The Act Of Shooting.

cslinger · January 13, 2017, 01:14 PM

So like most folks on a firearms enthusiast site I have a great number of firearms and you know what I like the act of shooting. Well duh, can be heard from the peanut gallery in the back.

What I mean is I see posts all the time asking about the perceived effectiveness of caliber X or Y or the ability of said platform to withstand military and above abuse and speed drills and tactics to be used in a violent defensive encounter etc. etc. All of those things are absolutely fine, great even and I am just as much a part of that world of discussion and thought process, but how many folks just also simply like the act of shooting. The loading, the noise, the discipline, the smell, the fun and just the overall process of sending a projectile accurately down range into a safe target. Nothing more than that. Not training, not hunting, not caring a whit for anything but the activity for the sake of itself?

I found myself shooting for about 45 minutes today with the following. A HW45 .177 airgun.

As I was shooting I just fell into that zen thought of just shooting. I recently had out my Ruger Mark II and I honestly had more fun just shooting with this air pistol this morning. Not that the Ruger trip sucked by any stretch.

I have realized as I have gotten older that no matter if its a belt fed machine gun or a nice airgun I enjoy the act of shooting. The .22LR panic never hit me at all both because I keep a fair amount of .22 and the fact that I have honestly found that shooting something like the HW45 above gives me just as much if not even more pleasure then shooting a .22LR counter part.

At any rate I just thought I would share a little shooting experience that has no practical purpose and wanted to throw out there to all of us who own guns for more than "weapons", grab something impractical, throw up some non silhouette targets and go anti tactical for a hour or two. Its refreshing sometimes..................
.........
........
Said the guy with more tactical Tupperware then Gaston has in his kitchen.

Take care, shoot safe
Chris

FITASC · January 13, 2017, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Nothing more than that. Not training, not hunting, not caring a whit for anything but the activity for the sake of itself?

Nothing more fun for me (outside of clay target games) than taking the MKII and making a soda or soup can dance as far as I can. I'm too damn old for speed drills and running and getting down (and then trying to get up) of a knee.

DaleA · January 13, 2017, 02:47 PM

What???

Shooting can be fun???

My public radio friends swoon. My tacticool friends look up from their 'Medal of Honor' video game uncomprehending. My gun store high-speed, low-drag operator that knows all things self-defensively gnashes his teeth and snarls.

Good on you!!!

dakota.potts · January 13, 2017, 03:53 PM

Some guns are fun even without shooting. As a machinist, the mechanisms of some guns are interesting to manipulate. Sometimes it's fun to shoot guns that aren't the best for the job just because they're fun.

I have a really strong interest in support machine guns even though I could practically only own them in semi auto which absolutely defeats the purpose... but they're just cool

MarkCO · January 13, 2017, 04:03 PM

Totally agree. Enjoy everything you can do with a firearm, but there are times I just want to shoot or plink for the pure fun of it. I hope to be able to do that more in 2017. I will also just take a gun out of the safe, take it apart, and put it back together again, just cause.

Thanks for the reminder.

DaleA · January 13, 2017, 05:00 PM

MarkCO-I've enjoyed many of your posts in the past but this one:

Quote:

I will also just take a gun out of the safe, take it apart, and put it back together again, just cause.

Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

(I actually do believe I've seen my firearms cringe when they see the punches and screwdrivers and hammers and vice grips out on the bench--with the Dremel tool always in the background.)

MarkCO · January 13, 2017, 05:01 PM

FITASC · January 13, 2017, 05:06 PM

Dakota - as a machinist, I think you'll appreciate George Hoenig's rifle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncj3bux7c5o

Rangerrich99 · January 13, 2017, 07:05 PM

You know, it's funny, but since I really got back into handguns a few years back, just about every range trip was about improving my skills or adjusting some sights, or testing some handloads, zeroing a scope/red dot, etc.

Yesterday (my first day of not being deathly ill in over a week) I went to the range mostly just because I was going stir-crazy in the house. I originally planned on working on my fundamentals yet again, but me and my new Ruger 1911 9mm just got into a rhythm after a couple mags, and for the first time in a long time I shot a couple hundred rounds just for fun. I shot left-handed, right-handed, left eye, right eye, did some point-shooting; heck I even tried a few shots 'gangsta' style.' I didn't worry much about my groups (patterns really) for once, or mentally berate myself for a flier; I just enjoyed the mechanical rhythms of popping off some rounds. I even tried to make a smiley face on my target, and laughed out loud at the cross-eyed drooling thing I created instead. Think zombie smiley face.

