Yeah, so far shooting people in the face has just been a hobby for me.
Seriously, though...I am definitely not a professional face-shooter...the one thing I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do is to have a lot of contact with the face-shooting set, and more specifically, people who get paid to train the face-shooters.
As a non-professional shooter, the goal for me has really been to condense the information I have managed to pry out of actual experts into an easily digested form so that other people in my position can get it faster and more easily than I got it.
I often compare shooting to playing a musical instrument. You can buy a guitar and spend 10 years ####ing around with it once a month or so for a couple of hours at a time, and never learn anything. On the other hand, you can take lessons for a year and be a competent guitarist. If a guy is willing to follow the steps, I am absolutely convinced that anyone can become a serious pistolero in a pretty short time. Unfortunately, one of the steps is, "stop identifying with your gun". So many guys buy a gun based on a magazine article, or a cool picture, or...####, I have no idea. Then they have invested in the idea of that gun, and anyone who cuts down their gun is cutting down their choice...
I have worked hard to divorce my shooting from my ego - not easy for me. But shooting is mechanical. It is not a representation of who I am. It is just a matter of aligning sights and working the trigger without disturbing the sights. That is something that anyone can do and my success at doing it is based entirely on following instructions (mostly from Slavex) and practising them many times.
Guns are the same way. They just machines. They are not representations of our manhood; they are not an indication of our sophistication; they are just machines that ignite a primer and direct a bullet. Any machine that performs this action well is better than any machine that does it poorly.
Obviously I'm well aware that WP knows everything I am saying backwards and forwards. However I have had about 6 oz of Alberta Premium and fully intend to ramble for a while.
In conclusion...there are two types of guns: guns you buy because they're attractive, and guns you buy because they work. I have nothing against buying guns for either reason. Just don't get confused about which one you bought, and why. I have bought guns purely because I liked the idea of the gun, or the look. I don't regret any of them.
But I don't pretend that the guns I bought because they were aesthetically appealing are then also quality, reliable guns.
Shooting is all about compartmentalization. You grip the gun pretty hard, but press the trigger softly. You work most of your muscles fast and hard, and a couple of them slowly and carefully. You go as fast as you can. You simultaneously go as precisely as you can. You need to split your brain in to two parts to shoot well.
You also need to split your brain in order to buy guns well. You have the part that wants the polished stainless 1911 with pearl grips, and the part that wants a gun that goes bang every time you pull the trigger, no matter what. If you bought the polished 1911, great...but that does not mean that it is a good performer.
I have reached the point that I am beginning to ramble sufficiently that it's apparent to me even though I am drunk. I will therefore stop typing now.
Seriously, though...I am definitely not a professional face-shooter...the one thing I have been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do is to have a lot of contact with the face-shooting set, and more specifically, people who get paid to train the face-shooters.
As a non-professional shooter, the goal for me has really been to condense the information I have managed to pry out of actual experts into an easily digested form so that other people in my position can get it faster and more easily than I got it.
I often compare shooting to playing a musical instrument. You can buy a guitar and spend 10 years ####ing around with it once a month or so for a couple of hours at a time, and never learn anything. On the other hand, you can take lessons for a year and be a competent guitarist. If a guy is willing to follow the steps, I am absolutely convinced that anyone can become a serious pistolero in a pretty short time. Unfortunately, one of the steps is, "stop identifying with your gun". So many guys buy a gun based on a magazine article, or a cool picture, or...####, I have no idea. Then they have invested in the idea of that gun, and anyone who cuts down their gun is cutting down their choice...
I have worked hard to divorce my shooting from my ego - not easy for me. But shooting is mechanical. It is not a representation of who I am. It is just a matter of aligning sights and working the trigger without disturbing the sights. That is something that anyone can do and my success at doing it is based entirely on following instructions (mostly from Slavex) and practising them many times.
Guns are the same way. They just machines. They are not representations of our manhood; they are not an indication of our sophistication; they are just machines that ignite a primer and direct a bullet. Any machine that performs this action well is better than any machine that does it poorly.
Obviously I'm well aware that WP knows everything I am saying backwards and forwards. However I have had about 6 oz of Alberta Premium and fully intend to ramble for a while.
In conclusion...there are two types of guns: guns you buy because they're attractive, and guns you buy because they work. I have nothing against buying guns for either reason. Just don't get confused about which one you bought, and why. I have bought guns purely because I liked the idea of the gun, or the look. I don't regret any of them.
But I don't pretend that the guns I bought because they were aesthetically appealing are then also quality, reliable guns.
Shooting is all about compartmentalization. You grip the gun pretty hard, but press the trigger softly. You work most of your muscles fast and hard, and a couple of them slowly and carefully. You go as fast as you can. You simultaneously go as precisely as you can. You need to split your brain in to two parts to shoot well.
You also need to split your brain in order to buy guns well. You have the part that wants the polished stainless 1911 with pearl grips, and the part that wants a gun that goes bang every time you pull the trigger, no matter what. If you bought the polished 1911, great...but that does not mean that it is a good performer.
I have reached the point that I am beginning to ramble sufficiently that it's apparent to me even though I am drunk. I will therefore stop typing now.
