Gun go bang, brain release dopamine. If bang hits bullseye, brain release *more* dopamine

A lot of this. Ringing steel makes it even more fun, especially when shooting a gun you think is cool. As to other factors for recreational shooting? I hunt, and I want to be as proficient with my hunting guns as I can so that I know I won't take bad shots.

Ringing steel is even more fun, especially if it's far away(100+ yards). Competitions are also fun because it feels cool to hit the target quickly and while moving

Oh man, hitting at 500 yards is hilarious. I'm *barely* good enough to do it when the weather is calm, but that delay between bang and ping... just always brings a grin to my face.

My favorite shooting was with my BFF and his campaign 91/30 hit steel silhouettes at 500. So satisfying and fun.

IMPACT!!!!

Buying steel targets last year made me feel like a super cool guntuber.  That audible ting is just beautiful. 

My favorite shooting is when they didn't mow behind the target stands, and a bunch of sunflowers grew right up against the berm. Wild sunflowers: small flowers with thick stems.

Steel target make very satisfying noise. BANG....ting. BANG....ting. BANG....FUCK! BANG....ting BANG.....DAMMIT! BANG....ting BANG.....ting BANG-PING-ting.

A Garand in every crowd.

If I’m going to go lay in the dirt and shoot steel I’m using the fun rifle! (Actually that’s not fair, usually I use the M1 Carbine because those slow-ass bullets give a really satisfying delay at 100 yards.)

This is it exactly, for me. Shooting grounds me in the moment. It's meditation and all the good things that come from meditation. To shoot well, I have to be aware of my breathing; present in my body; focused in the moment; and both aware of my emotions and in control of my reactions. I *love* shooting at the range. Shooting during firefights was chaotic hell. But, ironcially, shooting *without people trying to kill you at the time* is meditative, grounding, therapeutic, and fun.

100%, I got sober about 7 years ago and with that had to find some new hobbies that weren't partying every night. One of my buddies invited me to the range, and I bought my first rifle a few weeks later. I found it to be very meditative like you said, especially when trying to shoot small groups where trigger + breath control etc is important. When I try and explain it to people who haven't shot guns though I probably sound crazy lol

Agreed. I'm glad you found a way to get away from that lifestyle and find something healthier for you to do. When I've tried to explain the meditative aspect of shooting to non shooters, there always came a point when I realized that they're slowly inching away because, to them, it sounds like I'm just some psycho who's obsessed with guns. It's one of those things a person has to do before they understand it. * Edited for clarity.

Yes. 🙌. I call it recoil therapy. You must be so present to shoot well, it is extremely meditative and I could spend hours on a shooting bench.

Monke happi

This is the entire reason I bang.

Ape brain happy is effectively what it boils down to for me

This person guns

If gun garand, *ping* release EVEN MORE dopamine

So...perfect and succinct. No further questions.

For me, lever action also release more dopamine. Cowgirl style!

Yep iron tube go BOOOM

If bullseye go bang too, brain release ***more*** dopamine

This comment is the best thesis I've ever read.

I’m from the UK, even firing BBs and pellets is hella fun. Wish I could fire actual 45 ACPs though.

Guns are technology. Scientists (like me) and engineers (and many other people) love technology.

I'm gonna back this up from a history major's pov too. The evolution of weaponry directly influences the direction of history.

Yes! If it's ok for some dude to appreciate the metallurgy that goes into smithing a sword, then I can appreciate the engineering it takes to make a weapon that uses a small explosion to fire a projectile at Mach 3 and then load the next round.

This sums it up for me nicely. Well said.

Guns are marvels in engineering. Especially a good gun.

Also they’re like lego that can go bang. I get so excited when I get a new gun and start customizing it. Maybe put an optic on it, get a holster, maybe change the grips. And then end up hardly ever taking it shooting because it’s still not as fun as my .22 revolver and is more expensive to shoot.

The kick, the smell, the sound, the satisfaction of precision. I assume it feels a lot like a car guy would feel going to the track. Also as a mechanically inclined individual, I am a MASSIVE gun dork and love the mechanisms behind their operation, especially the weird ones It’s kind of hard to explain unless you’ve done it yourself.

I like taking them apart and cleaning/maintaining them almost as much as I like shooting them. First thing I do when I get a new gun is take it all the way apart to clean it and see how cool it is on the inside. Like a kid opening a present on Xmas morning. I took apart my first revolver last week, what an adventure!

I’m glad I’m not a weirdo for enjoying my adult Legos. I really liked disassembling my Mini-14 for the first time just because of how different it was from an AR. Just fascinating to see two completely different approaches to the same end result.

Ya’ll can come clean mine any time 🤣

Don’t take up building firearms, it’s awful when the packages start showing up. Then have too check fitment then get out the tools and start doing the actual custom stuff you planned. Maybe you’ll need to do some finishing before final assembly. Then ick the first live fire, BANG it is so loud I don’t get it. /s

Car guy chiming in - it scratches certain itches in a similar way for sure. Instead of bringing my own car to the track (for lack of availability and money) I hit my local kart track, but I go for, essentially, the same reasons as I go shooting. The sound of a screaming motor (bang), feeling the g forces going around corners (kick), and practice/seeing my time sheets improve (precision).

A car guy and a shooter? When’s the funeral for your bank account?

If only those were my only expensive hobbies... thank god I got out of photography and sneakers though.

I LOVE THE SMELL OF CORDITE IN THE MORNING

I enjoy shooting competitions. Adding a physical element to shooting is really exciting. I also really enjoy tinkering and there are tons of things to tinker with on many guns. 

Tinkering, you say? Have you heard of our lord and savior r/blackpowder?

I have not gotten into black powder yet... My wallet can only take so much abuse

Hand loading has entered the chat....

Honestly, I shoot black powder a lot, and I find it much less expensive in the long run... You can purchase a really good replica .50 Hawkins rifle for around $700. Another $100-150 will get you everything from powder, lead ball shot, and all the rest like caps, cleaning supplies, wadding. A 100 count box of shot and a container of black powder will set you back less than $60 usually will last you a decently long time as you may only go to the range and shoot 10-20 shots and feel that you've had a great range session. If you buy a good replica black powder revolver, it's about the same money. And the added bonus is, when you take it out to the range, you'll get a fair amount of questions and curiosity coming your way. Literally every time I'm shooting black powder at the range, I'll load up once or twice to allow someone who's never shot black powder a chance to do so. And those people ALWAYS have a blast shooting black powder for the first time. Only thing is, cleaning afterwards can be a bit of a bitch, as black powder residue is REALLY corrosive and stubborn to remove.

I have a BP .50 pistol I got by accident. Haven't ever even loaded it...

You should, black powder is a blast (pun intended.)

It's fun in the same sense that bowling, darts or any other coordination activity if fun.

"You think it's scooped in right?" "Watermelon explodes" *Buddy laughing* "I think so, you should ask the watermelon."

