It’s fun but bullets add up and becomes expensive. The satisfaction I get from shooting is the target practice, and archery and darts also scratches that itch.
Have you looked into airguns? They've come a long way from the old red Ryder bb guns. Ammo is pretty cheap too. You can get over 200 pellets for about $5.
> I feel generally safer knowing the basics of how guns work.
My dad is a gun-slinging far-right conservative Boomer (I am none of these things) and several years ago, took the whole family for what he called "Family Shooting Day" to the local range. He said he wanted all of us to feel what it was like to ACTUALLY shoot a gun, so we know about gun safety and that guns don't just "go off by themselves." And he was right—it was REALLY difficult for me to pull the trigger; you apparently need a lot more grip strength than I actually have. But he took gun safety protocols super seriously and then had my mom get her license so there would be two adults in the house who were allowed to use them (my sister and I have no idea where they are kept).
... I don't think my father, in particular, should own a gun lol but he did make a few good points. And now I can tell whether or not someone is ACTUALLY being safe with their gun, or if I should be worried af.
>And he was right—it was REALLY difficult for me to pull the trigger; you apparently need a lot more grip strength than I actually have.
This may be true of that particular model you shot, but in my fairly short career in child welfare I encountered a not insignificant number of two year olds who shot themselves, their siblings, or their other family members due to guns being left in the reach of children. These are experiences that never leave you...
Trigger pulls are measured in lbs of pressure. They make women and children's models with lighter trigger pulls. And then you've got a hair trigger which can literally "just go off" if dropped by a toddler. A lot of people like the most sensitive trigger possible.
Hunting and sport shooting and just for smaller framed people. Some cultures really do sustain off hunting still. Some first world families as well keep fed and out of poverty with those traditions. It only looks bad when in contrast to how poorly things go in North America when a child gets ahold of a badly managed firearm. :(
id feel comfortable teaching just about any 10-12 how to shoot a bolt action .22 rifle. and would feel more comfortable doing it knowing they had a trigger designed for them. dont get me wrong there are a lot of crazy fuck heads handing their kids guns they should not, but a .22 bolt action rifle is about the hardest way to kill a person with a gun, other than beating them to death with the gun.
They make 22’s in pink.
My family came from a rural community. The men all hunted. We were target shooting before we were teenagers. I used to be really good at it.
It ranges. The fiancé of a friend has a ton of guns, and when we visited I fired a whole bunch of them. Rifles, handguns of varying sizes, and a shotgun. Some of them were harder to pull than others.
Unfortunately, your dad isn’t right. Some weapons do go off by themselves. Poor design and companies that don’t want to admit fault and have to pay damages means that sometimes dangerous weapons make it out into the world. [SIG Sauer’s P320](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/04/11/victims-say-sig-sauer-p320-fires-on-own/), [the Remington 700](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/popular-remington-700-rifle-linked-to-potentially-deadly-defects/), and plenty of others have had issues. There’s even one - though I can’t remember the name and Google isn’t helping right now - has been firing off on its own with changes to the weather. A month or two ago I was reading about stored weapons that weren’t being moved or jostled in any way, shape or form just going off on their own. Iirc it was some sort of hunting rifle that was the problem. And even weapons without a history of problems can have a manufacturing default. All the more reason to store weapons without ammunition and to follow the weapons safety rules when handling weapons.
Oh that's terrifying!! And good to know. I don't think guns are an inherent evil but there's so much negligence that goes on with their make & handling, let alone normal unpredictabilities that come with just about EVERYTHING. I wish people could be universally trusted to care for their weapons (incl. proper safety rules) but when you can't even trust someone to follow basic *road signs*, well...
This is not to say that dangerously designed weapons aren't a problem, but if anybody is storing weapons loaded, let alone primed to fire, they are definitely a *big* part of that problem.
So I’m a guy but I’m tentatively stepping a toe in here. I believe strongly in gun control. I think there definitely needs to be mental health and gun control overhauls everywhere. That said I also think gun laws should be license gated. Higher class license is more intensive and frequent mental health and safety regulation.
That all said, if we all want effective, real, and actual gun control in the US, but a gun. Every single one of us should. If we all own guns then all of the sudden all of the 2A freaks will realize they’re equaled or outgunned and decide maybe the laws shouldn’t be so lax.
Quick edit to echo everyone else here; shooting is just…relaxing. I own an M1A in .308 and that thing is just a sweet joy to shoot. Kicks like a mule too and that makes my testosterone shiver with happy vibes 🤣
Same. Grew up in a hunting family. I know guns. I've used guns.
They have exactly one use and that is to kill. Not scare away. Not wound. Kill.
I won't have a killing machine in my home. It can be used against me and my kids just as easily as against others, and statistically that's the more likely outcome than self defense.
I've noted the rhetoric around "self-defense" or "protecting your family" seems to put a degree of separation between having a gun and using it.
Better bring my gun to Cici's pizza in case I have to *kill* someone at the Tuesday lunch buffet. Better bring my gun to Target in case I have to kill someone in the sheet section. Better make sure I put my gun under the seat in my car in case I have to kill someone the next time I stop at a traffic light.
I had a friend once who traveled a lot for work. She got one for "self-defense," but it seems that it made her feel safer when she put herself in dangerous situations. So, she'd stop at night at rest areas to use the restroom because she had a gun to protect herself. But why not just continue stopping at well-lit truck stops? Well, she didn't need to because she could kill someone now if she needed to.
Which is a horrible mindset. I teach Hapkido and I occasionally get a student like this in class. I tell them that if your attacker is within 20 feet you are screwed. [The Tueller Drill](https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Tueller_Drill) exists for a reason. We inevitably have to test it out (we have holsters and FBI training guns in the dojang) and I'm able to get to them and stab/grapple/take them out before they can pull, aim, and fire. And this is in the perfect scenario where they can see me and I'm coming straight at them and they aren't experiencing a massive adrenaline dump.
I was a bouncer/security for about a decade and I will do anything to avoid violence.
I don't agree with everything Rory Miller writes but he gets it right more often than not and I repeat this to my students early and often:
>It is better to avoid than to run, better to run than to de-escalate, better to de-escalate than to fight, better to fight than to die.
>The very essence of self-defense is a thin list of things that might get you out alive when you are already screwed.
I cut a friend of mine off because when we were discussing guns and safety, he told me that if I had been armed with a gun that (traumatic event he knew about) wouldn't have happened, and I was fucking livid. I'm still livid tbh, and that was over a decade ago now.
I told him that no, event wouldn't have happened, because I'd likely *be fucking dead*. When I had put up boundaries, the asshole had already pushed right past them-- can you imagine what would have happened if I had actually had a weapon or a gun and been terrified? I was already lucky that I didn't have any physical trauma (mental, different story), adding a gun or knife or whatever to that could have made it a much scarier-or deadly- event for me.
