Saturday, January 3, 2015

A Gunnie's New Year's Resolutions for 2015

Happy New Year, everyone!

The tradition of making personal resolutions at the start of a new year goes back to ancient times. According to the Wikipedia, the Babylonians and Romans made promises to their respective deities, and in medieval times knights would re-affirm their commitment to the code of chivalry every year after Christmas.

Good for them.

In keeping with this tradition, I'm putting up a few of mine, particularly the ones related — directly or tangentially — to promoting positive gun culture and/or improving my shooting:
  • I will shoot more often and structure my range time: You'd think this would be natural, but due to a variety of factors — limited time, limited funds, family commitments, etc. — I don't shoot anywhere near as much as I'd like or should. I also got into the trap of calling slow-fire "practice". It's not; it's just pulling the trigger, when I should be actively training. I aim to remedy both of those this year (pun intended).
  • I will take new shooters to the range with me: Part of being a good "gun culture ambassador" is introducing new people to shooting in a safe, fun environment. Thus, I'm pledging to invite new shooters — friends and family, mostly — to the range. I (regrettably) may have to ask that they chip in for range fees and/or ammo, but I'll bring the guns, eyes, and ears.
  • I will engage in pro-gun diplomacy, where and when appropriate: Another part of "gun culture ambassadorship", I will promote positive gun culture — and provide counter-points to anti-gun propaganda — any time and any place it's appropriate to do so. I will recognize when it's not appropriate (there are some times/places), and not make an ass out of myself (and by extension, all of you).
  • I will be more politically active, and encourage my representatives to vote pro-gun: This one is especially important, as it seems Oregon is the one state in the Union that came out of the mid-term elections bluer than it went in, and the Democrats, true to form, wasted no time promising to push for more "gun control". This is bad news, but I'll do my part to prevent bad gun laws (and per the last point, encourage others to get more active, too).
So that's my short list. There are others, which I might (read: probably will) get into in future posts.

What about you all? Any big resolutions?

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