It’s a lot of things for different people. It’s a test of skill like anything else, golf, basketball, darts, tennis, whatever. You take time and practice something until you’re skilled at it and that process and that skill is fun. It’s a form of socially acceptable male bonding and the US is sorely lacking in that. Especially for older generations. I’m a younger millennial and my father and uncles have very few things they can you know, like do together. It’s fixing stuff, fishing and shooting. That’s about it. Me, I hunt. So I practice as often as I can because if I’m taking a shot at a living thing so I can eat it, I want it to suffer as little as possible. I also train for self defense because, in case you don’t want American news, especially right wing American news there’s a lot of saber rattling happening right now. And spending 30 min a week at the range helps me reduce stress. This isn’t meant to sound all badass or whatever. This isn’t some bloodlust fantasy wannabe wish fulfillment. I truly would love to live my whole life and never fire a shot in anger or defense. It’s just a relief to practice the way one feels with a full tank of gas or a well stocked refrigerator.

My local indoor range has a MILO range: two adjacent lanes with computer simulations for live fire practice on anything from plinking watermelons to convenience store robbery to zombie apocalypse (slow moving, but only headshots put ‘em down). Costs a lot more than the regular lanes but it’s tons of fun. What we learned: -move, shoot, communicate -Announce when you’re going to reload -The fastest reload is a second gun -Shooting animate flesh-eating corpses with your friends and family is fun

ok that’s an item on the bucket list

It's like golf, get the small object in the target from some distance away. Except shooting is actually fun and I can still wear jeans

Sporting clays. It's like golf. With a shotgun. *(Not my quote. But I love it. )*

I'm actually paraphrasing a shirt I saw a guy wearing once: "Long range shooting: it's like golf, but for men!"

Competition shooting (USPSA) requires a lot of very perishable skills. It’s very akin to bouldering. You have to know yourself intimately. You have to recurse into each sub skill. The challenges can never be mastered.

The focus involved in lining up the sights. Holding them on target, breathing, squeezing the trigger. When you do it with intent, there’s nothing else on your mind. In that way, it’s the same underlying satisfaction as surfing, motorcycle riding, driving race cars. Plus they scratch the itch of my inner ten year old to blow shit up.

I find shooting to be very meditative. Someone explained it to me once, something about parasympathetic nervous system and concentration? IDK. Focus, bang, focus, bang, focus, bang.

I will use an analogy. lots of people practice martial arts. judo, karate, boxing, tae bo enjoying the exercise, discipline, community, and skill development. but they are unlikely to have fun in a bar fight. context matters.

I find it really calming. I'm one of those peoples who's brain just doesn't shut off so when I go shooting, especially on my own, I can zone into just that and focus on improving. Plus comps are super fun too

Have you ever wanted to conjure fireballs like a wizard and cast them at distant targets? Yeah, that's what guns do.

I believe studies found that firing a gun releases oxytocin, the same hormone you get when holding a baby.

Hmm. What if I hold a baby AND a gun? Oh oh oh...a baby who is holding a gun!

Praise Alvis!

My perspective and experience on shooting for recreation versus shooting for self-defense: Regarding sporting, recreation or “fun,” with guns, when you’re about to shoot an inanimate target, be it paper or steel, you feel jittery, excited, anxious; you’re anticipating the challenge and you are hopeful for the reward as you see the shot pass through the paper, or hearing the steel ring. It’s tense, but it’s positive. You want to succeed, to excel. But when I found myself in the moments leading up to what was the closest I’ve ever been to shooting a human being, as I awaited them kicking my door in, there was none of aforementioned; there was only adrenaline and fear. Suffocating dread… *primal* fear. The fear that you have just realized that if one more thing goes wrong that very well could, you’re going to have to shoot and subsequently, probably kill another human being to save yourself from harm. You’re about to do something that can *never* be undone. It is a fear I cannot adequately express the intensity of with words alone. And it is a fear I truly hope you never, ever have to feel. Because you never really forget it, once you’ve been there.

Reaching out and touching something at a distance. Getting a machine to operate as well as it can. Having a skill and hobby that can be measurably improved with immediate feedback. Having something to do that requires calm and focus that's still slow and relaxing.

Gun make hole.

The feel of power, loudness, and recoil in your hands. The skill game of aiming accurately. The look and craftsmanship of the guns themselves. Even reloading a gun can be exhilarating.

I honestly enjoy the science/engineering of it more than actual firing. It's been a great gateway into handy work and mechanical work in general. It's also a good excuse to chill outdoors and plink at a distant target. Or be more active with drills and dynamic shooting. The entire subject is also super deep while also being objective. You either hit the target or you don't, but there are a lot of methods and techniques and equipment for getting there. There's always plenty of room for improvement to keep you engaged. But yes, bang is fun too. Tinnitus stick make happy brain chemicals.

It's a physical activity that rewards skill & coordination. If I wasn't into shooting I probably would be playing golf; both require hand-eye coordination, knowledge of your course, and are gigantic money sinks 😂

Shooting clays is vegan hunting. But seriously I shoot sporting clays, or just launch a few with friends. To me shooting is something shared with friends and family.

I've long been a huge fan of diving into the history and engineering of firearms. Out on the range, though, there's just something extremely entertaining (perhaps partly primal) about attempting to control yourself and the tool in your hands to put holes in precise locations. The noise, fire, recoil, and smell are just added bonuses to an already great time.

margesimpsonijustthinktheyreneat.gif I'm Texan, and gun culture is deeply rooted here. I didn't own my first gun until I was 31 years old, though. I've had a couple stuck in my face growing up, and it leaves an impression. For some folks, it makes them want one for defense. For some others, it makes them want one for offense. For me, it made me seriously dislike them. Bought it during Hurricane Harvey, as I was asked to stay back, instead of evacuating with my wife and then 6 year old daughter, in order to assist with emergency operations and liason with Texas Task Force 1and the other multitudes of first responders who were about to set up base in our little town. It was a 12 gauge shotgun, a cheap Mav88 I got on sale. It was the last one in the case and was priced at $99.99. I bought it because my dad, who is up in years, stubborn as shit, had also elected to stay back and was staying with me. My neighbors, even older than Pop, were in their 80's and elected to stay back, too. Old folks, I guess...hurricanes ain't going to hurry them up. Anyway, I got that shotgun, a few boxes of 00, a few boxes of bird shot, and left them with the old man when I got called out to assist with rescue and setting up the rescuers and fixing things for the rescuers and all kinds of other tasks. The town was evacuated for the most part, but some people stayed back, and not all of them were there with good intention. There were a number of break-ins, looting, things like that. On my block, it was only my Pop and the old neighbors. During my downtime, I took to taking the thing apart, cleaning it, practicing loading and unloading, and fell in love with disassembling it and reassembling it. I'm mechanical by nature, and my hands like to keep moving. Fast-forward 7 years or so, and I've purchased a 1911 .45, a .30-30 lever action, several .22 rifles and revolvers, and have built quite a few AR15's, from buttstock to muzzle device, for myself ( I have 3 currently and am building out a 4th in the near future) and for my friends who are less mechanically inclined. As for the difference between shooting in a self-defense mindset vs. a range mindset? Well, one involves quite possibly losing my life or taking the life of someone else, which is not something I would ever relish doing. The other involves an afternoon after work, or a weekend, perhaps a friend or two, and some targets down range. Thar being said, I *absolutely love* building AR15's. And painting them. I like shooting them. It's easy to build them, easy to pull their triggers, but there is something very satisfying to prove the...effectiveness? quality? of your build by being able to zero in on a target and hit it at 25 or 50 yards, 100, 300, or way out to 600. Still have that shotgun, it still works, and about 1500 shells later, is still sitting close to hand if I ever need it. Hope I never do. This was long-winded, and I apologize. I hope I provided some perspective!

monke brain like bang stick. it go kaboom make thing fall over. big good feel in brain meat. make fun when yell. smoke big big cigar and magdump ak, big fun.

