Anyone lose interest in shooting after serving in the Military?

[General1776]

I used to love shooting guns as a kid and teenager with my dad. After my 4 years in the Corps and going to Afghanistan, I really lost interest in shooting. I only shoot now to sight guns in. It's fun but I never go shoot to shoot and I can shoot at my house, which many would consider paradise.






After serving in the military has anyone else lost interest in shooting?

 

[jmorris]

I know a lot of mechanics that have cars that need work and painters that have things in need of paint.

Turn a fun activity into a full time job and the fun gets worn off.

 

[Riomouse911]

My good friend’s Uncle Joe started serving in the Marine Corps in Vietnam at 19 years old. He had quite a negative reaction when we all were at my Buddy’s 60th, as I gave him a 300 rd box of 5.56. (He loves shooting his AR.)

I had no idea at the time Joe was a war vet, much less with painful memories of the time, or I would have given the ammo later.

Stay safe.

 

[Highland Lofts]

When i was in high school i use to help cut trees with an older friend.
When i got out of high school and gained some more tree cutting expierance i started side line tree removal and enjoyed it and liked the extra cash.
After a few decades of part time tree work i took on a job with a full time tree service for further tree expierance then went out full time ony own.
I really enjoyed doing tree removal.
After doing it for full time for a couple of years i could care less if i cut another tree.
The fun was gone.

 

[Bad Hombre]

I was in the military, in the Navy during Vietnam, but that didn't cause me to lose interest in shooting because they never let sailors touch guns much.

 

[doubleh]

My son is 'what is referred to as "80's army. Told me he looked through the Fulda Gap in Germany with binoculars at a Russian looking back at him with binoculars. After he had to give up making the Army a career because of injuries he had little interest in shooting. He said what is available to civilians is little fun compared to guns like the M-60 for example. He was in MI and most of what he did was highly classified so I know little of what he did. He has finally developed an interest in black powder guns but I think it's only because he is kind of a history nut.

I worked for quite a few years with WW II veterans. I was the kid among them. None had much of anything to say about their war experiences and only one of them was a deer hunter although several hunted quail. Not a one was a recreation shooter but hunting season only.

 

[ontarget]

I know several vets that never hunted again after Vietnam. Very deep scars that never healed. It pisses me off every time I hear a snowflake claim they have PTSD. They have no idea.
By the grace of God, I never saw combat during my enlistment in the Corps.
My experience actually reinforced my love for shooting. I was lucky enough to be on the camp rifle and pistol team. I learned a lot about shooting through competitions and had some very good mentors.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

One of the things I disliked about my Army service was-aside from my year 'over there"-was that marksmanship and range time were given short shrift and small arms were seen as a PITB. It seemed to me the firearms enthusiast, the crack shot was derided as a kook, an oddball. On thing I liked about the National Guard was the amount of shooting we did and enjoyed being a shooting coach and a range officer.
In his book Shooting J. Henry FitzGerald writes that he handled about 1200 firearms and it sort of palled on him.
Always a little skeptical about PTSD, when the stories of the "crazed Vietnam vet" came in the 70s it was found that so many were not combat veterans, hadn't even served there, received OTH discharges for drug use and other problems. At the same time we were denounced as "baby killers".
Never was a hunter. Well, I do hunt, if you know what I mean...

 

[shafter]

I've been fortunate to get paid to shoot alot ammo I didn't buy. It becomes work after awhile, especially when focusing on fundamentals and not doing cool drills. It's still enjoyable most of the time it's just different.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

One of the fun things about my National Guard/Reserve service was, in addition to the "free" ammo we were often told "Fire it up !"
Julian Hatcher wrote that due to the tremendous amount of surplus ammo left over from WWI he and his fellow competitors were not allowed to use the new and better ammo until 1936.

 

[12Bravo20]

My interest in shooting has not diminished one bit after serving in the military. I was a combat engineer for the first few years I was in and I have served in combat. Somethings do trigger my PTSD but shooting firearms is not one of them.

 

[mm93]

No, I never lost interest after being drafted in 1969 and returning home later. If anything my interest in guns, shooting, and almost anything firearms related got more intense. Especially my collecting and shooting of old guns! I'm going on 75 this year and still love everything about old guns and shooting.

 

[ontarget]

Always a little skeptical about PTSD, when the stories of the "crazed Vietnam vet" came in the 70s it was found that so many were not combat veterans, hadn't even served there, received OTH discahrage for drug use and other problems. At the same time we were denounced as "baby killers".

It is unfortunate that some make false claims of the scars of their service.
My very good friend served 2 tours in VN with 1st Air Cav (IIRC) helo crew. Door gunner.
I watched the man cry like a baby more times than I can count. I heard him beg for God's forgiveness each time too. And never once was it a product of drinking or drugs.

That's why I grit my teeth every time a civilian snowflake claims PTSD and needs a safe space.

