The Reason you Shoot

[QuercusMax]

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.

 

[KarmannGhia]

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).

 

[old bear]

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.

 

[COL Jagdog]

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.

 

[gregintenn]

I really enjoy shooting firearms. It isn't any more complicated than that.

 

[Straightshooter2]

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

 

[OK Hog Shooter]

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

 

[spoonltz28]

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.

 

[DCWilson]

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.)

 

[vytoland]

I shoot because I enjoy it and to become more proficient

 

[chud333]

Many thanks to all you good people here on this fine Forum.
A special "Thanks" goes out to Lee and all the Mods. for all the
hard work done to keep us all in touch and informed.
I've made alot of good friends and contacts through the S&W forum.

Everyone shoots for a different reason and it's "All Good" as far
as i'm concerned. It's part of me and what i grew up doing
and enjoying. I hope i have the physical ability to shoot and hunt
until the day i pass on.
Everyone be safe and keep on pulling the trigger.
Chuck

 

[Bob L]

Like everyone else, I shoot because it is fun, relaxing and a great means of camaraderie with friends, both old and soon to be. My love affair with shooting starting with my Dad getting ready to go to the UP in Michigan deer hunting. I was way too young to hunt but we always went along. The 8 to 12 hour waits to catch the ferry across the straits. It always started with Dad getting his Winchester Model 55 (breakdown lever-action) out of the closet, along with the red-plaid hunting outfit. I couldn't wait until I was old enough to go with him to hunt the White-tail. When I got old enough to hunt with him, which I loved, I realized that while I liked the hunting, I wanted to shoot a lot more then what the hunting allowed.

 

[snowman]

I would echo most of what has been said. The trouble for me is that I don't feel that I have much time to shoot recreationally. Probably 80% of my shooting practice is defensive. I returned to the gunowner fold around 10 years ago when I had been studying the self-defense issue and decided that it was important to take it seriously. Consequently most of my shooting practice is not all that fun, since I'm laboring to become better able to defend myself and my own. I enjoy shooting much more during the 20% of my practice when I'm just trying to tighten groups on paper.

Andy

 

[jbull380]

My dad started me at 6. I don't really know why I love it so much. When I got into LE it became even more enjoyable. I think the skill at arms has always been an enjoyable fascination for some men. (generally speaking of course ladies)
It is a discipline that requires training, practice and commitment. You get out of it what you put in it. When I get to Heaven I fully expect to see a range there.

 

[DeathGrip]

It wouldn't be heaven without.

 

[Kanewpadle]

It wouldn't be heaven without.

Now wait a minute......

I thought if your at the range, your in heaven.

What the heck are you guys waitin for!?

 

[Badkarma 1]

I could give gobs of reasons like staying on top of the game, or praticeing for HD, possible CCW (I WISH!). But the real reason is...IT'S FUN!! Sure I practice like I mean it with my SD/HD weapons, but what I really enjoy is busting tin cans with what ever I happen to have on hand, it takes me back to bein a kid again! Dale

 

[michael thornton]

how else am i gona try out my reloads?

 

[DeathGrip]

Now wait a minute......

What the heck are you guys waitin for!?

Probably Thursday. I ain't waiting for heaven.

 

[A10]

I hate paper. It must be punished......

 

[Kanewpadle]

I hate paper. It must be punished......

Print out some pics of Barney. You know the purple dino? Then you'll hate Barney, not the paper.

 

[McBear]

Coming from Harlan, KY it is a requirement of birth. When I was young, at 5 or 6 you are taken to the city/county dump and taught to shoot the refrigerators/washers and then rats with 22s [my dad's was a 1930s era Mossburg which I still have]. By Boy Scouts we learned rifles and pistols [M1s and M14 from the National Guard and 38/357 from the State Police].

So now, 50ish years after I started shooting, I hunt paper at the range [no outdoor places that I know of around here] and silhouettes at Cave Run Lake [70 miles away].

For shooting furry/feathery stuff I use my Olympus E3 or E30 with Sigma 135-400 Lens.

 

[brucev]

Why do I shoot? I enjoy it. I enjoy shooting 1903/1903-A3 and M-1 Garand rifles in vintage military rifle matches. I use them for hunting as, again, I enjoy carrying them and hunting with them. My first deer was shot with a Rem. 700 in .30-06. All the rest have been taken with 1903-A3's and M-1 Garand rifles.

Recently I was informed that I would be moved to a new pastoral appointment. This has required my wife and I to do some downsizing. I have sold off most of my hunting rifles and shotguns. I have kept the 12 ga. 870 and Win. 190 given to me by my parents. And... I have kept my 1903 and 03-A3 and M-1 rifles. I have a lot of ball ammo remaining that I can use in them. And if the occasion arises where I can go hunting, it is a simple matter to grab a 03-A3 and head for the woods.

