7th
This is a picture of my New Steyr M9-A1.
I hadn’t really thought much of firearms outside of a videogame or hunting context up until fairly recently, when my friend Luke took us all to a firing range for his bachelor party. Realizing how awful of a shot I was, and wanting to further my quest to learn new skills as often as possible, I took a Beginners Handgun Course at Blue Ridge Arsenal. After talking long and hard about firearms with my good pal Lars, I decided to pick one up for myself.
Here are my reasons:
First, I felt like it was a decent skill to develop, if I was ever in a situation where I needed to use a handgun. Unlikely, I agree, but we all learn higher-level math in school, and how many of us use that on a regular basis?
Second, the way the economy is doing, it really makes you wonder if a “SHTF” scenario may happen. I partly blame Lars for introducing me to the concept of emergency preparedness and Zombie Squad, a group/forum with the goal of facilitating emergency preparedness with using the idea of a “zombie outbreak” as a method of getting the attention of a younger generation. Worked for me, and they’ve got a decent amount of firearm material available.
Lastly, for self or home defense. “Why last?” you may ask, “shouldn’t this be at the top of the list?” Yes, yes it should; however, I’m not comfortable enough with handling a firearm nor the law which surrounds its use. If the situation demanded it, I wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger to stop harm from befalling those close to me, but I’m not going to have ready access to it (be it in a nightstand or concealed carry) until I’m damn sure I’ll hit my target and understand all the ramifications for doing so.
As I try to surround people like-minded to myself, I’m sure most of you probably have a negative view on firearms, as I used to. If there was a way to instantly eradicate all weapons (not just guns) in an instant, and remove any sort of violent behavior from everyone, I’d do it. The truth of the matter is that regardless of any gun control put in place, only those who SHOULDN’T have guns will, and the law abiding ones will not. After all, 80% of handguns used for violent crime were acquired through methods other than a legal purchase.
On top of that, the idea of an armed government/police force with unarmed citizens kind of scare me. Not as much that we’ve got some change heading our way, but you never know when things will take a turn for the worse.
That said, if you’re interested in trying my new firearm out, regardless of whether or not you’ve used a gun before, I’d be more than willing to help you out.