God bless our wounded warriors.

 

[Soonerpesek]

That's why I grit my teeth every time a civilian snowflake claims PTSD and needs a safe space.

Bless the troops….and thankful for their service…

First Responders
Doctors
Nurses
Air traffic controllers
Train coordinators
Etc
Etc

All could be lay people/civilians that have/could have experienced PTSD…..

…..and not “snowflakes”…….

 

[.455_Hunter]

I never lost an interest in guns or shooting, but didn't step foot inside a "surplus" store for about 6 years after my ETS. Now I like the issue equipment again, focusing on the pre-GWOT era.

 

[ontarget]

Bless the troops….and thankful for their service…

First Responders
Doctors
Nurses
Air traffic controllers
Train coordinators
Etc
Etc

All could be lay people/civilians that have/could have experienced PTSD…..

…..and not “snowflakes”…….

I'm pretty sure we all know the type I was referring to.

 

[deadeye dick]

One lucky buckaroo here . Drafted at 23 yrs old 2 mo. shy of 24th b'day

in 1961. I always liked guns and hunted, but living in N.Y. was restricted . After basic was assigned to a Transportation outfit in N. O.L.A. Old Korean war stuff, M1, 30 cal. MG, 3.5 Rocket Launcher etc. Shooting was a novelty.
Nam wasn't a thought than N.O. was a hoot. Great respect for those who served In Country in the coming years. Even though i was considered a VN era vet i will NEVER claim that honor. Any combat vet has my respect and gratitude. God Bless You.

 

[bannockburn]

My Dad while going through the Depression had several booklets about .22 target shooting along with some descriptive pamphlets for Remington and Winchester rifles. I found them when we cleaned out his parent's house. There just wasn't enough money in the household budget to be able to afford a rifle.

While he was in the Army, during WW II (ETO) he shot expert with an M1 and cleared the jungle course with a borrowed M3 Grease Gun. He was wounded, taken prisoner, and spent the next four months in a German hospital.

After the war my Dad rarely spoke about what happened and had completely lost all interest in firearms.

 

[Hooda Thunkit]

I was issued an M16A1.

I don't own, and have no interest in owning an AR-style rifle. I may shoot a round or two from yours. Probably not, but maybe.

Other than that, I have not lost interest in shooting.

 

[Terry G]

Call it PTSD but the second gun I bought after coming home from Viet Nam was a Colt SP-1 AR-15. I still have it of course. The first gun was a Colt .45 Series 70. I still have that too.

 

[Turkeytider]

I used to love shooting guns as a kid and teenager with my dad. After my 4 years in the Corps and going to Afghanistan, I really lost interest in shooting. I only shoot now to sight guns in. It's fun but I never go shoot to shoot and I can shoot at my house, which many would consider paradise.




After serving in the military has anyone else lost interest in shooting?

shooting…no.

 

[zdc1775]

I can't say that I lost interest in shooting after my time in the service, but I certainly don't have the same level of excitement as I did before.

Things like just going out and plinking at random targets by myself, or even with friends, doesn't really bring me much enjoyment anymore so I have focused most of my shooting now on various types of precision or competitive shooting and on training others.

 

[21H40]

I don't like shooting with other people anymore - with a few exceptions - and if I had to go to a range, I probably wouldn't shoot at all. Some specifics have lost fun for me, like AR's and full-auto. I don't hate them, but they bring no joy.

I rebuilt an old Turkish '98 Mauser into a 45 ACP bolt action with a scout scope. Taking that rifle out for an hour and slowly shooting became therapeutic. My place has a line of oak trees to the west of my shooting lane, so I could enjoy a summer afternoon with just enough shade. I rediscovered that I really feel peaceful in a prone-unsupported position in grass, especially when I could shot on my schedule. No range officers or training officer's timeline to meet, just me, doing my own thing.

Now, I'm curious. You mention sighting in. Do you still hunt? Is it still fun?
I still laugh when I remember some of the bad guy getting taken out by the A-10s, Apaches, and F-18s. Since I've been home, I've had to shoot some animals that were endangering our "livestock" (several dozen chickens ), and I find that I get angry at the animal, as if it has put me into a position where I need to kill it. It has surprised me just how angry I feel. I haven't even considered going hunting again.

 

[marksman13]

Naw. I love shooting as much as I ever have. Never cared for camping before or since.

 

[The Night Rider]

First I want to make it clear that I have no combat deployments.

When I was in the Army I was artillery. Shooting an 8-in howitzer made shooting in M16 kind of anticlimactic.

I was even bored with automatic weapons by the end of the basic training.

I liked M203s and I liked 8-inch howitzers.

I think being a security guard and having to put up with the constant BS from clients and customers and crackheads is what took the enjoyment out of handguns for me.

I shoot for practice not for enjoyment.