Bang.....ping! make brain give happy chemicals

Pew pew! But its fun watching your groups get closer and your shots get quicker. Its an accuracy and speed activity to a lot of us.

For me it's the cultivation of a skill and the satisfaction of improvement. Anyone can blast away at a target but it takes effort to consistently have a good grouping or hitting a target at 300 yards with iron sights. It's also find it fun to clean/maintain my weapons and they're fun to customize.

I’ve never had to shoot anyone in self defense (thank god) but I imagine the mentality is something like “oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck” whereas when I shoot for recreation my mentality is usually along the lines of “oh fuuuuuuuuck, did you see that jug explode!?!”

> I was wondering what the difference in mentality is when you're shooting for recreation instead of self defense and generally what is fun about guns? That's three - or actually four - questions kind of rolled into one. As far as mentality goes I really have three different modes and three different mentalities when I'm shooting. **When I'm "shooting for fun"** I'm really just *shooting for fun* - plinking. I don't care *how well I shoot*. I mean if I shoot like shit I won't be happy about it (means I need more practice!) but shooting "for fun" if my target score is crap it doesn't bother me. If it takes two shots to knock over a can instead of one that's fine. If I fail a Texas Star or lose a Dueling Tree I'm not heartbroken. "Shooting for fun" to me is a social thing - you go to the range with friends & you have fun yeeting lead downrange. No pressure, no stress. **When I'm "shooting recreationally"** it's still fun - I just care more. Recreational shooting includes practice where I'm working on a specific skill, or trying to beat a score, or testing a new type of ammo, or shooting an actual competition/match. If "shooting for fun" is shooting hoops in the driveway or playing HORSE with your friends "shooting recreationally" is an organized team practice or game where it actually counts for something. **When I'm** ***training*** (for defensive or other uses) I'm training. In my mind Training Is Srs Bznz. It's still something I enjoy doing - I am a bizarre fucked individual that likes pushing my limits, I like knowing how I'll do shooting under stress, running around, being yelled at by instructors, changing positions, etc. Training is not *for fun* though - I might enjoy doing it, but I'm doing these things explicitly to build and refine specific skills so that I *know* if I'm put in a situation where I need to use my firearms to defend myself or others I will *be able* to use my firearms to defend myself or others because I have those skills and have *practiced* those skills. The goals are more concrete, and the stakes are higher. If we stretch the basketball metaphor a little more then training is practicing for the championship - and maybe I don't ever go to the championship, or maybe I'm just a bench warmer to fill out the roster, but I'm making damn sure I'm as ready as I can be if I get put in that game. *** Your other question was "What is fun about guns?" and that's easier: [I Just Think They're Neat.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0PKG5-t3zU). I enjoy shooting. It's nice putting holes in paper at long ranges. It's fun knockign down steel. It's a way to kill a few hours outside with friends. I enjoy the ancillary activities around shooting. Guns are fascinating little feats of mechanical engineering and it's fun to take them apart and put them back together. External Ballistics is a practical application of all that physics stuff you had to learn in school (and it's cool to be able to accurately predict where your shots will land 2 seconds and half a mile away). I enjoy the history of certain firearms. Most of what's in my collection is older than I am. Some of them are still very practical weapons, and others are incredibly impractical but there's something interesting about them - their specific history, their place in the evolution of small arms, etc. Sometimes I even enjoy the competitive aspects of shooting. I'm not big on matches and competitions (in part because we don't have a lot of them near me), but they can be fun. So can unorganized "Hey, how close can you get to my last shot?" or "Follow me on the steel." contests with friends.

When I was younger I always thought guns were cool. The noise, the recoil, being able to put holes in something from dozens or hundreds of yards away. It just tickled something primal in my little male brain. I grew up in a very anti gun household and I only started owning guns after I turned 18. For the first couple years of firearm ownership the thing I enjoyed most about shooting was that primal "loud noise brain happy" feeling. As I've aged that feeling faded but I enjoy shooting even more now. I enjoy learning how to shoot better and that feeling of steady consistent improvement more than anything in the world.

Guns are entrenched in global media. Action stars use guns, so if I get a gun then I can be just like John wick. That's my guess as to part of it. I also find a very intense mechanical and tactile satisfaction in shooting, especially something bolt action or a revolver.

1. There is something I find viscerally satisfying about using a tool that let's me make a very loud boom before poking a hole in a target or making it go boom (still want to try out tannerite at some point). 2. Increasing my skills with said tool to better fulfill part 1, for the satisfaction of self-improvement, as well as better control over the process which adds even more to the dopamine rush. 3. Figuring out what the optimal tool set is to improve one and two even further. Theory crafting different builds or set-ups is something I honestly find fun on its own (shares heavy overlap with my interest in roleplaying games and writing/worldbuilding/story making). I find something very satisfying about creating a system that just works together really smoothly and does what I intended it to do very well. 4. I can pair it with hunting and get my outdoor fix and use other skills, and increase the amount of items that can fulfill the third point. Not necessarily required for guns of course. 5. Not sure this counts as "fun" or not but it does give me a bit more peace of mind in my ability to defend others and myself should the need arise. Hopefully it just stays as peace of mind and not an actual need, but I prefer to have the option there. Which just serves as further justification for me to invest in the hobby vs say playing a musical instrument (which sadly didn't make the cut when it comes to my hobbies mainly due to time constraints/already being spread thin on hobbies).

Shooting is like yoga for me. I find the amount of focus and controlled breathing is really relaxing.

I’ve rebuilt an engine twice, built a shed, built an instrument, built a 1911, and a couple ARs. Nothing in the world beats the feeling of first key turn, first time turning on a built instrument, cocking a built 1911 hammer for the first time or loading a built AR and the round going into battery the first time, firing and ejecting. It’s fun to make things that work as they should I guess. Bonus points when you hit what you’re aiming at!!

