If it's not combat, it's just toys, so why

If it's not combat, it's just toys, so why
care about performance at what is merely a game or pastime, eh?

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I love it when you give me something to write about, especially stuff that I know about from experience.

Hmmm, lets see now - what other uses for firearms besides combat could there be that might not be considered games? (Not that there is anything wrong with firearms games such as target shooting, shilouette, pins, trap, skeet, cowboy, quick draw and so forth. Heck even combat shooting courses are fun - hell they are often carried out in what are called FUNHOUSES! But back to my main point, what other uses for guns are there besides combat shooting that are not games?

Lets see, boy that sure is a tough one - wait a minute - what about hunting. Now I have done a bit of that even though I have mostly been a big city boy. I sure would not say that deer hunting, small game hunting, fowl hunting or predator control is combat but neither are they games played with toys. These are all forms of serious firearms use - aren't they.

Then again their is survival shooting (this is a bit of a catchall). It can encompass hunting, combat, signal shooting and even fishing. I tend to think that people often train for this who never wind up in any of the situations that require its use, but nonetheless it is a pretty good skill to have - and if you are in a situation where you need it, it sure is no game.

Then again there is pest control (kind of like combat against things like rodents). I guess this could technically fall under hunting, but I can see it as a separate type of shooting.

Then again there is shooting to teach discipline. That is not a game either. Teaching discipline to youngsters by teaching them how to safely shoot target rifles was once a popular pastime in the country. I guess maybe you are younger than you let on, or maybe your memory is getting like mine a bit muddled with middle age.

Of course, firearms can be used as tools in other ways that are a bit darker and that do not involve combat. Combat means to fight, yet firearms can be employed to kill where no fighting is involved such as when used to assassinate. I guess you can argue that is combat - but to me it is assassination of a non fighting party and therefor not combat in the classical sense.

Firearms can also be collected. Collectibles are certainly not necessarily toys. Check the values of guns sold at some recent high end auctions and you will see what I mean.

As I see it though, a firearm can be a tool for things other than combat or - and it also can be a fun toy (I use that word reservedly). I like to enjoy both aspects of my firearms. That way I know the potential better than if I were to be closed minded about them. If you really believe that a firearm is for nothing more than combat that is your prerogative, but are you ever missing out on some of the finer points of firearms and their potentials.

Best regards,
Glenn B

you would be suprised at the things that really do make a difference in combat and those that matter very little even though they seem so tatamount to success.

i have always been one of those who likes to know what im using when it comes to ammo, you know match the load to the job. i have learned a lot about things like how to draw from a concealed holster without thinking do this, that, or the other, how to draw down on an advancing assailant and fire rapid double taps into the hips, how to reload while focusing on the bad guys and not the weapon im reloaing in seconds, and through all this training i found out that some of that training was only of minimal use.

imoportant things to know in a real gunfight are how to stay calm, to engage with full commitment in taking the other guy down and keeping him down, dont fall to your knees and pray when the bulls start to fill the air around you, and remember to keep out of the other guys sights by hiding, moving, or simply firing into to his a.o. to keep his head down. all that other stuff about speed drills, point aiming, reflex shooting, draw drills, double tap drills, speedloading, tac loading, and so on are great, but they arent the key issues to be concerned with once your in a fight. in a real gunfight it aint win, lose and go home, its just win or lose and a lot of the time the outcome comes with loss of life.