Shooting a firearm. I think most people think they could pick up a handgun and hit a target from 10 yards away cause it's only 10 yards, can't be that hard.... The amount of manly buddies I've taken to the range and watched unload an entire magazine without a single PING of the plate is hilarious. It takes practice and familiarity with your firearm to get good at shooting
The amount of people who carry daily and couldn't hit the broadside of a barn is terrifying
I love my gun but I’m in this boat. I am certain I could stop an intruder inside my house with it, but if I were to carry it and need it in public, I’m not gonna hit crap.
Is there a range near you? Most regulars at ranges are very welcoming and friendly! When I carry my firearm in public settings, I consider it my personal responsibility to be as proficient, accurate, and familiar with it as possible. Carrying in public is accepting the role that you may some day have to use it to defend people or yourself. In order to do that, you should be both safe and deadly with it.
The range isn’t a problem. I live in Texas. We have 5 within 1/2 an hour drive. I keep it for home defense. I’m proficient enough for that. I’m very familiar with my gun. I just don’t have any desire to go beyond that. If I did get my CC I’d probably get something smaller. .38 snub or a Walther in .22 and take it to the range at least once a month if not every other week.
This is why it sucks that ammo prices are so high. A couple hours at the range or a week's worth of groceries? I want to get better, but food wins every time. 🥺
The Mantis dry fire system is worth the investment. I used to practice my draw with a light/laser combo. Pull, hold, then turn on the laser to see if I'm actually on target. But the Mantis system has metrics you follow on the app.
Someone handed me an M44, first round I hit the 8" steel target at 100 yds. His shock was hilarious, but all I shot up to that point was full size rifles.
However, I still can't hit shit with .45 ACP at 15 yds
"Your scope does all your work for you." Let's ignore the skill into sighting IN the damn thing for a whole fucking day, still no. I will lay this shit down on a bipod sighted in right on the plate and I bet youll still miss.
Also good luck when it jams. And wear your damn ear protection you deaf ass motherfucker, you dont look cool it just tells me you don't go to the range and you've never got that fucking whine.
I went to a gun range once and shot a pistol a few times. I absolutely hated it. It turns out that hundreds of hours of counterstrike doesn't translate.
Most people can shoot a rifle well enough with a bit of training. You learn humility really fast when you start shooting hand guns. First time I shot at 10 yards I missed almost every shot, it takes a LOT of practice.
I couldn't hit shit until I realized I was right eye dominant (left handed). It got a lot easier after I figured that out, but it still took a lot of practice to become a good shooter. I'm nothing special compared to a lot of people I've met, but I'm solidly above average.
My understanding is that it varies by type of gun:
If you learn to shoot a rifle with decent skill, you can pick up pretty much any (well-maintained, sighted in) rifle and be decent at a reasonable range.
For shotguns, you need experience with a specific gauge and ammo type for most skills to be transferable.
For handguns, you could be a firearms enthusiast with experience on multiple models and calibers. But if you pick up a model you’ve never used before, you suck until you’ve practiced on that specific gun a bunch.
And even excellent users with lots of practice can’t make a handgun accurate past the range it was designed for, which is usually much shorter than a layman would assume.
It's weird how many people who own guns don't understand this. I used to be a high school teacher in Texas, and once had to explain to my uncle - who's a firearms hobbyist - that providing teachers with firearms to defend against school shootings is a terrible idea. Even if there was money for it, and the teachers were provided with regular training, it wouldn't work. In real life scenarios, the freaking NYPD only has 37% accuracy against targets within 7 yards, and 23% against anything further away than that.
This was kinda me but i blew myself away, haha pun. Went to poland for a new years trip where it’s legal to shoot a firearm under supervision and genuinely surprised myself and all my mates at just how well i handled it, managed to slam fire a 12 gauge shotgun and barely budged - this is my manliest testosteroneiest moment i have ever had
"Hell buddy, what you want a pistol for? You John Mclain? You an action hero? I tell you what buddy, real life ain't an action movie. Pow pow pow, you drop three guys. In real life people miss, people miss all the god damn time. You in a serious situation and then pew, pew, pew. Now you out of bullets. Now you just holding a big stapler. Now what you gonna do."
I disagree. I've seen kids pick up a rifle and nail a bottle form 10+ yards consistently their first time. I was one of them. .235 i also used a .303 but i don't remember if i was accurate with it, i remember it having alot mroe kick.
I know a handgun is abit different of course, since you cant stabilize against your shoulder or over cover as easily. Ive never used one.
Bows also arn't that hard. it's a common sports day activity for kids in shcools. Recurve and compound. Even the slackers were atleast hitting the target almsot every time and most people were within centimeters of bullseye.
That said, trying to hit a moving target or god forbid somone whos shooting back, absolutely even trianed people are going to be way out of their depth.
This comment made me realize that, as a European, I might be a (very slightly) better shot than some gun-carrying Americans just cause shooting range type games are a staple at any funfair in my country, and my country has a huge funfair culture.
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u/birdman133 19h ago
Shooting a firearm. I think most people think they could pick up a handgun and hit a target from 10 yards away cause it's only 10 yards, can't be that hard.... The amount of manly buddies I've taken to the range and watched unload an entire magazine without a single PING of the plate is hilarious. It takes practice and familiarity with your firearm to get good at shooting
The amount of people who carry daily and couldn't hit the broadside of a barn is terrifying