I do target shooting as a hobby but I’m genuinely curious. The US is known (for better and worse) for it’s culture of gun ownership but the US is also know for widely differing experiences
I love shooting but it really sucks to burn like 400 bucks plinking so i usually just shoot air rifle
What are you shooting and how many rounds are you burning through to plink away $400?
No matter how you slice it, your arms are going to be tired.
Maybe he buys a new gun each time
You just gave me an idea for when xrp moons :D
Just .223 but i can shoot all day. It doesn’t bother me at all.
I’m ex-military and I used to hunt before I joined the military. I’ve fired lots of guns. I think they should be severely restricted. Civilians should be able to get certain guns for hunting but not handguns or military guns. A shotgun or a bolt action rifle is all you need for hunting and you can protect your house too. Ammo and guns should be required to be stored in separate locked safe boxes when not being used, to prevent thieves and children from getting them.
Yes. When I was a kid and early adult I was pretty heavily involved in Boy Scouts and fired guns a lot through that. My dad also took me hunting a couple of times. I haven’t fired a gun in probably close to 20 years, though.
I would fire a gun if I had a need to, but I have 0 interest in doing so for recreation. I don’t own a gun, and don’t really have any interest in one.
There’s a fascist uprising in my country. Not only do I own multiple guns, I’m getting in shape and training with them.
I appreciate that there is a strong uptick in diversity at a local range I frequent.
Yes. I really can’t understand why anyone watching the rise of fascists would still be anti gun.
It’s funny that the people that spent the past few decades screaming that the 2A is meant to protect from a corrupt government aren’t picking up their guns but cheering and voting for the corruption instead…
You can’t expect political opponents to do the hard work for you, whether it’s protesting, press, or 2A stuff
All citizens have access to the same things. Someone might live in a state with restrictions, but that can be seen as a case of “you get what you vote for” too
You can’t expect political opponents to do the hard work for you
What work is that?
but that can be seen as a case of “you get what you vote for” too
The US was established as a democracy when the Bill of Rights was written, so presumably they expected to potentially have to revolt against an elected representative.
Well, I’ve been shooting in one way or another damn near my entire life so far.
Air guns as a wee laddie, moving to small caliber rimfire, then eventually more sizable stuff as I aged into it, and showed responsibility.
Hand guns, long guns, and improvised guns of various sizes just because I wanted to see if I could.
I’m better with long guns overall, but better on iron sights with handguns. You give me a decent scope and time to dial it in, and I can hang in with low end pros most days. Not good enough to compete on a big scale, but I usually win local shoots, as long as my glasses are fairly new.
I’ve done training in various scenarios beyond sitting and putting holes in paper, though it’s been years since I did any of that.
I’ve messed around with some cowboy shooting too, but it didn’t stick. Dunno why, really, because I enjoy watching it, but trying it myself was just meh. I think it’s harder to sink in and really get into the zone with that kind of thing, maybe. Didn’t help that I was using borrowed gear tbh.
Despite that, I’m not really a “gun guy”. I don’t obsess over them, I don’t memorize specs and details of everything. I have most of what I want already, and the only new purchases I plan to make are for stuff that’s able to mount red dot optics. I’m past the point where it’s fun to shoot with iron sights regularly, and I want lighter options for carry/home defense as well, so might as well shoot five birds with one bullet lol.
I’ve done some instruction, but I don’t really like it. I’m supposedly decent at it, but I’m just repeating the stuff my grandfather taught me, so he’s the one that’s doing the job. But I’d rather not do it, if it isn’t family. I keep getting suckered in though. Especially lately, but I’m on the injured list, so I’ve not been doing much of it.
Being real? I think it’s something more people should try. Not because of any ideology or whatever, but because learning the basics is a really good way to develop patience, focus, and how to filter out what isn’t important. The basics are a great way to make that happen because most people that haven’t already tried it tend to take it pretty serious and not fuck around. So they treat it with more respect rather than as a hobby, or a chance to swing dick, both of which interfere with the mental side of shooting in the early stages.
This guy guns
I agree, especially about how it hones skills that are useful in life beyond hitting a target, but it’s not flashy cool gun stuff so they can easily be overlooked. For me I really feel my mind working harder when running a bolt action or doing archery. I think it makes me slow down and make sure each shot counts.
There’s a quote somewhere (I’ll edit it in when I find it) that says something like “there is a connection between good citizenship and good marksmanship”
Edit: Here it is! It’s a quote from Jeff Cooper “I have long had a tendency to tie marksmanship to morality. The essence of good marksmanship is self-control, and self-control is the essence of good citizenship. It is too easy to say that a good shot is automatically a good man, but it would be equally incorrect to ignore the connection.”
I dig that quote.
One of the things my grandfather drilled into me that guns are a responsibility, not just a tool. You mess up with a hammer, you bust a thumb. You mess up with a rifle, someone can die.
Marksmanship, and the process of developing it, really is about self control. On so many levels, not just the obvious. Like, breathing. The way you do it, and when you hold it, syncing it up to your aim, then the control of how you squeeze the trigger.
If you can’t control yourself with shooting, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll have trouble in other ways too. Conversely, shooting helps develop that awareness, the patience and self reflection, that makes for a solid person in general. Not that there aren’t other ways to develop that, there are. But it’s a pretty damn good option
I grew up in the American south and we had lots of guns when I was a kid. Me and my dad would go out target shooting on weekends and I always thought it was fun. As an adult I haven’t really kept up with it. After my dad passed away I just kind of lost interest. I have a few of those old handguns and rifles still but they just stay locked up in a cabinet at the back of my closet now.
