Pretty guns...or not

[MrsS]

Was just in a forum discussing pretty guns (pink camo guns, guns with rainbow colors, hello kitty, etc). One comment posted was that it may be geared for the many woman shooters out there (or something related to that). I have already given my personal opinion on that and was just wondering amongst my fellow shooters here....would "pretty" guns be more of an incentive for women shooters to buy/own vs. standard colored firearms and should "pretty" designs be banned because of possible safety issues involving children and these type of guns? Let's share our opinions! Thanks

[Guns&Dobes]

Interesting thread. Well I have two things to say about the pink Hello Kitty gun...if someone tried to harm you and you pulled out the gun you could say: Here Kitty Kitty or HELLO Kitty..... bang! My second thought is if you had a pink gun that the BG might hesitate to take your gun away from you and kill you with it because he wouldn't want to use a "pink" gun.

OK all joking aside, personally I don't have a need for a "pretty" gun in relation to pink or dainty or however they would want to make it more attractive for women. I don't need to be pacified as a woman to carry. My guns are pretty to me being just what they are.... guns! I have a S&W 640 J-frame that I like, sure it might be nice to put a nice set of grips on it to make it more attractive but I would be thinking something in the lines of a nice wood or pearl but not pink to feminize it. I have a Glock 26 that might be butt ugly to someone else but I really like it. I think handguns are like people, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

As far as banning pretty designs because of children, I say no because we as a society, as parents and responsible adults need to make sure guns are out of the range of children no matter what color they are. A regular gun can be just as attractive to a child as a pretty gun can.

[samuel]

We have 20K unconstitunal laws now.We dont need one more. sam.

[MrsS]

I can't imagine my handgun any other color/design but what it is....pretty guns wouldn't give me the incentive to buy it....I have one purpose for my firearms, and its not to tout who's got the "designer" one....spoke to my sister (who is not a gun owner) and her response to it- "why the designs? Guns are made for one thing, aren't they?" And I absolutely agree that parents/guardians need to be responsible as it pertains to children. Education and accountability should be one of the issues, not "what else can we outlaw now?"

[neophyte]

MrsS: Ma'am; you bring an interesting point to surface.
My shooting partners and I 'rag' each other about the "Pink" ones and my getting a pair of those 'pink' camouflage "Shorts" maybe even something about thongs.
Never once did I consider 'youngsters'. Just thought about the gimmick in advertising.

Gun&Dobes hits the nail squarely.

[Windwalker]

Teaching gun safety to children is great. But guns, whether it is pink, camo, or purple with yellow polka dots, are the adults responsibility to keep stored safely and out of the hands of children except during properly supervised training sessions. We don't need more gun laws.

[mym1a]

apparently all my posts on this matter have disappeared?? where did they go???

[ClayShooterLes]

As a woman, I enjoy bright, sparkly objects, this doesn't mean diamonds, it means nickel and stainless!!!

I have a HUGE affliction for sparkling nickel and anything with beautiful scroll work.

I have my guns highly polished so they shine and are very sparkly, this is appealing and pretty for me. So my stainless guns look like they are nickel...

I am not really into anything pink and cutesy, I feel it is just a gimmick.

But I also did find if I want the spend the coin, I can get grips for my Ruger 357 to match whatever outfit I'm wearing....lol

[elmer fudd]

I think its cool that they makeee it differnt colorsi wouldnt mind having like a red gun or somthing but when they put stuff on it like that i think that they are just asking for trouble with the governent becouse they think some little kid will want it and they probly will and thats just the gunmakers plan to attract kids

[TexasT]

Any gun that gets women out shooting is a good gun. Some people like pink foo foo guns. I don't care what they like as long as they know how to operate them properly. I don't think I'd buy a hello kitty rifle, but maybe a purple sparkle gun with a bedazzled grip.

[knightRider]

Originally Posted by samuel

We have 20K unconstitunal laws now.We dont need one more. sam.

Good post sam

[Taurus Fan]

Pretty doesn't have to mean goofy looking. When I told a friend I was getting this and asked him if it wasn't the best looking pistol he'd ever seen, he said "Yeah, if you're a girl". I like it anyway.