I'm still a little weak and shaky from the flu, but I think that was the best range time I've had in quite awhile. gonna have to add twenty minutes to my next range session so I can try some of that silly stuff again.

DaleA · January 13, 2017, 07:17 PM

Quote:

George Hoenig's rifle:..

That is one of the neatest/goofiest things in modern firearms I've ever seen.

Thanks for posting.

g.willikers · January 14, 2017, 09:27 AM

For sure.
But if truth be told, personally I'd druther do it with a bow and arrow.
Now, that's satisfaction, hitting the sweet zone on a 3D target at 30 yards with a plain vanilla recurve bow.
But an airgun in the home garage comes in a close second.

aarondhgraham · January 14, 2017, 11:44 AM

I'm with you my friend,,,
If it wasn't a fun thing to do,,,
I would probably own only one handgun.

I do carry a handgun for self-defense,,,
And I do practice drills to further those skills,,,
But like you, I get great enjoyment from just shooting.

Perhaps that why I own so dang many guns.

The last range trip I made before it got cold,,,
I took my least practical rifle and had a blast with it.

Burning through 200 rounds with my NEOS Carbine is a hoot,,,
It's probably the least accurate rifle I own,,,
But it's just a blast to fire.

Honestly, at one point I was giggling like a small kid.

The trip before that was with a 70 something year old single-shot 22 rifle,,,
And even though the shooting was slower and more deliberate,,,
It was still just as much fun as when I was a kid.

So no my friend,,,
You are not alone at all.

Keep having fun!

Aarond

.

O4L · January 14, 2017, 01:39 PM

I love to shoot for fun!

I started when I was a kid plinking with an old pump 22 Winchester.

I sure miss being able to just go out back and shoot till my hearts content.

I don't have anyplace outdoors to shoot anymore and I really don't like indoor ranges, so I don't get to do one of my all time favorite things very often, but if I could, I would be out shooting a few times a week...just for fun!

dakota.potts · January 14, 2017, 02:32 PM

The Hoenig rifle is definitely very interesting and has a sleek, low profile. You can hardly tell there's a rifle action in there when it's locked up.

The action reminds me somewhat of this rotary breech shotgun

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msy1ueUT0o8&t=278s

aarondhgraham · January 14, 2017, 04:18 PM

Quote:

I even tried to make a smiley face on my target, and laughed out loud at the cross-eyed drooling thing I created instead.

After watching the Lethal Weapon movie,,,
I've often tried to make a smiley face,,,
With the same lopsided results.

It's okay to have fun with your guns,,,
Shooting doesn't always have to be deadly serious.

Aarond

.

dakota.potts · January 14, 2017, 04:59 PM

I can make a smiley face with my scoped .22 from a bench. With my pistols, I can make a smiley face as interpreted by Jackson Pollock

**44 AMP** · January 14, 2017, 10:48 PM

Quote:

After watching the Lethal Weapon movie,,,
I've often tried to make a smiley face,,,

If you watch carefully, or have your quick trigger finger on the pause button, you will see that the "holes" that make the smiley face in that movie don't go all the way through the paper target!

or that's what it looks like to me. Nice perfect discs, not even close to the kind of holes a 9mm usually makes.

I absolutely agree about shooting being fun. That's my main reasons for doing it. It's recreation, pure and simple.

shuvelrider · January 15, 2017, 10:26 PM

I'll agree with the OP also, for way too long the shooting sport/hobby has been made way more technical than it need's to be. We had this discussion the other day at my workplace. The simple act of shooting whether for game or sport, seems to have morphed into "Operator" scenario training. There is a niche for that type of shooting, I'll just stay with my informal range time and woods bumming.

