100% agree with this..saw a similar trend of lefties buying guns and then immediately getting sucked into the worst firearms training advice that they could find, and completely missing the part where you have to go and start shooting a competition sport (literally any, I don't care if it's steel challenge, trap shooting, or USPSA) and become proficient.

Balancing a coin on your pistol and squeezing the trigger is a terrible drill and just because 100 people think it isn't a bad drill doesn't make it true.

I'm not trying to gatekeep, but the number of leftists who are actually decent at shooting are going to get drowned out by people who picked up a gun yesterday and learned to dry fire this morning.

I saw it happen last time, and I'm sure it will happen again.

[–] stink@lemmygrad.ml 17 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Learning first aid isn't a "sexy" part of this stuff but is so necessary. Learning how to use a tourniquet could save someone's life.

Then cleaning a gun, oiling it, fixing a jam without pointing a loaded weapon at everyone around you.

I took a couple comrades shooting and it was one of the most stressful days of the year. The amount of times I've had to run over and point the gun down range before they turned around with a loaded weapon, finger on the trigger, to ask a question was way too much for me to handle. I even had another friend come with me to help them get acquainted to shooting and it was still a lot of work making sure people didn't injure themselves or put lives in danger.

Even loading the gun takes work. Putting bullets inside of the magazines is hard work if you're not used to it, then cocking the gun back to fire without pointing it at your own feet? Getting upper body strength is also majorly important when handling a gun.

[–] footfaults@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 2 days ago

So true.

The comment about taking others to the range and having to then constantly be on alert to manage everyone, you made me remember some similar instances to what you had to manage. Wild stuff. It's a lot of work and the best is when it's a public range or state game lands where there are other people that are equally unsafe but you can't do anything about. Lots of hair went grey that day....

[–] Wakmrow@hexbear.net 5 points 2 days ago

I mean that's every new shooter. It's ok. People have to be new so they can get old at it

[–] mickey@hexbear.net 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

...and completely missing the part where you have to go and start shooting a competition sport (literally any, I don't care if it's steel challenge, trap shooting, or USPSA) and become proficient.

I didn't miss that part, I have a well-informed and holistic picture of how lacking I am lol.

But I don't think you are gatekeeping to say that bad training can be actively restrictive. Even in general, someone might be better off understanding they are unskilled in a task, vs having learned that task inadequately or incorrectly and thinking, put me in coach, I'm ready to play!

[–] footfaults@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 2 days ago

Absolutely. We all start somewhere