100% brother @Schef…preach…
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Thank you for pointing out the oblivious
Can’t say Navy firearms training in the late '70s, early '80s was that great. You learn. Nearly shot my Engineering Officer on my first shipboard security response. He didn’t get the memo about walking around during the alarm and was plugged into his Walkman. My first shoot/don’t shoot decision. We were both startled when he opened the hatch coming into the ASROC launcher deck and I was defending the ASROC suite with an M-14. Britches where bleached that day. I did know how to swim.
We got a lot of in-depth firearms training in the Air Force Reserves. Had to maintain qualifications on both pistol and rifle through multiple courses. Pistol quals where every three months. Week long course on the M-60 and annual qualifications afterwards. Had to go through several Army rifle qualifications courses using RETs. My squadron even had a Laser simulator with pneumatic operated M-4s and M-9s. Big plate sized optical disks to run the sims. We also had MILEs gear for FTEs. My unit “shot” down a Hind helicopter at Ft Polk one year. Good times and thank you for buying my training rounds. Training was more in-depth once I could afford my own ammo and firearms.
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I was only addressing your fear of new firearm owners, and your painting them in a harsh, negative light. We were all new at one time.
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Here in SC, the military can take just the Legal aspects of the CCW class. So get a partial pass not a full one.
When I took mine recently I sat through the whole class. It was well worth as I learned a lot from the instructor who is a Marine vet. Plus I got to shoot which is always good.
Like others have said, I was in the Navy. I did grow up around guns but never really shot nefore military. In the Navy I qualified every year on the pistol, shot gun and rifle. Ten years in I never cleaned them once or tore them down in any way.
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Look at it this way, the Army taught you to fire a gun that none of us will ever be able to use to defend our homes.
Not that you could really defend your house with a 155mm, but you’ll be set if your town declares war on the next town.
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“…Now by situational awareness that was absolutely driven into me from the military. I still stop talking and listen when announcements are made in stores. I still look for weaknesses and vulnerabilities. I have that casualty state of mind. Casualties being both loss of life and equipment failure.”
Ditto. My rate was DC (21 yr career). I’m 67 now, and it never goes away.
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I 100% agree. My wife knows me, she knows when I get into “zone mode” to not talk. My back is ALWAYS against the wall, closest to the exit; my firearm is within but away from prying eyes; my house is closed down during the night meaning I have blackout curtains that are closed during the night plus my blinds are closed. I’ve discovered that way my townhome is situated I can see my front door from my bedroom windows using the reflection of my neighbors window. When we’re at home, tv’s on, AC running (we live in Az, so almost 24/7) I can hear a car horn three blocks down. When we walk into a store I can tell you where all the exits are, if anyone is carrying, who’d I’d have to fight and where I’d have to hit them to at least get me out of the room quickly. I don’t like being in any place I don’t know and when I DO go to a place I don’t know, I’ve already memorized every cross street, every freeway, every large store that I could hide in, if need be. However my DD214 is also redacted too, but that’s neither here nor there.
Hey Schef, So to gripe about YOUR gripe…YOU were an essential part of MY success. You and other soldiers like you raised the moral of soldiers like me who haven’t had a warm meal in weeks. It could have been the biggest bowl of slop but it was warm and made me feel happy! So, THANK YOU BROTHER!!!
If you’re griping about YOU not having any training…then let me remind you that simply isn’t true. You were trained in basic rifle marksmanship and part of your training was learning the very basics like, which end the round comes out, loading a magazine, inserting mag into mag well, safety selector has an option that will get you into immediate trouble with the drills if you use it (3 round burst for those non military), pulling trigger makes a loud noise, etc. You have basic fundamentals whether you realize it or not and all those apply to any type of firearm in some way.
Now if you’re referring to non-military who can go in and buy a weapon without training…sure. It’s not the job of the store to verify you know what you’re doing. That’s the biggest gripe I have about our country right now. TOO many people want to play ignorant rather than be responsible for themselves and their actions. I bought a car for my step son from a dealer and they only cared that I showed my license not his. Shouldn’t THEY verify he can drive? I bought a nail gun from Home depot but they never taught me how to use it…shouldn’t they? What if I shoot a nail through my hand…I can claim they sold it to me without training to tell me not to be an idiot…ugh. We each are responsible for our own actions and choices. It’s high time we all face that reality and those overprivileged children pleading ignorance need to be reminded of it too.
