Significant Changes in Perspective?

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Legionnaire

Legionnaire

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I've been into shooting for about 30 years. I didn't grow up with guns and really got started after I was married to the daughter of an outdoorsman who introduced me to hunting. Over the past 30 years I have had several significant changes in perspective. For example, I wasn't interested in reloading for a long time, but once I started shooting revolvers regularly, I wanted a less expensive way to feed my .357 and .44 magnums. Once started, though, I began hand loading for most of my center fire rifles, too. Becoming a hand loader was a significant change in perspective. It has become a hobby in its own right, and it certainly hasn't saved me money. :)

That change led to the second. Once I started studying rifle ballistics, I slowly gave up on .30 caliber cartridges. First to go was the .300 Win Mag, then my .30-06, and finally my .308s. I found that I could do everything I want "better" (in my opinion) with a 7mm. Now my favorites are 7mm-08 and .280 AI, with 7x57, 7mm SAUM, and 7mm Remington Magnum along for the ride. Giving up altogether on .30 cals was a significant change in my perspective. I started out in the "every collection has to include a .30-06" camp.

So what major inflection points have you traversed in your shooting history? Please don't let this turn into a battle of competing opinions--for example, someone here might have had the opposite of my conversion, electing to shoot .30s over 7mms. That's fine, personal choice. I'm just interested in hearing what you consider to be significant changes in your perspective over the course of your shooting career.
 
I have always primarily been a collector. Other aspects, such as shooting, dealing in guns, and historical reenacting, have been a means for furthering the collecting. The difference over the years has been in how much money I have been able to devote to this.
 
I suppose that my come-to-John-Browning moment was caused by my insecurities.

When your parents are a pair pf peripatetic trouble magnets and folk myths (Dad was a skinny Alabama former Marine with a BCD and a bad attitude who became known in Chicago clubs as the bouncer called Willy McCoy and Mother used be to one of the little dancers behind Shirley Temple and Billy Bojangles before she became a rather spectacular showgirl), security really isn't an option.

We wound up moving over fifty times for one reason or another.
I never knew if I'd wake up in a penthouse or a creek bank, a McMansion or a chicken house.
I got to watch the Watts Riots of '65 from the cheap seats - alone - at 8 years old after spending half a year in an old line shack in the Siskiyou Mountains, where most of my neighbors were black bears and black angus cattle.

Almost everything that I got came from scrounging and salvaging, including firearms.

Any time that I got a firearm of any sort, I had to keep it hidden. Dad couldn't own one and apparently felt that if he couldn't have one then neither should I. Any guns that he discovered got sold or traded away. This led to some rather awkward moments when the only way to get food was to hunt or when someone was kicking in the back door... .

Because of that, I have been a bit undiscriminating and secretive about my acquisitions.

So - I have not always sought out the most accurate, handsome or handy weapons, although I do value those that have an interesting history.

My main concern Is that I have a gun at all.
 
Everything in life is about perspective in my opinion, and people believe opinions are axioms. They are not. Perspective changes.

I once thought I needed to have an AR15 on hand. I don't really care much about them. So my perspective changed. I prefer lever actions in pistol calibers.
I used to think PCC were stupid because why not just get a rifle? Well if you don't hunt and don't really need rifle ballistics, sticking to pistol cartridges makes reloading a lot more simple.
"I'll never spend more than like $1,000 on a gun." Ummm, wrong.
"Rare means valuable." Not always.
"I want to keep my guns as nice as possible." Still true but I use my guns so good luck keeping them perfect.
 
I also didn't grow up with guns per se (quite the opposite), but from the time I was an adolescent I had a nascent interest in them. As early as I could, I began with a rifle and reloading. My thoughts and opinions have run the gammut of the various sub-genres of the gun culture since then, but most of the changes have been a gradual process of clearing ignorance and overcoming mystique that sometimes shrouds simple truth. I will admit that a good portion of that has happened by asking questions here or posting claims here and considering the intelligent responses. It's not that ego prevents me from admitting that I learned something, but that firm assertions on a point of ignorance can elicit stronger, better-reasoned arguments to the contrary. Another portion of that process has taken place in training classes for which mere discussion is no substitute. Classes, however, aren't the place for fierce dissent and the process of working out a position with argumentation. Prior to forums and classes, I had mostly the conjecture of gun-writers and my own reasoning based on little or no experience. As for major pivot points, I really have two that stand out. First, that being able to fight well with a gun is much more important than what the gun is theoretically capable of. The ability to fight well has mostly to do with factors other than the equipment, like skill acquired through training and practice, but I also experienced for myself that large, heavy handguns, are easier to fight well with -- and this is significant because hardly anybody is using large, heavy handguns these days. I'll reiterate that equipment isn't the key to the biggest improvement in performance, but there is a gain to be had there and most people forego it. As skill increases, the available gain from advantageous equipment diminishes, but not as many people negate the benefit through skill as those that think they do. The second pivot I've had was coming to terms with the reality that I have precious little use for long guns. I can shoot a few quail in the fall and maybe one deer if I win a tag. If I have one 20 ga and one intermediate cartridge rifle, that will do it all. I think black storm trooper rifles, big magnum sporters, folding-stock PDW's, cowboy levers, SMG's, precision sniper rifles, dangerous game doubles, 50 BMG's, are all just so cool. But I think I'll mostly admire them from a distance and let my neighbor enjoy them. Truth be told, I like rifles better than handguns. I just can't see how they're practical for me. So those are my two pivots: away from small, lightweight handguns toward larger, heavier ones, and away from long guns in general.
 
