The Gun thread

Finally got an optic for my AR. I ended up deciding on a Meprolight M21 fiberoptic/tritium sight. Very pleased with it and how well I shot with it after zeroing it with Spectre earlier this week. These shots were taken by me at 30 yards. Only issue is the wash out when aiming from a darker environment into a lighter one. Fortunately, there's a kit that fixes it that I'll probably be buying soon.

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Top 10 Health Benefits of Going To a Shooting Range

Whether you?re preparing for the military or police academy or just out for a recreational activity, going to a shooting range can be a stress-relieving adventure. Believe it or not, the benefits of participating in shooting sports can improve your health both physically and mentally.

Here are the top 10 health benefits of going to a shooting range:

Builds physical discipline: In an age of the ?couch potato,? this sport can help build many physical disciplines that are not only healthy but enjoyable. Increased strength, stamina, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills are just a few of the physical disciplines acquired in the shooting sports that apply, not only to this sport, but to all of life.

Arm strength: Shooting a gun requires strong, sturdy arms and hands; in order to aim and shoot your target you must keep your hands and arms steady.

Focus: Keeping your eyes on the target while aiming a gun requires a lot of focus. Removing your mind from any other activities, you find yourself in the present moment in which there is only one thing at hand to do, and it straight in front of you.

Eyesight: Practicing your shooting can?t fix any eye deficiencies, but it can exercise the eye capabilities that you already have. By giving your eyes a break from staring at computers, TVs, phones and tablets, you will be relieving this eye stress.

Increases mental discipline: To the surprise of many, shooting sports are primarily mental sports. Experienced marksmen think sport shooting is 90% mental. Concentration levels are sharpened and expanded. Multiple problem solving activities involving logic, mathematics and creative thinking (thinking ?outside the box?) are needed and employed to succeed at any level of the shooting sports.

Advances personal responsibility: Personal responsibility is taught throughout the shooting sports to advance both safety and skill development. Shooting sports also cultivate personal responsibility because they are a foundation for both security and liberty in any family or nation.

Promotes liberty: Shooting sports provide a natural environment to educate all citizens with an historically honest view of freedom. It is no mistake that the tools mastered in the shooting sports have been called ?the people?s liberty teeth.? This is one of the reasons the Second Amendment in America?s Bill of Rights was adopted.

Courage and confidence: For some people, shooting may seem like a very dangerous or scary thing to do. However, being trained properly is a great way to build confidence and courage.

Adrenaline: Hold a weapon and firing it can be an exhilarating thing to do! Your adrenaline will be spiked and causing a surge of energy to pulse through your blood. Increased levels of adrenalin in your blood signal your liver to break down glycogen, the substance that provides your muscles with glucose, the primary source of fuel in your body.

Physical balance: Remaining perfectly still in your shooting stance while aiming your gun at the target exercises your core muscles, which supports proper posture. When the abdominal muscles are weak, the lower back holds additional pressure and weight from simple daily tasks like walking. Strengthening the abdominal muscles allows the weight of the upper body to be evenly distributed over the front and back, improving balance.
 
:thumbsup:

I miss shooting... :(
 
Everything has to be a "top 10" then they try to think of 10 things later. "Promotes Liberty" is a health benefit? :lol:
 
Everything has to be a "top 10" then they try to think of 10 things later. "Promotes Liberty" is a health benefit? :lol:

It means you're free to be healthy. None of that pinko Commie-provided good health.
 
MFing cannon!
:lol:
 
Reminds me of the line from the film "Tremors".
Earl Bassett: What kind of fuse is that?

Burt Gummer: Cannon fuse

Earl Bassett: What the hell do you use it for?

Burt Gummer: My cannon!
 
Things I've learned in hunter safety education so far:

  • A firearms license is a privilege, not a right.
  • To make sure the gun is unloaded, finger fuck the action. Should work real well on a Garand.
  • No personal firearms allowed in the classroom because you run the risk of accidentally loading live ammo into the shotgun that we don't even get to touch. You know, because clearly everyone's CCW is 12 gauge.
  • Guess what you load into the magazine? That's right, bullets.
  • There are nine instructors for about 40 students.
  • One guy instructs by standing in the corner of room fumbling around with a shotgun going "you push this to release the thing and make the bullet go". No one can see what the hell he is pointing to.
  • Any gun with a rifled barrel is a rifle. Apparently my handguns are rifles; who knew?
  • Lever-action firearms are dangerous because they have an exposed hammer.
  • A hidden danger of hunting with a double-barrel shotgun is that when the shells eject they can hit you in the face and knock some teeth out.

I honestly feel bad for anyone for whom this is their only exposure to firearms and safety because this is woefully inadequate. I can see why so many hunters refuse to go on public lands. That said, the environmental police officer who spent an hour with us was awesome - knowledgeable, experienced, and very down to earth.
 
Feels like my driver's education class, Geez.
 
Things I've learned in hunter safety education so far:

  • A firearms license is a privilege, not a right.
  • To make sure the gun is unloaded, finger fuck the action. Should work real well on a Garand.
  • No personal firearms allowed in the classroom because you run the risk of accidentally loading live ammo into the shotgun that we don't even get to touch. You know, because clearly everyone's CCW is 12 gauge.
  • Guess what you load into the magazine? That's right, bullets.
  • There are nine instructors for about 40 students.
  • One guy instructs by standing in the corner of room fumbling around with a shotgun going "you push this to release the thing and make the bullet go". No one can see what the hell he is pointing to.
  • Any gun with a rifled barrel is a rifle. Apparently my handguns are rifles; who knew?
  • Lever-action firearms are dangerous because they have an exposed hammer.
  • A hidden danger of hunting with a double-barrel shotgun is that when the shells eject they can hit you in the face and knock some teeth out.

I honestly feel bad for anyone for whom this is their only exposure to firearms and safety because this is woefully inadequate. I can see why so many hunters refuse to go on public lands. That said, the environmental police officer who spent an hour with us was awesome - knowledgeable, experienced, and very down to earth.

That reminds me of my weapons refresher training in the Air Force. I knew my way around mechanical things and guns and I was surrounded by desk jockeys and paper pushers. This perfectly sums up how I felt during the field stripping training:

[video=youtube;fJIjoE27F-Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJIjoE27F-Q[/video]
 
Today I learned that you should always rack your pump action shotgun because the bad guy will run away. If he doesn't, then you can "tell the cops to look for the guy with red down the back of his pants!" I took that to mean that you should always talk to the police, especially after shooting someone in the back.

Three out of five instructors muzzle swept the students. One proclaimed that he was very experienced with firearms training and pointed out his safe handling while pointing a shotgun at a group of people through the window. Another instructor declared that a concrete interior wall is safe to point a gun at. One instructor said the phrase "we'll just pretend this is a safe direction".

One revolver was left with the cylinder closed.

Handguns are only shot with one hand, as it turns out. I've been doing it all wrong apparently.
 
Who certified these people?
 
Who certified these people?

The state of Massachusetts.
http://www.mass.gov/eopss/firearms-reg-and-laws/gun-laws/515-cmr-300-firearms.html
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/education-events/hed/become-a-volunteer-instructor.html


So, anyone want to guess why some people think *no* training might be better than this state-mandated 'training'?

They did have one thing correct - the best way to clear a weapon is to perform a visual *and* tactile check of the chamber where possible and safe. There are a number of weapon types and situations where a visual check may not be 100% accurate. A Saiga 12 with black-base shotgun ammo in low light, for example.
 
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