From an unknown commentator amid the vast expanse of the interweb….
When I shoot, I feel like a dog with his head hung out the truck window of a speeding truck. That dog is just happy. And he don’t give a hoot if that truck ever gets where it’s going.
As my friends will attest, I am an unusual person. This applies to my gun ownership as well.
When I came to owning my first firearm, a Ruger 10/22, I was over and done with my plinking phase in about one month. Unlike most gun owners, tin cans and junk targets bored me fast even in my young years. I quickly needed to know why. Where are my shots going? How can I improve my ability to do that? Despite knowing very little about formal competition, including bullseye, I was soon on paper targets and shooting groups. I never tested the gun except how it helped me shoot better.
Naturally, I quickly gravitated towards competitive shooting. It only makes sense that any shooting should yield a result. If you don’t care about measuring the results then why bother with a target at all? I still have that 10/22 but it holds no nostalgia for me. I’ve fitted with Tech-Sights and use it as a generic training rifle for position shooting on scaled targets to prep for military-type shooting matches.
My range time almost exclusively consists of drills in preparation for some type of formal shooting event. Some people say this sounds like work and they only want to shoot and have a good time, like that dog in the truck. Even though riding around in the truck with my head out the window is fun, I’d still like to know where I’m going and eventually get there.
Firearm User Network 
Aug 22, 2012 @ 14:08:07
There has to be some fun involved, otherwise it is just work, which soon becomes drudgery, then you stop doing it.
On the other hand, a lot of folks only care about the fun, and not the skill. You’re only going to reach those who think skill is important. The rest look at shooting like a form of setting off fireworks.
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Aug 24, 2012 @ 11:19:47
>> There has to be some fun involved, otherwise it is just work, which soon becomes drudgery, then you stop doing it.
True. Fun, for some people, can be delayed gratification. Setting goals and keeping notes leads up to accomplishing something. Hitting a new personal best, earning a higher classification, winning a match and the like are fun as well.
For oddballs like me, the “drudgery” is part of the game I enjoy. Having a plan and shooting specific, measured drills is more fun than random plinking to me.
>> The rest look at shooting like a form of setting off fireworks.
And that’s fine. My definition of a good gun owner is anyone capable of keeping and bearing arms without causing vandalism or undue injury to others. If the goal is to make a pile of brass and a smile, and the gun owner can keep everything downrange and in the berm while doing so, have at it!
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