Thanks for the contributions.
460Shooter said:
I once thought I needed to have an AR15 on hand. I don't really care much about them.
Click to expand...
Roger that. I bought my first AR during the Clinton ban and have had at least one ever since. Doesn't get much use, but I haven't gotten to the place where I'm prepared to give it up yet. Interestingly, it has been a good tool for introducing others to the shooting sports. The collapsible stock makes it "fit" and the light recoil makes it easy to shoot.
labnoti said:
So those are my two pivots: away from small, lightweight handguns toward larger, heavier ones, and away from long guns in general.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I still waffle on the pistol question since there is such a trade-off between shootability and concealability. WRT long guns, I could certainly get rid of half of them and still have all the bases covered, but I'm not ready to go there yet. I anticipate a major downsizing as I near retirement will be one of my next inflection points.
 
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7mm/.284 is where it's at, it strikes the best balance of diameter to BC's in my opinion; you made a wise choice.

Grew up in a home of long guns, no pistols. That changed when I went away to college bought my first handgun and the rest is history. I enjoy target shooting, steel shooting, varminting, hunting, gunsmithing, and reloading. I have an interest in WWII firearms, that is where my collecting focus is.
 
So what major inflection points have you traversed in your shooting history? Please don't let this turn into a battle of competing opinions--for example, someone here might have had the opposite of my conversion, electing to shoot .30s over 7mms. That's fine, personal choice. I'm just interested in hearing what you consider to be significant changes in your perspective over the course of your shooting career.
Click to expand...

I’m not very picky, I guess. My goal is to have at least one of everything, so of course I have a number of 7mm rifles and pistols. The 7mm BR is one of my favorite rounds but there are 6mm, 6.5mm and even .30 caliber rounds that can do lots of the same tasks. I think I own more .308’s than any other centerfire rifle round but maybe .223, not sure but those are different types of firearms for different roles. Not sure if my 7-08’s really do anything I couldn’t do with the .308 but I do like them, nonetheless.
 
My watershed came when I woke up to the fact that 99.9% of my shooting was at targets, and that more modest power cartridges were fun to shoot.

These days, I like the 30-30 with cast bullets, 357 lever action with cowboy action loads, and 9mm handguns. Well, occasionally I break out the 41 Mag, but that's just on special days. Mild and accurate rules the day.
 
Well, age & health changed my perspective with firearms.

As a young guy I thought the .357 was a great end-all round, so acquired several Rugers of that caliber. Lots of fun shooting the double & single actions.

Then moving into middle age, the bores that started with a 4 began to catch my fancy. So did the 1911, which in my youth (being an Army brat) had seemed old hat. But being older & wiser {wink} I bought some Remingtons, a Springer, & a Colt.... plus a Ruger & a Kahr - all in .45acp. Then a SAA in .45 Colt, and even a couple of .44 magnums (S&W Model 29 and a Super Blackhawk). The big boomers were also a hoot to shoot.... for a while.

But as I passed into geezerhood (70+) half a decade ago, the considerable stress on my Increasingly arthritic shoulders & hands became a bit much. So change was inevitable and the once snubbed 9mm offerings began to look more attractive, especially with the improvement in their bullet technology.
My two sons & DIL were not disappointed, as they were the recipients of 2 or 3 big bore handguns each. As were a friend and a brother.

Nowadays I’m entertaining myself with a couple of Ruger SR9s, a Ruger PC Carbine, and.a Kahr CW9. Also am contemplating a Sig P365, a Kahr PM9 Covert, a CZ 75 Compact, and possibly a S&W M&P. Of course those will have to wait for the recent discombobulation to subside, as the scarcity & outrageous demand are somewhat discouraging.
 
