Anyone else prefer shooting long guns over handguns?

[mrblond]

Over the last few years I have learned that I really do not enjoy shooting pistols. I dont know, to me, shooting a handgun feels like work while a long gun is more enjoyment.
Also, I am leaning to less tacticool long-guns, like my m48. I even started only loading 5 rounds into a SCAR mag rather then the 20 it will take.

Maybe I am getting old

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[albin25]

Kinda like me and my handgun preference.
Old enough to know what you like, and not give a fig about what other people think you should like....
...puttin' up with some aches and pains, livin' in Life's sweet-spot

 

[Misteramax]

I enjoy shooting my Redhawk 44 mag. Hitting your target with overkill projectiles is fun.

 

[mrblond]

I enjoy shooting my Redhawk 44 mag. Hitting your target with overkill projectiles is fun.

My friends dad had one and i LOVED shooting it. I want a 500 mag but everyone I know who has shot one say its very unpleasant.

 

[etrain16]

Handguns are fun, and I do like shooting them, but I think I do enjoy shooting rifles more. Maybe it's because I focus more on shooting at further distances with a rifle. Either way, I just enjoy shooting.

 

[Misteramax]

My friends dad had one and i LOVED shooting it. I want a 500 mag but everyone I know who has shot one say its very unpleasant.

44 mag is where it's at. It's recoil is reasonable but it will still put a threat, such as a big animal down.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Rifles , handguns , shotguns , I like to shoot 'em all.
But I also prefer shooting a rifle over any of the others.

My favorite rifle shooting has been with my Hawken copy when out with my friend Dave.
While hiking about , we , when it is safe to do so , challenge each other to hit a obnoxiously small rock , spent shotshell , odd colored leaf etc ... at a hunting shot distance. ( 50 -100 odd yards )
Its is a lot of fun and builds shooting skills fast.
Andy

 

[Medic!]

Don't matter what I like to shoot.

I stay proficient with every gun on the planet.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Many times it feels like I am proficient with every other gun on the planet ... As in any gun other than the one I am shooting at the moment...
Andy

 

[brokenarrow]

Rifles , handguns , shotguns , I like to shoot 'em all.
But I also prefer shooting a rifle over any of the others.

My favorite rifle shooting has been with my Hawken copy when out with my friend Dave.
While hiking about , we , when it is safe to do so , challenge each other to hit a obnoxiously small rock , spent shotshell , odd colored leaf etc ... at a hunting shot distance. ( 50 -100 odd yards )
Its is a lot of fun and builds shooting skills fast.
Andy

We call this kind of activity stump shooting in the traditional archery world. Walk a logging road and pick targets to sèe who gets closest. . Some times we actually hit what we pick to shoot at. Hence the broken arrow handle.

 

[3MTA3]

To me handguns are for concealed carry or for me to get to my long gun. Only other use to me for a handgun is when you are out in the field. I used to carry a Redhawk with the first two chambers loaded with shot followed by four bear loads. The bear loads were why it was a Redhawk - at that time the strongest revolver frame I could find. No way would I have shot those particular loads out of a S&W.

Otherwise it's a long gun every single time.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

@ brokenarrow,
I shoot a homemade osage longbow as well ... Stump shooting is where I "stole " this idea...
Andy

 

[Josh468]

Granted I'm a newer gun nut with only about a year of taking it seriously ,and just over a dozen firearms in my collection , but right now I far prefer handguns .. maybe with time that will change .. I do appreciate rifles and shotguns ,but they see 1/10th or less of the ammo my pistols do ..

 

[HB of CJ]

I'm getting old! I can't shoot that good anymore! My carry dinky gun is just there so I can run and get my small rifle gun. Well, maybe not running but shuffling. Eventually I will get there. A perfect day at the range with my handgun is still much worserer than a bad day with my rifle. I mean I can't even see that bullseye at 200 yards, but I know it is there.

Shooting off the rifle is more fun than shooting off the handgun. Short bursts with the M2 Carbine. Much fun! Shooting off with my gun is fun. Humm ... what did I just say?