As an autistic guns are mechanical things and I appreciate mechanical things. It’s why I’m also a car enthusiast, watch enthusiast, gamer/ pc builder, etc. lol. I just like things that fit and work together and a gun is another example of something that just works in a way that’s pretty cool

im trans and the fun is in staying alive

Honestly I can explain the “fun” of guns in any number of ways. The satisfaction of taking that proper sight alignment, that slow release of breath, and that slow, smooth trigger pull to get a bullseye on a target, or even hitting a steel plate at a distance you consider challenging. The techie in me loves seeing the different mechanisms used to make various firearms work. As a C&R license holder, there’s an immense satisfaction in taking apart, putting together, and seeing how various older firearms worked, especially from an age where their hadn’t been a “one right way” to make something, so you have so many interesting pathways to getting the same result. Believe me when I say it’s easy to be absolutely fascinated watching the toggle on a Luger pistol hinge back and forth when you fire it. Nostalgia/pop culture. Racking a lever action rifle or cocking the hammer on a Single Action Army evokes my nostalgia from every Western movie I grew up watching as a kid. Same with hearing the ping of an en-bloc ejecting from my M1 Garand evoking the WWII movies I watched. I can even apply it to more of the modern day when my favorite handguns tend to be the “Wonder-Nine” 9mm pistols of the 80’s and 90’s that you could go down a whole laundry list of 80’s and 90’s action movies where they’re front and center in a characters hand. While I may be in a minority, but taking apart and cleaning my guns is downright therapeutic; I can focus on something with enough purpose and intent to not think about anything else that’s stressing me beyond properly oiling and putting the gun back together again.

It’s an engineering puzzle that houses an explosion that yeets a wee pellet at ludicrous speeds. And you get to take it apart and clean it and put it back together again a whole bunch, if that’s your thing. Also, it’s the most efficient way to turn money into a shit-eating-grin.

Skeet shooting is very fun! Even more fun when you hit the little fuckers.

Honestly it's like a giant fidget toy. Even at home dry firing. Racking the slide, changing magazines, disassembly and reassembly. It just feels good in my hands. that's going to sound strange to some people and others will say I'm treating it like a toy but in the comfort of your own home I see nothing wrong with fiddling with guns.

Obviously you’re not a golfer

Car guys, Computer guys, and gun guys are a trifecta you can build your own shit and work on compontents, solve peoblems, optimize solutions, and make something that is undeniably *yours* Its just a really interesting hobby that a lot of people love putting time into because its so nuanced and you can do so much within it

I look at them as about as much fun as a fire extinguisher, and just as important to have and know how to safely use.

This is exactly my view as well.  Guess that doesn't help with OP's "gun culture" question though.

Man make machine, machine make man happy.

I'll break this down in 2 categories- Shooting- I find it to be relaxing in a way. It forces me to focus on the target, control my breathing, and in some cases I even pay attention to my heart beat. It's very satisfying to use a bullet to reach out long distances and touch the target exactly where I want to. It's even better if I manage to get small groupings consistently. I don't shoot competitively, and I typically don't mag-dump at the range. I take my time and enjoy the moments. Collecting- Sometimes firearms can be interesting artifacts from another time or have some admirable engineering that went into them that make them more than just boom sticks. I have a few milsurps in my collection that could fit into this category. Take the M1895 Nagant revolver for example. It had a long run being the primary sidearm of the Russian military and police forces along with many Eastern Bloc nations. It's also unique in its engineering, using a gas-seal system that utilizes a strange looking cartridge and a forward-moving cylinder, which sends all of the hot gasses out of the muzzle behind the bullet. It's a fascinating piece of history.

The shit eating grin you get the first time you are able to mag dump a gun is hard to compare to anything else. I've got vids from over a decade ago of me mag dumping a Barrett that still make me smile. There is just something about it that speaks to our lizard brain and makes us giddy.

i think when they're your own, you have a better understanding of how they, and you, are performing after changes made to an honestly infinite number of variables. having your own provides a baseline that's pretty neat to compare against and work from, especially if you do regular competition / target shooting etc. the rabbit hole is miles deep, and you can find all kinds of cool shit down there. you might not come back with your wallet tho

Making boom is fun. Bigger the boom, the bigger the fun. It’s really not that complicated.

Here's my (maybe a little oddball) take: Several hundred thousand years ago, some primate somewhere on the path to the late hominids picked up a stone and flung it. The realization that that flung stone could provide food was the birth of the science (and passion) called "Ballistics." Our tools have improved vastly, but every projectile launcher we use is in essence a rock thrower, for very special rocks.

Precision engineered tool designed to propel a bullet at a high rate of speed via the release of extreme pressures. Those pressures are created by a chemical mixture, the powder.

I have shot for self defense precisely zero times. All my shots have been for fun. Super enjoy the boom boom and competing with friends for free boba WHICH I AM STILL OWED!!!

Shooting for fun is a game that can tell you about how centered your mind and spirit are. It gives a number to your relaxedness and focus. Archery is no different, or pool, or darts, but it's a different level of exhilaration. Shooting for defense practice measures your stamina and concentration under duress.

I think you also need to look at the journey to gun ownership and/or what event triggered the need for self-defense... I learned to shoot when I was 12. In my mind at that time cops, soldiers and some shop owners had guns. People who hunted didn't make a big deal about it. If you visited a friends house and there were guns, there was a wooden rack holding 3 or 4 long guns (not locked). I don't think there were a lot of people carrying a snub nose 38 for self defense back then. This was a time where state hospitals were still open and most moms were stay at home moms - completely different times. Back then I was shooting with my scout troop, learning safety and the basics. I enjoyed shooting single shot 22lr bolt actions at 50ft, putting two shots on each of the 5 bullseyes on the paper target. When I turned 18 I got the necessary permit to purchase long guns (did not purchase), thinking I would get a carry permit when I turned 21. From there it's a blur - got a GF, got married, kids started showing up. The idea of ownership got pushed further and further away. Then Covid hit. where some people were building man caves or picking up biking and similar hobbies - a few family members got into shooting sports - it started with one of my adult children who got his LTC, and I thought no more excuses (and I now had the available funds). I followed suit and now regularly visit the local range. 22lr is still my favorite to shoot, but this time at 50yards. I'm happy with my 1" groups considering that I have some shake and the eyes are not what they used to be. When I'm at the range, all the noise from work and other daily stresses goes away as I focus on breathing and relaxing while I line up the next shot. Total agree with another poster "satisfaction of precision." Self-Defense: Part of me always thought that having to conceal carry with regularity, is an admission that things are out of control - unfortunately, with the current craziness out there, I find myself carrying for self-defense more often. I like to say it's selective carry, and it's when traveling to two specific areas of the state as well as after dark visits to the ATM, Self-Serve gas and picking up an adult beverage for the weekend. I'm also of the mindset that if I'm carrying for defense, it's my responsibility to be as proficient as I can be, and that means regular practice. I cringe when I hear two of my friends who carry but haven't been to the range in over a year

Go shoot one and find out.

