Gun Owners Picnic?

[wileecoyote]

Interested in a free local picnic?

With the July 4 holiday weekend coming up, I thought it might be nice for us to celebrate our freedoms by getting together for a Gun Owners picnic. Nothing too fancy, just a way for people to get together and chat about guns, shooting, or whatever. I have met dozens of people through this forum and they have all been great so why not get together for a little fun, food, and sun?

We could pick a date, time, and location which works for most people. It would be open to anyone: family, friends, neighbors, or whomever; but no felons of course. People could volunteer to bring simple things or just themselves. We might even have a safe area for private sales, trades, and show and tell.

I am willing to serve as the event coordinator, reserve the venue, and provide a main dish. Please take this simple anonymous survey if you are interested, so we can determine the best way to move forward. The survey will be open through Sunday June 12.

[survey is now closed]

Edited June 14, 2011 by wileecoyote

[wcsc12]

Sounds like fun.

[Guest ArmyVeteran37214]

Sounds like fun.

+1

[NextExit]

Great idea! I took the survey.

[Caster]

Oh I love it!

Now I wouldn't want any trouble but it sure would kick up some dander with any hippies in the area.

An open carry picnic.......YESSIR I like it.

[wileecoyote]

We have 11 survey responses so far in less than 1 day. If this trend continues we should easily have enough people to schedule a picnic. I figure we need at least 50 people to commit to a particular day/time/place, assuming that only half of them might actually show up due to scheduling conflicts and other family happenings which tend to get in the way. Hopefully we will hit the 50 mark by Sunday June 12 when the survey closes. I will update this thread with a summary of the survey results once completed, and then we can finalize the plans based on the most popular options. Looking forward to this for sure.

[LagerHead]

I like it too. I would recommend the weekend before July 4. The weekend of is going to be really tough to get people to attend. The weekend after may still have some folks recovering from July 4.

As far as location, as long as we can carry I'm good.

[wileecoyote]

I like it too. I would recommend the weekend before July 4. The weekend of is going to be really tough to get people to attend. The weekend after may still have some folks recovering from July 4.

As far as location, as long as we can carry I'm good.

Make sure to take the survey so that your preferences will be noted. I am not tracking preferences outside of the survey as it gets too complicated. As of right now, July 3 is the most preferred date, which kind of surprised me, but makes sense since most people will have a long weekend off work and be planning for family stuff on July 4.

[TGO David]

This goes without saying, but please be sure to check and double-check the legality of carrying wherever it's held. Especially if it's on municipal property.

[Guest friesepferd]

not picky on date, but wont make it unless there is one up in my area (tri cities)

[wileecoyote]

Location will probably be the single biggest factor regarding who can attend. I am sure we will find a carry-friendly venue in any of the locations, even if we have to use a gun club or private property which is why I included those options on the survey.

As of right now we have 14 responses, with Cookeville and Nashville tied for preferred location. If you have a preference then make sure to take the survey, and note any alternative locations in the Other field as needed.

[Caster]

I wonder how well it would go over at Centennial park? That place could USE 50 armed citizens walking around.

...sorry I know, I'm not helping.

[Guest Keinengel]

Seems like a great idea. I took the survey also.

[Westwindmike]

The only problem I see so far is that it is advertised on GOC also. That has the potential to bring all the kooks out of the closet! If this was just a TGO event, I'd love to come, but I think I'll pass since the GOC crowd is not known for manners or sanity(and yes, I do hang out there. LOL).

[BigK]

sounds like fun, took the survey, hope it pans out

[wileecoyote]

The only problem I see so far is that it is advertised on GOC also. That has the potential to bring all the kooks out of the closet! If this was just a TGO event, I'd love to come, but I think I'll pass since the GOC crowd is not known for manners or sanity(and yes, I do hang out there. LOL).

Funny. :-)

I think GOC gets more oddball posts because it is totally free to post a classified ad and there are no moderators, whereas TGO requires a paid membership to post items for sale and has active moderators. And GOC doesn't have a separate discussion forum, so people post all sorts of rants in the classified section because that is the only venue they have. This is no bash against TGO, but I have seen some rather colorful comments in the discussion forums here as well, albeit less publicized since they are not cluttering up the classifieds.

I love both forums and use them often. I have met many dozens of people through both sites and never had an issue with any of them. My experience has been that gun owners are generally good people regardless of which sites they may frequent, and even some of the crazy online personalities end up being pretty normal people when you meet them in person.

Take me for instance, with a moniker of a crazy cartoon character that chases birds, invents dangerous explosive gadgets, and frequently blows himself up. But in real life.... er... wait... I guess I am a bad example... but you get the point.

[Guest boatme99]

Asked and answered!

[dlm37015]

davidson county sportsmens club usually has a 4th of july get togeather open to all with a nice range and a shooting contest

[LagerHead]

Make sure to take the survey so that your preferences will be noted. I am not tracking preferences outside of the survey as it gets too complicated. As of right now, July 3 is the most preferred date, which kind of surprised me, but makes sense since most people will have a long weekend off work and be planning for family stuff on July 4.

