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My Top 10 Shooting "Don'ts" Login/Join 
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Picture of caneau
posted
I like my lists. Here's my top 10 shooting "don'ts"

1) Don't buy a gun, part, or accessory in the first year of production. Whatever features it has rarely are worth the flaws. If it's a dud, you'll know it after a year. If it's successful there will be a 2.0 version soon.
2) Don't invest in exotic calibers hoping they'll make it big. They're not pop stars or tech startups. Unless you're a benchrest shooter looking to eek out the extremes of accuracy, it's hard to beat 9 and. 45, .223 and . 308, and 12 and 20. Other calibers come and go. Those seem to stick around.
3) Don't skimp on eye and ear protection. Nicer muffs and glasses make the shooting experience much more pleasant. Especially if you have a high dollar scope or a noisy indoor range.
4) Don't think it's always your fault. This idea that any gun will do for any person is flawed. Ergonomics are important, people are different, and trigger jobs or grip improvements are often worth the expense.
5) Don't think it's always the gun's fault. Grip matters, familiarity is important, and snap caps don't lie.
6) Don't carry without a holster. Your holster is a safety. I've never seen a holstered firearm discharge on its own.
7) Don't believe in a gadget until you see it prominently in competition. Everyone has a better sighting system but I see a whole lot of Warren, Trijicon, Aimpoint, and Nowak. Especially when the competitor gets to choose.
8) Don't fall into a comfort zone at the range. Try different drills, use a timer, practice target transitions and different positions. Dot torture is the best kind of torture.
9) Don't confuse expense with quality, precision with reliability, exclusivity with performance, or innovation with effectiveness. 100 year old handguns, 60 year old rifles, and 90 year old shotguns all made by the lowest bidder are still better than many firearms built since.
10) Don't stop learning and giving back. Techniques evolve, the tools we use get better, and there is power in numbers and discussion. That's why we're all here, right?


__________________________________
An operator is someone who picks up the phone when I dial 0.
 
Posts: 5326 | Location: The Virginia side of DC | Registered: February 20, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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never assume that the person shooting next to you knows any of the gun safety rules, watch'em





Safety, Situational Awareness and proficiency.



Neck Ties, Hats and ammo brass, Never ,ever touch'em w/o asking first
 
Posts: 54500 | Location: Henry County , Il | Registered: February 10, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of caneau
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quote:
Originally posted by bendable:
never assume that the person shooting next to you knows any of the gun safety rules, watch'em


Amen, brother. I've looked down the muzzle far too often at the range.


__________________________________
An operator is someone who picks up the phone when I dial 0.
 
Posts: 5326 | Location: The Virginia side of DC | Registered: February 20, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Yeah, I'm not so sure about #4 myself. I get where you're coming from, but I can't fully agree. Ergos I'm okay with...trigger job not so much for most shooters.

And #6, I'd add a proper holster designed specifically for that pistol. Not just any random holster is good.

I would add "Don't listen to anyone who insists on a right way and a wrong way on anything except safety. And even then, think critically."


------------------------------------------------
Charter member of the vast, right-wing conspiracy
 
Posts: 1859 | Registered: June 25, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of az4783054
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Don't believe everything you read on internet gun forums, read on social media and hear in gun shops.


Beware of a man whose only pistol is a 1911, he's probably very good with it.
 
Posts: 11194 | Location: Somewhere north of a hot humid hell in the summer. | Registered: January 09, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Freethinker
Picture of sigfreund
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We could stop with, “Don’t believe everything ….”
The Internet is actually the best place to find accurate information quickly. It’s the source of a lot of bad stuff, but if the information is presented on a forum like this or someplace else that permits feedback from readers, the bad stuff tends to be quashed quickly and firmly. And most things that are questionable are easily researched.

I grew up and was interested in guns and shooting long before the Internet was even imagined, and I can attest that the sources of information available then—friends, relatives, gun store employees, magazine articles, et al.—were just as unreliable as those same sources, and occasionally the Internet, are today. The difference then was that it was often difficult to impossible to even detect the bad stuff, much less refute it. I believed things that just weren’t true for many years.




6.4/93.6

“Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.”
— Plato
 
Posts: 47365 | Location: 10,150 Feet Above Sea Level in Colorado | Registered: April 04, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Still finding my way
Picture of Ryanp225
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If you're struggling have a good shooter help you. You can only get so much from youtube and magazines and having a good instructor observe you shooting is going to help you a lot faster.
 
