Do they use human like target in basic handgun classes

[tac]

Some people should not own guns. Just my opinion.

The process in much of the rest of the world, in particular the UK and Republic of Ireland, makes gun ownership SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO difficult to begin with that there are no gun-owners who weren't/aren't serious about gun ownership.

 

[Member 52301]

OP......I'm curious.
So, what is/was your friend's main reason for owning a firearm(s)?

Yes.....there are many reasons why some people buy firearms, be it.....

Collecting
Investment
Recreational Target Shooting
Hunting
Defense of self/loved ones/property

And you'll note that.......sometimes you don't actually have to be "shooting at all".

So anyway.....I'm left wondering.
YEAH, Yeah, yeah......"dual usage" could also be a reason.
But, I'm left wondering. Is your friend one of those who just can't imagine or grasp the FACT that guns could/can be used to take a life maybe/perhaps someday?

Maybe.....it should be as simple as......

View attachment 1095785

Don't get me wrong......some people also buy a firearm just because THEY CAN. And mind you that, I'm NOT saying that there is anything wrong with that either.

View attachment 1095786

I ask.......
Mostly because......
I was reminded of my own past (as a former Police Officer).
Yup, I met some officers whom I privately questioned their entire purpose for putting on the uniform. I was like: Why be a Police Officer, if you're so opposed to possibly maybe one day, taking a life? There are plenty of other jobs. YES, I figured that they were "unsuitable" for the job. But then, I wasn't the one doing the hiring (shakes head side to side).

Aloha, Mark

PS.....don't get me wrong. Because I don't hunt (as an activity) and got no real problem with it. Though I love target shooting. And, a solid black circle is about all I engage nowadays. Yup.....some ranges will object to some targets. Whatever.

LOL. So then.....of course speaking of which (in steel silhouette/cut outs). I'm also reminded, that even in SASS, we don't engage "Indian" targets. Though it's OK, to shoot the bad guys (cut out like "cowboys") and/or the occasional buffalo. Whatever.

Some people can/will get upset just because I/we CAN own firearms.

Thank you for your post!

You mentioned hunting.

I do not hunt and I have NO - ZERO desire to hunt. I enjoy the outdoors (And the water!) very much and have since I was a little child. (I was in the water as a baby with my parents and older brother too. I stated this previously.)

I have nothing against hunting. My husband hunts and I have gone with him several times but I do not want to be out there for a LONG, long time!

I personally think that it is odd that a LOT of people think that if you own a firearm that you must be INTO hunting and if you do NOT hunt or choose not to hunt - you must be an odd ball in some circles. NO offense to any person here who hunts or does not hunt.

I like to fish. Ocean and on some lakes including the Great Lakes. Dig for clams. Be out on some boats while they harvest crabs or lobsters.

I find it odd that some people think that it is strange when people talk about the RKBA and self defense for their MAIN reasons to get into learning about firearms and to TEACH personal responsibility when it comes to their own security - country - home - outdoors/wilderness, alone or if they have a family.

Plus most of these people who got INTO firearms due to the Constitution and due to self defense reasons have turned their LOVE of shooting into competition, plinking, target shooting (Yes!), meeting other shooters, teaching/learning, having get togethers from people from all over the country and with some people from around the world too.

I think that people who ONLY use a firearm to hunt are the ODD ones or if that is the only or MAIN reason to buy any type of firearm. I mean NO offense when I say this.

I find it really disturbing and SAD when some gun people think or believe that when OTHER gun folks TALK about the Constituion/RKBA/Founding Fathers/etc. as a main reason to own a firearm (#1 for me.) and/or about self defense (#2 for me.) where a man or a woman chooses to be able to LEARN how to DEFEND themselves and their loved ones that THOSE people are the odd ones.

Not every young or elderly lady has a Daddy, husband, brother or friend around to help them with a home invasion, etc. That goes for men too. That includes incidents where something bad happened but they did NOT have to fire a gun but a gun was there in their HOME if they needed it while they were alone or only there with their German Shepherd female dog. Been there - done that. My late husband was away. Plus having endured a previous attempted house break in - robbery in broad daylight while my husband and I were away working but my GS female dog stopped the bad guy aka the criminal. (He was caught down the road and had several attempted and completed robberies in a very rural area - homes, barns and businesses.)

Example: Response time for a deputy sheriff was 45 minutes in my former county/township.

It is like owning a gun is ALL about hunting and nothing else or taking a gun on a hike to some people.

ALL of us are different and it is one more thing where some people ONLY think that their idea or ideas for getting into firearms is the ONLY one.

There are MANY, many reasons WHY a person chooses to own a firearm as YOU said. Because they CAN is another one and some people buy them and never shoot them too.