The fact is, we all are adults when we buy a firearm. It’s OUR damn responsibility to take the necessary classes or steps to become familiar with the tool, car, weapon we buy. I’ll bet everyone here has bought a new car at some point and first thing we do is push all the buttons, and click all the switches to familiarize ourselves with our new vehicle. Same applies to any firearm. It’s OUR responsibility to learn and understand how to use it both effectively and safely…not the damn store’s responsibility.
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When I joined the Navy, it was the first time I was introduced to any firearms. Then I served on the boats. Had the basic .45 cal Springfield, 12 gauge shotgun, and the M14 for shark watch when we did a swim call in the waters south of Florida. I have a lot of respect for folks in the Army and Marine Corps that had more extensive training than I did. A lot of times we just shot at a pile of dirt. Learned a lot more on the outside.
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At least you learned how to shoot sharks. That may come in handy, some day.
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Hey, Schef:
Welcome to the community, we need ya.
The key is “preparation”. Forget yesterday, prepare today for tomorrow.
I’m 84, been shooting all my life and still dry fire whenever I think about it.(not often enough).
Also, I get re-certified annually by passing a shoot, move, reload scenario that tends to keep one on one’s toes.
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Guess you never heard that the “Army travels on Its stomach.” I spent six years as a 1SG and can honestly tell you that it was critical to have a good Supply Sergeant and good cooks. In a field unit cooks greatly influenced the battery morale. You should be proud of your contributions.
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I stood topside in the sail of a diesel electric submarine. I was no marksman by any measure of the imagination. After being underwater so long…I don’t know. It was nice to be in the sunshine but we were always on duty.
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Military experiences can vary dramatically. For every cowboy there’s a mob of support personnel refueling deuce and a halfs, peeling spuds, twisting a wrench on a Blackhawk, flying a drone, etc…
Not everyone gets to shoot.
I got out of the reserves when my son joined the Scouts so I could help out with his Troop.
I got to shoot more in one Summer at Scout Camp than I did most years in the reserves.
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I have been around firearms for over 60 years both civilian and military (marines) and like anything new you have to learn and train to be proficient at that task, like a newborn you first learn to crawl then walk . Everyday you are learning something, new since joining USCCA I have learn a lot irt gun handling and cc situation awareness stuff that I never thought of before . The person who says they don’t need to train is a fool . I am 73 years old and still train one this old body don’t work the same as 50 years ago and two I still like to shoot so too help you with your question Go out and learn to be a better shooter SEMPER FIE
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Fully agree, yes, I believe all of us here understand the importance of training and practice.
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Schef. you’re not griping. You make a point that I’ve made many times myself. Let me explain. I’m a retired USAF weapons instructor. Twenty years, 5 to 6 days a week on the range and in the classroom training everyone from hospital types to special ops types. My experience reinforces your point; being ex military doesn’t necessarily make you an expert weapons operator. In the same vein, taking a ccw class and hitting a stationary paper target a few times in no way makes you an expert. In fact, being a retired weapons instructor with 20 years experience doesn’t mean you don’t still have something to learn. USCCA promotes continued, on going training. That is the only way to obtain and polish your weapons handling skills.
Great post. Thanks for being honest.
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You make a great point. Never assume anything. My brother-in-law is retired Army after 27 years. He is very knowledgeable about tanks and other heavy weapons. However, as I discovered, not so much handgun experience. He lives 3000 miles away, so we don’t see him often. A five years ago he was visiting our home and mentioned he was looking for a handgun for home defense. He said he was leaning towards a 1911 .45 caliber as that’s what he qualified for in the Army. Since we own a variety of handguns with calibers from .22 to .45 we took him to a BLM range we frequent. Set up close targets and had him shoot whatever he wanted. He pick up my .45 caliber 1911, got set and almost dropped it before he fired a shot. Very relaxed arms, one handed and didn’t come anywhere the close target. He did hit the mountain behind the target. He didn’t do as bad with the 9mm guns, but it was obvious he hadn’t shot in a while. I was 70 and the time and didn’t (and still don’t) have any problem with that gun two handed which for me is more stable. To shorten a long story, what did he go home and purchase? You guessed it, a .45 calibre 1911. Why, because he qualified in the Army , 30 year before. Whenever I speak to him on the phone I always ask if he’s been to the range? He still has never shot that gun. It’s in a closet upstairs with the ammo in another room. I pray he never experiences a home invasion.
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If he has a tank, though…
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