Gave my shotguns away to family. Sold my handgun one time when I was down and out and ill. I have a BB/pellet gun.
When we lived in New Hampshire, my husband and I were gun owners. Some of our close friends literally had personal arsenals. Fortunately, we were all sane at the time. Our friends in Wisconsin, when we lived there, had rifles, mostly for hunting. They were sane, too. Well, most of them. Can't say I was ever uncomfortable.
No, I'm nervous around guns! Here are our handguns: Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt Ruger .22 Mark II Target Pistol (Wife's gun) Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum Ruger .22 Standard/Magnum Hal
Here are my Rifles: Interarms .30-06 (Mauser Action) Winchester Model 94 .30-30 Carbine SKS Russian-made 7.62mm Infantry Rifle Winchester .22 Pump Gallery Rifle Thompson .45 cal Submachine Gun. Hal
Thanks Hal. The Army teaches whatever to whomever it wants. I would have liked to learn how to shoot Nike missiles rather than the other weapons but like I wrote, the Army chooses whatever to whomever and it was my job to say “yes sir” and learn.
@Bobby, when I was inducted into the Army in 1960, we were issued the good ol' Garand M-1 as our Basic Training weapon. Shortly thereafter, the Government began issuing the M-14, which I never fired, being in a Signal Corps MOS for my 2-year duration. Hal
Shot a local match Thursday afternoon 125 rounds, church group practice early next week and major match next weekend on Saturday, fired a magazine today from my 1911 Colt in backyard here, I shoot 1 plus times every week somewhere. In my prime I was shooting 3 matches weekly and about 500 rounds on practice a week. Love low light and night shoots they are great training also for me. Also attend active shooter drills monthly. So yes a very much part of my life for a very long time. 3 gun matches my favorite.
Don A I shot 4 yrs on the US Army Gold Team traveling all over to matches (bullseye) then 1 day after a match Sgt F showed us a DUEL match from that day I never shot another bullseye match as did several others, since then all combat style scenarios, most derived from actual incidents from police reports. Most are from 125 to 150 rounds. Not just the stand and shoot at all they all have movement and use of cover while firing.
Sounds like a training-type environment. I don't know if they have any here except at the police training facilities. It does sound like fun, though!
Don A our schools had a rifle range, we had a shooting program back in the Cub Scouts, if it was not so muddy I would be out shooting right now! Or with dogs in the woods, many days I take one of dad's firearms and dogs and head for the bottomlands behind my house just to think back and enjoy being out. Many times never fire a shot. Last month we had a stage at our match here starting laying in a bed with cover, firearm in nite stand along side, you had to retrieve your weapon 3 targets 3-4-5 yds away, shoot from bed nothing touching ground or floor, when your ready the match director flipped a switch shining a flood light at you in your face, oh forgot to mention all in dark! Retrieve weapon and hand held light engaging each target near to far 2 shots each then 1 each to each head . Actual shooting report derived from, then repeat with your firearm unloaded to show time difference of having to load. T shirts on all targets to cover vital areas. That was just 1 stage we usually shoot 6-8 of them. Always multiple targets, props and or movement involved or all! Many room clearing exercises also with partners. Probably the best we ever did was a bad guy behind a car meant in doing you harm, a member made a special reactive target that you had to engage while it was behind a car for cover, you went prone shot it in the leg/foot when it fell you placed shots in the center of mass. Load 2 rounds only to start (as in the heat of a situation you were too nervous to load to fill) then a reload prone under car to finish. We try very hard to set up good stages for all and interesting. At times having to hold a 15 lb manakin of a child shooting with 1 hand and a 1 handed reload involved. Most all stages you have to shoot behind cover, we video most all for later critics while we eat. Men Women & Youths all shoot the same stages. 2 safety officers with all youths and new shooters.
Our high school had a rifle range, I think, although I didn't take part in it there. I didn't feel like there was anything I needed to learn by that time. We didn't do a gun range in Cub Scouts but it was a part of Boy Scouts.