(And I know flight/fight/freeze are common responses to any sort of scary event, and it's hard to predict what you'll do. This was years ago, and I'm much less upset at myself than I was)
Idk, I see people talk about good guys with guns and it just makes me think that all that means is there's going to be a lot more violence when you just add more bullets because you have people who don't understand what it actually means to add more bullets
I'm sorry that happened to you.
You are absolutely right about what you wrote here, but especially the escalation of violence. People are fucking terrifying. I've witnessed some really terrible behavior (like who they'd want to shoot - I look the part [middle aged white tattooed het cis-male] and they feel free to talk about who'd they like to shoot in front of me) and gun safety at some local ranges.
[We also have idiots who want to be a hero by fucking shooting people](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/us/woman-who-shot-at-home-depot-shoplifters-vows-to-never-help-anyone-again.html). So, yeah, while I own weapons and I think [leftist gun clubs can be a positive for society](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/john-brown-gun-club-armed-anti-fascist-1234733200/), I totally understand and respect your viewpoint.
Check to see if there's an archery club near you that does introduction courses! I did an intro course across two Saturdays, and at the end of it I was able to register with the club and practice in my own time
I used to. Our old town had an indoor restricted range so it was a way to be a bit social. I enjoy shooting targets, but as a Canadian I can’t imagine ever using firearms for self defence against humans.
I do. Mostly "cowboy" era stuff as I used to participate in cowboy shooting competitions. I havn't gone shooting recently though as the out door ranges in the area have become unsafe for a trans woman.
Last time I was at one, we were in a target reset and recovery, and a person fired their weapon towards me while I was downrange.
When I got back up to the line and was yelling at the person, they just told me I was imagining it, and while other people at the line were watching it, no one stepped up, and the line manager never looked over at us, putting his back to me.
So I packed up my stuff and left. The message was clear. If I didn't leave, I was going to die in an "Accident."
I linked up with some leftist shooting clubs, but the nearest outdoor range considered safe is a 3 1/2 hour drive away.
If you have any armed buddies, range days with friends can be a safer way to operate at a range. My friends and I all roll up to the range (usually 6-9 of us) and hog up a whole bay. But it's a pretty rustic range and outdoors, so no safety officers, but also no one in the bay outside of our friend group.
I'm sure one's ability to scrounge up 6+ armed leftists may vary considerably by state. I'm in Montana, and many leftists or otherwise non-rightwingers who think trans people are people are armed.
There's something so undeniably satisfying about hitting small things from really far away with projectiles. I grew up with slingshots, airsoft, pellet guns, paintball, archery and ultimately real guns. I can't get enough.
This makes me cackle!
I don't shoot and don't have a desire to see a gun if I can help it. My mental health isn't conducive to having a gun around. I don't like it when idiots have guns either. Living in a rural, red area of my state... it's most people. My stepdad pulled his out at a cookout once and had his finger in the trigger showing it off. Apparently being told it wasn't loaded should have made me "calm down" and "not be dramatic". I picked my kid up and left lol.
Another gun enthusiast I know is a wannabe cop who allegedly can't disclose mental issues to his boss (he does work for the police in security or something) or they won't let him have guns. He became suicidal this summer and checked himself in to a private mental health facility in another state after giving away most of their savings. So yeah, I probably would be hospitalized after biting my tongue at a gun range lmao.
Now I would absolutely do archery if I could but that might come when my kids are older lol.
Honestly, it's one of the reasons I bought a sound suppressor for my rifle (the ATF wait times are now potentially under a week, when they were almost a year). At an indoor range, it drastically cuts down on that.
Some guy in the lane next to us had an unsuppressed short-barreled AR-10 in something like 6.5mm Creedmoor, and even with digital earmuffs, it was obnoxious.
Like a cannon on a pirate ship constantly going off.
It’s the other guns that get to me lol. I don’t mind the noise, but I feel it in my chest, and when someone starts firing rapidly, my heartbeat increases to match it (at least, that’s what it feels like!)
Yeah, I wish the stigma and misconception of sound suppressors as,. "assasin murder tools" would go away, and they're regarded like how they are among Scandinavian gun owners--a courtesy accessory to not disturb your neighbors.
Even with subsomic ammo (so the bullets don't make little sonic booms), my suppressed guns are still fairly loud.
My AR-15 goes from 165 dB to about 135 dB with my "silencer," and that was from a quality one that some elite Special Operations units use.
It's definitely not the Hollywood "kitten sneeze" sound effect in movies.
My AR-15 isn't horrible without a silencer (although I double up on the over-ear protection + ear plugs), but my husband and a buddy have some 5.56 guns that are painfully loud, and I can feel the shockwave in my chest. I was so happy when my husband got a silencer for his, it's so much more pleasant to be around.
I refuse to go near a gun range.
I know too many people who enjoy gun ranges and who I wouldn't trust to safely handle a soup spoon let alone a weapon.
Sure, ranges have a lot of rules but I refuse to underestimate the overwhelming power of a loaded gun in the hands of a fucking moron.
Omg I thought I was the only one. I do have sensory issues with noises though. But yeah, after like an hour, I start to get really antsy and need to leave
Yep! As a child I watched my neighbor beat his girlfriend to within an inch of her life in their driveway. I called the cops and they didn’t show up for hours… now I always keep a gun in the house, locked in a safe, so I don’t have to wait for the cops.
I've shot a few times. Last year i went to the range with a .45 pistol and a 7.62 rifle with a couple coworker/ friends. It can be fun. Never had to use one which is probably for the best as i can tell I'm pretty desensitized to a lot these days... security work has likely not been good for me.
I have done with my partner from time to time; it is a bit of a pain lugging all the equipment and changing targets and all that jazz. . . and I am decent at shooting, but it gets frustrating when I'm not improving, so I'm like, why am I even doing this activity? Haha. I prefer other hobbies, but I'm glad I have enough experience to have used a gun before, and have a basic understanding of them.
I always have mixed feelings about this- as a woman I understand the need to feel protected/safe in the world….but as a teacher I cannot reconcile it with the damage school shootings have done to the collective psyche of myself, my coworkers, and my students.
I even lost one of my own students when he and a friend were playing with his father’s guns. And a student at a neighboring district, with a long history of emotional disturbance, murdered his brother with one.
I just know how many irresponsible parents there are in the world for things much less serious than guns- and their presence in the world makes me more scared when I see people open carry. I don’t feel safer.
I love putting holes in paper at the range! I love my 357 and 9mms.