It was pretty much just always something fun I got to do with my dad.
Remember that guns that haven’t been used for a long time will usually benefit from a clean and re-oil in order to work smoothly … should you feel the urge to freshen up your skills in the current political climate.
Yes. I think firearms safety should be taught in school. Along with the opportunity to actually fire a gun if you do well in the safety course.
I was introduced to archery in early high school! Our gym teacher was an awesome lady (I think she taught youth archery) so she had the stuff on hand and set up a 30 foot range in an “alley” behind some collapsible bleachers in the gymnasium.
We shot every day for two weeks and it was amazing to see our skills grow before our eyes. The basic firearm safety rules applied. It didn’t teach you how to unload and clear a gun of course but bows were a super chill way to learn a kind of marksmanship!
They already have active shooter drills, no?
Yes, the local gun range used to have a “ladies day” and we could get half off gun and lane rentals.
I wish they had that here!
Mmmm, milfs with powder burns.
Ugh, it’s that kind of creepy comment that puts many women off of taking up shooting
I used to be super anti-gun growing up, but here in Arizona and other red States specifically it seems like you’re in a sort of arms race by default. The nutters aren’t giving theirs up so it seems kinda naive not to have your own and know how to use them.
Yes, target shooting with rifles (which I liked) and skeet shooting with a shotgun (which I didn’t care for).
What about skeet shooting made you dislike it?
My friend took me trap shooting a couple times and I found I enjoy it more than target shooting because it felt fast paced and a bit more challenging imo.
I didn’t write the above, but it might be recoil. For example, a 12 gauge kicks a lot more than a 5.56.
The recoil didn’t help, but I think the main thing for me was the lack of a feedback loop. I hit the pigeon or I didn’t, and I can’t really see how good my tracking was other than that. Target shooting, I could see if I had a near miss, a hit, or a bullseye.
I’ve fired an M-16 and M-60 in training. Also a couple of pistols. But I haven’t held a gun in at least ten years. It’s just a tool to me and one I’ve never had any use for. I can appreciate a nice gun just like I can appreciate a tablesaw, but I only have use for the latter.
yeah as kid I regret that I stopped going to ranges with my dad
Yes, fired a gun. Not really my thing but I can understand the appeal.
What really took me away from it is the finality that taking a life brings to it. I was 13 and was shooting around at birds and clipped one to the point it flopped around the ground. My babysitter (I have two younger sisters) at the time didn’t want it to suffer and blew its brains out, of which some landed on me. It taught me a valuable lesson that day. Don’t shoot at something living unless you intend to kill.
In a way, I wish everyone who enjoys guns had a similar experience, I think they’d have a lot more respect for them.
My grandpa taught me firearm safety and had the same lesson: “Dont point it at anything you dont intend to kill.”
He also added a second point: “If you shoot it, you kill it, clean it, and eat it. No shooting animals for fun"
It was kind of a joke but still is a good lesson. Taking a life (of an animal) should never be a trivial act, even if it is sometimes necessary or worthwhile. He was vocally very anti-poaching so if I’d actually killed an animal without the right tags he would have never let me hear the end of it.
The idea that killing humans is wrong didn’t need to be stated explicitly.
I was raised 50/50 between my anti-gun mother and my gun-collector father. Being simultaneously raised to believe that guns are evil and nobody should own them but also here’s how you fire a pistol and handle firearms safely also here’s the reasons you should own one.
I was a whole ass adult before I was given a chance to form my own opinions away from my parents.
I love guns, I don’t want to own one, I’ll be purchasing one soon, I never want to use it, but target shooting is important so you know you can when you must, I don’t want to carry it, but I live in a city with a severe mental health and drug abuse problem and frankly I don’t care if there’s a nonlethal way to deal with an attacker (I read enders game at 14 and it was a formative experience).
I have an opinion formed from contradiction, but balanced out it seems the points all land on “if you’re responsible, and aim to never use the device unless absolutely necessary, it is an objectively good thing to own a firearm, at least where I currently live.”
Oh uhh, I guess I missed the OG question, yeah I’ve fired plenty of guns.
Favorite to fire: Makarov, small, simple, low kickback, very accurate. Least favorite to fire: Idk what it was but my dads 2xBarrel Shotgun was fun to shoot skeet with but I wouldn’t want one off the range, too much care involved in making sure my grip is perfect to brace against my shoulder. I don’t eat meat, so the use case for a firearm like this is literally just sport.
The one I want: still deciding on brand but I’m planning on a hammer-less. 357+p
Hammerless means double action only (DAO). That means that the trigger pull will be VERY hard.
This is excellent for concealed carry (it makes it more difficult to accidentally pull the trigger), but it is poor for target shooting (a harder trigger pull will put strain on your arm in general, which will “walk” the barrel).
Yes this is something I was warned of and have considered. As a self defence weapon, I don’t want my firearm to have safetys or other things to fuck around with while I’m being approached or threatened by a potential assailant.
There are plans to spend many hours at the range after purchase to ensure I am fully aware of how the extra strain will affect my aim so I may use the device correctly and with minimal risk of stray fire.