I did take the survey. I'll try and make it no matter what.

I wonder how well it would go over at Centennial park? That place could USE 50 armed citizens walking around.

...sorry I know, I'm not helping.

Is that a city park or a state park? If city, it's a no go.

[wileecoyote]

We have 21 survey responses to-date representing nearly 80 picnic guests, and Saturday July 3 is the most popular date by far. Considering that most parks are already fully booked for the holiday weekend, and a fair number of parks do not allow firearms and/or concealed carry, it is very likely that we will need to hold the picnic at another venue. The most popular choices have been a gun club or private property, which I will look into once the survey closes and we have established the best geographic area.

On one hand it would be great to have it at a gun club so people could shoot in addition to the usual picnic activities, however the gun clubs might not allow a picnic to be held on their premises, and it could be a problem to take enough food, drinks, etc. to accommodate the normal gun club traffic in addition to our forum members. And a lot of gun clubs have policies against guns being loaded or handled anywhere off the range line, so it could be trickier for people to carry or conduct private sales or show and tell. And of course many gun clubs will charge admission or range fees to shoot, and the ranges are likley to be packed on the holiday weekend.

So it may be best for us to find a private property or simple range which will allow the picnic in addition to concealed carry and a safe area for sales, trades, etc. I have several spots in mind but we need to wait and see which location is preferred by most people. We also need a lot more people to chime in on the survey or the idea will die on the vine. I don't think it is practical to plan an event unless we get at least 50 responses for a given location, as the actual attendance rate is likely to be lower than the survey indicates and we don't want to invest a lot of time and planning into something and then only a small group shows up.

Early survey results are promising, and I will publish the full details here after the survey closes on June 12. Stay tuned.

[perstare]

An open carry picnic.......YESSIR I like it.

Hey, you made me laugh out loud!

What a sense of humor.

The crazy thing is that it IS a good idea, in a wacky way.

Thanks for the laugh.

Mike B

[Caster]

What the heck is GOC?

[Westwindmike]

What the heck is GOC?

Gun Owners Club

- Gun Owners Club! - A Place for Gun Enthusiasts

[wileecoyote]

Ok gang. Survey responses are really rolling in now. A preview of the latest results as of Wed night:

• 39 responses thus far
  
• Sat 7/9 is in the lead, followed closely by Sat 6/25
  
• Cookeville has a slight lead, Nashville and Lebanon tied for a close second, with 9 people suggesting alternate locations all over the map
  
• 10-2 and 12-4 are both tied for the best time
  
• these 39 respondents would bring a total of 88 adults and 21 kids
  
• 38 respondents willing to bring at least one food or drink item
  
• gun club and private property are preffered by far over all other locations
  
• 38 in favor of the sale/trade/show-tell area
  
• even mix of GOC and TGO members
  

So it seems that we are nearly certain to get at least 50 positive responses by the survey deadline of Sunday night June 12, and not one negative comment was raised, so it looks very good for the picnic to happen.

I am working up some ideas to make it more fun, including a grab bag where people can bring any small firearm accessory or used item worth between $10-$20, and wrap it up similar to a gift. All the items are then numbered and placed on a big table, and each person that put in a gift will receive a numbered ticket. When their number is called at random they get to go up and take a gift from the table without opening it. Could be anything such as spare ammo, holster, replacement grips, targets, eye/ear protection, ammo cans, whatever. Just something small to make it fun, and nobody is obligated to participate, since only those who bring a gift will get a ticket to take a gift in return.

I also have some dealers and manufacturers that may be willing to donate some free prizes which we can giveaway for simple games. And we might be able to hold the picnic at a facility with a range, so people could shoot if they please.

If you haven't already taken the survey yet then please do so now, and if you have taken it then feel free to chime in here with other ideas.

[survey is now closed]

Edited June 14, 2011 by wileecoyote

[wileecoyote]

Update as of late Thursday night:

46 responses thus far which indicate the following:

[sNIP]

Sat 7/9 in Lebanon seems like the best option because it has the most responses and the most guests. Cookeville is a close second but then we would probably lose a lot of the Nashville people, whereas many of the Nashville and Cookeville respondents indicated that they would be willing to come to Lebanon. This just makes sense with Lebanon being located in the middle of the 3 options, and not too far from the popular alternate locations such as Murfreesboro.

I have found a property in the Lebanon area that may be willing to host the picnic. There is ample parking, paved and grassy areas, and a safe place to shoot, plus it is carry friendly. I will check with the owner this weekend to confirm.

The survey will remain open until Sunday night 6/12 so vote now if you haven't already chimed in. All of the comments have been very positive and we have a lot of good ideas for free giveaways, prizes, and some things for kids too. Hopefully we can pull this off and have a great time.

[survey is now closed]

Edited June 14, 2011 by wileecoyote