There’s not much to understand, you’re either part of it or your not. I guess there’s a spectrum on which one might fall, anywhere from the guy that has grandpa’s broken Model 10 hanging over the fireplace to the state militia member with an arsenal buried in an underground bunker somewhere in the woods nearby. All the gun owners I have known fall right in the middle between the one extreme, and the keeper of family history.

I suppose the appreciation of firearms started with the Chinese hand cannon in the 9th century following the invention of gun powder. For some boys there’s natural a fascination and glee associated with fire and load noises. It was probably no different back then, after all the Chinese also invented firecrackers which are still used in all kinds of celebrations including the 4th of July.

For me it started with cap guns handed down from brother to brother, to brother. The same was true of BB guns, then 22′s and finally shotguns. Modern handguns didn’t come into the picture until we were adults.

My father was very strict when it came to gun safety and instilled the necessary respect for guns we needed to keep from injuring ourselves and others. I don’t think my experience was unique because all but one of the people I’ve shot with have had the same respect for the lethality of these “toys”. And thankfully, I see this same respect being passed down to younger generations.

The shooters within my circle are not fanatics. Most don’t carry and if they do, they don’t brandish. Shooting for us is a recreation we might enjoy two or three times a year. We don’t fantasize about fighting an contrived enemy whether foreign or domestic. Our targets are paper with a black circle, not depictions of zombies or ex-wives. (I must say the new exploding targets are hoot! Lot’s of smoke and concussive bang you can feel in your chest.)

So how would one eliminate the gun culture. The past few years I’ve found it entertaining to view issues like this through the eyes of a conspiracist. Maybe children are indoctrinated into the gun culture to prepare them to fight our wars. The inputs for my generation were movies like “The Sands of Iwo Jima”. Our toy guns looked real, they didn’t have red barrels and they made noise too. Today they play organized and high tech games like laser tag and the more popular paintball and Airsoft weapons. I’m not up on the popular war movies but it looks like American Sniper could be meant to bring kids into the fold.

So how would you bring an end to the to the cycle? Eliminate the supply of the 22LR bullet. A child’s first shooting experience will be with a 22 and the first real gun they possess will be a 22. You’re not going to hand a kid a 44mag or 30-06 to start with. Not only is it dangerous, it’s expensive. The cost alone would be prohibitive.

And guess what, you effectively can’t buy 22 shells anymore. For some reason the market isn’t working whether it’s due to hoarding (even by “normal” shooters) or the narrative that Obama bought them all. They’re gone, for most people. Oh you can talk to the store clerk and try to find out when they might be getting a shipment in and be there when the doors open. I’ve heard this works. The ammunition is starting to come back online. For years now you could add items to your “wishlist” because this “item is out of stock”. Now you can buy a box of 500 for $50 to $75 depending on quality. Gone are the (recent) days when you could walk into the local hardware store and buy the same “brick” for $10.

Will the shortage bring a change? I don’t know. Probably not. It won’t effect the gun subcultures but Johnny might not be getting that new Marlin 22 for Christmas this year.