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Going target shooting is incredibly relaxing and a great break from the workday. The focus required to sight in a target and control one's breathing, arm, and
by chrissnell 9y ago
Going target shooting is incredibly relaxing and a great break from the workday. The focus required to sight in a target and control one's breathing, arm, and finger movement is a very powerful relaxant to me and melts stress away.
I work from home and I live in the burbs so pistol or rifle shooting is not possible. However, I've gotten really hooked on shooting (of all things) my Red Ryder BB gun. It doesn't make a loud noise, it costs almost nothing to shoot, and it's surprisingly accurate for how inexpensive it is. These little BB guns have iron sights like the article discusses.
My favorite thing to shoot is little plastic bottles--particularly the ones that over-the-counter medication comes in. They're durable and make a nice popping noise when you hit them. I put them on little stakes in the back yard at about 10-15 yards and shoot at them from my deck. As I got better, I made up little games, like shooting them in a sequence and trying to get 100% accuracy. I find it easy to get back to writing code after doing this for five or ten minutes.
- solotronics 9y agoshooting for me is incredibly therapeutic you can devote a large portion of your concentration to it and disconnect your brain for a while. I think some of the appeal is that you can see an immediate result of your effort and therefore can attempt to analyze and calibrate your performance. I really recommend shooting with advanced holographic optics because it brings you closer to your own reactions and can help hone your skill.
- JoeAltmaier 9y agoI have the same experience! Whatever is going on in my life, when I look down the sights my concentration becomes wholly focused on the moment. Its startling how centered I come out of a target shooting session.
- gadders 9y agoI think any hobby that requires a high level of concentration is relaxing as it makes you focus on that activity and forget other worries. I've had the same effect from lifting and fly fishing.
- wyager 9y agoOne of the unique(?) things about shooting is that it requires you to understand the absolute limits of the precision of control you have over your body. The slightest movement of your hands, arms, torso, or head is amplified 10,000 times. Not only do you have to find the limits of control you have over your various muscle groups, but you must come to understand that which you have limited control over, such as your breathing, heartbeat, reflexes, and background muscle vibrations. All of these things conspire to push you off target, so you must find ways to suppress natural reflexes, manage your heartbeat, and gently work around the subtle background vibrations of your body.
- anon182429 9y agoPlease be careful shooting in your backyard. It sounds really dangerous. All it takes is one ricochet into the neighbors' child curious as to what the noise is to turn this "relaxing" hobby into a deadly one.
- madengr 9y agoAlso quite relaxing, for trigger control practice, randomly load a handgun up with live rounds and snap caps. Then balance a .22 brass or penny on the front site. Works best with single action guns like 1911, but need to complete trigger cycle without dropping penny. This works great for breaking oneself of the instinctive flinch due to anticipating recoil. Alas, BB guns are banned in my city, so I just go to the range. Airsoft in the living room too, but it's messy as the pellets tend to bounce out of the trap.
- jdietrich 9y ago10 metre ISSF air rifle is easily the most zen form of shooting. It's a competitive exhibition of absolute stillness and calm. Modern precharged pneumatic air rifles are completely recoilless and astonishingly quiet: https://youtu.be/uynTgIKh5Jo?t=14m50s https://youtu.be/uynTgIKh5Jo?t=14m50s
- dreamcompiler 9y agoIf you're willing to go through the red tape, you can buy a suppressor (silencer) and a bullet trap and do target shooting with your 9mm in your living room. (I have no affiliation with this company. It just seems to be an informative website on the process of buying a silencer.) https://www.silencershop.com/how-to-buy-a-silencer https://www.silencershop.com/how-to-buy-a-silencer
- JoeAltmaier 9y agoIts typically called a suppressor. And it doesn't make the gun silent at all. But at least it won't blow out your hearing. Still, even equipped, I wouldn't try it in my living room.
- dreamcompiler 9y agoIndoor target practice at home is fairly common among Class III enthusiasts where I live. (Although the website I cited says you don't need a Class III for suppressors any more). I've not tried it; suppressors outdoors are quite pleasant to shoot without ear protection but you might still want EP indoors. The point of the suppressor is to avoid alarming the neighbors. It's also something I'd never try in an apartment or with other houses nearby because of the obvious danger if you miss the bullet trap.
- bmelton 9y agoI've been around a lot of suppressed arms, and aside from one competition rifle that was specifically designed to be silent (and cost many thousands of dollars to get that way), can't recall a single one in which ear protection wouldn't have been dramatically preferred for indoor shooting. Even for that one (subsonic, small rounds, suppressed, nitro piston), it would probably have been irritating to fire indoors. Edit: In hindsight, I suppose a suppressed, rimfire 22 would be pretty quiet.
- 15155 9y agoI don't want to be a pedant: weapons are never "Class III" - this is just a tax designation for federal firearms licensees that are eligible to deal in NFA "Title II" items. The distinction is pretty important, because you certainly do not need a Class III SOT to own a Title II item.
- nether 9y agoI found it difficult, stressful, and kind of boring. I'm probably going to sell my handgun soon, it's been sitting in its locked box for two years.
- nether 9y agoI found it difficult, stressful, and kind of boring. I'm probably going to sell my handgun soon, it's been sitting in its locked box for two years.