazards than anyone should, quite the opposite in fact, as an RO I am the epitome of 'Anal'!

[zeroveez]

"referring to a shotgun as a shottie" I like scattergun, myself, as that's what it appears to be when I'm shooting clays. In any case, I'm happy with toys; most adults are very serious about their toys. However, I would like those who consider the motor car their "toy" to remember that they kill almost three thousand people a year.