arch stanton
Member
Not much provides the stress release like the ring of a bullet on steel.
The Reason you Shoot
- Thread starter chud333
- Start date
Proficicency with a firearm is a perishable skill. So I practice as often as I can. But I also shoot because I like too. 
When I really want to blow off steam, I shoot at exploding targets.
Nothing like 2 pounds of Tannerite! 
When I really want to blow off steam, I shoot at exploding targets.
Nothing like 2 pounds of Tannerite! 
RightArm
Member
I love working on guns and then going to see if what I did works without blowing my hand off. I like learning to shoot each gun well. I don't compete, nor do I plan to, but I think that having guns is only a small part of defending yourself and your own. You have to be able to shoot well all the time for a gun to do you any good.
I do forget eveything else when I shoot. I shoot by myself, just me, my gun, and the target. I'd shoot all the time if I could afford it.
I do forget eveything else when I shoot. I shoot by myself, just me, my gun, and the target. I'd shoot all the time if I could afford it.
NFrameFred
Member
yep . . . . /\/\ . . . .this . . . . .
I am therefore I shoot
greenmachine
Member
Because I'm so good at it!!
Mphstiger1981
Member
Like the reasons some of the others have posted, it is fun, it is legal, and my wife doesn't have to ask questions, or worry what time I'll come home when I've been out doing it. I also find that when I'm shooting, I get a chance to clear my head of all of the day to day distractions that come from everyday life. Shooting just seems to clear the mechanism for me. I always go home refreshed and relaxed after shooting.
amazingflapjack
US Veteran
I have found that God does indeed love all of us, which would include "idiots" as described by whom so ever, but they are all self made individuals.
load748
Member
Never cared for tennis ....
QuercusMax
Member
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2012
- Messages
- 37
- Reaction score
- 20
Reasons I like to shoot:
1. It was something my dad taught me to do, and he left me with my starter set of guns. Every time I shoot, I remember my dad (he is gone now).
2. I like to have nice guns - especially beautifully-made mechanisms of steel & wood. As someone else pointed out, shooting gives you a reason to have them.
3. It allows me to exercise my rights.
4. I like to learn things, and the training and study that has come from gun ownership and usage has been very interesting.
Things that are NOT reasons that I shoot - these might not be popular here, but we all have our reasons:
A. Hunting. To each his own, but I don't like the idea of killing things. (I'm not a city guy or left-winger, either.)
B. Competition. I don't participate in organized events, or try to "beat" anyone. I like to shoot on my own, or with a good friend, for pure enjoyment.
C. Self-defense. I know there are BG's out there, but I choose to avoid living in or even going to places where they are likely to exist. In roughly half a century I have never had one moment where I felt threatened enough to wish I had been carrying a gun. (But I DO have a carry permit, but just because it is my right to have one, and I learned a lot from the required training.)
I think of my dad every time I go out shooting, which is more than reason enough to do it.
1. It was something my dad taught me to do, and he left me with my starter set of guns. Every time I shoot, I remember my dad (he is gone now).
2. I like to have nice guns - especially beautifully-made mechanisms of steel & wood. As someone else pointed out, shooting gives you a reason to have them.
3. It allows me to exercise my rights.
4. I like to learn things, and the training and study that has come from gun ownership and usage has been very interesting.
Things that are NOT reasons that I shoot - these might not be popular here, but we all have our reasons:
A. Hunting. To each his own, but I don't like the idea of killing things. (I'm not a city guy or left-winger, either.)
B. Competition. I don't participate in organized events, or try to "beat" anyone. I like to shoot on my own, or with a good friend, for pure enjoyment.
C. Self-defense. I know there are BG's out there, but I choose to avoid living in or even going to places where they are likely to exist. In roughly half a century I have never had one moment where I felt threatened enough to wish I had been carrying a gun. (But I DO have a carry permit, but just because it is my right to have one, and I learned a lot from the required training.)
I think of my dad every time I go out shooting, which is more than reason enough to do it.
KarmannGhia
Member
I shoot as a stress release, and I like activities where I can gauge my progress (or lack of). I Love the connection to history my older guns have (M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, 1903, etc...)
I have fond memories:
Going shooting and hunting with my dad.
Running around the woods (now a strip mall) with 22s with my brothers (one of which is passed).
Taking my son (now USAF) and daughter (now USCG) shooting.
Shooting during my 22yrs in the Army (shooting weapons I would never been able to shoot anywhere else).
I try to shoot every other week, and wish I could shoot more (because for me it's still fun).
I've carried guns for a living since I was 18, and I've lost friends and a brother to firearms (I don't blame the guns).
I have fond memories:
Going shooting and hunting with my dad.
Running around the woods (now a strip mall) with 22s with my brothers (one of which is passed).
Taking my son (now USAF) and daughter (now USCG) shooting.
Shooting during my 22yrs in the Army (shooting weapons I would never been able to shoot anywhere else).
I try to shoot every other week, and wish I could shoot more (because for me it's still fun).