Life is good. All Oregon State, US Code Laws And NFA Rules Apply.

 

[No_Regerts]

I grew up plinking with pistols, but I took shooting rifles more seriously. I have always hunted and hunting rifles and load development was my thing. I'd spend my range time doing ladder tests and trying to shoot small groups. Once I settled on a load, I'd load up 100 and practice through the summer at milk jugs out to 450 yards. I switched between my hunting rifle and my coyote rifle to save money on hunting components. I then got into shooting at longer ranges and was pretty into that scene.

As I got older and into a career in LE, I decided I needed to take my pistol shooting a lot more seriously. The more time I devoted to training, the more seriously I took it. I realized that if I ever was put into a situation that required a firearm, it would most likely be a pistol.

I find myself really into pistol training now. In a way, the shooting is only a small part of it. Its mostly movement, reloads and tactics.

 

[Kruel J]

I like shooting both. And I prefer to stay frosty with a pistol as that's what I carry every day. A pistol is just a tool to get you to your rifle.

 

[CLT65]

Kinda like me and my handgun preference.
Old enough to know what you like, and not give a fig about what other people think you should like....
...puttin' up with some aches and pains, livin' in Life's sweet-spot

It's funny how that works. My interests have sure evolved over the years. I started out with bolt action hunting rifle, because hunting is just what you did if you're a guy. I never was any good at hunting and didn't like killing things, so I have several nice hunting rifles in the back of the safe and haven't hunted in many years. (Nothing against hunting at all- it's just not for me)

Then I liked semi-autos and lots of ammo, "mag dumps" and such. I got bored with that long ago too. I had to get some 35rnd magazines for my Browning Hi-Power. It was also the golden age of the $70 SKS and 5-cents per round 7.62x39 Chi-Com ammo.

Somewhere along the line I decided that if you were a serious gun guy you had to be into bench-rest type accuracy. I could do OK, but realized after a while that it really wasn't my thing either. I didn't have the time, money, or interest to get real good. I guess I'm just not very competitive by nature. Same with handguns and the many forms of competition.

I guess I've been going backwards since then, with old mil-surp guns, and now black powder a little bit. I've always felt a little pressure that if you're going to be a "gun guy" you have to be serious about a discipline of some sort or another, be it precision marksmanship or competition of some kind. Nowadays I just don't care and I do my own thing. I can really respect those that are into whatever shooting discipline they are into if that's what they like. To each their own.

As to rifles vs. handguns, I guess I like either depending on the day. I went quite a while where I didn't shoot handguns, then got back into it again. I got serious a while back and found that if I studied and practiced proper techniques, my handgun accuracy improved dramatically. That was fun. I guess it's good to try some different guns and types of shooting, to see what you like and what suites you. If you're shooting for recreation and you don't really enjoy what you're doing, give that a rest and try something else. Who knows, your interests might change over time. Mine sure have.

 

[RVTECH]

Always like shooting both equally but rifle shooting may have a touch of preference - AND if I get the C. Sharps I am looking at I have a bad feeling it will quickly become my favorite rifle - something about flipping the finger lever open and sliding that long 45/70 cartridge in - no mag or tube fed rifle can compare!

 

[CLT65]

My comments above are from a recreational shooting perspective. If I was serious about hunting or self defense, or in law enforcement, it would be a bit different. A good friend of mine is a county sheriff's deputy. A handgun is a tool and he takes his training much more seriously.

 

[mjbskwim]

'A hand gun is just to get you to your rifle.....'
Man someone needs a shooting life
I used to love handguns and rifles as much as I could afford,but reloading takes some fun out of my 10mm 1911. The thing throws brass everywhere.
When I moved to Sequim I started shooting farther. Handguns were shot at 100 yards not just 20.
Then when I moved here,rifles were shot at 400+ cause there was places to shoot. Heck the bigger the country the longer you shoot.
But I'm with the OP,I like rifles more than handguns these days.
Speaking of bow hunting,I need to start practicing as hunting season is only a few months away