Announcement Help spread the word with this print-at-home Northwest Firearms flyer!

[Joe Link]

I printed out a dozen and will visit every gun shop in the area and ask them to post!

Thank you!

 

[Cerberus Group]

Just posted on my website...let me know if that works.

cerberus-training.com

 

[CountryGent]

I printed out a dozen and will visit every gun shop in the area and ask them to post!

So good. Thank you!

 

[Joe Link]

Just posted on my website...let me know if that works.

cerberus-training.com

Looks great!!

 

[Kruel J]

Just posted on my website...let me know if that works.

cerberus-training.com

I like that!

 

[DuneHopper]

Not to be a stickler as I love the flyer idea, but how is NWFA preserving gun rights as seen of the flyer some members may be active but I am not aware of any pro-active movement thats NWFA does ?
The flyer gives the impression the powers that be here are using NWFA to preserve rights like the NRA and OFF do, I have asked about this since being a member and seldom is a complete answer given sorry but true and I have asked allot.

NWFA is a great firearms site for gun owners it helps build friendships with like-minded people and sparks some great
conversation. In the lobby work I did and do I work to preserve civil rights and its tireless and non-thankful job. I see that word usage here as misleading unless Joe Link or someone on behalf of NWFA specifically is now doing this ? If its still the same then using that language really gives a false views as some donating may think its also helping to preserve rights. Hey if NWFA ever uses the 40K members for a movement to actually fight for rights I will lay down the first $100.00 today to see that happen. But preserving rights is not just a catch phrase it takes hard work to do these things and no offense running a firearms site is not pro-actively fighting to preserve rights not in reality its not.

Not trying to be negative, but its a pet peeve of mine when catch phrases are used in the wrong way in my opinion.
DH

 

[Joe Link]

Not to be a stickler as I love the flyer idea, but how is NWFA preserving gun rights as seen of the flyer some members may be active but I am not aware of any pro-active movement thats NWFA does ?
The flyer gives the impression the powers that be here are using NWFA to preserve rights like the NRA and OFF do, I have asked about this since being a member and seldom is a complete answer given sorry but true and I have asked allot.

NWFA is a great firearms site for gun owners it helps build friendships with like-minded people and sparks some great
conversation. In the lobby work I did and do I work to preserve civil rights and its tireless and non-thankful job. I see that word usage here as misleading unless Joe Link or someone on behalf of NWFA specifically is now doing this ? If its still the same then using that language really gives a false views as some donating may think its also helping to preserve rights. Hey if NWFA ever uses the 40K members for a movement to actually fight for rights I will lay down the first $100.00 today to see that happen. But preserving rights is not just a catch phrase it takes hard work to do these things and no offense running a firearms site is not pro-actively fighting to preserve rights not in reality its not.

Not trying to be negative, but its a pet peeve of mine when catch phrases are used in the wrong way in my opinion.
DH

I suppose that'd depend on what you think preservation of gun rights looks like. It sounds like we may have a different opinion. I tend to question how much good traditional 'activism' does when it comes to gun rights. Half the time I look at pro-gun rallies and think they're doing more to hurt our cause than help it. Not to mention, do a few hundred people on the capital steps really change any minds in our region? This is what most people think in terms of a 'movement' or 'activism', and in that sense, no, we don't organize rallies (reason mentioned above).

Other forms of activism I do think are worthwhile, such as calling/writing our elected officials and businesses, donating to organizations which litigate anti-gun laws, voting for pro-gun candidates, and getting getting new people involved in shooting sports. Who is it doing all of the above? People, and that's where we come in.

The way I see it, everything starts with bringing gun owners together. You can't have any form of activism without people. If viewed on a horizontal line, the people we have here span the entire range from curious non-gun owners to "Cold Dead Hands". The standard alphabet organizations (OFF, NRA, SAF, 2AF, etc) you think of when you think of activism only focus to the people at the far end of that horizontal line. New gun owners (and many of us old ones) find the fire and brimstone rhetoric to be quite unattractive (even if it's true).

Nobody is born a die-hard 2A supporter, and to the average person who wasn't raised around guns, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I've come to find out that my path to getting there was very similar to how the majority of people get there, starting a very slow journey at the beginning of that horizontal line.

I turned 21 in 2003 and it had been nearly a decade since I last shot the .22's on the property my grandparents owned in Prineville. I was just starting to question my 'government can do no wrong' high school mindset (no joke, I was probably a Communist). I thought the AWB and more gun control was a good idea. If I had a switch that'd make all guns disappear, I'd have flipped it. The only reason I wanted to purchase a gun was for protection, as I was moving into an even worse area than where I grew up. I had no idea that firearm activism was a thing, and if I had who knows which side I've been on. Being limited to a single ten-round pistol for protection probably would have sounded reasonable to me.