Posts: 10827 | Registered: January 04, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Old Testament Style:

1) Pick a gun, and really run it. Wear out a recoil spring or two before preaching its merits or flaws, modifying or considering replacements.

2) Realize that the perfect gun does not exist. There will always be something more accurate, or reliable, or easier to carry or better for prolonged practice sessions. No false idols.

3) If not practicing or in actual self defense, do not show others. If their gun people, they can come to the range or do their own research. Most of us are sticklers for safety (it's how we've managed to enjoy an inherently dangerous hobby) and non-gun people will likely think you crazy.

4) Commit to training. This is how safety rules become ingrained and proficiency of the sort that you actually work with your tools under stress is developed.

5) If at all possible, keep your first gun. It will either become your most trusted or an inside joke of just how uniformed you were. Either is good.

6) You shall not murder.

7) Don't get too excited about the latest offerings. The pocket 380 and single stack 9 craze were fun to watch as those segments were in need of offerings as we entered the 2000s. Many of us learned what beta-testing was along the way. That said if the role is filled for you and your not a collector don't be the first in line for a new gun.

8) Ask about spent brass. Don't assume and please don't lurk.

9) Don't lie about your shooting. We know that your not shooting 500 yards with irons off hand with your handgun. And "never jammed" to most of us means you haven't run enough rounds to break or wear out anything. Flinches happen and owning them allows one to get back to the basics and perpetually rebuild a perishable skill.

10) Give a hill of beans about what your buddy, local PD or large government agencies are trending to or from. Unless you train with them, it doesn't matter.

New testament version:

Love your Glock with all your heart and never point a gun at anyone that isn't pointing a gun at youSmile
 
Posts: 442 | Registered: March 30, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Character, above all else
Picture of Tailhook 84
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Top 10 Shooting "Don'ts"?

Here's #11: "Don't leave the house without your suspenders." Big Grin

(from another thread, my brother!)




"The Truth, when first uttered, is always considered heresy."
 
Posts: 2540 | Location: West of Fort Worth | Registered: March 05, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of caneau
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quote:
Originally posted by Tailhook 84:
Top 10 Shooting "Don'ts"?

Here's #11: "Don't leave the house without your suspenders." Big Grin

(from another thread, my brother!)


Haha, I love it!


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An operator is someone who picks up the phone when I dial 0.
 
Posts: 5326 | Location: The Virginia side of DC | Registered: February 20, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Oriental Redneck
Picture of 12131
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Don't belittle people's choices of firearms or their styles. As long as the basic firearm safety rules are followed, everything else is secondary.


Q






 
Posts: 26203 | Location: TEXAS | Registered: September 04, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Rail-less
and
Tail-less
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Not in agreement with 4. A good shooter can shoot anything with some degree of proficiency and combat accuracy. Too many people blame their guns for their shitty performance.


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Use thumb-size bullets to create fist-size holes.
 
Posts: 13190 | Location: Charlotte, NC | Registered: May 07, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nullus Anxietas
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quote:
Originally posted by Dusty78:
Not in agreement with 4. A good shooter can shoot anything with some degree of proficiency and combat accuracy.

That is most definitely false, and I've seen it demonstrated four times in my life.

#1 - My G22. I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with that gun. Other people can. And I can shoot with other firearms. And it wasn't for lack of trying, either.

#2 - S&W M&P 9mm - Tried a rental. Liked everything about it, but couldn't shoot well with it to save my soul. Not as bad as the G22, but not acceptable. Shot a CZ 75B and G34 on the same day and shot well.

#3 - Buddy of mine couldn't perform well with his 92F worth a damn. Best shot with a handgun I've ever personally known, btw. Sent it back to Beretta. They claimed it was fine. Tried a Sig at a range one day. Bingo. Bye-bye Beretta.

#4 - Guy at a range one day couldn't shoot his little .357 Mag revolver to save his soul. Gun or shooter? My "best shot" buddy tried it. He couldn't hit jack with it, either. Looking like the gun, eh? I tried it. No problem.

Some guns just don't work well for some people. This is why it's important to try before you buy when you can.



