I got a new car last week. A red 2009 Mini Cooper JCW. I love it. I smile every time I get in the driver’s seat, without fail.
For the past year or so I’ve been borrowing Caleb’s Subaru Forester. It’s a good car, but it wasn’t mine, and so I didn’t really take much responsibility for the care of it – I left changing the oil and everything mostly up to him.
But now I have my Mini, and there is a certain pride of ownership that goes with that, and taking good care of the car is extremely important to me.
So how does this apply to guns?
I’ve spent a lot of time harassing people about buying cheap guns, and harping on the importance of a quality firearm, finding something you like and finding a gun you’re comfortable with, and pride of ownership is an important part of that.
Just as I am more responsible in the care of my Mini, having a gun you like means that you’re going to take better care of it, you’re going to practice with it more, and you’re going to buy better accessories for it. Better accessories means it will be more concealable and more comfortable conceal, which means you’re more likely to carry it every day.
Thus, an upward spiral is created and everything good and magical and happy happens.
Buy good cars, buy good guns.
Completely agree. My father, a lifelong mechanic (and appreciator of quality) taught me that if it’s worth having, it’s worth buying the best – and then to take care of it. My take on that is that it’s better to have a couple great tools than a stack of terrible ones. If you can’t afford it – save. If you are okay with something cheap – you probably don’t need it at all.
I agree with you 100% Shelley. I too own a Mini Cooper, not a JCW, but a Cooper S. I take care of it meticulously, it runs like the day I bought it. I am pushing 40K miles (I spent 7 months in Iraq, no miles while I was away). I take care of my guns too, and I do not buy cheap guns or ammo either.
I can tell you this. When other Cooper drivers wave at me, I only wave back to Cooper S drivers 😉
Motor on Shelley.
Good for you Shelley, one tip. Change the oil every 3000 miles. I know, the book says you can go longer, don’t. Oil is cheap, the motor will last much longer if you change the oil every 3,000 miles. You live in a cold climate, I live in the desert, it is the same, harsh. Good luck!
So your’re saying you drove Caleb’s Forester (really, Caleb?) like you stole it! Too awesome.
Hey, the Fozzie is a hell of a car.
I’ll dissent a little.
Quite honestly, I can’t think of a single object I own that makes me proud. They’re just things and I’m pretty practical about them. My little Honda reliably gets me from A to B using minimal gas. The M&P rests in a holster or in the nightstand should I need it. A pretty nice set of kitchen knives helps me prepare food efficiently. I enjoy watching sports on a giant flatscreen TV. But it’s all just stuff, a means to an end. I maintain these items properly — oil changes for the car, dusting off the pistol occasionally, keeping an edge on the knives, etc. — not because of any particular pride in them but simply because I need them to work in order to make my life easier/safer/more enjoyable.
I might be proud of a personal accomplishment or an improvement in a particular skill, but pride in material things doesn’t really enter into it. I’m not emotionally attached to my car, a gun, a knife or any other tool or toy. To me that’s like being proud of the old claw hammer in my toolbox.
See, I’m the kind of guy that totally gets emotionally attached to things. I cried when I traded in the first truck that I bought with my own money, because it had 250,000 miles on it and had carried me across the nation on multiple occasions.
But interestingly, I don’t really form emotional attachments to guns. Mostly just cars and random brickabrack that I keep around.
Heh, that’s funny. My display picture is somehow linked to my wife’s WordPress account for her painting side business! Anybody need painting done in Phoenix?
It’s a cute picture.
I get emotionally attached to pretty much anything. I feel bad ripping up credit cards when I get new ones… And I have this pretty green pen, I don’t know what I’d do if I lost it! And sometimes I feel bad eating pretty things I make…
I’m proud of certain things, and sentimental about others. The things I’m proud of tend to be either things I’ve made or built myself, or things that are very high quality. For example, I’m proud of the AR-15s that I built from stripped lowers. Also proud of the Fort Knox safe I keep them in because the thing is beautiful and very well made. Also very proud of the Pinewood Derby Batmobile my son and I made last year for cub scouts. I’m sentimental about things that I’ve had for a long time, or was given by someone close to me. I’m sentimental about my 1999 Honda Accord with 140,000 miles because of all the trips and memories it contributed to. Also sentimental about cards and handmade gifts my kids make for me.
As for pride in ownership, if you’ve ever fired a gun rented from a gun range you’ll understand real quick when pride of ownership is absent. Congrats Shelley, it’s a great feeling to have something that makes you feel proud, and to appreciate the nice things you have.
really fine i would like to have one but i couldnt even get in it. nice car shelley p.s. it would be red.