Have you ever had a dream in which you can't shoot?

[jashobeam]

The other night I had a dream that the trigger on my gun was so heavy that I literally couldn't shoot to save my life! In my dream there were a couple of bad guys and, I think, a mountain lion or a big dog. I would take aim and squeeze the trigger. Nothing would happen. I had to pull on the trigger with so much effort that I couldn't keep the gun on target. Everything was close up, like maybe 10 feet away, and I'd still miss. Not only was the trigger heavy, but gritty. I remember taking aim at the chest of the cat (or dog) as it was about to spring or lunge at me. By the time I got the gun to fire, the animal had changed its position.

I have had several dreams over the years involving heavy triggers that seemed practically rusted. Very frustrating. You come across a gun in a dream and start feeling a glimmer of hope, only to have it contribute to the general feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.

In another dream, several BGs are shooting at me. I finally get to where my guns are kept and begin to return fire only to discover that my bullets must be Airsoft because I'm only effecting discomfort.

 

[AndyC]

No, guns work fine during my dreams - but my punches have no effect.

 

[GhostRider66]

I've had a bunch of very similar ones. Bullets bounce off the enemies, trigger is too hard to pull, weapon functions in some bizzare way, can't run or move, can only move in slow motion. I find avoiding the dreams is much easier. Drinking until you pass out is one solution. So far, much cheaper than therapy. (JUST KIDDING, GUYS!) Seems like standard dreams to me. Of course, I don't really go in for that Freud stuff.

 

[AJ Dual]

That's incredibly common.

It's either attributed to the basic psycological fears about adequacy and incompetence/impotence one might expect that could manifest in dreams, or it's just a physical symptom of the natural paralysis the human body experiances in REM sleep.

Dreams where the trigger won't move, the gun jams, the bullets dissapear in flight before hitting the attacker, or impact but have no effect, or bounce off are all very common dreams for police, military, and gun owners to have.

 

[Q-Lock]

AndyC -- "No, guns work fine during my dreams - but my punches have no effect."

It's funny you mention your punches having no affect...I have the same problem. I'll have dreams where I'm defending myself or fighting for some reason (can't ever seem to remember the reason) and my punches just won't...work, for the lack of a better word. It's like as my punches get closer to the "enemy" they lose their strength and have no affect whatsoever. I always wake up extremely frustrated....I hate those dreams.

I have no problems with any type of firearm in my dreams.

Regards,

 

[308win]

Can't pull trigger, pull trigger and nothing happens, can't cover target or can't keep on target, can't throw punch, can't run or can only run in slow motion, car won't move or boggs down, and my favorite of all - appear in public either naked or wearing only skivvies.

 

[Spiggy]

AndyC, Q-Lock: That's nuts! I get those sometimes too! but it so happens it's usually that I cant draw my arm forward enough to provide a good hard punch, then when I attempt to move, everything goes slow motion.

 

[V4Vendetta]

I haven't had a dream where I can't shoot, but I have had several dreams where I was being chased by a serial killer who turned out to be someone I know in real life .

 

[Chipperman]

I think everyone has had those dreams.

They seem to work the opposite way also. I've been shot in dreams, and realize after the initial fear and shock that it didn't really hurt that much. The bad guys then gets upset that I'm not dying and keep trying to shoot me.

 

[exar]

The 'no effect' punch thing is the same for me. Usually my shots penetrate the target many, many times but to no effect. There is one dream I still remember(and treasure), which is rare and only had it once. This guy I know that broke into my home and stole cash and guns (no physical proof, so cops don't care) was in my dreams once. I clearly remember him letting me into his trailer to *prove* he didn't take anything. I pull my Sig 228 out, put the laser on his head and double tap. The top part of his skull blows apart and brains and blood are everywhere. Sorry this post was graphic, but it's just a dream.

 

[Darth Ruger]

Wow, I thought I was the only one that had scary dreams. I have a recurring nightmare in which every time I open my mouth,
out comes a song by the Dixie Chicks!

 

[JAG2955]

As AJ said, part of it is the natural paralysis of your body during REM sleep. This is caused so you don't wind up running around the room, or beating your significant other in your sleep.

It's happened to me a bunch, usually with trying to punch something, but my arm moves in slow-motion. It has happened with guns before, too, but they usually work fine in my dreams, they're just slow to maneuver.

 

[akodo]

i have dreams where I botch the first 3-4 shots because I have the equivalent of 'buck fever' and totally ignore my sights. As my dreamgun is often my revolver, this leaves 2-3 shots where I really got to calm down and align the sights.

but in general, dreams where the gun does not function right, or you cannot function the gun right are the same as dreams everyone else has just gunspecific. Dreams where you cannot run away fast enough, cannot find car keys in an emergency, etc etc, all are relating to the same issue.

