Old Dog – New Tricks

Something you will hear from anyone that actually works in the firearms industry is this common lament:

“I got into the firearms industry so I could shoot more and cheaper!” – Every Firearms Company Owner Ever

I fell into this same trap some years ago. The irony we all feel is that the deeper into the firearms business you get, the LESS you shoot (discounts on ammo notwithstanding.)

While I hesitate to applaud a pandemic, as its hit everyone hard, it has done one very important thing for me. It’s cleared out a block of time. That is time that I am now using to shoot. I have finally got off my ass and got my G17 out of the safe, and into action. I made a pact that I would shoot every Monday and have been sticking to that for the past 5 months.

Now on to the meat of this article, and the ones to follow.

My first day back on the range, I BLEW. Like, really, seriously bad. My groups were all over the place. I couldn’t find the front site. Keep in mind I am the kind of guy that is in favour of defending myself with a firearm if the occasion (in all the perfect symmetry that encounter would have to be in to do so legally in Canada) ever arose. But with my performance on that first day, I was terrified to even contemplate anything other than grabbing a baseball bat.

So, this was going to be a challenge. And to be honest, I almost gave up and didn’t go the next two Mondays. TONS of excuses popped into my mind. Too cold, too hot, ammo is expensive….the list goes on. But I stuck it out. I honestly had to shoot a few times before I got the bug again. The issues I expected were just motor function based. But the bad eyesight (age) and now more abundant belly (age and laziness) were two I had not ever run into before.

So this blog series, is going to cover my “gunny recovery”. First you have to admit you have a problem, hence this first post. The rest are going to document my progress, what I am doing to make that progress and have this public display of my progress act asa motivator to stay on track.

Over this series you are going to see some assets from other people that I have collected over the years. Like the #coldstart target from #runenatiomnllc , Ian Strimbeck’s outfit based out of New Hampshire, or the X drills I lifted from Pat McNamara over at TMACS INC.  These guys are not only focussed on the shooting aspects of being a gunny, but cover the whole person as a warrior, advocating and offering instruction on physical and mental fitness in addition to firearms training.

They also have a genuine focus on old bastards like me.

So hang on. Not tightly, as this is NOT going to be some hi-speed low drag operation. I’ve given myself a year to un-fuck myself.

Next up, the #coldstart routine and my Monday morning drill toolbox.