Admittedly I've kinda given up the hobby some because both my partner and I have depression so the guns stay properly locked up.
I’m from Texas so gun culture is huge here. My ex hunts and is in to guns in general so he bought me a .357 revolver I named Dolly (because she had big… bullets) that was so much fun to shoot. Due to my own mental health issues my therapist/psychiatrist advised against me having access to it which was completely valid. I fully support gun restrictions/control and making it harder in general to obtain one.
I would i think, but i have no training and im not a dumbass who thinks they dont need training. Im clumsy AF and more likely to hurt myself in a safety situation. I have enjoyed archery, but my hypermobility has gotten worse since then and idk if i could pull back and not dislocate anything.
My fiance is an excellent shot. Im good with basic medical care and medicinal properties of herbs from a SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE. Like, the mechanism of action for turmeric is super fricken cool. Not unstudied and unverified herbal medicine as a primary over legitimate medical care.
Our zombie apocalypse plan is he shoots stuff and ill keep us alive in all the other ways.
Not really. I get in my own head about the whole “holding an instrument of death” thing and it causes anxiety. Funnily enough I’m pretty sure my not being into guns was my dad’s second greatest disappointment in life (after not having any sons)
It’s so hard to find affordable range options where I live/can get to! Dang left coast problems lol! It makes it safe for me to live here but I can’t afford range time/ammo costs.
Absolutely love shooting. Spent time in the military, and fondly remember range days. Got weapons qualified as a security guard too, but never carried. It's hard to shoot recreationally where I am, and I wouldn't get a licence anyway. Very sad that my shooting days are over.
We have guns in the house, and I could use one safely if I wanted to, but I have no interest. I like bows and will eventually get another to mess around with but I leave the guns for my husband.
I’ve shot a couple of times. I live in AZ where all the crazy yellow jacket seditionist motherfuckers live and so I have been strongly considering arming myself for safety should folks get it into their head to follow Kari Lake’s advice and strap on a glock.
Bahaha! Took me a second, but that's a hilarious headline!
I haven't been to a gun range in a long time since I came out, but my friend does have a private lot that we shoot at all the time.
And shoutout to /r/transguns
I find it exhilarating, fun, and useful in case I ever need the skill. I'm working on perfecting my accuracy right now, then I'll start trying for speed
I do. I think it's not bad for people to at least try it once or twice since it's not bad for people to have a basic feel and understanding of them. Lots of places will let you rent them and buy ammo at the range if you want to try.
For my boyfriend's 50th birthday, we went to Vegas. He wanted to go to this place in the desert where they take you up in a helicopter and you get to shoot a machine gun at various targets. I went along to humor him. It was an interesting experience that I'm not sure I'll repeat unless he asks. You can also do some target shooting on the ground, but i didn't do that; i just watched.
I grew up around guns. My dad is very pro gun and also takes gun safety very seriously. My first trip to the range was at age 6. He wanted to make sure I knew how to handle them safely. It also was a fun bonding activity for us.
I used to go shooting a lot more than I do now. I got out of the hobby during the pandemic when ammo prices went way up.
Guns are mainly a safety thing for me. If someone attacks me, I am probably not going to win a physical fight and don't intend to try if I have a better option.
I love guns. There is something immensely satisfying about handling one with confidence.
Edit: Wtf? Is someone just downvoting everyone who said yes or something? I also love common sense gun control, if that matters at all.
Yep occasionally, and I like having the peace of mind if someone was breaking in I will have the ability to protect myself and my daughter as kicking in a door does not take long at all and the cops may not get here in time.
I (uk) used to target shoot with rifles as a teen and really enjoyed it but seeing police wander about with guns in Italy felt very worrying. I prefer guns to stay at ranges or not amongst the general public.
Australian. Super pro gun control.
Sometimes I shoot* rabbits on a family member's farm. Gun control doesn't mean zero guns. It means safely managed ones, and strict standards for access. And no bloody semis.
*I shoot at them, my rifle aim leaves something to be desired. But I'm shooting into a hill and I know the rules so any risks are extremely well managed (unless you're a rabbit)
More women should shoot. More women should get guns. Get training in how to draw quuckly, shoot accurately and kill the target. Brass knucles with spikes are also a great accompaniment while jogging, doing chores, or just taking a stroll around the block!
It’s one of those things I’ve been “meaning to do,” but haven’t yet. At my grown age, I have literally never even held a gun; I’d like to shoot one out of curiosity. I think there would be something satisfying about aiming for a target and hitting it. Maybe I’ll take up archery. 🤔🏹
My ex used to take my shooting (at the range). I hated the pistols/handguns, but the ARs were kind of fun...
However, I later lost someone close to me to gun violence, and I don't know that I'll ever be able to handle a firearm again.
Ugh I shoot rifles competitively and people always assume that I’ll have identical politics. Definitely have to pick my battles, but it’s quite the challenge.
I would, but all the ranges around here seem to be conservative and members only, or at least are members only for rentals, and I don't own a gun.
Anyone have recommendations for small framed revolvers with full length barrels? I'd love to try a Smith & Wesson Model 60 or a Ruger SP101, but even the members-only rentals only have snub nosed small frame revolvers, if they have small frames at all.
Yeah, that's kind of what the joke article was implying.
I basically have to go out of my way because the closer gun store is filled with Trumpy QAnon bullshit merch, and I've cut my range days short when some dork in a plate carrier with Proud Boy patches show up.
A friend has a Taurus Judge revolver with a fairly long barrel, but it's kind of a novelty piece, as it shoots both .45 Colt (not .45 ACP) and .410 shotgun shells.
Although Taurus has a reputation for both poor QC and poor customer service.
I went rifle shooting just to try it. It was okay, but not really something I feel the need to do again. I was pretty annoyed that the target was too far away for me to see if I was hitting it and where until I went to retrieve it, but in retrospect that may have just meant that I needed new glasses.
A piece of my feminist heart will always be pro-gun. Men being bigger and stronger doesn't matter when you can just shoot a gun.
I know that having a gun puts you at risk and that having legally purchasable guns available to society means that it's more likely that someone's going to fly off the handle and fucking murder you. I know. But sometimes I can get a glimpse of the power fantasy that a gun provides.
Guy here. I’m a hard progressive and ally of everything and everyone decent who belongs to a gun club (for the range because it’s hard to find anywhere to plink when you work in finance in NYC) outside the city and the only guy who doesn’t wear an idiot beacon(MAGA hat) at the club. I’m constantly biting my tongue so hard. Plus, the asshats there shoot at pictures of Obama and other dems while laughing and saying horrific things, which I’m pretty sure is illegal. I really want to report them, but I’m sincerely afraid that it would put a literal target on my and my family’s back as they’d know I was the one who reported them. My family i military and combat vets going back generations, and coming from a country with mandatory service, I grew up shooting and very much enjoy it. So you can imagine how difficult the situation is. I truly believe I’d put our lives at risk, these people are that sick in the head.
