Do rifles have souls?

[MS 9x56]

Just interested in hunters opinions on their tools?

 

[K-man]

No, not when they are built. We give them souls by taking them out and using them, and the stories and the animals taken and the places they go with us. The ones never shot and rest beautiful in the safe never develop a presence.

 

[FLhunter7]

No more a storage for memories. When you look at a gun you've had you think fondly of what you've done with it.

 

[sestoppelman]

Every rifle on the rack says BUY ME, NOW! Aside from that, one rifle I own that I have never even hunted with seems to evoke memories of other people, hunters from Africa or India perhaps when I hold or shoot it. Its a very old London Small Arms factory Enfield .303 sporter that I stumbled onto in the LGS a few years ago. Didn't really know what it was when I first oogled it. Went home did some research, went back the next day, still there. Picked it up again, and it just sort of talked to me.
Another chap who appeared to know what a fine rifle it was, was really hovering, so he could be right there to snag it when I put it back on the used rack. But I didn't. I marched that old rifle up to the counter and carded it right there. Price was almost criminally low.
Its a wonderful old rifle over a hundred years old, one I shall never part with and likely never take hunting.

 

[Ray B]

There are several things that have "souls" that carry over to new owners or more accurately caretakers. I have a hand-me-down Winchester Model 1894 made when McKinley was president that my wife's uncle defended his sheep from coyotes in rural Oregon during the 1920s and 30s. Her uncle died years before my wife was born and the rifle went to his brother, my wife's father. He didn't use it but took good care of it until he passed it on to me. I can only dream of the adventures her uncle had while holding it. But such memories aren't limited to guns. I have a hammer and saw that my grandfather used in construction from the 1940s and 50s, and the saw was old when he got it from a retiring carpenter. Then there's the Dexter steel spatula that an old pastry chef gave to my grandmother that is now on the order of 150 years old and I still use it when baking. Memories come alive when using these items that transport us through time.

 

[Red Leg]

I readily admit that I am a bit of a mystic when it comes to weapons (a term I deliberately use). Since we emerged from Africa’s vast interior we have built weapons. Through our craft, our art, and our use we have given them a sense of our collective experience - a soul perhaps - or at least a shadow of the person who used it.. In my home, I have a large collection of weapons that date back to the Thirty Years War. I have a musket that was used by a French voyageur in the 1750's. On the wall next to it is a French officer's small sword dating from the French and Indian War. On one side of its blade is etched in French "Draw me not without reason" - on the other - "sheath me not without honor." There are several nicks along the blade that could only have been made by another blade. Another is engraved with the name of the young British lieutenant who carried it at Salamanca and Waterloo. How can such things not carry a bit of the soul of the previous owner and his opponent? In the gun room are SxS shotguns dating to the 1890's. One is a magnificent hammer ten bore with damascus barrels made by Lindner. It has accompanied me to Canada three times for wildfowl. Each time I was certain other ghosts accompanied me on those hunts. To my modern firearms and knives, I am hopeful that I contribute a bit of my own soul as well. Perhaps my son will carry them and thus a bit of me into other adventures long after I have gone.

The saddest thing for me are the wonderful things we see from time to time at gun shops, gunshows, and on line. Wonderful artifacts of history, without a hint of their previous owners, other than a mark on the stock or a bit of wear on the barrels. Those unknown ghosts speak to me as well. I try to feel their presence whenever such a firearm or blade is in my hands. I hope they speak to all of us.

 

[mark-hunter]

And once we discover the ghosts of our guns, we stop being their owners, then we become only their curators only to keep them for next generation.

 

[sestoppelman]

My dad used to say and its accurate. "we never really own anything, we just borrow it while we're here".

 

[35bore]

My dad used to say and its accurate. "we never really own anything, we just borrow it while we're here".

Ya, but by God I own it while I'm here. At least the firearms and all the ammo. Lol

 

[perttime]

The conclusion might be similar to one that I found on a cycling forum where the discussion turned into bicycles having souls.

"It only has a soul if it was built from scratch by old Giuseppe, in his rickety cabin up in the mountains, at the end of a trail that is barely walkable for a donkey, only using hand tools and a charcoal forge."

 

[Wade J VanGinkel]

That's why I've never been able to part with anything once I've hunted with it.
A soul, memories, or maybe the aura that some pieces carry with them.
Any time I pick up my grandfather's model 64 30wcf images of red plaid and deer camp in the U.P. flood into my mind.
It's why I carry custom fixed blade knives with exotic handles of mammoth ivory or like my latest from Gary with thousands of years old swamp kauri.
Even a brand new 1911 gives a feeling a glock or similar never will due to its lineage alone.
That's just the beginning, historical weapons with an actual history take it to an even higher level.