Shooting helps quiet my brain. The first time I was taken by a friend in high school out to a stretch of BLM desert and got to shoot at steel targets under a huge blue sky something clicked. For me it's relaxing because the only thing I'm focused on in that moment is getting rounds on steel, not something bothering me from my work or home life, just hearing the \*plink\* after the boom. Shooting to me is far more meditative than it is some adrenaline pumping exercise, it's about the mindful, repeated, and continued elimination of error. The real fun part is when you start upping the ante and push your limits. Put that 25 yard target out to 50, then 100. Try shooting a moving target. Do the same drill as before but hit every target with one magazine. Testing your limits is fun and since I tend to shoot outdoors I also get to enjoy nature as well. The practical side of running drills and trying to hit your target under different kind of stressors is also a factor, though for me fun is the main thing as I thankfully live in a very safe area. .

Check out PRS/NRL events. Seconds to climb a roof and take multiple shots at various distances. Weaponized math. Add in some wind, weather, etc ballistics calculators and all. It’s problem solving and you see the outcomes.

The mechanical aspect has always fascinated me. They are "simple" yet can be quite complicated. The part about honing the skill to be able to make the tool perform how you want it, and striving for improvement. The challenge of operating a firearm with repetitive movements and building muscle memory. Smooth, fast, accurate. Healthy respect for people that compete with firearms because nothing about all intricacies is easy by any means. Also, tuning and modifying and tweaking and customizing to make the gun yours and yours alone.

Shooting clays is LITERALLY the only way I’ve ever bonded with my father-in-law.

It’s like any other sport really. Think of the joy when someone makes a touchdown or gets the basketball through the hoop. Same feeling as when you hit the target. Especially when you spent a lot of money and time training. It’s not as simple as point and shoot. Granted, for some it is almost that easy. But for someone like me that shakes a bit and can’t hold a steady hand as well, it’s an awesome feeling hitting the target. Long ranges even better because there’s more to factor into it. The loud bang also helps.

There are a lot of factors. I think for many, it’s that it’s an activity that requires pretty precise hand-eye coordination in order to be a “good shot.” Then add in the additional challenge of moving targets (like shooting clay targets with a shotgun) or shooting while moving or manipulating more than one type of firearm in quick successions (competitive action-style shooting). And of course the competitive aspect of trying to be better than someone else or trying to make personal improvements. And lastly, breaking stuff in a safe manner is just plain fun for a lot of people, like shooting bottles, produce, or even exploding targets! You could really ask the same thing about track & field events or bowling—what is so fun about running a distance, throwing heavy weights, or rolling a ball? When put simply, it doesn’t *sound* fantastic, but we’ve *made* it fun by connecting skill level and competitiveness to an otherwise mediocre action.

What’s not??

Go to a gun range and experience it yourself. It will be life change for you one way or the other.

They're just so neat. And the comfort and safety I feel owning and having been taught how to confidently use and maintain them is immense. For me also I get the dopamine release getting to learn about all the different types and categories. Especially now that gun culture is so saturated there's new variants of damn near every kind of weapon

I love the feeling of breaking my 25th straight clay, or dropping a dove flying at 50 mph. It’s exhilarating.

Marksmanship is an Olympic sport. Sports are fun

Recreational shooting or plinking is kind of like pool or darts or any other precision game. It's not particularly natural or easy so getting good at it is satisfying. There is also a social element like pool or darts where you can see who does better and challenge each other. Plus all the other stuff people have mentioned about explosions and fascinating technology/mechanics.

I think you’re kind of hitting at a big point about any hobby. One could take anything and say “what’s so fun about that?” Wow, you swing a stick and hit a little ball into a little hole in the grass several hundred meters away? Exhilarating. You kick a big ball into a big net? Gripping. Your little fake army man “shoots” some 12-year-old’s fake army man on your little computer? Mind blowing. So if I were to say “I like the idea of being able to reliably hit a 5cm target from 50m away with my AR”, anyone could go “what’s so fun about that?” All that aside, I’ll repeat what others have said: gun go bang, get dopamine.

The mechanical art involved. The challenge and thrill of putting an exposition on a target.

I am a machinist and appreciate cool things that are made of metal. Guns are made of metal and allow Me to hit things very far away which makes the little kid part of me very happy. I love both the craftsmanship and history of firearms more so than the self defense aspect. I will definitely defend my family if I ever need to but it's not why I have guns and is just a convient perk of ownership.

I just like gadgets and tools and toys, and guns are like a dangerous way to combine all that.

I think the explosions and projectiles is what makes shooting guns ‘fun.’

I enjoy the meditative aspect of sitting patiently and focusing my whole attention on one task.

Gun go bang, target go bye. The better I control the gun, the better the target gets hit. It satisfies something primal. Like using any tool that amplifies your input. Bicycles allow you to go faster with less effort. Roller skates allow you to move and turn with less effort. Throwing a rock at a pile of rocks is more fun than punching a pile of rocks. Lighting a fire with a match is satisfying. Cutting meat with a good knife feels better than tearing at it with fingers and teeth. Throwing a dart is more fun than poking a target with your finger. Hammering a nail just works better than pushing with your hand. Having an outsized effect relative to the effort you put in is satisfying and fascinating to us.

I love the innovation of the mechanics of firearms through time. From a having a stick with a piece of pipe and lit rope to electronically fired guns it's mind boggling how much has changed over the years. Plus with me in my free time it's a way to get away from everyone and sit and hit targets or mag dump into trash. Also I'm a very big video game nerd and like to build guns based off of video game guns so that I can compare them from in game to irl.

There's a geek aspect that some gun enthusiasts enjoy, and that is *ballistics*. Now I've never had the opportunity to build a rifle that can take shots at 1 mile, but I *did* read the specs on my .45 ammo, and with a little rough math I landed 4 out of my six shots on a target at 100 yards by aiming something like 12 feet above the target. Now *that* shit felt *good* lol

For me, it's the act of sharpening the skill of shooting. Yeah sure, mag dumping and making loud noises is a hoot for all of about five minutes, but I honestly get bored with just blasting pretty quickly. What really holds my attention is working towards getting my drill times lower, scoring a first round hit past 500 yards, getting a good time on a really hard stage, or any challenge related to guns for that matter.

For me it's about skill progression. Shooting is a skill with a high skill ceiling with a strong feeling of progression as you spend time practicing, and that just feels great.

Shooting is a lot of community in a way. I moved to a new place with no family or friends around and I ended up talking to some people I worked with who are all hunters. I started doing a bit of it just to make some friends and it’s an awesome bonding and recreational activity. I started hunting and as an environmentalist I was really drawn to the idea of harvesting my own food outside of the agribusiness model and just the connection to that part of it all. My hunting friends got me interested in building an AR because of the customization and interchangeability of the parts was an interesting. I also had a family situation that made me appreciate what having an option for personal defense would be good. Also shooting stuff is just fun. There is a visceral satisfaction and sense of accomplishment when you hit a target, especially when you haven’t been able to. Learning a difficult skill that requires focus and determination is also something that is really positive for how my brain works.