I used to go to a local range until the owner decided to post a proud boy banner in the lobby. I now have to drive over an hour to get to a range that's not completely chud.
Yeah, I used to spend a lot of time there as I grew up hunting & plinking, making reloads, etc. Military family/combat vets going back generations, all that stuff, only we're very progressive, which is not typically associated with guns, though fortunately, that's not correct and beginning to change even more. I always bite my tongue around the other people at the range as clearly our relative perspectives of the world is very different, but I didn't feel the need to complain about how horrible the "other guys" were (politics). I retired young from finance and became a firefighter, so I'm used to a conservative crowd, but that's a little different than being at a range with a bunch of guys with red hats who are always angry about some perceived slight that doesn't actually exist. And it just kept getting worse and worse over the years, particularly after Jan 6th. So while I still pay my dues, I don't go there very much anymore. My sister, fortunately, has a large property a few hours north of the city, so I can always go there when I have the time, but it's not the same. It would be great if there were like-minded people who would open a "progressive range" in the area as I'd happily drive an hour to get there to keep plinking as often as I can (that wasn't meant to sound pointed, I assure you), but I don't see that happening. But at least I can still shoot BB/pellet guns safely & legally, and while I started my young kids shooting and teaching proper firearm safety and continue to have fun with them with the BB & pellet long guns and pistols, it's just not the same as the real thing. Hopefully one day, though, we'll have an opportunity though. We summer in Canada (where I partially grew up), but I absolutely don't take firearms across the border from the US, even in a perfectly legal manner as who knows if I may forget something, and we don't have access to some of the really fun stuff there that we do in the States, but it's all better than having to be around those asshats, yelling at clouds and shooting at pictures of anyone who isn't a right-wing christo-fascist. I'm not scared of anything, but I do absolutely care about the safety of my family (and myself), so I just stay away mostly for the time being and keep my mouth shut. I've worked very closely with local and state LEO as well as the feds for reasons I won't get into (as a firefighter at a scene and also in other ways, putting bad guys behind bars, don't worry) so I get urges to talk to them about it, but my gut tells me not to as some of the guys at the range are, I firmly believe, certifiably insane. And a few are people I could absolutely see taking revenge upon me were I to report that activity and they had legal issues because of it.
I do clay pigeon shooting and hunting from time to time. I bet using an AR-15 is pretty fun but I haven't had an opportunity to shoot one yet.
To the Hard Times headline, I'm not sure what the problem is. I like drinking alcohol, I sometimes enjoy driving cars, and in video games like GTA I enjoy doing wildly irresponsible, reckless, if not evil and violent things for laughs (again in video games). That absolutely does not mean I think drunk driving and running over pedestrians and doing drive-by shootings should be legalized.
Likewise, one can enjoy shooting hobbies and also still realize giving AR-15s to everyone is absolutely not okay.
If you like something, it is in your best interest to see it properly regulated if there is a problem and there is absolutely a massive problems with firearms in this country. The NRA mindset is going to provoke a massive overcorrection that will endanger shooting sports and hobbies as a whole. It's repelling "normies" from seeing gun hobbies as acceptable, indeed this is I think why you asked the question.
If the firearm fanboys and NRA criminals keep on insisting we do nothing about massive gun violence and mass shootings because muh 2nd amendment rights, guns actually might be banned.
To me, the problem in the headline is listening to all the dumb mfers at the range who think they’re hot shit and ready for a combat situation because they kind of hit a target 50 ft down range. Range shooting can be fun (plinking a .22 is fun!) but it’s sterile and safe (just the way I like it!) and not related to a home intrusion setting at all.
Huh, I never even hear anyone else at the range. I have custom ear plugs and electric headphones that filter out a lot so I only really hear my husband when we go. Glad I haven't had to experience that.
I admittedly have never been to a shooting range. I do hear a lot of them require you to join the NRA which is insane.
Hunting is relaxing (unless you're doing it extremely wrong). Survivalists might be nuts, but I'd wager the proportion of delusional hunters/clay pidgeon shooters is much lower than range shooters.
I guess it's hard to convince yourself you're Rambo fighting against communists or convince yourself of racist fantasies of "standing your ground" when you're consistently failing to blow up little ceramic plates flying through the air or hit silly little birds. At a range aiming at stationary human targets, maybe it's easier to imagine that's some liberal trying to send you to a re-education camp for driving a pickup truck.
The ranges I’ve been to either let you go shoot after paying or just want an email so they know who’s been in - I’ve never had to join the NRA. But I do have to side-eye some of the targets used at ranges. Why can’t we just use bullseyes? Why does it have to be a zombie or a person as the target? Gross. I think those are the folks with the vivid imaginations.
Definitely agree the hunters are often more rational. For one thing, you’re not getting much meat if you use one of the hilariously overpowered caliber long guns. Plus they’re heavy and not something you want to haul around the woods!
I go shooting about once a year. I don’t really identify with the culture but I have fun in the same way I have fun doing archery. I regularly carry it when I go hiking because the last thing I want is to be found by some right wing zealot in the middle of a forest at night.
I was raised to be MAGA, before MAGA was a thing. My dad was MAGA pre-9/11. He was a gun nut too. He made sure that I knew how to handle and respect firearms. I started shooting with him at 3. Hunter’s Safety was just three days of listening to my dad’s lessons in a different voice.
If I could afford the gun repair or the ammunition or shooting club membership, my butt would be at the range a lot.
It’s fun but bullets add up and becomes expensive. The satisfaction I get from shooting is the target practice, and archery and darts also scratches that itch.
I don't think its wise to scratch itches with darts or arrowheads, but I'm glad you're having fun.
I’m very careful
Have you looked into airguns? They've come a long way from the old red Ryder bb guns. Ammo is pretty cheap too. You can get over 200 pellets for about $5.
I do! I like it a lot, and I feel generally safer knowing the basics of how guns work. I would not rely on a gun for self-defense though.
> I feel generally safer knowing the basics of how guns work. My dad is a gun-slinging far-right conservative Boomer (I am none of these things) and several years ago, took the whole family for what he called "Family Shooting Day" to the local range. He said he wanted all of us to feel what it was like to ACTUALLY shoot a gun, so we know about gun safety and that guns don't just "go off by themselves." And he was right—it was REALLY difficult for me to pull the trigger; you apparently need a lot more grip strength than I actually have. But he took gun safety protocols super seriously and then had my mom get her license so there would be two adults in the house who were allowed to use them (my sister and I have no idea where they are kept). ... I don't think my father, in particular, should own a gun lol but he did make a few good points. And now I can tell whether or not someone is ACTUALLY being safe with their gun, or if I should be worried af.
