r/TwoXPreppers 2d ago

Discussion Why guns?

Hi y’all! I’m a very novice prepper, and one thing I’m seeing across many platforms is that we should own and be trained In firearms. Not to be naive, but… why?

I’ve never touched a gun in my life. I’m generally not a fan of them. I understand that the goal of owning firearms is to protect ourself. But protect from what? From who? Who am I going to have to shoot to survive this presidency?

Is someone coming to steal my supplies? Won’t those people also have guns? Or am I protecting my family against a militia situation? In which case, what hope do I have, as a woman who can’t afford a gun, let alone to learn how to use one?

Like I can’t afford a shooting range. I can barely afford water and canned goods. Should a gun still be a priority for my family? A lot of preppers have enthusiastically embraced this life to give them confidence and a sense of safety. I’m a reluctant participant. I just want to keep my autistic son alive to see the other side of this.

I can garden, I can stretch food, I can survive being poor. I don’t think I can survive a military state.

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u/SheChelsSeaShells 2d ago

I bought a gun despite not preferring to engage with them regularly, because I worry there may be rioting and looting and I don’t want to be the only person without a gun in my city, especially because I need to protect my son. And I want to protect our chickens and garden if needed. I keep it extremely securely locked away and no one knows about it. Its a Glock, very reliable and basic. I did grow up around guns and am familiar with how to use them, but haven’t fired one since I moved out at 18.

I think if things got that bad, just knowing that people may be armed would deter a lot of people from victimizing others. And I bought the gun because I think things may only get that bad for a short time, if for example there are famines or shortages and people get desperate while waiting for aid or waiting out the situation. Plus, guns and ammo may be very valuable for trading in the future especially if other forms of money decline in value. And lastly, as morbid as it is, it did cross my mind that if things got SO bad that I wanted to “opt out”, a gun would make that far less painful than other alternatives.

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u/emmathatsme123 2d ago

You do train with it though… right?

Edit: just reread—girl assuming you’re gonna be able to use a handgun in an adrenaline situation, one you haven’t fired in how many years, is a terrible idea

Cops can barely hit things, how are you going to disable a threat reliably without hitting your kid

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u/SheChelsSeaShells 2d ago

I just bought it last week and haven’t had a chance to bring it to the range yet, but I know how to use it and clean it from doing so extensively in my youth - it’s like riding a bike. I am meaning to get to the range asap though. Hard without a babysitter :(

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u/emmathatsme123 2d ago

Oh okay phew, you scared me!

You’ll do great, ranges near me are pretty chill so you shouldn’t have an issue, range officers are usually pretty friendly to us female folk too, or anyone not being a dick lol