Reply #109: jeezus gawd

[iverglas]

Now if I answer that question, will you make up another one again?

Your question was:

I'll ask again, if target shooting doesn't prepare you to shoot someone who is about to harm you, then why do the police and the military practice shooting at targets?

I DID NOT SAY "target shooting doesn't prepare you to shoot someone who is about to harm you".

WHAT I SAID -- in response to a gratuitous reference to carrying a concealed firearm in a discussion about sports shooting -- WAS:

Practising that sport no more involves preparing to execute that evildoer waiting around the next corner than French cooking involves preparing to eviscerate said evildoer.

IF I TOOK UP TARGET SHOOTING, I WOULD NOT BE PREPARING TO SHOOT ***ANYONE***.

If I took up baton twirling, I would not be preparing to enter a beauty contest.

If I took up horseback riding, I would not be preparing to join the foxhunt.

If I took up writing science fiction, I would not be preparing to write I, Robot.

SOMEONE ELSE who took up any of those things might indeed be preparing to do one of those other things.

But a person TAKING UP A HOBBY that COULD PREPARE someone to do something else IS NOT EQUAL to the hobby preparing the person to do something that S/HE WILL NEVER DO.


If target shooting doesn't prepare the police officer or soldier to shoot someone who is about to harm them, then why do the police and the military practice target shooting?

I DID NOT SAY that target shooting doesn't prepare the police officer blah blah blah.

So where does this "if ... then ..." come from??

There's no "if" to be addressed to me, so there's no "then" for me to respond to.


I didn't say that was the only thing that target shooting prepared target shooters for, but to effectively and safely use a firearm for self defense or defense of others, target shooting is in fact the best way to learn how to load, aim, fire, reload, clear jams, etc.

I have no doubt it is.

And learning how to twirl a baton expertly may be the best way to get into a beauty contest.

But not everybody who takes up baton twirling is preparing to enter a beauty contest.

Got it?


A competent target shooter will stand a better chance of using a firearm effectively to defend their self, than will someone who has never handled a firearm.

And if the target shooter NEVER HAS A FIREARM OUTSIDE THE SHOOTING RANGE, and NEVER WISHES TO SHOOT A HUMAN BEING, s/he will be completely unprepared to shoot anyone, and will stand no chance of using a firearm in any way for anything ever. Except target shooting at a shooting range.


Not everybody who takes up baton twirling will be PREPARED to enter a beauty contest.

Just as not everybody who takes up target shooting will be PREPARED to shoot human beings.