citizensoldier16
12-22-10, 01:38
When I was 6 I received my first gun. It was a Daisy pump BB gun. I spent my afternoons in the back yard shooting cans and bottles with my father and little did I know, I was learning how to be a good marksman.
From an early age, my father taught me the aspects of shooting accurately. Breath control to minimize sight picture shift, trigger control, and the ever-popular adage "aim small, miss small". By the time I was 10 I could put a .177cal BB through the O in "Coke" at 25 yards.
I would accompany my father on hunting trips, but at the time, I carried a toy rifle - a little bolt action toy rifle modeled after the 1903 Springfield. It wasn't much but it taught me how to safely handle a weapon. I was expected to treat it like a real firearm. Never point it at anything you don't intend to destroy, set it on the ground safely before crossing a fence line, and carry it in such a way as to not endanger your hunting partner.
On my 10th birthday I received a 20g Remington 870 youth model. I was overwhelmed. I began accompanying my father hunting, and occasionally got to man my own spot on the dove field. I took many doves with that shotgun, and made many memories with my father and grandfather in cold snow-covered fields in rural NC year after year.
When I was 16, I received yet another shotgun for my birthday - a 12g Remington 870 which still today serves me as my field and waterfowl gun. On my 18th birthday I received my first handgun - a Glock 17 9mm which I also still have and which has served me faithfully through countless IDPA matches and range trips. It's got over 10k rounds down the pipe and remains the most accurate handgun in my collection; which has grown to more than 10 pistols and 20 long guns.
Through IDPA I learned how to shoot defensively and developed the mindset of a warrior. I would use a handgun to defend myself. I spent countless hours practicing with dummy rounds in front of the mirror in my bedroom learning how to draw, acquire a sight picture, and maintain trigger discipline and control. Even today I spend about 30 minutes to an hour every day practicing reloads, manual of arms, and generally holding a pistol in my hand. I feel that in doing this, the pistol becomes more and more a part of me each day and that my mind becomes familiar with how it feels in my hand to the point that it becomes an extension of my body. In a way, the pistol is a part of me.
Lately, I have begun to do the same with my rifle. Purchased well before I found M4Carbine, my AR15 is a Bushmaster. It was the first rifle I bought myself after I turned 21. I worked hard, saved my money and had the biggest smile on my face handing over that stack of $100 bills in return for cold black aluminum.
Over the years, I found out about the Bushmaster's shortcomings, both from reading countless posts and "The Chart" on M4C to running it hard in classes and 3-gun matches. Having identified my rifle's weaknesses, I took steps to make it better.
I switched out parts, added some staking here, switched springs and buffers there...and before I knew it I had a truly working rifle...even though the lower still said Bushmaster. Honestly, it's the only part that's still Bushmaster. Everything else has been replaced or reworked. But that's not my point.
As I sit here writing this, my rifle is at my side. Occasionally I will stop typing and pick it up to hold it in my hands. There's no magazine, no ammunition in the weapon, but it's still a weapon. The size, shape, and weight of the rifle is nearly that of a loaded weapon and I unconsciously run my hands over the action, work the bolt and charging handle, and manipulate the safety - from both sides. What I realized is that I'm doing exactly the same as I have done with my pistols...the rifle is becoming a part of me. My brain is developing a relationship with my muscles...and the barrier between my hands and the cold aluminum and polymer of the rifle is disappearing. It is slowly and surely becoming an extension of my body much like the pistol has.
As I pick a spot across the room - the light switch - and bring the rifle up to my line of sight, it moves fluidly and without hesitation to it's target. It points where I look almost as if the rifle itself knows it's target already. As I simulate a reload, my hands and fingers immediately move to where they should be. Safety on, index finger to the mag release, left hand to magazines, insert magazine firmly and thumb to the bolt release sending the bolt home as my right thumb moves to the safety switch in preparation to fire. All my brain had to do was think "reload" and all of those motions happened without question, without hesitation, and with the solid confidence that each separate action was performed in perfect harmony with the others.
As I set the rifle down and begin typing again, my mind wanders to wonder "what is the purpose of all of this?"
I have never fired a live round at another human being in my life. I am mentally prepared to do so in defense of my life or my property, but that moment has never come. And I pray it never does. For I value human life and have been taught not to kill. But I will kill...if it remains the last resort, or it's my life or theirs. To me, I am the most important person and I will defend my life to the death...of any assailant.
So I must wonder...will the split second for which I train and prepare my mind and body ever come? I certainly hope not. I honestly pray that the day never comes when I must fire a round at another human being who is trying to kill me. I hope the day never dawns that I must take up arms against whatever force or government is trying to limit or extinguish my liberties. I wish the day will never come where individual humans must strike out from their homes in search of safety on the road, or otherwise face an Armageddon type scenario.
However I stand ready, and I am prepared. I have spend the majority of my life honing my skills, developing a mindset, acquiring the tools and preparing the necessities for a fight that may never come.
However if that day comes, like any seasoned operator, I will fall back upon my training, my mundane repetition of actions and my sense of situational awareness in order to provide for my survival and the survival of those close to me. I will fire shots in anger and will have no remorse...for it was him or me, and I chose me. I am preparing my body and my mind for a fight that I hope will never come. But if it does, I shall be ready and willing to meet it to the full extent of my being. I will do what is necessary to ensure my survival.
