If you’ve been shooting 20 years or more, what advice do you wish someone told you early on?

[Alan]

If you've been shooting for 20+ years, what tips would you give new shooters? Let’s hear the wisdom from the veterans of the range.

 

[Wadlow Palerider]

1) Know how to safety your weapon before you load it.
2) Always treat a gun as if it were loaded.
3) Always respect your guns, don't toss them around as you would a basketball
4) Mistakes can be fatal.
5) Be sure of your target and know where your bullets will potentially come to rest.
6) Never point your gun at anything you don't intend to shoot.

 

[Lt Choate]

Some may find this advice odd, but as someone who has more guns than he can hardly keep up with, I would advise younger gun owners to find satisfaction with the guns you have. Work with them and hone your proficiency level and don't feel like you have to buy every "hot" and "kool" item that hits the market.
I'm certainly not saying to not buy a new gun occasionally, but when the goal is to grow the herd more than to appreciate the ones you have, then you have missed the whole point.

 

[Mark37082]

The one piece of advice I would add is to protect your hearing. When I was younger I did not, and now I have lost quite a bit of my hearing. The constant ringing (Tinnitus) is very annoying.

 

[Clint Osborn]

To your topic of "shooting", I would tell them to shoot 22LR until you master the process of "shooting". Training on 22LR teaches you everything you need to build a solid foundation (shooting positions, breathe & trigger control, reading wind, understanding drop over distance, shot placement, "calling your shots", etc) and it does it for pennies per shot instead of more than a dollar per shot for center-fire.
There is no sense in buying higher priced center-fire rifles & ammo until you can honestly get "your money's worth" out of them.

 

[Alan]

1) Know how to safety your weapon before you load it.
2) Always treat a gun as if it were loaded.
3) Always respect your guns, don't toss them around as you would a basketball
4) Mistakes can be fatal.
5) Be sure of your target and know where your bullets will potentially come to rest.
6) Never point your gun at anything you don't intend to shoot.

Good basics! Thanks for sharing

 

[Alan]

Some may find this advice odd, but as someone who has more guns than he can hardly keep up with, I would advise younger gun owners to find satisfaction with the guns you have. Work with them and hone your proficiency level and don't feel like you have to buy every "hot" and "kool" item that hits the market.
I'm certainly not saying to not buy a new gun occasionally, but when the goal is to grow the herd more than to appreciate the ones you have, then you have missed the whole point.

I love this..focusing on mastering the guns you have builds real proficiency and a deeper connection to the sport

 

[Alan]

The one piece of advice I would add is to protect your hearing. When I was younger I did not, and now I have lost quite a bit of my hearing. The constant ringing (Tinnitus) is very annoying.

Long-term health matters just as much as skill. Thanks for the input

 

[Alan]

To your topic of "shooting", I would tell them to shoot 22LR until you master the process of "shooting". Training on 22LR teaches you everything you need to build a solid foundation (shooting positions, breathe & trigger control, reading wind, understanding drop over distance, shot placement, "calling your shots", etc) and it does it for pennies per shot instead of more than a dollar per shot for center-fire.
There is no sense in buying higher priced center-fire rifles & ammo until you can honestly get "your money's worth" out of them.

I find this really insightful, thanks

 

[BKLooney]

The one piece of advice I would add is to protect your hearing. When I was younger I did not, and now I have lost quite a bit of my hearing. The constant ringing (Tinnitus) is very annoying.

Really good advice. When I was in my teens in the 70's I had quite a few guns, mostly handguns, a few shotguns, and a few Winchester 94's for hunting.

As we lived up in the mountains of SW Virginia I could shoot whenever I pleased, which was just about every day. I had a range I had setup about a 100 yards from the house that was pretty awesome. Safe gun handling was drilled into my head from an early age...sadly, what wasn't drilled in my head was use of hearing protection...

I shot thousands of rounds with no hearing protection...lots of .357 & .44's.

My hearing is roughly 85% gone in the left ear and about 60% gone in the right...

I can use my hearing aids to help, but I hate those things.

When I see people shooting without ear muffs or plugs I have to say something whether they take the advice or not. I also keep a bag of ear plugs in the truck to give people if I see they have none. The last time I gave a guy some he and his buddy were shooting some wonder9, the guy standing behind the shooter had his fingers in the shooter's ears and he was wearing the only set of ear plugs they had!

The two big ones are safe gun handling above all and proper hearing protection.

 

[Gunnnn]

Ear pro for sure I stared working as a sheetmetal worker and if you’ve never been in a SMW shop it almost like being at the range with half the folks in there beating on something with a big hammer and then we didn’t wear ear pro but as time went on things changed and more and more safety was required for the owners to provide ear pro then I began to use it more but the damage had already been done plus to we farm and have heavy equipment here on the farm that’s really loud but I religiously use it now even running a lawnmower. I wish someone had told me to buy all the RL26 when it 25 dollars a pound LOL

 

[Alan]

Really good advice. When I was in my teens in the 70's I had quite a few guns, mostly handguns, a few shotguns, and a few Winchester 94's for hunting.

As we lived up in the mountains of SW Virginia I could shoot whenever I pleased, which was just about every day. I had a range I had setup about a 100 yards from the house that was pretty awesome. Safe gun handling was drilled into my head from an early age...sadly, what wasn't drilled in my head was use of hearing protection...

I shot thousands of rounds with no hearing protection...lots of .357 & .44's.

My hearing is roughly 85% gone in the left ear and about 60% gone in the right...

I can use my hearing aids to help, but I hate those things.

When I see people shooting without ear muffs or plugs I have to say something whether they take the advice or not. I also keep a bag of ear plugs in the truck to give people if I see they have none. The last time I gave a guy some he and his buddy were shooting some wonder9, the guy standing behind the shooter had his fingers in the shooter's ears and he was wearing the only set of ear plugs they had!

The two big ones are safe gun handling above all and proper hearing protection.

That really drives the point home. Safe handling is non‑negotiable, and hearing protection is just as critical...experience like yours shows the cost of skipping it. I love that you even hand out earplugs! Awesome

 

[Alan]

Ear pro for sure I stared working as a sheetmetal worker and if you’ve never been in a SMW shop it almost like being at the range with half the folks in there beating on something with a big hammer and then we didn’t wear ear pro but as time went on things changed and more and more safety was required for the owners to provide ear pro then I began to use it more but the damage had already been done plus to we farm and have heavy equipment here on the farm that’s really loud but I religiously use it now even running a lawnmower. I wish someone had told me to buy all the RL26 when it 25 dollars a pound LOL

Once hearing damage sets in, it’s hard to reverse. Good to hear you’re diligent now, ear protection is one of those things you don’t realize the value of until it’s too late