Wednesday, March 28, 2012

What Is In A Name?

by Carrie Lightfoot - Guest Contributor

I have a confession to make, publicly, before all of you.

I name my guns.

I KNOW: I am the only one who does this strange thing. Going through the process of naming my guns, similar to that of naming my children, is bizarre, and probably means I need to go see a mental health counselor.  Right? I mean, no one in their right mind would give a name to a firearm. Why do I do that, you ask? I am not sure I have the answer. 
This strange urge overpowered me in the gun store, when purchasing my first gun. He was beautiful, as soon as I put on the special grips, he had a name. “Black Pearl,” he became in that moment. I knew I had an “issue” by the look on the salesman’s face. I figured this experience was just because it was my first gun, and that I would quickly return to normal. But then this same strange impulse came over me again, as I purchased my second handgun, this time a female .380 who is now affectionately known as “Black Rose”. I couldn’t help myself. I knew I had a serious problem when it happened yet again.  “The Empress,” a stunning engraved .357 who certainly has all of the attributes of her name, joined my collection.

How did I know if they were male or female? After all, there are no “parts” that tell us which gender they are. Guns just have a way of being male or female as soon as they lay in your hand for the first time and it happens with long guns too! My Beretta AL 391 12 Gauge Shotgun is named Bear.

"BEAR"

Yes: there are more, many more. But what is the point of airing all of my dirty laundry in front of you? You get the point.

Can you help me? Is there a cure?  Perhaps I am not the only one who suffers from this urge. Have any of you suffered with this habit? Would you be so courageous to stand with me and confess?

Carrie Lightfoot is owner of The Well Armed Woman and guest contributor for the Beretta Blog. She can be reached on Facebook orTwitter
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This post and its contents are the views and opinions of the author only, and do not necessarily represent those of Beretta.

11 comments:

  1. I am right there with you in naming my guns. My Buck Mark .22 with the rosewood grips is named Ginger. She's sleek and beautiful. My Glock 19 I call Bruiser. He's like a Bulldog, solid and serious.

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    1. Nice..... Thanks for sharing! Ginger sounds beautiful - love rosewood grips! I also think everyone needs to have a "bruiser" in their collection too!

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  2. Hello, I'm Stiff Shots Photography, and I'm a gun namer. (Occupational hazard when one of your favorite films is FULL METAL JACKET - and one of your favorite character actors is Adam "I call her Vera" Baldwin...) Every one of my handguns has a name, and a story behind the name: go to http://gunzoo.com/vault/stiffshots for more info. :)

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    1. Great job on your confession Stiff Shots! I don't have any medals or anything to give you for your bravery - but know you are helping many others just like us :)

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  3. Me too...GUILTY! My S&W sigma .40 cal is called Lola, and my latest addition Kahr CM9... Lolita

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    1. I bet you're feeling better now Hernan.. You may have the deeper affliction of naming your guns with names that begin with the same letter! Both very deserving of such beautiful names. Do you have your eyes on number 3?

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  4. I am too guilty! I received all of my guns from my late father who would call me goofy when at the age of 10, I named all of his guns for him...Beretta 92...The Mel Gibson Gun (from Lethal Weapon) his .44 Mag..the Clint Eastwood Gun, and so on...two years ago after my father had passed I renamed his guns to a more suitable to the gun. His Beretta is well known as Bertha...because she is just that...for a girl my size she is huge, but I feel safe with her. The name is just as intimidating as me holding her lol...my Dad's .380 Star is called Isabell because my gun was made in Spain...she is elegant and reliable. So you are not the only "crazy gun namer"

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    1. I think I'm in good company Amy! How sweet is that, naming your dad's guns, nice memory to have, and his guns too! that's very special. The Star is a gorgeous gun wit a beautiful name! Thanks for standing up with me.

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  5. I like the idea of naming my guns with the first letter of their brand. ( Mini 14=minnie mouse, Beretta= Betty Boop, etc. Fun stuff. Thanks for the idea.

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  6. I have names for all my guns - they each have their own personality! My Glock 23 is "old faithful" I can bullseye every time with her! I have names for my Glock 36 and 20 - but they are not as politically correct LOL Love your website The Well Armed Woman, LLC It's a great place to get and give info!

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    1. You're right Liz, guns not only have a gender, they have very distinctive personalities too. So glad to be in such great company with all of these "Namers"!

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