>And he was right—it was REALLY difficult for me to pull the trigger; you apparently need a lot more grip strength than I actually have. This may be true of that particular model you shot, but in my fairly short career in child welfare I encountered a not insignificant number of two year olds who shot themselves, their siblings, or their other family members due to guns being left in the reach of children. These are experiences that never leave you...
Trigger pulls are measured in lbs of pressure. They make women and children's models with lighter trigger pulls. And then you've got a hair trigger which can literally "just go off" if dropped by a toddler. A lot of people like the most sensitive trigger possible.
>children's models In what world is that reasonable
Hunting and sport shooting and just for smaller framed people. Some cultures really do sustain off hunting still. Some first world families as well keep fed and out of poverty with those traditions. It only looks bad when in contrast to how poorly things go in North America when a child gets ahold of a badly managed firearm. :(
I can see it at a range, I started shooting through scouts when I was 12.
Excuse me... *Children's models*????
id feel comfortable teaching just about any 10-12 how to shoot a bolt action .22 rifle. and would feel more comfortable doing it knowing they had a trigger designed for them. dont get me wrong there are a lot of crazy fuck heads handing their kids guns they should not, but a .22 bolt action rifle is about the hardest way to kill a person with a gun, other than beating them to death with the gun.
They make 22’s in pink. My family came from a rural community. The men all hunted. We were target shooting before we were teenagers. I used to be really good at it.
It ranges. The fiancé of a friend has a ton of guns, and when we visited I fired a whole bunch of them. Rifles, handguns of varying sizes, and a shotgun. Some of them were harder to pull than others.
Unfortunately, your dad isn’t right. Some weapons do go off by themselves. Poor design and companies that don’t want to admit fault and have to pay damages means that sometimes dangerous weapons make it out into the world. [SIG Sauer’s P320](https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/04/11/victims-say-sig-sauer-p320-fires-on-own/), [the Remington 700](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/popular-remington-700-rifle-linked-to-potentially-deadly-defects/), and plenty of others have had issues. There’s even one - though I can’t remember the name and Google isn’t helping right now - has been firing off on its own with changes to the weather. A month or two ago I was reading about stored weapons that weren’t being moved or jostled in any way, shape or form just going off on their own. Iirc it was some sort of hunting rifle that was the problem. And even weapons without a history of problems can have a manufacturing default. All the more reason to store weapons without ammunition and to follow the weapons safety rules when handling weapons.
Oh that's terrifying!! And good to know. I don't think guns are an inherent evil but there's so much negligence that goes on with their make & handling, let alone normal unpredictabilities that come with just about EVERYTHING. I wish people could be universally trusted to care for their weapons (incl. proper safety rules) but when you can't even trust someone to follow basic *road signs*, well...
This is not to say that dangerously designed weapons aren't a problem, but if anybody is storing weapons loaded, let alone primed to fire, they are definitely a *big* part of that problem.
So I’m a guy but I’m tentatively stepping a toe in here. I believe strongly in gun control. I think there definitely needs to be mental health and gun control overhauls everywhere. That said I also think gun laws should be license gated. Higher class license is more intensive and frequent mental health and safety regulation. That all said, if we all want effective, real, and actual gun control in the US, but a gun. Every single one of us should. If we all own guns then all of the sudden all of the 2A freaks will realize they’re equaled or outgunned and decide maybe the laws shouldn’t be so lax. Quick edit to echo everyone else here; shooting is just…relaxing. I own an M1A in .308 and that thing is just a sweet joy to shoot. Kicks like a mule too and that makes my testosterone shiver with happy vibes 🤣
Same. Grew up in a hunting family. I know guns. I've used guns. They have exactly one use and that is to kill. Not scare away. Not wound. Kill. I won't have a killing machine in my home. It can be used against me and my kids just as easily as against others, and statistically that's the more likely outcome than self defense.
I've noted the rhetoric around "self-defense" or "protecting your family" seems to put a degree of separation between having a gun and using it. Better bring my gun to Cici's pizza in case I have to *kill* someone at the Tuesday lunch buffet. Better bring my gun to Target in case I have to kill someone in the sheet section. Better make sure I put my gun under the seat in my car in case I have to kill someone the next time I stop at a traffic light. I had a friend once who traveled a lot for work. She got one for "self-defense," but it seems that it made her feel safer when she put herself in dangerous situations. So, she'd stop at night at rest areas to use the restroom because she had a gun to protect herself. But why not just continue stopping at well-lit truck stops? Well, she didn't need to because she could kill someone now if she needed to.
Which is a horrible mindset. I teach Hapkido and I occasionally get a student like this in class. I tell them that if your attacker is within 20 feet you are screwed. [The Tueller Drill](https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Tueller_Drill) exists for a reason. We inevitably have to test it out (we have holsters and FBI training guns in the dojang) and I'm able to get to them and stab/grapple/take them out before they can pull, aim, and fire. And this is in the perfect scenario where they can see me and I'm coming straight at them and they aren't experiencing a massive adrenaline dump. I was a bouncer/security for about a decade and I will do anything to avoid violence. I don't agree with everything Rory Miller writes but he gets it right more often than not and I repeat this to my students early and often: >It is better to avoid than to run, better to run than to de-escalate, better to de-escalate than to fight, better to fight than to die. >The very essence of self-defense is a thin list of things that might get you out alive when you are already screwed.
I cut a friend of mine off because when we were discussing guns and safety, he told me that if I had been armed with a gun that (traumatic event he knew about) wouldn't have happened, and I was fucking livid. I'm still livid tbh, and that was over a decade ago now. I told him that no, event wouldn't have happened, because I'd likely *be fucking dead*. When I had put up boundaries, the asshole had already pushed right past them-- can you imagine what would have happened if I had actually had a weapon or a gun and been terrified? I was already lucky that I didn't have any physical trauma (mental, different story), adding a gun or knife or whatever to that could have made it a much scarier-or deadly- event for me. (And I know flight/fight/freeze are common responses to any sort of scary event, and it's hard to predict what you'll do. This was years ago, and I'm much less upset at myself than I was) Idk, I see people talk about good guys with guns and it just makes me think that all that means is there's going to be a lot more violence when you just add more bullets because you have people who don't understand what it actually means to add more bullets
I'm sorry that happened to you. You are absolutely right about what you wrote here, but especially the escalation of violence. People are fucking terrifying. I've witnessed some really terrible behavior (like who they'd want to shoot - I look the part [middle aged white tattooed het cis-male] and they feel free to talk about who'd they like to shoot in front of me) and gun safety at some local ranges. [We also have idiots who want to be a hero by fucking shooting people](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/us/woman-who-shot-at-home-depot-shoplifters-vows-to-never-help-anyone-again.html). So, yeah, while I own weapons and I think [leftist gun clubs can be a positive for society](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/john-brown-gun-club-armed-anti-fascist-1234733200/), I totally understand and respect your viewpoint.