Taurus International Manufacturing Inc

[sell33]

one thing i would say is that these guns may help increase interest in firearms and hunting by being attractive to young shooters and maybe a few women....i know my girlfriend thought the pink cricket was "cute" and wanted one....

[BaserRonin]

I know my GF wants a pink revolver pretty bad. She loves her blued revolver, and would go blue again over stainless. But getting something in a different color appeals to her. Who am I to argue over buying more handguns?

Safety-wise, your kids and any friends they have coming over should know better. Anyone I find rifling through her purse (or trying to open a locked door) will have bigger things to worry about then playing with a "pretty" pink revolver anyway. At this point we all know to never point anything at a cop. So I don't really see much thats fits as a safety "issue" on these. Unless the constant ribbing by the guys at the range over your new pink revolver, or hello-kitty AR counts!

[tlarkin]

I was browsing gunbroker.com just the other day to look at shotguns and to get a feel for what a new and used shotgun should go for. I was looking at the 500 tactical in particular and the first hit I get is a 500 tact, that is all pink as in hot pink with giant red kissing lips all over the gun. I think it may have even said kiss me on it.

While, I must admit I am more minimalistic with most things I own. I prefer the simplistic design of things, or artistic design in a minimalist way. For example, I like a lot of Puma clothing. Its not flashy in any way and their designs are very cool, and yet simplistic. I am more about function.

Now, I also don't really want to own anything that is hot pink, that is just my personal preference, nor do I think any man really wants to own anything in pink. I think I may own one or two pink dress shirts but maybe only have worn them a couple of times my entire life. Like on the occasion my mom suggests I wear that nice pink shirt I got for whatever family occasion.

However, I digress, if anyone wants to customize their gun in any way shape or form I have no problem with it at all. I personally don't even really like the guns that have cammo patterns on them, but that is my personal preference. I think that stainless looks nice but never really want to pay extra for it. However, if I got a great deal on a stainless I would take it no doubt. Now, lets say there is a gun with maybe a simple skull and cross bones design on it, I could get into that.

However, do gun manufactures really need to market their products into a niche market like that? If there is one thing on this planet that doesn't really need marketing it is guns. I think everyone knows what they do and what they are used for. Now, I think most gun marketing is why should I buy brand x over brand y.

Now, if you add a niche marketing like hot pink or skull and cross bones, would that rally affect what people bought when they decided to buy a gun? I would think most people would want a gun that worked, and how it looked would be the second most important thing, that and of course pricing.

I guess I'll be honest here. If I had my choice of 2 six shooters, one plain old black gun metal, and one old plain black gun metal but had a skull and crossbones engraved in it, and they were the same quality and same price, I may actually get the one with the cool design, just because it is cooler.

[Taurus Fan]

Pink isn't bad in small doses, I may get one of these for my wife.....but it'll really be for me.

Taurus International Manufacturing Inc

[TheWall]

You shouldn't leave a gun where a kid can get to it no matter what color it is. But I do agree fancy colors would probably make them more attractive to kids. Not a good thing! I liked the pearl grips on that first gun Taurus Fan had, but not the gold accents. Don't think you want a bright colored concealed carry gun either, for obvious reasons.

[ArkansasHunter]

tlarkin you ought to consider the pink tacticle shotgun, I bet you would be a big HIT at the shooting range buddy !
Think of all the lady's that would want to hold it and shoot it too !!!
A.H

[tlarkin]

Originally Posted by ArkansasHunter

tlarkin you ought to consider the pink tacticle shotgun, I bet you would be a big HIT at the shooting range buddy !
Think of all the lady's that would want to hold it and shoot it too !!!
A.H

You think? I am not sure I would look too cool with this thing....





So, it would kind of be like having a puppy at a public park? Women would come over and want to test it out since its so purty?

I will admit, if I ever saw some tough guy shooting it, I would laugh my butt off! Not that I am a tough guy, I am far from it.

[TheWall]

I replied to this post yesterday, and now it's not here. Anybody know why? Have had this happen on several other posts. My replies show up after I post them, but they are gone the next day. After I posted this the post from yesterday showed up. I can't figure it out. Strange!