Will you?
From an early age, my father taught me the aspects of shooting accurately. Breath control to minimize sight picture shift, trigger control, and the ever-popular adage "aim small, miss small". By the time I was 10 I could put a .177cal BB through the O in "Coke" at 25 yards.
I would accompany my father on hunting trips, but at the time, I carried a toy rifle - a little bolt action toy rifle modeled after the 1903 Springfield. It wasn't much but it taught me how to safely handle a weapon. I was expected to treat it like a real firearm. Never point it at anything you don't intend to destroy, set it on the ground safely before crossing a fence line, and carry it in such a way as to not endanger your hunting partner.
On my 10th birthday I received a 20g Remington 870 youth model. I was overwhelmed. I began accompanying my father hunting, and occasionally got to man my own spot on the dove field. I took many doves with that shotgun, and made many memories with my father and grandfather in cold snow-covered fields in rural NC year after year.
When I was 16, I received yet another shotgun for my birthday - a 12g Remington 870 which still today serves me as my field and waterfowl gun. On my 18th birthday I received my first handgun - a Glock 17 9mm which I also still have and which has served me faithfully through countless IDPA matches and range trips. It's got over 10k rounds down the pipe and remains the most accurate handgun in my collection; which has grown to more than 10 pistols and 20 long guns.
Through IDPA I learned how to shoot defensively and developed the mindset of a warrior. I would use a handgun to defend myself. I spent countless hours practicing with dummy rounds in front of the mirror in my bedroom learning how to draw, acquire a sight picture, and maintain trigger discipline and control. Even today I spend about 30 minutes to an hour every day practicing reloads, manual of arms, and generally holding a pistol in my hand. I feel that in doing this, the pistol becomes more and more a part of me each day and that my mind becomes familiar with how it feels in my hand to the point that it becomes an extension of my body. In a way, the pistol is a part of me.
Lately, I have begun to do the same with my rifle. Purchased well before I found M4Carbine, my AR15 is a Bushmaster. It was the first rifle I bought myself after I turned 21. I worked hard, saved my money and had the biggest smile on my face handing over that stack of $100 bills in return for cold black aluminum.
Over the years, I found out about the Bushmaster's shortcomings, both from reading countless posts and "The Chart" on M4C to running it hard in classes and 3-gun matches. Having identified my rifle's weaknesses, I took steps to make it better.
I switched out parts, added some staking here, switched springs and buffers there...and before I knew it I had a truly working rifle...even though the lower still said Bushmaster. Honestly, it's the only part that's still Bushmaster. Everything else has been replaced or reworked. But that's not my point.
As I sit here writing this, my rifle is at my side. Occasionally I will stop typing and pick it up to hold it in my hands. There's no magazine, no ammunition in the weapon, but it's still a weapon. The size, shape, and weight of the rifle is nearly that of a loaded weapon and I unconsciously run my hands over the action, work the bolt and charging handle, and manipulate the safety - from both sides. What I realized is that I'm doing exactly the same as I have done with my pistols...the rifle is becoming a part of me. My brain is developing a relationship with my muscles...and the barrier between my hands and the cold aluminum and polymer of the rifle is disappearing. It is slowly and surely becoming an extension of my body much like the pistol has.
As I pick a spot across the room - the light switch - and bring the rifle up to my line of sight, it moves fluidly and without hesitation to it's target. It points where I look almost as if the rifle itself knows it's target already. As I simulate a reload, my hands and fingers immediately move to where they should be. Safety on, index finger to the mag release, left hand to magazines, insert magazine firmly and thumb to the bolt release sending the bolt home as my right thumb moves to the safety switch in preparation to fire. All my brain had to do was think "reload" and all of those motions happened without question, without hesitation, and with the solid confidence that each separate action was performed in perfect harmony with the others.
As I set the rifle down and begin typing again, my mind wanders to wonder "what is the purpose of all of this?"
I have never fired a live round at another human being in my life. I am mentally prepared to do so in defense of my life or my property, but that moment has never come. And I pray it never does. For I value human life and have been taught not to kill. But I will kill...if it remains the last resort, or it's my life or theirs. To me, I am the most important person and I will defend my life to the death...of any assailant.
So I must wonder...will the split second for which I train and prepare my mind and body ever come? I certainly hope not. I honestly pray that the day never comes when I must fire a round at another human being who is trying to kill me. I hope the day never dawns that I must take up arms against whatever force or government is trying to limit or extinguish my liberties. I wish the day will never come where individual humans must strike out from their homes in search of safety on the road, or otherwise face an Armageddon type scenario.
However I stand ready, and I am prepared. I have spend the majority of my life honing my skills, developing a mindset, acquiring the tools and preparing the necessities for a fight that may never come.
However if that day comes, like any seasoned operator, I will fall back upon my training, my mundane repetition of actions and my sense of situational awareness in order to provide for my survival and the survival of those close to me. I will fire shots in anger and will have no remorse...for it was him or me, and I chose me. I am preparing my body and my mind for a fight that I hope will never come. But if it does, I shall be ready and willing to meet it to the full extent of my being. I will do what is necessary to ensure my survival.
Will you?