I am fascinated and quite confused by this article. It appeared in my substack feed and I gave it a read expecting it to be about some moral accountability. I have no interest whatsoever about guns and being from the UK, they hold far less weight in our culture. I really enjoyed the article though! Beautifully written and with a warmth towards the subject that I normally see reserved for topics like cooking or craftsmanship. I have a few questions. I'm not familiar with the author, so if they are in the military, or are a firearms instructor, please forgive my ignorance, but why is this skill talked about like it's an essential, like exercise or brushing ones teeth? Is this how many view their gun handling skills, or is their something I'm missing. My question comes from a place of innocence (I can guess, but don't really know what dry firing is) rather than trying to make a point. But I suppose I just didn't realise this was given so much respect or reverance.
This essay has provided me some unexpected insight. I find it fascinating that reading the title and subtitle then seeing an image of a pistol created an expectation that the topic would be "moral accountability".
We all associate particular tools, icons or images with certain ideas or sociopolitical or moral positions. I would call it a natural efficiency-seeking mechanism common to the species; batching and/or pattern recognition. The example of warm, beautiful writing being associated with cooking or craftsmanship is an example of this. And there is certainly plenty of writing on the subject of shooting or firearms that I would not describe with those terms. But the essay isn't necessarily about shooting or firearms, rather it is about friendship, teaching, learning, respect, motivation, aging, expertise, commitment, laziness, self-delusion and perpetuating it, and yes, accountability.
I do recognize that our cultures are vastly different on the topic of firearms. At the most basic level, familiarity with firearms is essential for any society where such tools are prevalent, i.e. there are over 400 million guns in civilian hands in the USA. If education starting at a young age was common then gun safety would be common as well.
I believe it essential (and responsible) for anyone who owns firearms to develop and maintain skill with them, and this is trebly important for those who carry them in public. My personal position on this is simple; the right to ownership should not be infringed, whosoever chooses to acquire and use firearms may do so at will, in accordance with existing law (not a felon, background check for transfer via FFL, etc.) just as is acceptable for, say, a motor vehicle. However, to carry in public competence must be demonstrated, continuing education and training should be mandatory, and a qualification test undertaken every two or five or ten years. And the qualification standards should be relatively high because the responsibility of carrying a firearm in public is enormous, and civilians do not have qualified immunity as an LEO would. I also believe that more (competent) people should do so because, according to statistics I reviewed for a major U.S. city about 25 years, there is basically one responding police unit for every 8000 citizens. And that was well before the whole defund the police movement was even imagined. Because I understand the responsibility, and the perishable nature of the skill, I practice, I compete, I attend courses.
This is not the view of "many" regarding gun handling skills, however it is the view of a small but important group of firearms owners and instructors, and people whose behavior can influence some of those many. And those in this group have great respect and reverence for the tools, the practice, the mindset but this is not a topic our media, or yours for that matter, will ever address in a neutral or inquisitive fashion.
Finally, when I wrote of accountability I did mention exercise and how, according to my position at one time, competition and scrutiny held me accountable. Often however, people will hire a trainer to teach and to hold them accountable for doing the exercise when they lack the self-discipline to do so themselves, same with diet. And the same goes for brushing our teeth if we can remember back that far when we first started doing that. I respect Kyle's experience, his expertise and wisdom, his skill, and my expression of that respect in this context is to do my best to fulfill my own potential with regards to the gift he offered me. That gift could have been anything — a set of ice tools, a motorcycle, a camera — and I would feel the same.
Badass
I am fascinated and quite confused by this article. It appeared in my substack feed and I gave it a read expecting it to be about some moral accountability. I have no interest whatsoever about guns and being from the UK, they hold far less weight in our culture. I really enjoyed the article though! Beautifully written and with a warmth towards the subject that I normally see reserved for topics like cooking or craftsmanship. I have a few questions. I'm not familiar with the author, so if they are in the military, or are a firearms instructor, please forgive my ignorance, but why is this skill talked about like it's an essential, like exercise or brushing ones teeth? Is this how many view their gun handling skills, or is their something I'm missing. My question comes from a place of innocence (I can guess, but don't really know what dry firing is) rather than trying to make a point. But I suppose I just didn't realise this was given so much respect or reverance.
This essay has provided me some unexpected insight. I find it fascinating that reading the title and subtitle then seeing an image of a pistol created an expectation that the topic would be "moral accountability".
We all associate particular tools, icons or images with certain ideas or sociopolitical or moral positions. I would call it a natural efficiency-seeking mechanism common to the species; batching and/or pattern recognition. The example of warm, beautiful writing being associated with cooking or craftsmanship is an example of this. And there is certainly plenty of writing on the subject of shooting or firearms that I would not describe with those terms. But the essay isn't necessarily about shooting or firearms, rather it is about friendship, teaching, learning, respect, motivation, aging, expertise, commitment, laziness, self-delusion and perpetuating it, and yes, accountability.
I do recognize that our cultures are vastly different on the topic of firearms. At the most basic level, familiarity with firearms is essential for any society where such tools are prevalent, i.e. there are over 400 million guns in civilian hands in the USA. If education starting at a young age was common then gun safety would be common as well.
I believe it essential (and responsible) for anyone who owns firearms to develop and maintain skill with them, and this is trebly important for those who carry them in public. My personal position on this is simple; the right to ownership should not be infringed, whosoever chooses to acquire and use firearms may do so at will, in accordance with existing law (not a felon, background check for transfer via FFL, etc.) just as is acceptable for, say, a motor vehicle. However, to carry in public competence must be demonstrated, continuing education and training should be mandatory, and a qualification test undertaken every two or five or ten years. And the qualification standards should be relatively high because the responsibility of carrying a firearm in public is enormous, and civilians do not have qualified immunity as an LEO would. I also believe that more (competent) people should do so because, according to statistics I reviewed for a major U.S. city about 25 years, there is basically one responding police unit for every 8000 citizens. And that was well before the whole defund the police movement was even imagined. Because I understand the responsibility, and the perishable nature of the skill, I practice, I compete, I attend courses.
This is not the view of "many" regarding gun handling skills, however it is the view of a small but important group of firearms owners and instructors, and people whose behavior can influence some of those many. And those in this group have great respect and reverence for the tools, the practice, the mindset but this is not a topic our media, or yours for that matter, will ever address in a neutral or inquisitive fashion.
Finally, when I wrote of accountability I did mention exercise and how, according to my position at one time, competition and scrutiny held me accountable. Often however, people will hire a trainer to teach and to hold them accountable for doing the exercise when they lack the self-discipline to do so themselves, same with diet. And the same goes for brushing our teeth if we can remember back that far when we first started doing that. I respect Kyle's experience, his expertise and wisdom, his skill, and my expression of that respect in this context is to do my best to fulfill my own potential with regards to the gift he offered me. That gift could have been anything — a set of ice tools, a motorcycle, a camera — and I would feel the same.
Skills > stuff but... also a great handgun https://staccato2011.com/products/staccato-xl and blade https://headhunterblades.com/products/weapon-rat-training-package
Tribe runs deep.
It does indeed.
And I quite appreciate your handle. 👊🏻