We may have arrived at the same conclusions via very different routes. Back in the early 1970's I had saved up enough money to buy my 1st deer rifle instead of hunting with a shotgun or borrowed rifle. I was torn between several options and didn't have the internet for research. I drove to my scout masters home to seek advice. I knew he was an avid hunter.

He didn't say anything, just walked out to his garage and unlocked a military foot locker filled to the brim with military surplus 30-06 machine gun ammo still on belts. He pulled out about 10' of a belt and gave it to me with the advice, "when you shoot it all up come back for more". For a 16 year old having an almost unlimited supply of free 30-06 ammo made my choice easy. And at the time was absolutely the right choice.

I hunted almost exclusively with that same rifle until about 12 years ago when I decided to try 308. I had long ago figured out that comparable 7mm rifles had an edge, at least on paper. I had a short fling with 280 and liked it, tried 7mm Mag too But in reality the difference wasn't great enough to justify having both, and my 30 caliber rifles had too much history to let go. The 7mm's went down the road.

If my home were to burn and I had to start over with new everything anyway I'd probably go with a 280 AI and a 7-08 and call it good. Same advice I'd give a new hunter just starting out. But at this point in my life I'm going to finish my hunting career with what I have.
 
I had two major changes in perspective.

The first was taking up hunting and learning how to shoot in the field which is very different from shooting off a bench.

The second was to change my perspective on AR-15 reliability. Back in the 90's the AR was considered fragile and unreliable, at least among the people I encountered. There was no wide use of internet back then. Back then the AK was considered to be a more reliable and affordable, but generally inaccurate. Today, everything is the opposite, especially AR reliability.

I think it's healthy to live through changes like these to remind us to have an open mind and to always question.
 
Years ago I had a "doom gun", tricked out Beretta 1300. Grabbed it one night and realized I hadn't shot it in years. Life had turned and I wasn't able to go out the back door and shoot it like I used to and so was really out of practice with it. Sold it and now stick to things I have spent a LOT of time with (Beretta M9/92 and an AR), don't love those 2 but know how to run and care for them.

Aks and most other battle rifles have sort of cooled for me also.

BIG fan of revolvers as I reload so can feed, even the big ones cheap so shoot them more, and I don't have to pick up brass or lose it with a revolver. Also, they are just less picky when compared to feeding an auto. Also, big into the .32 fam of revolvers now. .327mag down as I just think they are neat and if reloading pretty cheap to feed.
 
I started out on 22LR and 6mm Rem, with 20 ga shotgun for birds. Played with 7mms, then went with 308 for big game, 12 ga for upland birds. Now I am back at 6mm Creedmoor and 20 ga for birds. Much more paper punching with centerfires, and the 20 is great to carry. Pistols came later in life but I enjoy single actions and semi autos.
 
Hi...
Maybe a slight change in perspective for me.
Forty years ago, I was caught up in competitive handgun shooting.
Nowadays, just going to the range and shooting groups or banging on steel plates with my son is really all I want to do shooting wise.
Thought about cowboy action shooting because I really like revolvers, lever action rifles, etc.,but I really don't want to get caught up in competing again.

Still do a lot of reloading and continue to add to my firearm collection but competition is pretty much off the table at my age.
 
Handguns aren't interesting because I can do everything better with a rifle (within my expected scope of use). That changed somewhat. once I started actually SHOOTING the few handguns I own. In truth a rifle is still better for me and the situations that will likely arrive, besides ease of storage and access, but hand guns are just plain FUN.

Everything needs a reasonable, reason.
Now I can FIND a reasonable reason like....I don't have that yet.

Spending any more than I need to get an accurate rifle is stupid... literally said "stupid" more than once.
Now I'll buy/keep a less accurate rifle because it feels better, or is simply interesting.

Actually, if anything my perspective has changed in that "hard" opinions arnt hard anymore.
 
I have morphed from just having one handgun for concealed carry and one bolt action rifle for hunting. I slowly started to think in my mind what was NEEDED for different purposes. I then started to acquire firearms for different uses.

Then I had kiddos. I grew up not around firearms at all. But once I had kiddos, I got them into shooting and hunting etc... I then went into the heirloom thinking mindset. I had all the needs covered. So I then started thinking what could be passed down to the kiddos. I became good friends with someone that enjoyed firearms just like me and he had a collection from his father and grandfather. I don't know why, but I thought this was a very cool thing to have. The guns had a story to go with them. They were not just a gun. They where the guns that shot squirrels on a Saturday morning and more. I wanted that for my kiddos and I've been working on that aspect the last few years. I love it when a gun has a story to go with it
 
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