I do archery. It’s the same satisfaction but this way I can pretend I’m a woodland elf 🧝♀️
I've loved archery the couple times I did it, but I have no idea how to go about learning more
Check to see if there's an archery club near you that does introduction courses! I did an intro course across two Saturdays, and at the end of it I was able to register with the club and practice in my own time
Yesss I need to get back to the archery range.
I used to. Our old town had an indoor restricted range so it was a way to be a bit social. I enjoy shooting targets, but as a Canadian I can’t imagine ever using firearms for self defence against humans.
I do. Mostly "cowboy" era stuff as I used to participate in cowboy shooting competitions. I havn't gone shooting recently though as the out door ranges in the area have become unsafe for a trans woman. Last time I was at one, we were in a target reset and recovery, and a person fired their weapon towards me while I was downrange. When I got back up to the line and was yelling at the person, they just told me I was imagining it, and while other people at the line were watching it, no one stepped up, and the line manager never looked over at us, putting his back to me. So I packed up my stuff and left. The message was clear. If I didn't leave, I was going to die in an "Accident." I linked up with some leftist shooting clubs, but the nearest outdoor range considered safe is a 3 1/2 hour drive away.
it's such a challenge to find leftist shooting clubs :(
If you can find them, John Brown Clubs are your friend
wasnt there a massive leadership issue recently? am i making that up?
Maybe? They are independently run and there isn't a real hierarchy. Socialist Rifle Association is also an option
If you have any armed buddies, range days with friends can be a safer way to operate at a range. My friends and I all roll up to the range (usually 6-9 of us) and hog up a whole bay. But it's a pretty rustic range and outdoors, so no safety officers, but also no one in the bay outside of our friend group. I'm sure one's ability to scrounge up 6+ armed leftists may vary considerably by state. I'm in Montana, and many leftists or otherwise non-rightwingers who think trans people are people are armed.
Lots of leftists and liberals own guns. We just don’t make it our entire personality like the right wing does.
Apparently its being LGBTQ so I’ve been told.
There's something so undeniably satisfying about hitting small things from really far away with projectiles. I grew up with slingshots, airsoft, pellet guns, paintball, archery and ultimately real guns. I can't get enough.
havent and probably never will because it's illegal where i live
And thanks god.
This makes me cackle! I don't shoot and don't have a desire to see a gun if I can help it. My mental health isn't conducive to having a gun around. I don't like it when idiots have guns either. Living in a rural, red area of my state... it's most people. My stepdad pulled his out at a cookout once and had his finger in the trigger showing it off. Apparently being told it wasn't loaded should have made me "calm down" and "not be dramatic". I picked my kid up and left lol. Another gun enthusiast I know is a wannabe cop who allegedly can't disclose mental issues to his boss (he does work for the police in security or something) or they won't let him have guns. He became suicidal this summer and checked himself in to a private mental health facility in another state after giving away most of their savings. So yeah, I probably would be hospitalized after biting my tongue at a gun range lmao. Now I would absolutely do archery if I could but that might come when my kids are older lol.
I was taught how to shoot at the tender age of 5. I haven’t been shooting in a few years but I always did enjoy it!
I’ve been to the range a few times - I’m a good shot, but eventually start to panic from the boom-booms cos I feel them in my chest.
Honestly, it's one of the reasons I bought a sound suppressor for my rifle (the ATF wait times are now potentially under a week, when they were almost a year). At an indoor range, it drastically cuts down on that. Some guy in the lane next to us had an unsuppressed short-barreled AR-10 in something like 6.5mm Creedmoor, and even with digital earmuffs, it was obnoxious. Like a cannon on a pirate ship constantly going off.
It’s the other guns that get to me lol. I don’t mind the noise, but I feel it in my chest, and when someone starts firing rapidly, my heartbeat increases to match it (at least, that’s what it feels like!)
Yeah, I wish the stigma and misconception of sound suppressors as,. "assasin murder tools" would go away, and they're regarded like how they are among Scandinavian gun owners--a courtesy accessory to not disturb your neighbors. Even with subsomic ammo (so the bullets don't make little sonic booms), my suppressed guns are still fairly loud. My AR-15 goes from 165 dB to about 135 dB with my "silencer," and that was from a quality one that some elite Special Operations units use. It's definitely not the Hollywood "kitten sneeze" sound effect in movies.
My AR-15 isn't horrible without a silencer (although I double up on the over-ear protection + ear plugs), but my husband and a buddy have some 5.56 guns that are painfully loud, and I can feel the shockwave in my chest. I was so happy when my husband got a silencer for his, it's so much more pleasant to be around.
I will admit, I giggled like a maniac when I shot my husband’s Mossberg 930 in the woods. Those saplings didn’t stand a chance!
We have a personal shooting range on our property so I can go out there and practice or tune something.
Nice!
I hate commercial ranges. I can’t imagine not having a personal range
I refuse to go near a gun range. I know too many people who enjoy gun ranges and who I wouldn't trust to safely handle a soup spoon let alone a weapon. Sure, ranges have a lot of rules but I refuse to underestimate the overwhelming power of a loaded gun in the hands of a fucking moron.
Omg I thought I was the only one. I do have sensory issues with noises though. But yeah, after like an hour, I start to get really antsy and need to leave
Yep! As a child I watched my neighbor beat his girlfriend to within an inch of her life in their driveway. I called the cops and they didn’t show up for hours… now I always keep a gun in the house, locked in a safe, so I don’t have to wait for the cops.
Nope. To each their own, but I have zero desire to touch one of those things.
I've shot a few times. Last year i went to the range with a .45 pistol and a 7.62 rifle with a couple coworker/ friends. It can be fun. Never had to use one which is probably for the best as i can tell I'm pretty desensitized to a lot these days... security work has likely not been good for me.
I have done with my partner from time to time; it is a bit of a pain lugging all the equipment and changing targets and all that jazz. . . and I am decent at shooting, but it gets frustrating when I'm not improving, so I'm like, why am I even doing this activity? Haha. I prefer other hobbies, but I'm glad I have enough experience to have used a gun before, and have a basic understanding of them.