I enjoy shooting handguns... specifically S&W revolvers and 1911 pistols. I don't have the budget for a high end 1911, but that's O.K. The RIA 1911 I have is nice. And after I bought it, someone kindly offered to fix it up a bit for me. The result is that that RIA 1911 is the one and only semi-auto I own... and it shoots superlatively. But, when I just want to enjoy a pleasant afternoon at the range or when I want to go for a long slow walk in the woods, fields, I routinely take one of my revolvers. It affords me time alone when I need to be alone. It brings back now distant memories of times when my identical-twin brother (deceased) and I would spend time out shooting and just bumming around in the woods and fields. Our favorite calibers were the .38/.357 and the .45 ACP. This past week when I went to the range, not surprisingly I took my S&W 66 and my RIA 1911. This past Friday was 8 years ago to the day that he died.

One final thought. Why do I shoot? Because I very much enjoy the people with whom I share the fellowship and camaraderie who share this interest in firearms and the various shooting sports. Some are highly skilled competitors of a caliber I can not hope to ever approach. Some are folks who really enjoy shooting just rifles... or just pistols. Some of them are folks who are more into discussing the various firearms but who are not so much into actual shooting. Two of them are my daughters. We have had some nice times simply walking in the woods and fields "hunting." We would have starved to death on what game we actually shot. But oh those memories. They are food for the soul.

 

[Rule 303]

I have been shooting since the age of five. In the late sixties and early seventies I shot to stay alive. From the early seventies to the early two thousands I shot to protect the citizens and myself from the bad folks. I now shoot to protect myself and my family, to relax and I really enjoy putting holes in paper quickly or very close together at long distances even at an older age.

I was a avid hunter as a young man, but after two years of ground combat in Vietnam, I became a paper shooter. Still took my son and daughters hunting and shooting, but I became a paper puncher.

I also have eleven grandchildren that I have taught to shoot and enjoy the sports of shooting and hunting. Every one of my grandchildren is a shooter.

Rule 303

 

[Jlduke]

I shoot to relax, have fun, and spend time with my son. For me its about fune first and self defense second. I don't spend alot of time worrying about how good I am because the more I shoot and have fun, the better I'll get without even having to really think about it.

 

[Moonman]

Shoot for FUN, it matches up well with retirement.
I shoot at an indoor range mostly so:
If you're not POOTIN', you should be SHOOTIN'.

 

[OK Hog Shooter]

Now this is a variation on a drinking poem I picked up somewhere in the far distant past... on a planet a long way away... and why it stuck with me I have no idea...

I have a few reasons for shooting,
and one has just entered my head...
If a man can't shoot while he's living,
how the heck can he shoot when he's dead?

Hog

 

[Marshwheeling]

The real reason? The passage of "must issue" CCW in MN. I had owned a couple of guns for years, but never shot them much, maybe once every couple of years. In 2007, I bought a Model 60 and took it to the range to try it out. Had fun, but buying it had been a bit of a pain. I might want to buy more, and getting a carry permit made purchase a lot easier, allowing instant gratification.

Since then, I have bought about a gun a year, on average, usually on the spur of the moment. I shoot about six to ten times a year, not a lot for most of you, I'm sure, but a whole lot more than I used to.

 

[2152hq]

Because I love doing it,,,,,And I don't like regrets.

Someday, if I last long enough, I'll probably end up like most. In some sort of physical and/or mental condition that won't allow me to shoot or gunsmith or engrave.

I do what I can now and when ever I can.
I shoot rifle, pistol & shotgun at least once a week with a trip to the range.

Always something different in the mix,,I'm not one to focus to closely on one gun though like everyone I do have a favorite or two.

I keep working and will as long as I can at the trade.
I cringe when I hear anyone who says "maybe someday I'll get out there and do some shooting (fishing, hiking, reloading, etc)"

I heard that all too often from the 'older folks' while growing up and told myself I would never do that.

Don't put it off, someday you won't have that option and all you'll be left with is regrets.
They did...

Just my way of lookin' at it.

 

[joeintexas]

Well the fishing hasn't been all that good the past few years and I am getting too old to chase women plus I imagine the mrs. would frown on that so.... I go to the range and let a few fly. Seems like most of us have been raised with guns in the house and it is just as much part of the house as the stove or couch. Actually I think I enjoy the company at the range just as much as I do shooting. Its kind of like family. Thanks for the thread chud, I have enjoyed it.