 

[MS 9x56]

I readily admit that I am a bit of a mystic when it comes to weapons (a term I deliberately use). Since we emerged from Africa’s vast interior we have built weapons. Through our craft, our art, and our use we have given them a sense of our collective experience - a soul perhaps - or at least a shadow of the person who used it.. In my home, I have a large collection of weapons that date back to the Thirty Years War. I have a musket that was used by a French voyageur in the 1750's. On the wall next to it is a French officer's small sword dating from the French and Indian War. On one side of its blade is etched in French "Draw me not without reason" - on the other - "sheath me not without honor." There are several nicks along the blade that could only have been made by another blade. Another is engraved with the name of the young British lieutenant who carried it at Salamanca and Waterloo. How can such things not carry a bit of the soul of the previous owner and his opponent? In the gun room are SxS shotguns dating to the 1890's. One is a magnificent hammer ten bore with damascus barrels made by Lindner. It has accompanied me to Canada three times for wildfowl. Each time I was certain other ghosts accompanied me on those hunts. To my modern firearms and knives, I am hopeful that I contribute a bit of my own soul as well. Perhaps my son will carry them and thus a bit of me into other adventures long after I have gone.

The saddest thing for me are the wonderful things we see from time to time at gun shops, gunshows, and on line. Wonderful artifacts of history, without a hint of their previous owners, other than a mark on the stock or a bit of wear on the barrels. Those unknown ghosts speak to me as well. I try to feel their presence whenever such a firearm or blade is in my hands. I hope they speak to all of us.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Sometimes when things are slow during a hunt I find myself talking to them in my head . Great answer!!!

 

[Von S.]

No

Firearms don't have souls, nor free will and they sure can't be possessed by spirits be they good or bad.

Though antigunners would want people to believe that it's the gun not the gunner that commits crimes.

 

[Shootist43]

Without a doubt some definition is required here. To me and many others here, souls are relegated to human beings only. Reference to a "thing's" past is relevant history at best. The stories and exploits of former owners add to the "lore" of the object in question and indeed deserve deep consideration and respect. I don't mean to offend anyone. JMHO

 

[Bruce]

Not sure about SOULS, but... Years ago I got a BSA SPORTSMAN. 22 Long rifle from my late uncle. He hunted and fished with my own late father.. I considered this uncle my second father. At some stage in my career I was being transferred to Chile to head up South American operations.. I couldn't take firearms, so this 22 rifle was sold to a work colleague of mine.. This transfer to Chile eventually never took place, but in the meantime, this friend had a home break in.. The thieves got away with most of his stuff... BUT, the trusty BSA was picked up in the garden by police officers!!
I got the rifle back when the transfer fell through.. A few years later, my own home was broken into( we were away for Xmas vacation) and ALL my firearms and electric goods were stolen... EXCEPT, YES... the BSA rifle once again picked up in the garden by a police officer... Something spooky going on there... I still have that BSA and will never part with it.. When I'm gone, it goes to my son!!
SOUL, I don't think so, but something or someone was watching over these theft attempts!!!!

 

[leslie hetrick]

i have to close my gun rooms door if i want to get any sleep, as all i hear is, i brought down more small game then you, i shot the biggest large game, i shot 97-100 at trap, my uncle saved our owners life in vn. it goes on and on.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

No, guns do not have souls. How do I know this? When I was growing up, my dad owned a Piper Comanche (single engine, light aircraft). When he would file a flight plan, the number of people on the aircraft would be filed as "the number of souls onboard." So when my dad and I flew somewhere, there would be "two souls onboard." If we were transporting a few firearms, it was still "two souls onboard."

 

[MS 9x56]

No, guns do not have souls. How do I know this? When I was growing up, my dad owned a Piper Comanche (single engine, light aircraft). When he would file a flight plan, the number of people on the aircraft would be filed as "the number of souls onboard." So when my dad and I flew somewhere, there would be "two souls onboard." If we were transporting a few firearms, it was still "two souls onboard."

Now that right there is funny as hell

 

[Opposite Pole]

No, guns do not have souls. How do I know this? When I was growing up, my dad owned a Piper Comanche (single engine, light aircraft). When he would file a flight plan, the number of people on the aircraft would be filed as "the number of souls onboard." So when my dad and I flew somewhere, there would be "two souls onboard." If we were transporting a few firearms, it was still "two souls onboard."

You must be an engineer

 

[Hogpatrol]

No, guns do not have souls. How do I know this? When I was growing up, my dad owned a Piper Comanche (single engine, light aircraft). When he would file a flight plan, the number of people on the aircraft would be filed as "the number of souls onboard." So when my dad and I flew somewhere, there would be "two souls onboard." If we were transporting a few firearms, it was still "two souls onboard."

Standard ATC terminology is "souls on board". Still the same today. As to firearms having a soul? Only the ones that have seen combat.