Went to the Range today

[olds442]

im sorry how old are you and never fired a gun *is very sorry but cant stop LMAO*


 


...oh did i say that outloud no but more power too you  u have to start some where

[F22RaptorDude]

Quick question: what is so fun about shooting guns?  (or alternatively, what's so fun/cool about guns?)

This is actually a question, and not a troll.

The power you have, like Rambo with a lmg, thats the power every man wants inside

[saggs]

The power you have, like Rambo with a lmg, thats the power every man wants inside

I'll be honest, people with an attitude like yours around guns scare me.  I've seen people like that around, inevitably they start thinking like Rambo, and doing stupider and stupider stuff, and getting careless, till somebody gets hurt.

If I where at the range with you, and you started talking about playing Rambo, and power, that'd be that last you touched any of my guns.  Shooting is fun, but it also demands serious attention to safety, which doesn't match well with playing Rambo.

[Yossarian]

Try it and see. 

For me it's the challenge of seeing how good I can be.  My favorite kind of shooting is stuff like skeet, and sporting clays because it is a challenge, and loads of fun.  It's hard to describe the feeling on a sporting clays course, standing there, trying to anticipate where the clay is going to go, hoping that your reflexes are quick enough to get it.

Alternatively I think stationary targets with rifles or handguns is fun in a different way.  It's all about precision, controlling your breathing, perfecting your grip, judging the wind, getting a perfect squeeze, trying to get this grouping just a little tighter then the last one.  I've never done any competition target shooting, to me it's always just a competition against myself.

Not just guns either, I enjoy archery for the same reasons, some of the most fun I've had is bowfishing.


Also, guns are just cool. 

Yeah, I was shooting clays the other week and quite enjoyed it, which was what got me wondering!

And archery's brilliant - I used to do it (with sights, which always came loose and annoyed the hell out of me ) quite a lot, but have always wanted to get hold of a decent wooden bow and go out to the countryside at some point - there is something to be said for simplicity!

The power you have, like Rambo with a lmg, thats the power every man wants inside

Not every man, it would seem...

[F22RaptorDude]

I'll be honest, people with an attitude like yours around guns scare me.  I've seen people like that around, inevitably they start thinking like Rambo, and doing stupider and stupider stuff, and getting careless, till somebody gets hurt.

If I where at the range with you, and you started talking about playing Rambo, and power, that'd be that last you touched any of my guns.  Shooting is fun, but it also demands serious attention to safety, which doesn't match well with playing Rambo.

I meant to say controlled power  Could of sworn I put that there.

[oneway]

And archery's brilliant - I used to do it (with sights, which always came loose and annoyed the hell out of me ) quite a lot, but have always wanted to get hold of a decent wooden bow and go out to the countryside at some point - there is something to be said for simplicity!

Sights on a bow are humane thing to use when shooting animals...

However...the essence of archery resides inside of your soul...when you are one with the bow...you can close your eyes and drill the center of the target every time...

Its a Zen thing...

Try shooting paper plates tacked to a hay bale at 50 yards on a moonless night...and the only feedback you get is the arrow 'popping' as it penetrates the plate...

A very satisfying mental space to be in...

Oneway

[Yossarian]

If/when i do ever get a bow, it won't be for hunting - I'm not even sure using bows for hunting is legal over here (and even if it were, I probably couldnt be arsed, tbh ).  I'm not at all familiar with anything to do with Zen (unless I am but just dont know it), but just being able to aim without a sight is something I'd like to be able to do!

[PFactorDave]

For me it's the challenge of seeing how good I can be.  My favorite kind of shooting is stuff like skeet, and sporting clays because it is a challenge, and loads of fun.  It's hard to describe the feeling on a sporting clays course, standing there, trying to anticipate where the clay is going to go, hoping that your reflexes are quick enough to get it.

Alternatively I think stationary targets with rifles or handguns is fun in a different way.  It's all about precision, controlling your breathing, perfecting your grip, judging the wind, getting a perfect squeeze, trying to get this grouping just a little tighter then the last one.  I've never done any competition target shooting, to me it's always just a competition against myself.

Also, guns are just cool.  

+1 on this.

Also...  For me, when shooting quite a few of the firearms in my collection, there is a connection to history. 

All that, and I just absolutely love the smell of burnt gunpowder.

[Motherland]

im sorry how old are you and never fired a gun *is very sorry but cant stop LMAO*


 


...oh did i say that outloud no but more power too you  u have to start some where

A lot of Britons and Europeans never have, and you generally have to jump through a lot of hoops if you actually want to own a gun. It's not like in the US where you can walk into a store with $500 and walk out with a rifle.
Most Britons I've talked to who have actually shot guns seem to have shot skeet, that seems to be at least somewhat popular (more than any other kind of firearms sporting). Of course then there's the whole 'country landowner hunting birds' stereotype thing.

Shooting paper targets with a rifle I can see as rather hit or miss (I think it's fun), but shooting skeet is very fun in my opinion, if unfortunately a bit expensive.

[Penguin]

I'm not from Europe (but that's where I got my first airsoft gun).  My mom hates guns (from NERF to Airsoft to BB to real guns), and took away every single airsoft gun I had because she knew that the police would shoot first and ask questions later.  They were right- I could have gotten killed.  It was dumb to run around looking like an insurgent.  I really did- I had a baseball cap, a scarf over my face, ballistic sunglasses, grenades, several differnt airsoft guns (none of came with orange tips).

All the cartons said 18+, but I was able to walk right in and buy my first one at age 11.

-Penguin

[PFactorDave]

I'm not from Europe (but that's where I got my first airsoft gun).  My mom hates guns (from NERF to Airsoft to BB to real guns), and took away every single airsoft gun I had because she knew that the police would shoot first and ask questions later.  They were right- I could have gotten killed.  It was dumb to run around looking like an insurgent.  I really did- I had a baseball cap, a scarf over my face, ballistic sunglasses, grenades, several differnt airsoft guns (none of came with orange tips).

All the cartons said 18+, but I was able to walk right in and buy my first one at age 11.

-Penguin

I'm taking the opposite approach with my children.  I am teaching the proper respect and handling of firearms.  I want my daughters to be comfortable, safe, and effective with any gun they pick up.  This is my youngest shooting a Sig Sauer Mosquito, which is a .22LR training pistol last fall.  She was 7 years old when this was taken.



Here she is shooting a Ruger 10/22 at a 100 yard target.  She is surprising good with the rifle.

[Penguin]

I have a question, is shooting a hobby, or for self-defense?  Or is it a bit of both?

-Penguin

[PFactorDave]

I have a question, is shooting a hobby, or for self-defense?  Or is it a bit of both?

For me, both...

I shoot because I enjoy it, but some of the shooting I enjoy most are drills that are designed to improve defensive skills.

One drill I like is this...

We put up 8 or 10 paper plates on the backstop.  They are at different heights and spread at least a foot or two apart.  Then we use a large black marker to number them.  But we don't number them in order.

Then from 25feet, pistol at the high ready position, a second person (standing behind the shooter) calls out a number.  The shooter presents the gun to the called target and puts a round into it.  Then back to high ready until the second person calls another target.  The object is to get onto the correct target and hit it.  Not necessarily really fast, as fast as you can do it but still be absolutely accurate.