What about bound and overwatch to contact. Roll or peel out of overwhelming fire. assult through or flank (near or far ambush). get through the fatal funnel and run your plane to your corner of domination, clear from outside in. A trained advesary is not going to stand there and wait for you to shoot them. If your not shooting, your moving or communicating. A good rule to live by, if you have time to get into a good stance, steady grip, and good breathing; IN A FIRE FIGHT, your about to get SHOT. Basically range shooting is the foundation for shooting skills, but there is so much more.
B_C, with all due respect, your post should go either in GD or training/tactics, as it really has to do with frame of mind and attitude rather than technical aspects of handguns etc. For that matter, you can substitute handgun br carbine, shotgun, precision rifle etc., and the essense of this post won’t change.
I don’t see why it has to be one or the other. It’s not black or white in my opinion. I love to collect them but I don’t care about fit or finish. I don’t worry about details on most of them but do on a few. However that wouldn’t stop me from carrying, shooting or using it. While I have numerous Glocks I generally carry and shoot one, my original G19.
In other words I would say I’m a shooter that believes you can’t have too many guns
Coming from virtual poverty to where I am now, I can’t bring myself to own more items than I can realistically use regularly - so no, I don’t collect guns in numbers. I bought my last pistol in fall of 2008. Admittedly, there have been temptations:D, but I am lucky to have good rental ranges around. Two-three rental sessions objectively (read “timer”) comparing what I have and what I want so far has been sufficient to stick with what I already have.
As far as attitude, I try to attend 2 to 4 classes annually diversifying between long arms and pistols, I am not concerned with cosmetic damage to my firearms, I come to my range with specific plan in mind, my timer is always with me, and 8 out of 10 times I’ll leave my range dissatisfied - so, no, no feel-good sessions for me.
I’m mostly a shooter but I have a couple of guns that are more sentimental or just things I like i.e. my first rifle a .22 lever-gun my grandpa gave me and my Glock 17 Gen 1. The others are more for match, recreational, training or self defense.
B_C: I honestly don’t know how to do so. I can’t shoot well at 25 yards for example and almost all of my sessions include a couple of mags at that distance - usually printing 4-5 inch groups. So, unless I skip that part, I won’t leave range satisfied. And there are other aspects - one handed shooting etc. - that do the same to me.
Now, perhaps a distinction should be made in that I don’t leave feeling incompetent. I know where I stand using objective measures, and I am OK. But satisfied? It’ll be awhile. …ever?
Definitely a shooter. There are guns in my stable that I try to keep as nice as possible, but they’re two out of 12 or so. The rest are shooters, plain and simple.
Interesting thread, considering most here are active shooters. I am a firm believer that most things in life serve a purpose. That being said if you decide to purchase a modern firearm then “use it” like that trust craftsman phillips head. Now if you decide you need to collect well then there are a plethora of antique firearms that would look lovely on a mantle or under glass. But buying a NIB Glock or Milspec AR for a “safe queen” is borderline criminal IMO.
To answer the OPs question legitimately, we must first define the following:
These are my definitions, but feel free to define it for yourselves:
Fire arms collector (one who collects many weapons, without obtaining proficiency in the firearms collected or their employment?)
Job Proficiency Shooter (military/LEOs): Annual or semi annual quals.
Hobbyist Shooter (not really proficient in owned firearms and goes to the range every 2 or 4 months, if that, with the entire arsenal, but still no real proficiency in training or use?)
Serious Trainer Shooter( one who shoots weekly (or more), not only working on firearms proficiency, dry firing, manipulations, mindset, and employment, but attends formal training. Also may participate in competitive shooting events (IPSC, 3-gun, long range, Skeet shooting, etc…?)
What is your round count for training (formal/informal) weekly, monthly, annually?
What about both? Or following the definitions from RogerinTPA more than one?
I have some firearms that have been handed down through several generations. Some I have just cleaned up, some refinished. Always consulting with more knowledgeable collectors so I do not screw up and devalue the piece. I am certainly not proficient with any piece in the collection and many will never be shot because of their age.
Also job proficient.
And finally “semi” Serious Shooter. With bi-weekly range visits (when not called out) with a small select group of tools (that are well maintained but not pampered) so I am hopefully better than just job proficient, an occasionally outing with something from my collection, some training and hunting during a couple different seasons.
Not sure what that makes me but I hope it is higher on the scale than hobbyist.
I have a question. Why do you (and I may be wrong) seemingly characterize the person who shoots once or twice a year as more proficient than the person who shoots four to six times a year?