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
 
Posts: 26009 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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#11) Don't skimp on ammo quality. Cheaper factory ammo like WWB, UMC, etc. is fine. But I've seen more issues with reloads, steel or aluminum cased ammo at the range, than I'd care to see. Everything from accuracy issues to malfunctions to destroyed guns.
 
Posts: 21335 | Registered: June 12, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Leave the gun.
Take the cannoli.
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DON’T point that motherfuckin gun at me. I don’t know why I have to say this all the time. The exception being police, military, and newbies. Newbies are always extra extra careful until they start feeling overconfident then their like everyone else

Rant off
 
Posts: 6634 | Location: New England | Registered: January 06, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Leave the gun.
Take the cannoli.
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by 12131:
Don't belittle people's choices of firearms or their styles. As long as the basic firearm safety rules are followed, everything else is secondary.


Yup
 
Posts: 6634 | Location: New England | Registered: January 06, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of caneau
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quote:
Originally posted by ensigmatic:
quote:
Originally posted by Dusty78:
Not in agreement with 4. A good shooter can shoot anything with some degree of proficiency and combat accuracy.

That is most definitely false, and I've seen it demonstrated four times in my life.

#1 - My G22. I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with that gun. Other people can. And I can shoot with other firearms. And it wasn't for lack of trying, either.

#2 - S&W M&P 9mm - Tried a rental. Liked everything about it, but couldn't shoot well with it to save my soul. Not as bad as the G22, but not acceptable. Shot a CZ 75B and G34 on the same day and shot well.

#3 - Buddy of mine couldn't perform well with his 92F worth a damn. Best shot with a handgun I've ever personally known, btw. Sent it back to Beretta. They claimed it was fine. Tried a Sig at a range one day. Bingo. Bye-bye Beretta.

#4 - Guy at a range one day couldn't shoot his little .357 Mag revolver to save his soul. Gun or shooter? My "best shot" buddy tried it. He couldn't hit jack with it, either. Looking like the gun, eh? I tried it. No problem.

Some guns just don't work well for some people. This is why it's important to try before you buy when you can.


I've had similar experiences. I have 25 years of trigger time and can keep a 2" group at 25 yards offhand on a good day. Not bragging, just giving context that I'm not a poor marksman. But... I'm left handed but shoot right handed, cross-dominant, and I have relatively small hands.

There are a few guns I just cannot shoot well. In particular I struggle with Hi Powers, XDs, J frames, and DA/SA Sigs especially the transition between DA and SA. I love the 1911 and I almost sold my Glocks until I tried a Gen 4 with a flat trigger (Overwatch). I've also handed to shooters a custom 1911 and seen their group size cut in half.

Will a good shooter hit paper with any gun at 7 yards firing slowly? Yeah, of course. But if you're looking to get the most out of your shooting then the tool matters.


__________________________________
An operator is someone who picks up the phone when I dial 0.
 
Posts: 5326 | Location: The Virginia side of DC | Registered: February 20, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by PD:
DON’T point that motherfuckin gun at me. I don’t know why I have to say this all the time. The exception being police, military, and newbies. Newbies are always extra extra careful until they start feeling overconfident then their like everyone else

Rant off


Yes. I've 30 years on ranges, and it happens on a regular basis to this day.
 
Posts: 774 | Registered: June 03, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Rule #1 - Don't Train the Enemy. I know - its hard not to be helpful, but in a city the size of Houston, you have no idea who you are shooting next to. Don't assume they're your friend.

Rule #2 - Keep your eye on the guy who hits the ceiling 2-3 times on his quick draw triple tap attempt.

Rule #3 - keep an eye on the women. They can be down right scary on a range.

+
 
Posts: 2838 | Location: Unass the AO | Registered: December 16, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Sigforum K9 handler
Picture of jljones
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Since the conversation has drifted to gear, I can shoot everything I pick up to some degree of speed and accuracy.

But, it's not the gear. It's hard work, lots of dry fire and skill.

Are there guns that I don't shoot as well as others? Yep, absolutely. Are there handguns that I could take over a small island with? Absolutely. But, simply handing someone an XYZ handgun and "see their groups cut in half" is in no way qualification of one gun being better than the other.

It is a qualification of some guns have characteristics that you suck less with them. Generally, that is a trigger system that you can mash the shit out of and it not penalize you that much. The trigger being nothing more than an on/off switch.




www.opspectraining.com

"It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it works out for them"



 
Posts: 37081 | Location: Logical | Registered: September 12, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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