Monday, May 20, 2013

Running A Gun. Shoot Someone Else's




If you shoot, you know why you bought whatever gun you use.  For the most part, regardless of type there is always a fall back use in your head.  That use, in my experience in dealing with most folks, is self defense.

A lot of you out there are having a "duh" moment right now, but hear me out.  A good deal of hunters I've met don't own a handgun, an keep their shotguns and bolt rifles in the closet or a storage room.  Yet most of them feel safer knowing that these tools are closer to hand than any other real weapon.  Personally, I'd rather have a gun that was bad for he situation than no gun at all.

If you have a gun, you should run it through a few scenarios at least.  Most people train on reacting to a threat when they are home.  You hear a bump in the night, and you check it out, smart.

But what do you do if you come home and find the front door hanging open, or a window broken in? Do you have a plan to find your family?  Do you have your carry pistol?  Did you see something amiss on the way in, like suspicious cars in your driveway with the front door blowing in the wind?  Maybe you have time to go to a trunk gun.  If you're a LEO, and something happens, you might be coming into a familiar place.  You might be coming in to the station, or your favorite hangout.

But how would you deal with something if you were using someone else's weapon?

After modding my carbine with an HBAR and a YHM free float, I worked it around the house dry, going into, and out of, my bedroom.  Then I did it with a recent customer build, a no frills 16" carbine.  From optics with irons and BUIS to stock irons.  From handstops and lights to a CAR hand guard and a front sight post.

It was a bit jarring.  The weight was off.  I didn't have my red dot.  I was working my way around an A2 grip.  But it was a good lesson.

For all the gadgets and gear we add to our guns, we need to remember that the bone-stock version of those same guns are completely servicable.

If you're going to get into shooting, learn to run as many different kinds of weapons systems as you can.  Using one kind of system leads to complacency, stagnation, and negligence.  Branch out.  You're guaranteed to learn something.


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