Have you attended any formal training this year?
Have you engaged in any action shooting sports this year?
Have you been engaged in any shooting practice?
Has your practice involved anything beyond standing in a booth shooting at a well-lit, still target?

Shooting - particularly handgun shooting - is a perishable skill, and if (God forbid) you ever find yourself needing those skills to defend yourself or your family you don't want that to be the time you learn that your skills aren't up to snuff.

So, if you own a gun and it's just been sitting locked up all year, get out, clean it up and get thee to a range. Or better still, a training course that teaches defensive skills.

(If you don't own a gun, hate guns, and think nobody should be allowed to own one, this post does not apply to you, and your bleats of "guns should be banned" will be off topic, so spare everyone the trolling and yourself the points....)

Matt

Yes
No
Yes
Yes

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

Good on you, Mrs. M

I forgot one important item in the opening post.

Do you have a light available with your gun (either gun-mounted or stand-alone), and have you practiced using the light while shooting?

IMHO, the light is just as important as the gun. Aside from the all-important identification of what / who you are about to shoot, a properly used tactical light is nearly a weapon unto itself.

Matt

No.

Yes.

Yes. (Not a lot though).

Yes. (Again like above, only a bit and that was just before the hunt...)

That's not very good...the firearm i used isn't for self defense btw, one that was provided to me. But if i stick to the way it was worded in the OP it'll look terrible because it'll seem like i shoot/hunt without any practise at all of any sort.

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Yes...

No, unless you count skeet...

Yesterday. May go again this evening...

Of course...

I have them, but I don't use them too often.

A light can be good and bad. For example, if you confront an intruder, and he doesn't have a gun, you're in good shape. But a light is like a tracer round; it works both ways. If you confront an intruder who has a gun, he doesn't need to see what he's shooting at. He just has to aim towards the light...

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Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings...

No

No

No

No

Guess I better get out there and shoot, eh.

Does scaring the geese, and raccoons with a plastic pellet pistol count?

Steve, good point about the light.

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Right vs Left....IS....Right vs Wrong.

Mark Levin

I completely agree - an improperly used light is a huge tactical error. A properly used tactical light (think 85+ lumens, momentary on, kept off until needed) can be an absolute lifesaver, in more ways than one.

Matt

No light on the gun...but I do keep a big Mag Lite by the bedside along with the gun.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO, What a Ride!"

Not in awhile, with the massive increase in cost of ammo I can't afford to shoot anything other than .22 these days

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"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb discussing what's for dinner.
Liberty is a well armed lamb willing to contest the majority decision!" ~ Benjamin Franklin
"Diplomacy is the art of saying Nice Doggie! while you're looking for a rock. ~ Wynn Catlin
"There are no innocent civilians." - Gerneral Curtis Lemay. A.K.A Bombs away Lemay

No
Yes
Yes
Yes

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I have absolutely no idea what my generation did to improve our democracy. We dropped the ball. We entered a period of complacency and closed our eyes to the public corruption of our democracy.
Wynton Marsalis

To expand on this..
You have older kids?
Have you taken them out on the range with you?

The weekend after my son asked me about guns - I took him out to a friends property.
He was 11 at the time. My wife wasn't real happy about it, but I wanted to both quench his curiosity - and to properly show him how to bot shoot and handle a gun.
He is 15 now, we go out 3-4 times a year and shoot em' up. He is a decent shot - but most important, I know when he has his own home, he will have the ability to protect his family.

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I have absolutely no idea what my generation did to improve our democracy. We dropped the ball. We entered a period of complacency and closed our eyes to the public corruption of our democracy.
Wynton Marsalis

I would be surprised if light rail were legal in all states.

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January 21, 2013: The End of an ERROR.

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."
"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."
---Benjamin Franklin

Have you attended any formal training this year?
No.

Have you engaged in any action shooting sports this year?
No. I used to shoot competitively (western action), but I'm getting too old and broken down for it these days.

Have you been engaged in any shooting practice?
Yes.

Has your practice involved anything beyond standing in a booth shooting at a well-lit, still target?
Yes.

Proper gun control is a firm hand, and a clear gaze, and always stopping your target on the first shot.

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"It's a good feeling to shoot a bad guy. Something you democrats would never understand. Americans are homesteaders, we want a safe home, keep the money we make, and shoot bad guys!"

----Denny Crane

Just use a lot of duct tape and strap it under the gun. Might be a little heavy, but whatever works, right?

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"It's no exaggeration to say that the undecideds could go one way or another." - George W. Bush