I started my journey with research and came across a forum, The High Road, where I made my first thread asking for pistol recommendations. My subsequent threads over the next couple years were mostly asking for advice on specific guns and asking folks what they'd do in various self-defense scenarios. They were an extremely welcoming bunch over there, and I learned a ton. Politics came up but those discussions were easily avoidable. I found the same when I went to my NRA Basic Pistol course at Johnson Creek Gun Club, an open and friendly group eager to let me try various firearms. Again, nobody pushed politics or activism on me whatsoever. I was an NRA member as required to join JCGC but their mail/magazines were promptly recycled, not because I didn't agree but because I didn't care. After a couple years of hanging out on THR I noticed some people talking about something and I made my way over to the activism section, which is where a whole new world opened up. I read and researched everything I could on the subject of guns and the constitution. Not only did I shift hard to the "Cold Dead Hands" camp, everything else shifted as well, which is how I became a libertarian.

To date I've donated thousands of dollars to pro-gun organizations, written/called/emailed countless people and businesses, introduced dozens of new people to the sport of shooting, and started this little website. I can say without a doubt that I might still be anti-gun if I hadn't found The High Road community and if everyone I met wasn't so welcoming to a new person who didn't share their political views. It's quite obvious that these experiences shaped the way we run NWFA today.

Fact is, it takes a village to move a person from anti or even neutral to the point down the line where they actually become involved in 2A activism via the traditional organizations. There are no shortcuts, it takes time and positive experiences. We are that village for Northwest gun owners. This community creates activists, pro-gun voters, and donors, which is far more important than anything else.

(apologies for the book)

 

[Kruel J]

I wasn't in the "Cold Dead Hands" camp either when I joined NWFA. I only owned a few guns and stumbled onto this site looking for an outdoor place to shoot as I has just moved back to Oregon from spending 20+ years away from the northwest. After I joined here, I read a LOT of old threads and learned more about guns and firearm activism than I had even known existed. I have made so many friends here, and have definitely shifted into the "Cold Dead Hands" group. I have written countless emails to our state leaders, attended a few rallies and even some open house gun discussions. I have donated thousands as well to pro-gun organizations as well as NWFA. I speak to everyone I can about proposed initiatives designed to grab my legally purchased property.

At the end of the day, NWFA has made me more active, more aware and a better shooter and firearm owner. I'd say that's that's a pretty solid example of this site's "power" to spread the word about firearm ownership.

 

[Lilhigbee]

I printed off a few to take to the Carson gun show this Saturday, along with the business cards you gave me a while back. I get a few people interested each time, I hope they join up!!

 

[Joe Link]

I printed off a few to take to the Carson gun show this Saturday, along with the business cards you gave me a while back. I get a few people interested each time, I hope they join up!!

Great!

 

[E4mafia]

Saw this the other day while up at Wolf Creek. Nice to see a pitched idea got put in.

 

[coop44]

42000!!! Wow, when I showed up here it was a pretty small group. Heck i remember when Calgun's got started too, same thing.

 

[DuneHopper]

I have brought several members here over the years, also lost several good friends that had left even this last year due to the new PC model. I am here for more then just politics or I would not be here either. But some more far right then I have a hard time with mixed company. But there is good to be done here I can see that, but I guess it all comes down to the results are as positive as the company we keep.

 

[Joe Link]

42000!!! Wow, when I showed up here it was a pretty small group. Heck i remember when Calgun's got started too, same thing.

Crazy, huh?? You're member #7731.

I have brought several members here over the years, also lost several good friends that had left even this last year due to the new PC model. I am here for more then just politics or I would not be here either. But some more far right then I have a hard time with mixed company. But there is good to be done here I can see that, but I guess it all comes down to the results are as positive as the company we keep.

To be honest, I'm really happy this is no longer a haven for the far right types and those constantly posting non-firearm political stuff. I actually have some personal friends like that. While they're great people, they simply aren't a good fit for what we're trying to do here

 

[bbbass]

far right types

Hey Joe, I drive a PU and wear camo to the WalMart on Sunday...

Pretty sure far right is a subjective judgement on people.

@DuneHopper , I find myself less willing to put up with people of the opposite political ideology that won't shut up. The only way I can be around those folks is to avoid talking politics. But they constantly want to get in my face, and make it personal. Ignoring the old rule of no politics or religion in social settings. Sign of the times I guess.

 

[Mikej]

Hey Joe, I drive a PU and wear camo to the WalMart on Sunday...

Pretty sure far right is a subjective judgement on people.

@DuneHopper , I find myself less willing to put up with people of the opposite political ideology that won't shut up. The only way I can be around those folks is to avoid talking politics. But they constantly want to get in my face, and make it personal. Ignoring the old rule of no politics or religion in social settings. Sign of the times I guess.

I'm less willing to listen to EITHER side that's too far out. To far out is bad for all of us.

