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February 13th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I think John answered the question for me as well, at the link.
I remember, I was about 11, and my father and I were just sitting around. We had a parade rifle, one of the inoperable Springfield 1903 lookalikes. The whole time I was holding it like a little girl holds a doll, working the “bolt”, clicking the “trigger”, until my father couldn’t stand it and said “What is the fascination with guns and boys? Of all the other things you could be doing, that’s what you’re spending hours playing with?”
February 13th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
P.S. And my father was a shooter. He died with blackpowder tattoos on his cheeks. He had a scar on his hand from a “loose” revolver that spit out flame from the side of the cylinder and sliced his skin like a scalpel.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Because it’s a great way to blow off some steam.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Very good post. I shoot because it truly is a blast to combine all of the required skills & to see the hit on the target where you want it to land. It is also to practice a skill I hope never need to use – the ability to defend my family from any predators who decide to attack my family while out & about or even to break into my home to take either the life or the freedom of any member of my family. Such a predator will have no chance of committing their evil deed in my home. This is the home of sheepdogs, not the sheep that they prefer for their standard pray.
Anyone who tells you that you can ban evil by banning guns has not learned the lesson of history. Look at the UK or the city of Washington DC for just a couple of examples of places where handguns are banned but murder & crime has skyrocketed. Evil exists & always will. You can decide to be a sheep & hope that predators never pick you, or you can be prepared for the worst but hope for the best.
As for me & my house – we hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
I shoot for the same reasons that people like to do things like snowboarding, kyaking, or playing basketball, it’s something I enjoy doing. However, snowboards, kyaks, and basketballs are worthless when it comes to defending yourself and others from violent attackers. A gun is not. So for me shooting is both a enjoyable passtime and a necessary skill for self defense.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
AFS’s “question” is an accusation– If you like guns, you are a murderer wannabe.
Humans have always been fascinated by ‘action-at-a-distance’ activities. Put any two boys together outside and they’ll end up having contests to see who can hit a target with a thrown rock. Then they’ll see how big a rock they can throw, etc.. My daughter gets into it as well. Slingshots, darts, pool, the game of basketball– there are countless examples of this fascination in humans.
Combine that with the fact that some people need to shot. Yes, don’t argue– some people do need to be shot. That is the founding principle of the right to bear arms for self-defense and of the Second Amendment. Add to that the fact that more people (historically) are killed by their own governments than by criminals (again, don’t argue– you’ll only end up losing. badly) and you end up with the need for the citizen’s right to bear arms. A skilled and well-equipped hooter within a law-abiding community is therefore a powerful civilizing force in society. The latter is precisely why there is an anti-gun movement in the United States.
I don’t know about others, but in my opinion if you are not both willing and able to do whatever it takes to defend your family, there is something wrong with you.
In summary; it’s fun. It’s a lot of fun, and it makes for a more peaceful and secure society, and I might add– at zero cost to the taxpayer. Next time you hear the sound of gunfire coming from a distant shooting range, you can relish the sound of the music. That is the sound of freedom.
February 13th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Lyle, you’ve got AFSis’ motivation all wrong. I have known her for years. She understands (and agrees with) shooting for self defense. She understands why you should practice shooting for self defense.
What she doesn’t understand is why all those Coke cans have to die.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Yu: Not sure I can fully buy that, but I’ll have to take your word.
Tiddledywinks, golf, Frisbee golf, lawn darts, bean-bag toss. We as a species are fascinated by them all. Using a rifle is probably the ultimate form of all the above that most people could afford (putting a rocket into orbit around the moon would be closer to “ultimate” but a bit more expensive). It’s like long-range golf and drag racing combined. Controlling the noise, the recoil, the power and fire with delicate precision at long distance is an enticing challenge and it’s just plain thrilling when everything goes right.
I’m curious about her concern for Coke cans though. I’ve heard the same language many times and it’s always come from what I call the default anti position, or the “default mentality” which has suspicion for gun owners and for many other traditionally “manly” activities. If she’s an exception, she’s a rare one, using the same language.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I know the language seems a little bit too similar, (which is part of the reason why I’m defending her, it sounds bad, but it really is an honest question) but from talking to her over the years, she is quite supportive of the right to self-defense.
But to her, a gun is like any other tool. You don’t go around practicing swinging a hammer because “it’s fun”, you don’t practice drilling holes because “it’s fun”. You don’t practice keeping your cuts square becuase “it’s fun”. You do those things because you need to repair your house properly.
It’s work.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:43 am
I have my doubts about her motivation, as well. It seems to me that if she was really interested in an honest answer, she would simply make arrangements to meet someone at the range and find out first hand what shooting ios all about…
February 14th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Given the crowd she hangs out with (I know she’s met some of the Castle Denizens in person), I’d be surprised if she hasn’t already.
Not everyone is going to find shooting fun. My wife appears to be one of them. But we just completed the TN handgun carry permit class together and she’s even supportive of me taking more training classes.
February 14th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
I know AFSis, I’ve met her.
I know some of the backstory to her question (she still managed to frustrate me, too) and her heart’s in the right place.
One of the reason I ran with that post is because she represents a significant chunk of the population – people who vaguely think, yeah, people can have guns, but, they still scare me, and I’m willing to vote for some “reasonable restrictions” so that I’m not so scared anymore.
Without thinking it through.
She (like my sister) are people I was aiming at when I started the blog. And I’ve succeeded, too. Though hey, it’s just a blog, and the number of converts aren’t changing anything – but it’s out there in Google, competing with the Brady Bunch.
She’s got some deep-seated issues. One of the things that got the discussion started with her is because her boyfriend wants to take her to the range… and she, for reasons I’m not at liberty to discuss, has a real reluctance to go.
Anyway – to sum up, her heart is in the right place – but her attitude is exactly the attitude that we’ve got to change, one mind at a time.
Thanks for the support, too, guys and gals. I appreciate it.
February 14th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Hey, it’s like bowling.