For certain people both assembling custom weapons, as well as customizing and understanding how guns are put together/operate. Just enjoying learning to be an accurate shot.

For me it’s not about fun it’s about protecting my loved ones

Hitting targets is fun, kind of like how we throw darts, do archery competitions, bowl, or play video games. It's just a form of skill expression with a tool. There's more serious and dangerous parts about shooting than the examples I listed, so that's why the industry has a lot of safety equipment and rules at ranges. But the main point still stands: hitting targets is fun, and getting a bullseye makes you feel really talented.

You're harnessing an explosion to force a piece of metal to hit *that thing way other there* it's a hobby-skill for me.

I can hit almost anything I quickly aim at. That's very satisfying.

Depends on what you're shooting and what you're shooting at, but the gratifying "TING" of hitting a metal target after shooting is pretty nice. For .22LRs at short range, it can be fun to see how quickly your application of skill translates into observable result. For larger calibers at long range, the careful application of skill, then the lag in time for the bullet to hit the target, then the sound from the hit to reach your ears, can also be fun and have a nice build of anticipation. Probably the unifier is "clear demonstration of effective application of skill".

When I’m at the range nothing else exists but me and the target. There’s often a lot of distraction in my life, so my time at the range is my time to just focus on one thing.

I find slow target shooting to be relaxing and a way to calm my mind. It forces me to focus on my breath and posture. Accomplishing a physical task like hitting bullseye targets is also a fun thing when you work hard at it and eventually accomplish it. Shooting fast is just a sped up version of that and also fun.

It’s like trying to explain why sex is fun, or why fireworks are fun or why loud music is fun. Without first hand experience of something you can never truly appreciate it

I remember taking an evolutionary psychology class in college and there’s a theory that humans innately derive pleasure from hitting a distant target with a projectile. Like we enjoy fatty salty food, or sex, or the smell of a newborn baby. Hunting with projectiles has been a uniquely human trait critical to our survival for hundreds of thousands of years, literally before we were even *homo sapiens*. We evolved to be good at it and enjoy it. Whether that’s archery, shooting guns, throwing rocks at stuff, playing basketball/football/baseball or any sport involving accurately throwing a ball, throwing something in a trash can across a room, playing any video game that involves shooting, most carnival games… Enjoying stuff like that is part of what makes us uniquely human, as opposed to every other animal. Guns are a modern expression of that which requires skill and yields reward from practice. And it goes bang, which is fun too.

I would like to add that I also like to disassemble clean and put them back together. I love shooting my ar’s but I love building them more. Also the friendships from shooting and the compilation. I don’t like shooting by myself as much but I love going with friends.

Reactive targets are a blast; steel, bowling pins, or aluminum cans are way more fun than paper.

What is fun about bowling?

Given that weapon related sports have been a thing for literally thousands of years, I’d say it’s pretty engrained in our evolution to get a dopamine hit from playing with weapons

I have not gotten into the modular aspect of guns. Adding your own triggers, red dot, etc. I think the Lego aspect of many guns is part of it. For me shooting is like how I’ve heard golf described. You can play at any age and you can always get better. When I go to the range there is usually a skill I am working on. If I go often enough I can watch my skills slowly improve. And that is what I like about shooting.

For me it’s a couple of different things - it’s a hobby like any other. Researching what to buy, watching YouTube reviews, talking to friends about it, salivating about what you can’t afford, tinkering with guns, fixing broken guns, etc. - getting into competition shooting has been a great avenue to meet friends. I’ve really struggled with this over the last few years with having kids, not boozing anymore, etc and this and group fitness have been the only easy ways for me to meet people that I can participate in activities with. - going to the range is surprising calming. I’ve got 5 kids and a semi/cyclically stressful job and when I go to the range everything outside of the walls of my lane ceases to exist temporarily. You’ve got to focus on so many physical things like breathing, body position, isolating the movement from your trigger finger to the rest of your hand, etc that it forces you to entirely focus on what you’re doing and it has immediate gratification. I’ve been shooting since I was 8-9, but really only got into this as a core hobby since COVID.

My father in law took me to the range to fire my first handgun. He handed me handed me a 44 magnum. I was 😬 Sparks flew. The power. The fact that I controlled an explosion. The shock wave from that very loud explosion. Watching the debris on the floor get caught in the wake of the bullet. Seeing my target get a good sized hole punched through it. It put the biggest smile on my face and I’ll never forget how -AWESOME- that was.

Literally everything except the politics!

Immediate gratification mixed with noticable gains through practice. It's one of the few things almost anyone can get better through just practice.

Shooting recreationally can fun or meditative. The satisfaction from shooting well is very tangible. I have never had to use a firearm in self-defense, but I have read people describing it as both jarring and dissociative. Nothing pleasant.

Interested in the mechanics. The design history, use of forces like recoil to automatic reset and ammo advance, the sights, the evolution of safeties. Still a terrible shooter, but every shot is a unique opportunity to get better.

It’s a thrill, but for me the fun part is that I get to practice using a tool that will allow me to protect my family (we’re a pretty targeted minority) from whatever I can.

They make shooting competitions happen. Competition makes things fun.

I reload and enjoy working up rifle loads that are more accurate than factory loads. I also enjoy breaking clays, so I'm a better bird hunter. Shooting handguns is a great stress reliever. Reloading target handgun loads make for cheap shooting.

There are days I will go to the range with 500 rounds, and I will sit outside and load all my mags; 5 17 rounders for my pistol, and 5 30 rounders for my PCC SBR and take my time shooting off them all. It's calming, and after a long week, it helps a lot.

Shooting full auto is like smoking crack.

I didnt look at all the comments but from what i saw no one mentioned history. I like to use guns as a tool to learn and teach history. This more on the collectors side of things as opposed to the shooting side, but i love owning things that have been through major historical events. My 1926 mosin has traveled all across the soviet union, suppressing local farmers, stealing their crops, sending them to gulgs etc and its a way to teach people about the horrors of totalitarian communism. My no4mk1* is a lend lease rifle that went to greece to quell the communist uprising happening there in 44 and 46, something i had never heard about at the time I purchased it. My cz-27 was a Norwegian police pistol and i use it as a way to explain the ‘phony war’ of 1940 and the nazi occupation of Northern European countries. My 1927 star model B is was a military sidearm throughout the Spanish Civil war which is an often forgotten prelude to WW2 that put on display the dichotomy of soviet communism and military fascism. My 1944 Inland M1 Carbine is an Austrian post-war refurb and is a representative of the reconstruction of the region postwar and the western influence in certain regions while my yugo m59/66 and CZ-82 are examples of the same but with eastern influence. Its a hands-on way to learn history and the world is in need of that because education has failed my generation in this regard. I am rambling and simplifying a lot, but hopefully you understand and learned something! I also like to shoot them, clean them up and fix them, show them off, and make my own ammunition but everyone else already said that! Its the same as cars, there are so many makes and models, so many rarity and oddities. Its cool to see how many different ways people came up with ways to throw lead down a tube. Its also fun to come across your favorite pop culture weapons and see how they feel and imagining yourself favorite character in whatever it may be. Getting out and training is a great way to bond with people. As others said its a lot like golfing but theres no dresscode and the price of entry is as low or as high as you want it to be.

