shooting=therapy

This morning I was working my 10/22 at 100 and 200 yds. There was a 20 mph wind and I just couldn't tune in the 22 @ 200 yds but 100 was easy with lots of pings.
Later in the day I took my atv down to the 200 looking for impacts in the snow. Found them, Blissful day and so glad I can shoot at will.

mljdeckard said:

Did anyone else watch Modern Family tonight?

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Yes and I thought it was great. Very nice to see shooting portrayed in a positive light on national tv!

Actually doing what I'm doing right now is very stress-relieving. When I sit at the computer and take my BP, it is always normal. Shooting at the indoor range is not the same, especially when shooting EDCs. However, I do use shooting a bolt-action .22 outdoors at 100 yards as a great stress-reliever. Quite inexpensive, also.

shooting

I would have to say that after the morning i had, im pretty relaxed right now. I went through 300 40 S&W, 300 22lr and 200 9mm. 40 &9 was 25-50 yard target practice and the 22 was 100-260 yard practice. I really like shootin the 22 long distances and today was fun shooting shooting at a 5 gal propane tank. I like hearing the shot then waiting for the tink. Also a really cool guy i shared the table with let me try out his 50 cal.




latesvak

I feel I get a two-fer every time I go shooting. The first is when I put all other daily troubles aside and concentrate on reloading some ammo. The second is when I shoot the said ammo and hit what I was aiming for. I find paying hard earned cash for a hobby like reloading/shooting is waaaaay better than paying a therapist on many levels.

Theraputic? YES!!

Good idea to take your mind off a root canal? Not unless you enjoy the increased pain!

Shooting has been a big stress reliever for me in the last 5 years. Went through 3 miscarriages with the wife (one on Christmas day), employer closed and out of work for 6 months, mother in law died in a storm (tree fell on her), Dog died, and various life stuff.

My church, family, and range time have keep me sane. I am lucky enough to be able to do a lot of shooting on family land. Something about being alone (or with 14 year old son) and nothing but paper or cans to put all my focus on. Steady your hands, fix your eyes on the target, and block out the troubles of the world.

And while shooting can get expensive, I hear them head shrinkers charge a couple of hundred dollars an hour, and they're not much good to you if someone breaks into your home in the middle of the night.

It's great because it requires total concentration and attention - wields a lot of power too. Perfect thing to get your mind off of everything for the moment, and gives you the confidence to tackle the world right after.


Judge a man not by the answers he gives, but by the questions he asks. - Voltaire

Great post TennJed!

-Cheers

Shrinkage

And while shooting can get expensive, I hear them head shrinkers charge a couple of hundred dollars an hour, and they're not much good to you if someone breaks into your home in the middle of the night.

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Sanity depends on a healthy level of extroversion.

There is nothing at all in the question "how does that make you feel?" that will extrovert a person.

Extroversion is looking outward. The view over the sights of a rifle or pistol is definitely looking outward. Reaching out to a target at 50 or 100 yards is looking outward.

Sure, there's a bit of "inwardness" involved: you have to balance breathing, stance (or rest), and trigger pull.

But the magic? That's looking outward.

I must say that this very thread in and of itself is proving to be somewhat 'therapeutic' while simultaneously tempting me to go shooting (while riding out the rain delay @Daytona).

-Cheers

It's enjoyment vs pleasure. You get enjoyment from overcoming an obstacle or challenge. You get fulfillment from seeking enjoyment as well. Pleasure is just feel good. It's like sitting there watching an entertaining TV show. It stimulates pleasure receptors in the nucleus accumbens but doesn't bring fulfillment and lasting effects. With enjoyment you can look back and feel good remembering how you overcame while pleasure is fleeting.

Tight groups are a good achievement for many, just being able to hit the target is enough to cause an ecstatic reaction, especially in new shooters. Shooting is a good therapy for me when I have the blues myself.

When something in my life is bothering me, I find the best way to get through it is to go to the range with my Buckmark and a brick of .22lr. It takes my mind off my problems, and when I'm done I find I can think far more clearly about it. Been having to do that a lot recently for some reason.

I practice Target Therapy-I write the name of someone who has wronged on the back of
the target.

hirundo82 said:

...Been having to do that a lot recently for some reason...

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Perhaps it's the GAS Prices (the shooting is indeed therapeutic but if we hit $5 a gallon the shrink may be next).

-Cheers

I think shooting is a meditation.

• “Meditation is any form of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit.”

Focus thoughts, breathe, aim, steady, hold breath, slowly pull…

It's about the only thing I do that helps me to stop the constant barrage of thoughts and be in the moment.

Yea baby, going to the range today.

Relaxing Sport

Took a young visitor from Germany shooting for the first time a number of years ago. When we came back my wife asked how he felt. His reply to her amazement was "relaxed, very relaxed and calm".

This is how I felt after the competitive skills development match that I went to last weekend. While I was waiting for the tone, my mind was empty of everything but the immediate tasks. I didn't even have the extra brainpower to be nervous because I was so focused on maintaining the 180 and not dropping my gun When I left I was flying high because that pure concentration and adrenaline-sharpened focus is cathartic.

Combine shooting with a good physical workout and you have the ideal form of therapy and exercise. Contrary to the movie image, shooting firearms is meditative not a sexually charged rush. It focuses you on certain key points and postures, much like yoga. Once you find your ballistic chakra, you can nail bullseyes even if you can't clearly see the target way out there.

It seems to me the ultimate marksman, at the peak of his game, is the one who knows with such certainty at the moment prior to squeezing the trigger that he will make the shot, that he does not need to. He simply walks away.

But it's not an attainable level of perfection for any human, I think. There's always more you can do, and always a level of uncertainty. As a species we need to see where the bullet strikes.