Doctors and Guns, My how things have changed.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I needed to visit my Doctor today...mostly to renew my prescriptions and She felt it necessary to add another one for High BP.

While I'm waiting in the little room for the Doctor, I close my eye's and recall my Childhood family Doctor...Dr. Maus. In the time of my Youth, He was my grandparents Doc as well as my Parents and My Brother and I. My, how things have changed.

When I was 13, I was in a Motorcycle accident...Pretty Bad, I Broke my Leg (femor) as well as ripping up the flesh of that Leg. I was in traction for nine weeks, before they could put a cast over that Leg. Those were some longs days, as I recall.

Dr. Maus seemingly spent a lot of time with me...Like I was one of his own. Some of our conversations were about Guns (as most rural 13 year old boys, who had recently gone through Gun Safety training in School, I was fascinated with Guns). He was a knowledgeable gun collector and had many answers to my numerous questions. My, how things have changed.

Well, for some reason, at about week 4 of those 9 weeks of traction, Dr. Maus gave me a Daisy BB gun pistol, a replica of a Colt SAA, a NRA centennial commemorative 1871-1971. My, how things have changed.

It was all sealed in a clear plastic covered box. While I should have left it that way, the first thing I did, was open it up and have a twirl. :) That evening, as I looked through the whole box and read all the literature that came with it, I then noticed there was a small cello package of golden colored BB's in the bottom, under the formed, red felt covered mid layer of the packaging. About an hour later, Dr. Maus and a Nurse, came in for one last visit of the day...I showed him the still sealed BB package, mostly because earlier, when I was given this gift, I was told NOT to shoot any of the nurses...All the staff were gathered as I was given this gift and also when the head nurse said this to me...and Dr. Maus told them to not worry, there were no BB's. My, how things have changed.

ANYWAY, As I showed them the BB's. The nurse Grabbed that sealed package and told me, If I was good, I'd get them back, when I get out of traction and leave the hospital. My, how things have changed.

But, that is exactly what happened, around Thanksgiving 1977.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
That was an interesting read. You really mashed yourself a good one.
Doctors... To come to bat for some doctors, I know a very good local doctor who has come to me for numerous firearm needs and questions. He is not what I would call a shooter or hunter but sure is on the side of freedom loving Americans. Have taken him and his sons to the range with me several times when up north there. Have to say he was very thrilled to fire some basic US military long arms.
Mike in Peru

[Char-Gar]

I bought this from my Dr. He has two full auto versions and let this one go cheap.

[mold maker]

The only gun discussion I've had with my Dr. was did I have guns in the house, and about handling lead.
Answered first with, you don't meed to know, and the second was fish sinkers.
Yep! Times have definitely changed. I loaded 12 ga for our former family Doc.

[TenTea]

Many doctors smoked in that era (and earlier) too.
My dentist would give me a shot of Novocain and then light a smoke and wait for me to numb up.
Our family doctor smoked in his office during the 70's too, as I recall.

Hopefully, the shooting sports will not become *socially unacceptable* as smoking has.

[LUBEDUDE]

Thanks for the fun read Jon. :)

[FISH4BUGS]

My Doc of 40 years has asked me every year about casting. He has me do a blood test to check on lead levels. Never even as much as a trace of lead in the blood.
I started with him when he got out of his residency and will probably outlast him. He is ready to retire. He always asks about my gun collection and has for 40 years. He knows I own machine guns and has expressed an interest in shooting them sometime. He knows he has an open invitation.
He plays harmonica in a blues band and I play a B3 Hammond. Plenty of commonality there. If for one second I thought he was asking because of some government wish, i would fire him in an instant and he knows that. He asks because he is interested in his patients and their lifestyles....mainly to make sure they stay healthy.

[Baja_Traveler]

About that same era, I was a kid traveling back and forth between West Germany and the US visiting relatives there every summer. One summer while in Germany I picked up a full size replica of a Colt Python cap gun. It used those caps that were formed into a plastic ring of six, and were twice as powerful as the paper caps. I brought it home on the airplane in my carry on, and while playing around with it in the London airport fired it off - what did I get? A couple of stares from the machine gun toting military types and a smile.

How times have changed...

[RayinNH]

About twenty years ago I went to an old country doctor on occasion. He ran his own office and his wife did the paperwork. He had one room in his house that served as the office. It was not uncommon for him to be in his bed slippers during the office hours. On one visit we were talking and I could tell he was distracted by something out his window. All of a sudden he gets up and goes out the side door to his office and I hear a bang. He comes back in and says "Damned rats". He sits down and we finish the appointment. He kept a loaded .22 near the door. Times have changed.

[kfarm]

I have a very good friend that is an ER doctor and loves guns, but I've also been to a orthopedic doc that kept asking suspicious questions if I owned a gun on the first visit. Trouble with the ER doc he has enough money for toys I can't keep up. Great guy though.

[Murphy]

One of my doctors has a gun vault in his office. A few years back, he was in bad need of some loads for a specific rifle and couldn't find any online or from any of the local suppliers. I purchased all the needed items for the cartridge (brass,dies,bullets) and loaded 6 different loads for him to try. 2 weeks later he contacted me and I dropped by his office. We sat down and went over the targets he'd shot. One of the loads was a real winner. I loaded up a 100 rounds of it and put it up in MTM boxes and carried them to him. I told him when he got down to the last 20 or so rounds to give me a holler and I'd fix him right back up. He told me they'd probably last a long, long while. That's when I told him, Doc taped to the inside lid of one of the boxes is the 'prescription' for that load. If anything ever happens to me? See if any of your friends or patients reload. If the guy is a reloader? He'll have no problem duplicating it.

Did I mention my doc takes great care of me?

Murphy

[MaryB]

My doc got to the gun question on the physical form, answered no for me, went on and finished the physical. Then asked if I brought the new AR with for her to try out when we headed to the range! I scheduled to be her last patient for the day so she tidied up paperwork and we went and shot for an hour. She is building an AR like mine for prairie dogs and for predators around her farm.

[mold maker]

Dr's are just like us, only educated under a different atmosphere. It's now part of their DNA to avoid and despise guns.
I can understand ER Doc being anti after seeing the aftermath of gang violence. It's their place to patch and try to save gun victims.
They only deal with the negative aspects of dangerous weapons.
Law abiding citizens with guns aren't part of their regular work contacts. Most of our victims are paper, or the evidence is eaten.

[bruce drake]

Education is the key. The more doctors we can convert to our thinking the better it will be when the Anti's come knocking again after a loony-tune goes off his meds and steals a firearm or is given a firearm by a complacent relative. But then I'm just mentioning laws that are already in place to protect gun-owners...

[nicholst55]

I know one doctor who is a budding gun nut, just like his old man (me)! I raised him right, I guess. When I croak he'll most probably inherit what's left of my accumulation (collection?).