And another reason is that people can CHOOSE not to own a firearm - they can just say, "NO thank you! It is not my cup of tea!" LOL

I do not care WHY someone decided to BUY and own a gun and I hope that they have the brains/common sense to become a proficient shooter. Practice!

And if someone chooses to NOT buy a firearm because they 'do not like guns' for ANY reason no matter how much they have been 'educated' - that is their INDIVIDUAL choice just as gun loving people make their own choices!

My opinion? (Grin.) All gun people should encourage fellow gun people whether they only shoot a few times a year, shoot a lot aka a high volume shooter or if they CHOOSE to use their gun for ONE reason only so they can go hunting. Some of those people sight in their gun - kill their animal - clean and put away their gun. And I am not talking about the depression era time now since some people still CHOOSE to do this which is their choice/decision when it comes to the price of ammunition and using their gun as a tool only for hunting. Good for them too. It is none of my business NOR is it the 'hunter' who only sees guns in his or her OWN way.

Most of the people that I know who are into the RKBA, self defense, etc. LOVE to plink - target shoot and some used to compete a lot and some did not compete at all.

Take care.

Old Lady Cate

 

[Member 52301]

Short answer, dont bring the friend. They just arent ready and have a very poor outlook on the entire hobby/sport despite their supposed past with loading or shooting. Zero reason to bring them along.

I agree, I get tired of the: Guns are only for killing or hunting nonsense after a while. I realize that topic does have a point.. but I shoot paper and steel these days mostly from a portable bench.. I don't hunt anymore just because its a PITA with work schedules these days.
Ironmonster, a member from a while back made a post and he had a great point.. the doom and gloom, guns are only for defensive killin schtick gets old. Really old.
Sometimes its nice to just appreciate the discipline it takes to master accuracy or to appreciate the mechanics of a firearm without there having to be a "killing" purpose/component to it all.

That being said, targets are what they are. Most people going to a range or defensive class are doing so because they are training with a conceal carry firearm and its an appropriate target for the setting in which they are indeed training. Most of the rental ranges Ive been in have other targets to purchase that are not "human form".. but seriously.. if someone gets hung up on "people like targets" they have no business at an indoor range anyway. That kind of hyper sensitivity is just too over the top. You can pretend the target is a robot, vampire, zombie it is only a "human" if they make it one.

This too.

Thank you!

Cate

 

[Member 52301]

And maybe they don't want to?

Freedom goes both ways.

Do what YOU want to do, but don't try to drag someone into your light if they would prefer their own.

This!

Thank you.

Amen. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition! LOL

Old Lady Cate

 

[Member 52301]

I took a basic handgun course at Tri-County Gun Club about 4 years ago and these were the type of targets we used. They have a different person teaching the course now.

They use those targets in some classes and in competition at my range here in MT too.

We have county deputies, city policemen, some drug agency people and some other feds practice and use our range too. My husband has seen them use the range more often especially when he goes there during the week.

Cate

 

[Member 52301]

Some people should not own guns. Just my opinion.

Especially if they do NOT want them to begin with!

Cate

 

[bbbass]

I just watched Rooster Cogburn a few days ago. Now THAT is the REAL "Western"!

Oo. What were we talking about?

We were talking about how much I hated the Rooster Cogburn movie!!!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Growing up with firearms...I was taught to never point a gun at someone.
Having shot and hunted a lot all while growing up....I joined the Army after High School.
Signed up with a contract for both Airborne and Ranger schools....

So there I was in basic...as In Basic at Ft. Benning ...Home of the Infantry.
We finally get to qualify with the M16 rifle.
At pop up targets which looked for all world like a cross between a angry garden gnome and a Soviet soldier....

I almost missed my chance to fire at the first target...as It was drilled into my head to not point a gun at someone...
Yet...there I was aiming at a target which resembled a person.
Well Duh , I finally thought , Just what in the Hell did ya think a Airborne Ranger Infantryman does for his job...?

In any event...I did fire and qualify as Expert....a skill which may have helped keep me and others alive at times.

I personally do not like to shoot at targets which resemble people.
Not for any deep seated or maybe even factual / logical reasons...
I just don't like to.

That said...I am not saying the others should not do so....Just saying that I don't like to.

No matter what targets you use...I only want someone to shoot well and to shoot safely.
Andy

 

[bbbass]

I rarely do "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts" but in this thread I'll just say that people shouldn't worry about the WHY of others owning guns and spend more time worrying WHY THEY DON"T. LOL

 

[Mikej]

We were talking about how much I hated the Rooster Cogburn movie!!!

Oh, is that so? I suppose you think the NEW, remake of "True Grit" was the bomb? Hmmm?

 

[Nocaster]

Targets Up Don't Shoot!