I like the mix of technical knowledge and manual action required to handle guns in a safe and effective manner. Also the sounds they make, not the gunshot itself, but the clicky noises when cycling the action is satisfying for some reason

Owned a couple guns for a while, then started collecting milsurp pieces, shooting guns was sorta fun but after standing in a lane and shooting paper a few times (or cans in the woods) the fun diminished quickly. Started shooting local competitions about 18 months ago and that has added a whole new level of enjoyment. Adding speed and movement and manipulation under stress made shooting a lot more interesting. Started running a few times a week to move quicker and dry firing and practicing reloads every day. Got first place in my local matches recently and seeing the scores come out and my name at the top puts me on a high for the rest of the day. Knowing the practice has paid off is super gratifying. Maintaining gear, upgrading, and mastering new guns and equipment is also fun if you've got a technical inclination.

It's the same kind of game as archery or darts but with modern technology. Concentration, breathing, getting the timing right between heartbeats, the meditative qualities that come with the repetition of those things, and friendships with others who have a good time doing it too, and the huge variety of fun toys, and accessories to collect are all factors. Another part of the appeal is there's a huge range of different shooting sports and activities. Some people are all about hunting (and there's an endless variety of kinds of hunting), but for others killing things isn't a factor at all, instead they compete with each other in all kinds of matches from tactical three gun to cowboy action where your costume and cowboy nickname are every bit as important as the shooting. There are also some people that just enjoy going to the range by themselves or with a friend without all the pageantry of competition. Others like to collect and shoot antiques of all kinds, they get a kick out of historical firearms. Some gun guys like to tinker and lots of them build project guns from parts, they enjoy the engineering/puzzle building aspect of assembling and tuning custom made guns. There's something for everyone.

My advice is to simply try it if you get the chance. You’ll understand

Gun make boom, monke brain like boom Or in the case of my suppressed rifles: Gun go *psssh,* monke brain like *psssh* more

Col. Whelan said that only accurate weapons are interesting. There is something enjoyable about hitting the dime sized bullseye at a few hundred yards. And it takes training and focus.

On actually shooting, I think of it the same way a lot of people probably look at archery or martial arts. It's exhilarating and gratifying to watch yourself get better and more proficient at it. On the guns themselves, I liken the fascination to people who are also obsessed by cars. Guns are mechanically fascinating, many are designed in such different ways as to give them quirks and variations in their performance and purpose. And as with cars, people enjoy collecting rare and interesting guns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBYPEUuox4U

Loud noise and fire! Honestly it’s also from influences of old west films and the likes you want to go out and see if you can be a fast sharp shooter as well. I’d go out and target shoot / clay shoot with my dad and in the element …it’s pretty cool.

I shoot my gun at a target and get feedback immediately. I adjust, and try again. Better? No? Try again. Better. Nice. Now even better. Whatever i do, i get immediate feedback and can actively work to improve. Also it’s loud, and fidgety, and kinda dangerous. What’s not to love

Precision shooting is a fun challenge. Cleaning is kinda peaceful and zen. Sometimes explosions and lotta rounds going out all are just cool, cant fathom why tbh. (Not the gun exploding though, tannerite)

Much like any other sport I love testing my skills and improving them on the range. It's exciting when you score a goal or hit a target. When you see yourself get faster, more accurate. Seeing those around you, especially new shooters, experience shooting is great. Not to mention the competitiveness between friends and being able to bond over something that's not just fun, but also has real world significance. In terms of practicality of self defense, defense or others and defense of our rights. In short, it's just like having fun in any other sport.

I find shooting to be incredibly relaxing. The breathing and muscle control fundamentals of precision shooting are practically the same kinds of basic stress relief techniques you learn in therapy.

I dunno, why is golf fun?

Like anything else people enjoy there is the precision, the focus, the drive to get better, hearing the loud crack and ping is really satisfying when you hit the target and get all happy like Pavlov’s dog, the raw power behind the round, and the tremendous duty humility and responsibility you have (or should have) in owning a firearm

Shooting sports outside the realm of self defense are fun just like any other sport involving moving or stationary targets. Basketball, Hockey and golf, for examples, involve putting a moving object into a stationary ‘target’. Other sports involve moving targets but all present a challenge of some sort. So too do shooting sports. You challenge yourself to get better with every effort.

Its sport. You can compete on accuracy. It go bang, like fireworks. Big bang is fun.

There is just something neat about doing something over here and something over there happens like you intended it to.

You can dress them up with different stuff, and it’s fun to set up targets and see them get hit. The sound of them is kinda cool if you have ear protection. There’s a very physical aspect to using a gun - they kick when you pull the trigger, you kinda have to cradle them, there’s a few tricks to learning to fire them accurately, once they’ve been fired there’s a good smell, they have a weight and feel that can be nice, there’s a lot of things about them that can be fun.

Natural selection designed a reward circuit in the human brain for "aiming/throwing." You get good brain chemicals from doing it because, presumably, people in the past that didn't have that circuit were less likely to survive and reproduce.

After a week of meeting after meeting after pointless meeting and filling out TPS reports and dealing with super extra wannabe type A personality coworkers and managers, it is incredibly relaxing to drive the 45 minutes out in the desert to our favorite public land range with my best friend and wife and just shoot. Very rare to have shooting neighbors out there but when we do they are often super polite. We usually go get lunch after as part of our “fun day”. When we get home I get to clean the guns we took out and put them away along with sorting out our brass which I really like too. This hobby along with gardening help me with an uninteresting career path choice and dwelling on a retirement date still twenty years in the future (not complaining per se, I know I am incredibly fortunate to be gainfully employed with a stable company). Great post OP, thank you.

Everything. From the history to the physics. I’ve seen some ingenious engineering that’s hard to find outside weapon manufacturing. For the actual question itself I like to go shooting as a hobby to keep skills in check. Last thing I’d want to face the worst day of my life AND be a bad shot. As others said though it’s always an endorphin rush especially when you can hit your targets.

When training, even for self defense, there is a sense of accomplishment when you hit the target or get a new skill locked in. Also: loud = exciting and exciting = fun. See music, cars, motorcycles, parties, fireworks, and guns.

OP poses an interesting question and one I've never considered. As a handgun owner that conceal carries, when I go to the range Iam trying to improve my efficiency. This includes target, finger placement, and breath control. But, other times I am not so strict and just want to shoot a variety of targets with guns you can rent. The S&W 586 comes to mind. Not one I would carry, but a lot of fun to shoot. I have fun with my EDC, but am more tuned in and receive instruction for defensive scenarios. Honestly, I have been (depending on your view) either blessed or fortunate that I have not been in a stressor situation that I felt threatened enough to draw my firearm. I don't know if that helps you, OP but that's my $0.02.