Skans · January 16, 2017, 11:53 AM

That pistol looks an awful lot like my Beeman P1 - are they basically the same pistol?

jackstrawIII · January 17, 2017, 11:29 AM

For me, shooting is like a better version of golf (which I also enjoy):

The Similarities
- It takes focus, but is also relaxing
- I'll never get paid to do it
- I'll never be truly great at either
- But I can (and do) improve on both with practice
- I have good days and bad days
- It's a personal challenge to improve against myself, and others

The Differences
- Shooting makes more noise
- Guns are infinitely more interesting than golf clubs
- I load my own ammo, but don't make my own golf balls

January 13, 2017, 01:14 PM	#1
cslinger Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 2002 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 2,045	The Act Of Shooting. So like most folks on a firearms enthusiast site I have a great number of firearms and you know what I like the act of shooting. Well duh, can be heard from the peanut gallery in the back. What I mean is I see posts all the time asking about the perceived effectiveness of caliber X or Y or the ability of said platform to withstand military and above abuse and speed drills and tactics to be used in a violent defensive encounter etc. etc. All of those things are absolutely fine, great even and I am just as much a part of that world of discussion and thought process, but how many folks just also simply like the act of shooting. The loading, the noise, the discipline, the smell, the fun and just the overall process of sending a projectile accurately down range into a safe target. Nothing more than that. Not training, not hunting, not caring a whit for anything but the activity for the sake of itself? I found myself shooting for about 45 minutes today with the following. A HW45 .177 airgun. As I was shooting I just fell into that zen thought of just shooting. I recently had out my Ruger Mark II and I honestly had more fun just shooting with this air pistol this morning. Not that the Ruger trip sucked by any stretch. I have realized as I have gotten older that no matter if its a belt fed machine gun or a nice airgun I enjoy the act of shooting. The .22LR panic never hit me at all both because I keep a fair amount of .22 and the fact that I have honestly found that shooting something like the HW45 above gives me just as much if not even more pleasure then shooting a .22LR counter part. At any rate I just thought I would share a little shooting experience that has no practical purpose and wanted to throw out there to all of us who own guns for more than "weapons", grab something impractical, throw up some non silhouette targets and go anti tactical for a hour or two. Its refreshing sometimes.................. ......... ........ Said the guy with more tactical Tupperware then Gaston has in his kitchen. Take care, shoot safe Chris __________________ "Is there anyway I can write my local gun store off on my taxes as dependents?"

January 13, 2017, 03:53 PM	#4
dakota.potts Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2013 Location: Keystone Heights, Florida Posts: 3,084	Some guns are fun even without shooting. As a machinist, the mechanisms of some guns are interesting to manipulate. Sometimes it's fun to shoot guns that aren't the best for the job just because they're fun. I have a really strong interest in support machine guns even though I could practically only own them in semi auto which absolutely defeats the purpose... but they're just cool __________________ Certified Gunsmith (On Hiatus) Certified Armorer - H&K and Glock Among Others You can find my writings at my website, pottsprecision.com.

January 13, 2017, 04:03 PM	#5
MarkCO Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 1998 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 4,308	Totally agree. Enjoy everything you can do with a firearm, but there are times I just want to shoot or plink for the pure fun of it. I hope to be able to do that more in 2017. I will also just take a gun out of the safe, take it apart, and put it back together again, just cause. Thanks for the reminder. __________________ Good Shooting, MarkCO www.CarbonArms.us

January 13, 2017, 05:01 PM	#7
MarkCO Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 1998 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 4,308	__________________ Good Shooting, MarkCO www.CarbonArms.us

January 13, 2017, 05:06 PM	#8
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,446	Dakota - as a machinist, I think you'll appreciate George Hoenig's rifle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ncj3bux7c5o __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

January 13, 2017, 02:47 PM	#3
DaleA Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2002 Location: Twin Cities, MN Posts: 5,313	What??? Shooting can be fun??? My public radio friends swoon. My tacticool friends look up from their 'Medal of Honor' video game uncomprehending. My gun store high-speed, low-drag operator that knows all things self-defensively gnashes his teeth and snarls. Good on you!!!

January 13, 2017, 07:05 PM	#9
Rangerrich99 Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2014 Location: Kinda near Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,254	You know, it's funny, but since I really got back into handguns a few years back, just about every range trip was about improving my skills or adjusting some sights, or testing some handloads, zeroing a scope/red dot, etc. Yesterday (my first day of not being deathly ill in over a week) I went to the range mostly just because I was going stir-crazy in the house. I originally planned on working on my fundamentals yet again, but me and my new Ruger 1911 9mm just got into a rhythm after a couple mags, and for the first time in a long time I shot a couple hundred rounds just for fun. I shot left-handed, right-handed, left eye, right eye, did some point-shooting; heck I even tried a few shots 'gangsta' style.' I didn't worry much about my groups (patterns really) for once, or mentally berate myself for a flier; I just enjoyed the mechanical rhythms of popping off some rounds. I even tried to make a smiley face on my target, and laughed out loud at the cross-eyed drooling thing I created instead. Think zombie smiley face. I'm still a little weak and shaky from the flu, but I think that was the best range time I've had in quite awhile. gonna have to add twenty minutes to my next range session so I can try some of that silly stuff again.