If you don't shoot, you are definitely not going to miss.

 

[RVTECH]

Oh, is that so? I suppose you think the NEW, remake of "True Grit" was the bomb? Hmmm?

The remake of 'True Grit' followed the Charles Portis novel much more closely than the original and because it was Coen Bros. movie it reflected their style of moviemaking. I had a hard time with it at first, being a fan of the original but it was not really intended to follow the original and did well at the box office and received many award nominations.

Rooster Cogburn wasn't a bad movie as a 'sequel' to the ORIGINAL True grit but suffered for a variety of reasons and didn't do well with critics or at the box office.

I have been to several of the filming locations as many were south of Bend and in the LaPine/Sunriver area.

 

[bionic knees]

"remake of True Grit" ? you don't say.

 

[RVTECH]

"remake of True Grit" ? you don't say.

 

[Mikej]

The remake of 'True Grit' followed the Charles Portis novel much more closely than the original and because it was Coen Bros. movie it reflected their style of moviemaking. I had a hard time with it at first, being a fan of the original but it was not really intended to follow the original and did well at the box office and received many award nominations.

Rooster Cogburn wasn't a bad movie as a 'sequel' to the ORIGINAL True grit but suffered for a variety of reasons and didn't do well with critics or at the box office.

I have been to several of the filming locations as many were south of Bend and in the LaPine/Sunriver area.

I'll say, I didn't hate the new version. But I've always liked pretty much anything John Wayne did. I've loved his "Characters". And his leading ladies. The whole era with all it's, and their, faults. I've felt at times I was born 20 years late.

"Jeramiah Johnson" was the movie that I identify with because of back-roading when I was young in areas that the film was made around Redford's resort in Utah.

 

[rabidmullet]

The process in much of the rest of the world, in particular the UK and Republic of Ireland, makes gun ownership SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO difficult to begin with that there are no gun-owners who weren't/aren't serious about gun ownership.

Are you suggesting we should make the process more difficult than it already is to buy a firearm in the US? Enough damage has already been done to our 2A rights trying to fix stupid.

We could also change our legal system so you are guilty until proven innocent. No doubt we would lock up more criminals. Do away with our 4A rights and I'm sure the government would catch a ton of terrorists. Mandate vaccines and I'm sure fewer people would die from Covid. Hitler took power on his second attempt without breaking a law. The Germans overwhelming supported reforms forfeiting their freedoms to combat communism and within a decade people were being marched by the train load into gas chambers. The benefits of making gun ownership SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO difficult are far outweighed by the costs. No compromise.

 

[RVTECH]

the UK and Republic of Ireland, makes gun ownership SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO difficult to begin with that there are no gun-owners who weren't/aren't serious about gun ownership.

Is this as a way of saying the UK and Republic of Ireland have turned gun ownership into a somewhat limited, elitist, 'fraternity' of sorts ?

For me (and no doubt millions of others in the US) gun owership has been hand in hand with our close relationship with the outdoors. A large percentage of us have grown up with the outdoors as being a way of life from the time we were born. Quite frankly I cannot even imagine what life would be like without the outdoors as being a primary source of recreation be it hunting, camping, hiking, fishing - or just simply woods walking with a gun in hand - and maybe not necessarily hunting but as a symbol of our freedoms.

Personally if I had to abide with the difficulties of the UK and Ireland with regard to gun ownership, and then be limited with my abilities to use them (such as at a range only) I probably wouldn't be a gun owner.

It would be like wanting to fish and having to do it in a concrete pond.

 

[bbbass]

Oh, is that so? I suppose you think the NEW, remake of "True Grit" was the bomb? Hmmm?

I hated True Grit even more... not going to be watching any remake.

However, I might check out the remake of "The Prisoner" if I feel like being bored to tears by watching a giant ball chase some poor azzhat. LOL

 

[Mikej]

Are you suggesting we should make the process more difficult than it already is to buy a firearm in the US?

No he's not.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Are you suggesting we should make the process more difficult than it already is to buy a firearm in the US? Enough damage has already been done to our 2A rights trying to fix stupid.

We could also change our legal system so you are guilty until proven innocent. No doubt we would lock up more criminals. Do away with our 4A rights and I'm sure the government would catch a ton of terrorists. Mandate vaccines and I'm sure fewer people would die from Covid. Hitler took power on his second attempt without breaking a law. The Germans overwhelming supported reforms forfeiting their freedoms to combat communism and within a decade people were being marched by the train load into gas chambers. The benefits of making gun ownership SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO difficult are far outweighed by the costs. No compromise.

I can guarantee you that you not find a better or more staunch Pro 2nd Amendment ally than our very esteemed member @tac.
Andy