Yeah I'd have to go with there are several classes of recreational gun enthusiasts, and this pertains to all firearms users. Note that when I write "user" I refer to people who actually fire their firearms, which excludes pure collectors who buy and place their guns upon the rack to admire. The groups are: a) gun owner b) plinkers c) marksmen d) harvesters e) hunters and f) woodsmen.
a) Gun owners..., own what is probably an operational firearm or two. They keep them on hand for defending the home or simply store then in the back corner of the closet where the firearms gather dust.
b) Plinkers like firearms, and like to hit targets in a casual manner. They don't worry too much about score, just enjoying the pastime. They don't care too much for taking game. Unfortunately yahoos who blaze away with auto-loading firearms at the local range fall into this category.
c) Marksmen (I apologize to the ladies for the male centric term) like precision shooting, and like to see how accurate they can shoot. Some compete at a match or more, and some compete with themselves. They are often simply target shooters, not ever wishing to venture into the woods to take game.
d) Harvesters seldom go into the woods, know a bare minimum about their game animal, and shoot once a year (if then) just before hunting season opens. They have no qualms about sitting on the back deck or in a hot tub and dropping an unsuspecting deer several hundred yards away. They do like to harvest meat, but alas are often drawn to gimics to increase their chances rather than working on their skills. They do fall into the ranks of "hunters", contributing to monies generated from ammo sales and license sales, and they DO harvest game. While they should be encouraged in a friendly manner to do more in the area of skills and woods lore, I don't think we should belittle them for not being what some of us envision when we use the terms, hunter or woodsman. They WILL vote with us to defend our mutual gun rights.
e) Hunters are into the challenge of the actual hunt. They study the game animal, they work on being excellent shots and know their limitations. Some Marksmen are also Hunters; some Hunters are also Marksmen. They have varying amounts of time and devotion, so they have varying degrees of skill, but they do harvest game on a regular basis and often in areas others think are "empty".
f) Woodsmen (again I apologize to the ladies for the male centric term) are those who are master hunters. They often choose a more difficult method of harvesting game, be it a traditional muzzleloader or a bow, or other means, though some are out there who have very good, modern firearms, and others who use a well used, worn, rifle or gun and compensate for the lesser accuracy of their firearm with the quality of their woods skills. Alas but not all of "us" who use the traditional firearms to harvest game are "woodsmen" though, many are, like me, always trying to get better at my outdoor skills, even though for me at least, economics prevents me from spending more time in the woods.
LD
Topic: Marksmanship! (Read 1565 times)