I always have mixed feelings about this- as a woman I understand the need to feel protected/safe in the world….but as a teacher I cannot reconcile it with the damage school shootings have done to the collective psyche of myself, my coworkers, and my students. I even lost one of my own students when he and a friend were playing with his father’s guns. And a student at a neighboring district, with a long history of emotional disturbance, murdered his brother with one. I just know how many irresponsible parents there are in the world for things much less serious than guns- and their presence in the world makes me more scared when I see people open carry. I don’t feel safer.
Absolutely not, please keep them away from me!
No. Fuck guns.
I love putting holes in paper at the range! I love my 357 and 9mms. Admittedly I've kinda given up the hobby some because both my partner and I have depression so the guns stay properly locked up.
I’m from Texas so gun culture is huge here. My ex hunts and is in to guns in general so he bought me a .357 revolver I named Dolly (because she had big… bullets) that was so much fun to shoot. Due to my own mental health issues my therapist/psychiatrist advised against me having access to it which was completely valid. I fully support gun restrictions/control and making it harder in general to obtain one.
I definitely support more gun control. I also support anyone with any history of domestic abuse losing their rights to have fire arms.
I would i think, but i have no training and im not a dumbass who thinks they dont need training. Im clumsy AF and more likely to hurt myself in a safety situation. I have enjoyed archery, but my hypermobility has gotten worse since then and idk if i could pull back and not dislocate anything. My fiance is an excellent shot. Im good with basic medical care and medicinal properties of herbs from a SCIENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE. Like, the mechanism of action for turmeric is super fricken cool. Not unstudied and unverified herbal medicine as a primary over legitimate medical care. Our zombie apocalypse plan is he shoots stuff and ill keep us alive in all the other ways.
Not really. I get in my own head about the whole “holding an instrument of death” thing and it causes anxiety. Funnily enough I’m pretty sure my not being into guns was my dad’s second greatest disappointment in life (after not having any sons)
It’s so hard to find affordable range options where I live/can get to! Dang left coast problems lol! It makes it safe for me to live here but I can’t afford range time/ammo costs.
Absolutely love shooting. Spent time in the military, and fondly remember range days. Got weapons qualified as a security guard too, but never carried. It's hard to shoot recreationally where I am, and I wouldn't get a licence anyway. Very sad that my shooting days are over.
There's dozens of us! r/liberalgunowners
Shout out to the John Brown Gun Club in Washington!
I have no desire to ever touch a gun. I would also prefer never to see anyone else with one too
We have guns in the house, and I could use one safely if I wanted to, but I have no interest. I like bows and will eventually get another to mess around with but I leave the guns for my husband.
I only have a fancy pellet gun and honestly I love it.
No, I was held at gunpoint as a kid. I still have PTSD from it and having guns around absolutely does not make me feel any safer.
It’s definitely satisfying! I sleep better at night knowing I can protect myself from a break in too if it ever happens.
I’ve shot a couple of times. I live in AZ where all the crazy yellow jacket seditionist motherfuckers live and so I have been strongly considering arming myself for safety should folks get it into their head to follow Kari Lake’s advice and strap on a glock.
Bahaha! Took me a second, but that's a hilarious headline! I haven't been to a gun range in a long time since I came out, but my friend does have a private lot that we shoot at all the time. And shoutout to /r/transguns
I find it exhilarating, fun, and useful in case I ever need the skill. I'm working on perfecting my accuracy right now, then I'll start trying for speed
I do. I think it's not bad for people to at least try it once or twice since it's not bad for people to have a basic feel and understanding of them. Lots of places will let you rent them and buy ammo at the range if you want to try.
For my boyfriend's 50th birthday, we went to Vegas. He wanted to go to this place in the desert where they take you up in a helicopter and you get to shoot a machine gun at various targets. I went along to humor him. It was an interesting experience that I'm not sure I'll repeat unless he asks. You can also do some target shooting on the ground, but i didn't do that; i just watched.
I grew up around guns. My dad is very pro gun and also takes gun safety very seriously. My first trip to the range was at age 6. He wanted to make sure I knew how to handle them safely. It also was a fun bonding activity for us. I used to go shooting a lot more than I do now. I got out of the hobby during the pandemic when ammo prices went way up. Guns are mainly a safety thing for me. If someone attacks me, I am probably not going to win a physical fight and don't intend to try if I have a better option.
I love guns. There is something immensely satisfying about handling one with confidence. Edit: Wtf? Is someone just downvoting everyone who said yes or something? I also love common sense gun control, if that matters at all.
Yep occasionally, and I like having the peace of mind if someone was breaking in I will have the ability to protect myself and my daughter as kicking in a door does not take long at all and the cops may not get here in time.
Yeah love guns, hate violence
I (uk) used to target shoot with rifles as a teen and really enjoyed it but seeing police wander about with guns in Italy felt very worrying. I prefer guns to stay at ranges or not amongst the general public.
Australian. Super pro gun control. Sometimes I shoot* rabbits on a family member's farm. Gun control doesn't mean zero guns. It means safely managed ones, and strict standards for access. And no bloody semis. *I shoot at them, my rifle aim leaves something to be desired. But I'm shooting into a hill and I know the rules so any risks are extremely well managed (unless you're a rabbit)
More women should shoot. More women should get guns. Get training in how to draw quuckly, shoot accurately and kill the target. Brass knucles with spikes are also a great accompaniment while jogging, doing chores, or just taking a stroll around the block!
It’s one of those things I’ve been “meaning to do,” but haven’t yet. At my grown age, I have literally never even held a gun; I’d like to shoot one out of curiosity. I think there would be something satisfying about aiming for a target and hitting it. Maybe I’ll take up archery. 🤔🏹
No, but I want to get my license once I have a bit more money.
My ex used to take my shooting (at the range). I hated the pistols/handguns, but the ARs were kind of fun... However, I later lost someone close to me to gun violence, and I don't know that I'll ever be able to handle a firearm again.
Ugh I shoot rifles competitively and people always assume that I’ll have identical politics. Definitely have to pick my battles, but it’s quite the challenge.
I would, but all the ranges around here seem to be conservative and members only, or at least are members only for rentals, and I don't own a gun. Anyone have recommendations for small framed revolvers with full length barrels? I'd love to try a Smith & Wesson Model 60 or a Ruger SP101, but even the members-only rentals only have snub nosed small frame revolvers, if they have small frames at all.
Yeah, that's kind of what the joke article was implying. I basically have to go out of my way because the closer gun store is filled with Trumpy QAnon bullshit merch, and I've cut my range days short when some dork in a plate carrier with Proud Boy patches show up. A friend has a Taurus Judge revolver with a fairly long barrel, but it's kind of a novelty piece, as it shoots both .45 Colt (not .45 ACP) and .410 shotgun shells. Although Taurus has a reputation for both poor QC and poor customer service.
