Sport and Hobby Shooting
There is often a disconnect between gun folk and non gun folk when talking about aspects of firearms culture. Often, manufacturers will make what is advertised as a “sporting rifle” or a “competition gun” and non gun folk are confused about what these terms mean. After all, guns fundamentally are for killing, what’s so sporting about them?
Shooting sports are the type of shooting many people do without the intention of translating the skills to defensive shooting. Don’t get me wrong, the skills do translate, but recreational shooting is done for its own sake, and not through the lens of defensive training. These sports can range from shooting cans in the woods with .22s (gun folks call this plinking) to competitions between folks trying to shoot targets 1,000 yards away or more. These days most competition shooting is at close to mid range targets, and have target games. These games can involve knocking targets off stands or making your target spin in a particular way.
So what type of gun is best for sport shooting? Well, it depends on what you're up to. If your sport is skeet shooting you need a shotgun. If you want to shoot really far away you need a higher caliber rifle. If your sport is shooting guns you personally find interesting you need whatever gun it is that interests you. Often, people interested in recreational shooting get .22s. The ammo is cheap and the guns are easy to use.
So when people call AR-15s “sporting rifles” are they just lying? Well, no actually. The AR-15 was designed to be a military rifle, but American firearm and sport shooting tradition has influenced designers to make military rifles like target rifles. This basically means American military rifles for a long time have had really good iron sights. Peep hole sights (which are easier for eyes to use) with fine adjustable dials have been the American norm since the early 1940s, and civilians using military weapons for sport has also been a long tradition. The US military to this day sells surplus military firearms to civilians through the CMP. The fundamental difference between using an M1 Garand and an AR-15 is that your M1 may have actually been used in war, while your AR is not an actual military M16.
So, how do you get into sport shooting? The first thing you do is decide what kind of shooting you want to do. Not sure what you want to do or are new to shooting and want to learn the basics? Start out target shooting with a .22 caliber rifle. They’re easy to learn, not very expensive, and it is easy to find places to shoot them. As always, if you have any questions about obtaining a firearm, deciding which firearm is right for you, or learning how to use your firearm, drop us a line. SFT would be delighted to help!