By Bill York
I noticed a new gun store on Killian Hill Road in Lilburn. MAINSTREET GUNS & RANGE. I walked in. Wow! I saw a hammerless 38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, grayish, satiny finish. I wanted it. Intrigued, I went into the back. The place has five pistol and four rifle ranges.
I bought my first gun, a .22 rifle, from Montgomery Ward for $2.95 in 1936. I was 10 years old. I hunted squirrels and killed maybe a thousand tin cans. I have been hooked on guns ever since.
I asked owner, Jim Hornsby, when he became interested in guns.
He said he got a Ted Williams .22 rifle from Sears when he was 12, 50 years ago.
“How long have you been in this business?”
“Eleven years on Arcado.”
“How’re sales?”
“Great. We’re already a dominant dealer in Georgia.”
I mentioned that there’s growing controversy, even hysteria about guns.”
“To own guns is a constitutional right.” he said.
“We’re getting to be like the wild-west, again,” I said.
Jim said. “Illegal drugs and the lousy economy have caused crime to surge. Being armed is important today. The police can’t be everywhere.”
“You put a lot of money in renovating the store,” I remarked.
“I’m looking to the future.”
“What do you personally carry?”
“A Sig 9 mm,”
You must be trained with a gun, emotionally prepared to use it when in danger. You shouldn’t be trigger-happy but hesitating to act when threatened can be a mistake. You must read the law regarding guns. My understanding is that if you know your life is in danger it is okay to use a gun. Having a weapon is not enough though, you must know how and when to use it. Practice improves confidence and competence.
“If you know nothing about guns, we’ll train you. You should get a permit,” Hornsby said.
If you feel a need to have a weapon make sure it is the right one for you and you understand its use. If I kept only one gun in my house I would keep my 20 gauge pump gun. The sound of shells being jacked into a pump gun is enough to frighten intruders. You must be prepared. You can’t ask the thug kicking in your door to wait while you go upstairs to get your gun.
I sold a semi-automatic. I worried about the safety. I lost firepower but I can shoot a tighter pattern with my 38 Colt Police Special revolver I bought when DeKalb County changed to Berettas.
A gun can save your life. In 1950 a friend and I were canoeing the Mackenzie River in Canada. We were attacked by a grizzly bear. Luckily I had my Savage 3000. My military Colt .45 saved my hide in North Africa in 1944.”
Advocates of a ban on guns reject reality. Criminals have guns. They don’t undergo background checks. Smuggling and stealing is big business. Ban guns and anarchy will surely prevail.
Bill York has lived in Stone Mountain for 35 years. Reach him at sioux2222@gmail.com