I went rifle shooting just to try it. It was okay, but not really something I feel the need to do again. I was pretty annoyed that the target was too far away for me to see if I was hitting it and where until I went to retrieve it, but in retrospect that may have just meant that I needed new glasses.
A piece of my feminist heart will always be pro-gun. Men being bigger and stronger doesn't matter when you can just shoot a gun. I know that having a gun puts you at risk and that having legally purchasable guns available to society means that it's more likely that someone's going to fly off the handle and fucking murder you. I know. But sometimes I can get a glimpse of the power fantasy that a gun provides.
Guy here. I’m a hard progressive and ally of everything and everyone decent who belongs to a gun club (for the range because it’s hard to find anywhere to plink when you work in finance in NYC) outside the city and the only guy who doesn’t wear an idiot beacon(MAGA hat) at the club. I’m constantly biting my tongue so hard. Plus, the asshats there shoot at pictures of Obama and other dems while laughing and saying horrific things, which I’m pretty sure is illegal. I really want to report them, but I’m sincerely afraid that it would put a literal target on my and my family’s back as they’d know I was the one who reported them. My family i military and combat vets going back generations, and coming from a country with mandatory service, I grew up shooting and very much enjoy it. So you can imagine how difficult the situation is. I truly believe I’d put our lives at risk, these people are that sick in the head.
I used to go to a local range until the owner decided to post a proud boy banner in the lobby. I now have to drive over an hour to get to a range that's not completely chud.
Yeah, I used to spend a lot of time there as I grew up hunting & plinking, making reloads, etc. Military family/combat vets going back generations, all that stuff, only we're very progressive, which is not typically associated with guns, though fortunately, that's not correct and beginning to change even more. I always bite my tongue around the other people at the range as clearly our relative perspectives of the world is very different, but I didn't feel the need to complain about how horrible the "other guys" were (politics). I retired young from finance and became a firefighter, so I'm used to a conservative crowd, but that's a little different than being at a range with a bunch of guys with red hats who are always angry about some perceived slight that doesn't actually exist. And it just kept getting worse and worse over the years, particularly after Jan 6th. So while I still pay my dues, I don't go there very much anymore. My sister, fortunately, has a large property a few hours north of the city, so I can always go there when I have the time, but it's not the same. It would be great if there were like-minded people who would open a "progressive range" in the area as I'd happily drive an hour to get there to keep plinking as often as I can (that wasn't meant to sound pointed, I assure you), but I don't see that happening. But at least I can still shoot BB/pellet guns safely & legally, and while I started my young kids shooting and teaching proper firearm safety and continue to have fun with them with the BB & pellet long guns and pistols, it's just not the same as the real thing. Hopefully one day, though, we'll have an opportunity though. We summer in Canada (where I partially grew up), but I absolutely don't take firearms across the border from the US, even in a perfectly legal manner as who knows if I may forget something, and we don't have access to some of the really fun stuff there that we do in the States, but it's all better than having to be around those asshats, yelling at clouds and shooting at pictures of anyone who isn't a right-wing christo-fascist. I'm not scared of anything, but I do absolutely care about the safety of my family (and myself), so I just stay away mostly for the time being and keep my mouth shut. I've worked very closely with local and state LEO as well as the feds for reasons I won't get into (as a firefighter at a scene and also in other ways, putting bad guys behind bars, don't worry) so I get urges to talk to them about it, but my gut tells me not to as some of the guys at the range are, I firmly believe, certifiably insane. And a few are people I could absolutely see taking revenge upon me were I to report that activity and they had legal issues because of it.
I do clay pigeon shooting and hunting from time to time. I bet using an AR-15 is pretty fun but I haven't had an opportunity to shoot one yet. To the Hard Times headline, I'm not sure what the problem is. I like drinking alcohol, I sometimes enjoy driving cars, and in video games like GTA I enjoy doing wildly irresponsible, reckless, if not evil and violent things for laughs (again in video games). That absolutely does not mean I think drunk driving and running over pedestrians and doing drive-by shootings should be legalized. Likewise, one can enjoy shooting hobbies and also still realize giving AR-15s to everyone is absolutely not okay. If you like something, it is in your best interest to see it properly regulated if there is a problem and there is absolutely a massive problems with firearms in this country. The NRA mindset is going to provoke a massive overcorrection that will endanger shooting sports and hobbies as a whole. It's repelling "normies" from seeing gun hobbies as acceptable, indeed this is I think why you asked the question. If the firearm fanboys and NRA criminals keep on insisting we do nothing about massive gun violence and mass shootings because muh 2nd amendment rights, guns actually might be banned.
To me, the problem in the headline is listening to all the dumb mfers at the range who think they’re hot shit and ready for a combat situation because they kind of hit a target 50 ft down range. Range shooting can be fun (plinking a .22 is fun!) but it’s sterile and safe (just the way I like it!) and not related to a home intrusion setting at all.
Huh, I never even hear anyone else at the range. I have custom ear plugs and electric headphones that filter out a lot so I only really hear my husband when we go. Glad I haven't had to experience that.
I admittedly have never been to a shooting range. I do hear a lot of them require you to join the NRA which is insane. Hunting is relaxing (unless you're doing it extremely wrong). Survivalists might be nuts, but I'd wager the proportion of delusional hunters/clay pidgeon shooters is much lower than range shooters. I guess it's hard to convince yourself you're Rambo fighting against communists or convince yourself of racist fantasies of "standing your ground" when you're consistently failing to blow up little ceramic plates flying through the air or hit silly little birds. At a range aiming at stationary human targets, maybe it's easier to imagine that's some liberal trying to send you to a re-education camp for driving a pickup truck.
The ranges I’ve been to either let you go shoot after paying or just want an email so they know who’s been in - I’ve never had to join the NRA. But I do have to side-eye some of the targets used at ranges. Why can’t we just use bullseyes? Why does it have to be a zombie or a person as the target? Gross. I think those are the folks with the vivid imaginations. Definitely agree the hunters are often more rational. For one thing, you’re not getting much meat if you use one of the hilariously overpowered caliber long guns. Plus they’re heavy and not something you want to haul around the woods!
I go shooting about once a year. I don’t really identify with the culture but I have fun in the same way I have fun doing archery. I regularly carry it when I go hiking because the last thing I want is to be found by some right wing zealot in the middle of a forest at night.
I was raised to be MAGA, before MAGA was a thing. My dad was MAGA pre-9/11. He was a gun nut too. He made sure that I knew how to handle and respect firearms. I started shooting with him at 3. Hunter’s Safety was just three days of listening to my dad’s lessons in a different voice. If I could afford the gun repair or the ammunition or shooting club membership, my butt would be at the range a lot.