Tuesday, December 18, 2012
GNB: So how much did you train this year?
The year is coming to an end and along with festivities the inevitable question is asked - What did you buy?
One of things I notice is that we focus on tangible objects more than having experiences. It is a lot easier to see an object, but what good is the object if you don't have an experience to go with it?
There are plenty of people who buy guns. Gun sales has been steadily increasing for last several years, and there are more people who head out to the range to fire the new purchase.
But I still haven't seen the question of 'How much did you train?' asked often.
Plinking and training are two different things. I can grab 100 round of ammo and go to range, shoot them all. But that serves very little purpose. Training means having a specific goal and practice to achieve that.
It all depends on each individual on what they are training for. Some would need to work on their marksmanship while someone else would be interested in multiple target engagements. Some would practice defensive pistol tactics while another wants to hone his competitive action shooting skills. Regardless of what the objective is, training is required to achieve a goal.
I have not come across a person who is a natural-born marksman. All the people who have exceptional shooting skills focused on getting better and trained as much as they can.
A man can own expensive cars or barbeque grills, but it is of no use if he doesn't know how to use it. Same thing with guns. It's not just buying, but knowing how to use is just as, if not more important for those who bought guns for self-defense in mind.