January 14, 2017, 09:27 AM	#11
g.willikers Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 10,442	For sure. But if truth be told, personally I'd druther do it with a bow and arrow. Now, that's satisfaction, hitting the sweet zone on a 3D target at 30 yards with a plain vanilla recurve bow. But an airgun in the home garage comes in a close second. __________________ Walt Kelly, alias Pogo, sez: “Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent.”

January 14, 2017, 11:44 AM	#12
aarondhgraham Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2009 Location: Stillwater, OKlahoma Posts: 8,638	I'm with you my friend,,, I'm with you my friend,,, If it wasn't a fun thing to do,,, I would probably own only one handgun. I do carry a handgun for self-defense,,, And I do practice drills to further those skills,,, But like you, I get great enjoyment from just shooting. Perhaps that why I own so dang many guns. The last range trip I made before it got cold,,, I took my least practical rifle and had a blast with it. Burning through 200 rounds with my NEOS Carbine is a hoot,,, It's probably the least accurate rifle I own,,, But it's just a blast to fire. Honestly, at one point I was giggling like a small kid. The trip before that was with a 70 something year old single-shot 22 rifle,,, And even though the shooting was slower and more deliberate,,, It was still just as much fun as when I was a kid. So no my friend,,, You are not alone at all. Keep having fun! Aarond . __________________ Never ever give an enemy the advantage of a verbal threat. Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once. Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it? Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond! (most of the time)

January 14, 2017, 01:39 PM	#13
O4L Senior Member Join Date: September 16, 2015 Posts: 646	I love to shoot for fun! I started when I was a kid plinking with an old pump 22 Winchester. I sure miss being able to just go out back and shoot till my hearts content. I don't have anyplace outdoors to shoot anymore and I really don't like indoor ranges, so I don't get to do one of my all time favorite things very often, but if I could, I would be out shooting a few times a week...just for fun!

January 14, 2017, 02:32 PM	#14
dakota.potts Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2013 Location: Keystone Heights, Florida Posts: 3,084	The Hoenig rifle is definitely very interesting and has a sleek, low profile. You can hardly tell there's a rifle action in there when it's locked up. The action reminds me somewhat of this rotary breech shotgun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msy1ueUT0o8&t=278s __________________ Certified Gunsmith (On Hiatus) Certified Armorer - H&K and Glock Among Others You can find my writings at my website, pottsprecision.com.

January 14, 2017, 04:59 PM	#16
dakota.potts Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2013 Location: Keystone Heights, Florida Posts: 3,084	I can make a smiley face with my scoped .22 from a bench. With my pistols, I can make a smiley face as interpreted by Jackson Pollock __________________ Certified Gunsmith (On Hiatus) Certified Armorer - H&K and Glock Among Others You can find my writings at my website, pottsprecision.com.

January 15, 2017, 10:26 PM	#18
shuvelrider Senior Member Join Date: October 2, 2011 Location: West Coast of Michigan Posts: 132	I'll agree with the OP also, for way too long the shooting sport/hobby has been made way more technical than it need's to be. We had this discussion the other day at my workplace. The simple act of shooting whether for game or sport, seems to have morphed into "Operator" scenario training. There is a niche for that type of shooting, I'll just stay with my informal range time and woods bumming.

January 16, 2017, 11:53 AM	#19
Skans Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Posts: 11,132	That pistol looks an awful lot like my Beeman P1 - are they basically the same pistol?

January 17, 2017, 11:29 AM	#20
jackstrawIII Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2016 Location: Upstate NY. Posts: 901	For me, shooting is like a better version of golf (which I also enjoy): The Similarities - It takes focus, but is also relaxing - I'll never get paid to do it - I'll never be truly great at either - But I can (and do) improve on both with practice - I have good days and bad days - It's a personal challenge to improve against myself, and others The Differences - Shooting makes more noise - Guns are infinitely more interesting than golf clubs - I load my own ammo, but don't make my own golf balls __________________ In God we trust.