 

[DuneHopper]

Crazy, huh?? You're member #7731.
To be honest, I'm really happy this is no longer a haven for the far right types and those constantly posting non-firearm political stuff. I actually have some personal friends like that. While they're great people, they simply aren't a good fit for what we're trying to do here

I agree that is a true statement, I recall how it was and how it is. Its a much friendlier site. It is also a very unsuccessful site as pro-gun advocate. Being pro-gun is what we are all about of course. But also a huge resource that could be used in the fight for our rights
simply isn't taken serious as a contender. I also have seen a huge increase in anti-gun members infiltrating this more friendly PC site.
Sadly I am not the only one seeing that, and why we are losing far right voices, we are increasing in far left voices in a huge way. Where I live in Douglas County, most here won't join the site. We are fairly majority conservatives down here and the site is too open to the opposition to be helpful for us down this way. And is why I have noticed just a handful of member are here from a county as large as the state of New York. The site is seen more to represent Medford, Salem, Portland and Seattle point of views politically pro-gun wise, more then the conservative spectrum.
That said the site is as mentioned friendlier and less stressful. But is also one of the last gun sites I think of when I think of fighting for rights, as many think that the opposition is party responsible. Which is not allowed here to discuss, which in turn allows the left to take a seat a the table. Is that good or bad? Not for me to say. I personally in my off NWFA life, do not agree politically in the choices at NWFA. So I tend to try and stay away from even those threads that hint on the political spectrum that direction. As NWFA does not see a political party at the root of the cause and I do. So I try and zip it and move along, as there are other places and ways to fight if NWFA doesn't choose that path.
Guess well see in 10 years how this many members, not being used politically changes or not. Its different i will give you that.
Is that good or bad? I have no idea, time will tell I suppose.

PS.
I say unsuccessful advocate, as my methods were the only methods that had success in protecting our rights
here in Oregon in near 20 years. By doing the opposite we do here. So makes it hard for me right now to see the success
in that area here. So its hard for me personally to ignore the fact that worked for me and all of Oregon.

 

[Mygrainman]

Crazy, huh?? You're member #7731.



To be honest, I'm really happy this is no longer a haven for the far right types and those constantly posting non-firearm political stuff. I actually have some personal friends like that. While they're great people, they simply aren't a good fit for what we're trying to do here

I am happy for that too... there are many gun owners, and pro2a folks out there that do not align with all that the right represents.
While I may not agree with their lifestyle choices, at least we can find common ground with our love of firearms...

As far as the flyer...
I will print some out and take them to the gunshows with me.
I'm always trying to talk folks into joining the NWFA family anyway... a flyer will definitely make it easier.

 

[Joe Link]

I agree that is a true statement, I recall how it was and how it is. Its a much friendlier site. It is also a very unsuccessful site as pro-gun advocate. Being pro-gun is what we are all about of course. But also a huge resource that could be used in the fight for our rights
simply isn't taken serious as a contender. I also have seen a huge increase in anti-gun members infiltrating this more friendly PC site.
Sadly I am not the only one seeing that, and why we are losing far right voices, we are increasing in far left voices in a huge way. Where I live in Douglas County, most here won't join the site. We are fairly majority conservatives down here and the site is too open to the opposition to be helpful for us down this way. And is why I have noticed just a handful of member are here from a county as large as the state of New York. The site is seen more to represent Medford, Salem, Portland and Seattle point of views politically pro-gun wise, more then the conservative spectrum.
That said the site is as mentioned friendlier and less stressful. But is also one of the last gun sites I think of when I think of fighting for rights, as many think that the opposition is party responsible. Which is not allowed here to discuss, which in turn allows the left to take a seat a the table. Is that good or bad? Not for me to say. I personally in my off NWFA life, do not agree politically in the choices at NWFA. So I tend to try and stay away from even those threads that hint on the political spectrum that direction. As NWFA does not see a political party at the root of the cause and I do. So I try and zip it and move along, as there are other places and ways to fight if NWFA doesn't choose that path.
Guess well see in 10 years how this many members, not being used politically changes or not. Its different i will give you that.
Is that good or bad? I have no idea, time will tell I suppose.

PS.
I say unsuccessful advocate, as my methods were the only methods that had success in protecting our rights
here in Oregon in near 20 years. By doing the opposite we do here. So makes it hard for me right now to see the success
in that area here. So its hard for me personally to ignore the fact that worked for me and all of Oregon.

I can't argue with that. Since day one the path I chose for NWFA has been the most difficult decision I've had to make, often times setting aside my own preferences and opinions for what I believe is best for the site. I know a lot of people see this as a wasted resource when it comes to fighting for our rights. While I disagree, I understand where they're coming from. To me it's more important to create a friendly atmosphere for new shooters than to maintain an echo chamber like this site has devolved into in the past. Regardless of whether we agree or disagree, all I ask is that while people are here they respect our rules and our decisions in how we run the site. I've taken notice of you yourself moving away from the political stuff here on NWFA, and I really appreciate it

 

[Member 34319]

Out of curiosity, does NWFA donate any funds to any organizations?

Asking for a friend.