 

[Amish_Bill]

I've had a dream where my carry gun, when needed in a 7-11 type store surprise robbery, would consistantly shoot a foot or two low/left. They went away when I sold the carry gun that would consistantly shoot low/left when iI attempted to shoot in any kind of hurry.

 

[Sheldon J]

Lucid Dreamer

Which means I am aware that I am asleep and it is a dream. Which lets you controll your dreams, all you have to do is think of what what you want and it happens, ever been hunting for a Tyranosauris with a 50 bmg?

 

[shooting time]

I also have had those dreams where I am trying to shoot at something or somebody and the gun jams or will not fire.Very fustrating you are trying everything to get it to work and it will not.

 

[massad ayoob]

Wouldn't worry about it, bro. It's REMARKABLY common among those of us who carry guns. Just as there are "occupational hazards," there are "occupational nightmares." What driver hasn't had the nightmare in which the steering wheel or the brakes stop working?

I'll tell you a spooky one, though. Back in the Eighties, a detective in the midwest told me about the nightmare in which he needed to return fire with his department issue 2" Model 10, and trigger just shlubbed through its pull and nothing happened. He awoke in a cold sweat, and at work the next day, the vivid dream recurred to him so often that on a break, he drove by the department range to test-fire his .38, so he could put it out of his mind.

When he pulled the trigger, nothing happened. Turned out that the mainspring had somehow broken. An EXTREMELY rare thing with a K-frame S&W revolver. He had it fixed by the department armorer, put some ammo down range, and went back to work.

Had he subconsciously heard the spring break, and the subconscious warned him in dream-active sleep? We'll never know. That buried 90% or whatever of the iceberg that is the brain is still largely unexplored territory. Still, that one comes to mind whenever someone discusses that particular "occupational nightmare."

Just one more $0.02 thrown in the pot...

 

[mbs357]

I've had plenty of dreams with guns and gunplay in them...
Don't think I've had any with ME (My dreams are rarely about me) in a bad situation unable to shoot.

My dreams are usually a lot deeper than gunfights, though...almost like I'm looking into the lives of other people.
I swear if I took the time to write them down I could make millions. =)

 

[mr.trooper]

I have dreams like that sometime also. I had one just the other day. I was out and about the town when a group of punks started following us and harassing us. We ignored themf or a while, and finaly decided to go to a more public place in an effort to avoid confrontation. They followed us and started a confrontation anyway. They got violent and drew knives. I went for my gun and it WASN'T THERE. I drew my EDC and i woke up.

Im glad it was a dream, because I would have been screwed.

 

[Tomekeuro85]

ARgh I have that dream all the time. Someone is shooting at me or breaking into my house or something, but the trigger is too hard to pull and I can never shoot. Same thing works with fights in dreams. I try to hit someone who is trying to fight me, but my hits are like slight taps and they have no effect. I wake up so angry and distrought and crying. haha.

 

[hank327]

I have had dreams where I'm once again the TC of my M113 and firing my M2 machine gun at enemy infantry. I see the tracers impacting them, but with no results. It's very frustrating when that happens...

I was never a tanker, but I had one very vivid dream of being the TC of an M1A2 MBT and having the shock of seeing the main gun rounds have no effect at all when they impacted the targets! :banghead: I still wonder how I ended as a tanker in that dream...

 

[YK]

I've had such dreams even when I lived where gun ownership is so inconceivable it's not even subconscious.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

Gosh, I used to have that dream all the time. That was when I was a teenager, though, back in the 70s. I remember one very vividly. A huge grizzly bear was trying to break down the front door. I rushed for my guns, and though I had many guns, most of them were dismantled, or had something wrong with them. Finally, I find one that works, and now I can't find the right ammo for it. I fumble around looking through drawers, and finally find a couple of rounds for that gun, but they are old and dirty. Then the bear breaks down the door, and I fire, and (click ... click) nothing happens.

Had similar dreams when it was bad guys coming after me too and the same thing happened.

Been a long time since I had that kind of dream. Happily, if I have a dream where someone is coming after me now, I shoot him dead on the spot.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

No, guns work fine during my dreams - but my punches have no effect.

I've had that one too. Some kind of huge red devil was after me. My gun was ineffective. I ran around the corner and waited. The red devil turns his head around the corner, and I give him the best left hook I can must, and it's like punching a steel statue. He just grins at me, and the chase is on again.

 

[jerkyman45]

Yeah, but the gun probably would've shot had I found any ammo for it.

My worst nightmare is being out of ammo.