I've carried guns for a living since I was 18, and I've lost friends and a brother to firearms (I don't blame the guns).
I've been shooting so long it's almost second nature to me, you would think after 50 + years I would finally gotten better at it than I am.
As a police officer I believed I needed to be able to properly use any and all of the tools I may have to use. Finally, now retired and 60 something I find I don't enjoy shooting nearly as much as I used to, but as I do C/C and have several ready guns around the house, I make a monthly trip to the range. Depending on which revolver I've brought I shoot 100 – 150 rounds.
As a police officer I believed I needed to be able to properly use any and all of the tools I may have to use. Finally, now retired and 60 something I find I don't enjoy shooting nearly as much as I used to, but as I do C/C and have several ready guns around the house, I make a monthly trip to the range. Depending on which revolver I've brought I shoot 100 – 150 rounds.
COL Jagdog
Member
Holy cow, you mean we are supposed to shoot all of these guns we buy?
I like shooting because as much as I like knives, it is so much harder to practice with a knife -- hard to get someone to hold still while you parry and thrust at them.
With shooting, you simply need a good range, lots of bullets and targets, a few good friends, a little wager money (on occasin) and a source of beer at the end of the afternoon.
Great thread by our friend, Chud.
I like shooting because as much as I like knives, it is so much harder to practice with a knife -- hard to get someone to hold still while you parry and thrust at them.
With shooting, you simply need a good range, lots of bullets and targets, a few good friends, a little wager money (on occasin) and a source of beer at the end of the afternoon.
Great thread by our friend, Chud.
gregintenn
Member
I really enjoy shooting firearms. It isn't any more complicated than that.
Straightshooter2
US Veteran
One is stress relief. When I worked in the Jacksonville reservations office for Delta, many of the phone calls we got were from the Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach area of Florida. Not to stereotype but some of these people are not the most pleasant to deal with over the phone. Many days I would ride out to Gateway Rifle and Pistol Club to let off some steam. I would imagine the bullseye on my target was South Florida and each .45 out of my Commander was a small nuclear device. Amazing what it did for my accuracy.
Second, when we were kids, my cousin and I spent a lot of time walking the 200 or so acres belonging to my uncle. When you walked out of the house even as early as age 8, you picked up a gun. It usually ended up with my cousin carrying his single shot Winchester .22 and me carrying my aunt's Savage over & under .22/.410. Many times we would walk a couple of miles up or down the creek that ran through the property and there were some BIG cottonmouths on that creek.
Third, I just like things that go bang.
CW
Amazing what it did for my accuracy.Second, when we were kids, my cousin and I spent a lot of time walking the 200 or so acres belonging to my uncle. When you walked out of the house even as early as age 8, you picked up a gun. It usually ended up with my cousin carrying his single shot Winchester .22 and me carrying my aunt's Savage over & under .22/.410. Many times we would walk a couple of miles up or down the creek that ran through the property and there were some BIG cottonmouths on that creek.
Third, I just like things that go bang.
CW
OK Hog Shooter
Member
I shoot because I find it incredibly fun, relaxing and a chance to share with my comrades in arms (pun intended)... i.e., the cameraderie. I like it because I can shoot against myself; the more I shoot the better I get... I can see an improvement. I like the tools, the guns, the history and the men and women I have met here on the forum. It makes for an incredible extended family that shares a common interest, respect and admiration for a piece of the American frontier.
Hog
Hog
spoonltz28
Member
I shoot because I need the practice for the zombie invasion !!!!
Actually, it relaxes me. It's my version of fishing. And I don't get to do it much with our busy schedules.
Actually, it relaxes me. It's my version of fishing. And I don't get to do it much with our busy schedules.
It's a shame to leave a good tool unused, and I have all these guns...
More seriously, I think it's just stress relief -- pushing the reset button. Maybe there is some notion that practicing an action on the grounds that whether one is good at something or not, there is no reason not to try to get better at it.
And I want to let the tool perform at its best if it can be adjusted to do so. I'm kind of a tinkerer and like to adjust old guns to smooth out rough spots and tighten up the loose ones so they are a little closer to their original operating condition. Then after I do whatever it is I do, I like to shoot them to see if I have actually achieved any improvement. (Easier to rehab a Smith than a Colt, I assure you, though most of the improvement I get on either type stems from a serious deep cleaning.)
More seriously, I think it's just stress relief -- pushing the reset button. Maybe there is some notion that practicing an action on the grounds that whether one is good at something or not, there is no reason not to try to get better at it.
And I want to let the tool perform at its best if it can be adjusted to do so. I'm kind of a tinkerer and like to adjust old guns to smooth out rough spots and tighten up the loose ones so they are a little closer to their original operating condition. Then after I do whatever it is I do, I like to shoot them to see if I have actually achieved any improvement. (Easier to rehab a Smith than a Colt, I assure you, though most of the improvement I get on either type stems from a serious deep cleaning.)
