A funny misunderstanding "offhand" vs "off hand"

[cbashooter]

I have an ad wanting sporter stock to put on my Remington 40x .22.A member responded via pm . I said i needed it for an "off hand " gun instead of "offhand" gun .(my phone auto corrected and I missed it)

He thought I was building a handgun and told me he was law enforcement and I could be looking at jail time.

I found it kinda funny.i can't blame him for being careful though.

[M-Tecs]

There has been a lot of out of left field responses recently. I think cabin fever is setting in.

[gwpercle]

I have an ad wanting sporter stock to put on my Remington 40x .22.A member responded via pm . I said i needed it for an "off hand " gun instead of "offhand" gun .(my phone auto corrected and I missed it)

He thought I was building a handgun and told me he was law enforcement and I could be looking at jail time.

I found it kinda funny.i can't blame him for being careful though.

I'm old ... To me shooting guns off hand is the same as shooting offhand ... without a rest or support , standing on your two feet , shooting a handgun with one extended arm or a rifle with or without a sling .
I looked up the definition of "offhand" and it means Ungraciously or Offensively Nonchalant ...and gave the same definition for off hand ?

I don't think either meaning is going to land you in jail ... shooting without a rest or shooting ungraciously ! Strange thing for the Lawman to comment on .
Gary

[Winger Ed.]

I run into people like that here and there that seem to need something to worry about, or be afraid of all the time.

I used to try and explain things to them, then as I got older, I'd just listen and agree.
Now days, my patience has worn thinner, and now I just tell 'em to go hide under the bed--- it's safer there.

[Baltimoreed]

Maybe rephrase it by saying a ‘non’ benchrest gun. An honest mistake given the America we live in.

[1Hawkeye]

I wouldn't worry about it. He's just another troll who thinks he can put a scare in you because he's too stupid to understand a very simple term.

[akajun]

In LEO, training to fire your off hand ie your Non Dominant hand is a common phrase. Ive also heard it used to refer to left handed shooters. WHen I used to practice HP shooting at our range other officers found it amazing that I shot a rifle "unsupported" much less hit anything at 200 yds "offhand". Its simply a matter of it meaning something different to him.

How many civilians know what x4 means?

[JimB..]

Curious that he had the rifle stock that you were looking for, but thought you might be building a handgun, maybe a left-handed bolt handgun. It’s also a bit nuts to think that any seller would be legally responsible for how a buyer uses a piece of lumber, even if they build a nuclear warhead with it. That said, I’m sensitive to LEOs being under political attack these days and as they say, it’s not paranoia if they really are out to get you. Hope that you got the deal done.

[Omega]

Depending on phrasing, "I want it to shoot off hand", vs I want it to shoot the rifle off hand" I can see how it could be misunderstood.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Well when around horses, off-side is the right side and near side is the left, with horses NORMALLY mounted from their left side, keeps your sword from interfering with your mounting (in rough country the uphill side is best but takes practice for horse AND rider). Off hand always meant standing to me when firearms were/are concerned, rifle or handgun, at least since the 1950's. Was the phone call really law enforcement or just some busybody(being nice here), I suppose could be both.

[Daekar]

That is a supremely-bizarre way to interpret that statement. It's a damn target rifle, why on earth would he think you were making a handgun when searching for a rifle stock? Does nobody ever shoot rifles unsupported anymore? In my opinion, bench shooting from a structured rest is good for nothing except dialing in a load. Once you get it there and you start shooting in field conditions, THAT'S when your real groups start.

In the context of rifles, the usual meaning is pretty clear. If you had said, "I'm chopping the barrel of this gun so it's easier to shoot like a pistol in my off hand," then OK...