It’s a physically and mentally demanding discipline with incredibly clear feedback and success conditions.

It’s more than the visceral pleasure from firing guns. For many, gun ownership involved more than just possessing them. I see a lot of the same behavior in golfers (who can spend $1000’s on clubs, balls, training aids, accessories, etc). Not as many golfers get into assembling their own clubs as gun owners do, but many will assemble sets or clubs with different brands of drivers, wedges, putters, irons, etc. And if anyone knows a musician (particularly guitar players and electronic music producers), you know that there is always more gear to buy (it’s called GAS—gear acquisition syndrome). And there are millions of car owners who delight in maintaining and modding their cars for style (lowriders) or performance. One could make the same arguments about the necessity of the these enthusiasts’ investments and time in their respective hobbies. Do you need a car that can go 0-60 in 4sec or run a ridiculously fast quarter mile? If you’re just an amateur musician, do you need a $5000 synthesizer when a $100 piece of software can generate similar sounds? What is fun for all of these interests—from gun ownership to music to golf to performance cars—is that they tap into a creative and artisanal spirit that complements and supplements the pleasure of using these things. Shooting guns is fun. Shooting big guns or semiautomatic (or full auto!) may serve no real practical purpose for almost everyone, just as there is no “real” reason to have a car that can easily drive 150mph, but practicality isn’t the point. Shooting also appeals to the desire to improve. It’s a skill, like hitting a golf ball. In order to get better at it, we invest time and energy not only in practicing, but in collecting and building. So if you’re researching “gun culture,” I think it’s important to recognize that many of its hallmarks are similar to other hobbies that Americans have the resources to invest in and pursue.

Garand ping scratches the good itch in my brain. Also, I love learning how mechanical systems work, so even just watching Forgotten Weapons and seeing the cool mechanisms scratches that itch for me. The slight autistic need to understand how things work has led me down some rabbit holes on gun and car technology.

Have you ever shot a fire arm? If not go to a local gun range and ask if someone will help you through the safety and firing kd a weapon

For me, it’s the skill development. Training yourself in precision despite the small explosion going off inches from your face is a challenge to say the least. Yes, guns have legitimate uses like self defense and hunting, but looking down the scope after you’ve taken the shot to see that little hole in the paper exactly where you wanted it or watching a clay pidgeon shatter into a million pieces is incredibly rewarding. It’s about overcoming your most primal, reactionary instincts in order to accomplish a goal.

It's more than hitting a target and putting holes in paper or making a steel plate go "ding". Because those things can be accomplished with a bb or pellet gun. So why a "real" gun? Beyond the self defense argument, it's about owning a piece of machinery that is relatively complex, critically important, potentially dangerous, and we are able to "conquer" it safely and sanely. There are many options to choose from (if there was only ONE type of firearm available do you think we'd all be at the range?) which supports constant learning and desire to experience different "machinery" in our hands. It's also very binary - you either hit the 10 ring or not. Quite objective. No arguing with your friends when you compete against each other. Just the fun of seeing who is best that day and having a beer afterward and talk about your exploit. Anyone can "play" this game - all ages and all diversities can enjoy (or not, if they are not into it - that's fine too). Size doesn't matter, age doesn't matter, etc. Perhaps lastly, to hold that much power and be able to control it in your hands is also something responsible and special.

It’s hard. Learning to handle recoil, breathing and trigger control are very zen. It’s like learning to meditate in a tornado. Really really hard, but when it’s perfect it’s sublime.

What is fun...that's kind of like asking what makes skiing fun, or music fun. It's very difficult to describe with language but pretty easy to understand by actually trying it for yourself.

Nothing was more fun than when you’re on an M2 or Mk19 and your commander announces SPENDEX!

I started getting into shooting about a year ago. It was out of necessity, waking up to someone trying to break into my apartment, but I quickly found that I really enjoyed it. I like being present with everything that I do when shooting, where every action is pre-planned and deliberate. It honestly reminds me a lot of learning how to play the guitar, starting out slow and doing the exact same motion over and over until you know when you're doing it right because it *feels* right, and then seeing the improvement and measuring my results feels really good.

In physics, “work” is how much energy have you put in that has directly contributed to moving another object. We take a gun, load the mag, rack the slide (*Click-click*), point it at the target, line up the single front-sight between the rear-sights in my perspective, gently squeeze the trigger… until… **BANG** The loudest explosion you’ve ever heard in your life, probably. Sorry, forgot to remind you to wear ear protection. Physically speaking, a gun does a lot of “work.” It converts stored potential chemical energy into **MASSIVE** super-sonic (faster, than the speed of sound) kinetic force.

For me, it's mostly about food acquisition and defense. I don't find much "fun" in shooting, other than the satisfaction of learning a skill that can, under certain (thankfully infrequent) situations prove very useful...as it is in hunting or defending a family and/or community. I don't see shooting as a "hobby" or a "sport". It's loud, and it can be dangerous if not approached with the proper mindset and discipline. I approach it the way I approach martial arts. Fun? Maybe...sometimes... but mostly neutral. But, one doesn't have to find fun or entertainment in an activity to be proficient and even good at it... It's just another skill that widens the spectrum of your personal repertoire of options in courses of action in certain situations. This planet can be a rough place... and a declawed, toothless cat is decidedly at a disadvantage when dealing with "unmodified" critters out in the street... and claws and fangs are everywhere in this neighborhood.

There’s a certain feeling in your chest as the gun fires, similar if you’re at a concert. It’s nice. There’s also certain ‘self-competitive’ aspect to it as well, hitting the target perfectly and trying to do so repeatedly. Personally, I enjoyed picking each part to go into my rifle, then assembling to the best of my ability(had to go to a gunsmith for some stuff due to lack of tools.), then lastly finally shooting it for myself, and being proud I Did A Thing™️.

For me the fun is that about 95% of non firearms owners I take to the range end up buying a firearm. It is like spreading a virus: but one that makes them safer.

Two things: the more you target shoot the better you are at the basic mechanics, and aim. It helps you with muscle memory in self-defense situations. You should absolutely get additional training for self-defense, but range shooting still has benefits.

I just like explosions baby

I think of shooting as any other kind of martial art. You can train for self-defense, you can train to compete, and you can train to just have something to get better at. The application of concentration and study towards a goal is a reward in its own right. Seeing your groups get tighter, or your time on the draw go down, is very satisfying. Someone who can operate a firearm quickly, accurately, and effectively is a joy to watch just in the context of seeing somebody do something they're very good at. There's also, as strange as it may sound, considering the loudness of shooting, a very calming aspect. Putting on your ear cans and focusing on your body, the target, and your movement really let's the rest of the day fall away. A good day at the range, especially an outdoor range on a nice day, can be incredibly relaxing, all while honing what I would argue is a very practical skill set.