Any other shooters--

[DocRDS]

Lately I've been having these terrible feelings of isolation. First of all at work, you can't talk shit about guns. TYpical workplace, sometime back one of our workers talked about how should couldn't even talk to 'those people' (Down in Mississippi) and she wasn't refering to the Amish. I've fought that battle before and lost hard, so I just kept in the closet.

While most of the family is sympathetic to firearms, none of them 'dig it' like I do. Somtimes my wife will go shoot, but maybe 1-2 times a year. Everyone else just pays lips service. Meanwhile I'm trolling Brownells late at night like a crack-head or scrolling through the reloading forum or any other source of info.

Add in that what I do is very specialized, and almost no one wants to hear about it or go "Wow that's hard" and its like walking around in a bubble where you can see and hear everyone but no one can see or hear you. Wife babbles endlessly about teaching and I'm like uhh yeah I did a thing that's a world first and get a "thats nice honey"

Plus the double whammy of being new to an area so I haven't broken into the shooting community, clubs are multiyear waits (Learned my lesson, already waitlisted) and even public ranges are few and far between. Its sad I have contemplated heading out to Sureshot in IA, and rent the range for a day just to have some range time on a decent range away from the Hunters/FUDDS/ROs. I think the local reloading shop thinks I'm a stalker cause I end up spending an hour at checkout shooting the shit. I even considered doing a(nother) class just to hang out with other shooters.

Forgot: Doing a pre-surgery class and it was all women. That was a nice punch to the balls.

Don't know where I am going, just wondering if any other people are feeling super isolated due to the current climate/work/family/etc... The world has left me by and I think I was born about 50 years too late.

 

[Nik H]

Yo...you're not alone

I work in an extraordinarily specialized and highly technical profession. I teach and provide guidance to both lawyers and engineers about regulatory and safety laws as applied to product design. I work for a company with their HQ in San Francisco and work directly for General Counsel. I live in New England and only visit HQ once a quarter for a week. I have several patents which is how I got to where I am today.

How much talk about guns and shooting do I engage in....I can tell you the answer but I am sure you can guess. Thankfully, I am also pretty skilled in the culinary arts so that gives me something to talk about besides work. Thankfully, I LOVE my job for a variety of reasons so I just put this facet of it out of my mind

I seldom talk about what I specifically do with others as it is really difficult to explain other than to say I solve problems before they are problems. As much as I respect what my wife does (Nurse) she can't understand what I do. I have other friends that don't even ask. Neither my friends or my kids are all that interested in shooting but they do ask me about it occasionally since they know it is important to me. Since they are friends, I do appreciate the little time I get to spend on discussing this hobby with them. The acquaintances I have at both ranges I go to is my outlet for talking about guns and shooting...along with this place of course.

 

[Alphatreedog]

Hi I'm Treedog and I am a gunohilic . " Hi Treedog ".
Man I feel you're pain . So my buddy slash one of my guys on my crew at work left . Went for money .

I am heart broken . We used to tempt and hammer each other into purchasing guns , ammo and related .

True story . So the wife and I get our taxes done . Afterward I ask what next .She replies home . I tell her I'd like to make a stop .
So one of the LGS's we go . Long story short I buy a pistol . So Tuesday go to local range for shakedown and a few hunerd rounds .
Head to counter when done and ( cue Angels singing ) there she is . Blued , shrouded and some picatiny rails . I fondle it whilst feeling the blood pulse thru my ( record screech ) . So good price and a wet spot in muh jeans . Go in the next day and tell my Buddy. He replies , " you have to buy it " .
Me : No way Ol Lady will stove my effin head in .
Him : Man the fuck up , this is destiny .
Me : Yer trine a git me killed.
All Fucggin day he does this. So round about 2 pm I tell him I think I'm gonna go pick it up after work
Him : Good cause I called them and told them to hold if for you , you'd be by .
Me : What the fuck are you ******""""""""" ?
Yeah I bought it . Muh misses flipped shit , got in my grill and said " I'm buying stuff for the house and it's gonna hurt ".

Man I miss my buddy and day long conversations bout guns .

So yeah I feel yer pain Brother .

 

[theLBC]

we actually have a guy at work that lives in OK and brought up hunting...i didn't say anything except express interest in feral hog hunting and he said he could hook me up if i was out there.
some of our outdoor public ranges rent "shooting bays" for a few hours at a time (longer if nobody else is waiting for one).
basically you can do whatever you want as long as they approved whatever you're using for targets.
they might drive by in a cart once in a while to make sure you're being "safe".

 

[kenny1773]

I have friends I can talk guns with, these are of course people I have known for 30 years and we all 'come from the same point of view' on just about everything. I can crack very offensive jokes with them (and no they are not all white) and they know its a fucking joke,

At work, fuck that, I don't feel like I can be myself at work at all anymore. Cannot joke, no longer should say things like 'Thanks guys' if there might be a girl or a trans or an unidentifiable non binary unicorn frog cat within ear shot.

READY TO RETIRE!! Not because I want to stop working, I want to fucking stop being in no personality non-human world where no one can joke and have fun and have any freedom of speech anymore without fear of being let go instantly for not being inclusive enough of diversity, whatever the fuck that is

All we can talk about is how awesome pride month is and how supportive of it we are all (BARF)

The anti Americans are everywhere, you are not alone. I finally got off my ass and joined a local gun club/shooting range, most there I have talked to so far seem pretty like minded...

 

[diggler1833]

I live way away from most people. Very few (none) are into guns like I am...or I have to watch what I say because I know it'll get out to the meth heads, and I'll eventually get burglarized.

My circle is small, and I frequently realize that my social life regarding guns is non-existent. The moment someone makes the mistake of trying to have a gun conversation with me, I jump in over their head...and within 60 seconds I can start to see their eyes glaze over, so I just drop it.

My therapy is now just meticulous reloading. It takes forever, but gives you a chance at great conversations with yourself . I no longer reload to shoot...I shoot to reload.

That and I come on here to see how others apply their trade (and maybe learn something). Usually though I get distracted, pull out the popcorn, and watch two or three members go at it with name calling because somebody dares do something different than another guy.

 

[hafejd30]

Man I feel for some of you here…

Most here love guns and shooting. Most in my department in the mill I work shoot as well. We even have our own 300 yard gun range where I work

But yes outside of that I almost don’t mention guns unless I know my audience. Because regardless of the crowd there’s always the one libtard who feels the need to absorb the stupid in the room and argue with you

 

[W54/XM-388]

I don't talk all that much about guns at work since most folks at work aren't interested in them.
At Church however plenty of folks like to talk about guns, they even did a range day as a Church community activity.

I've got friends and family that like to come around and chat guns, play with guns and go shooting.
Plus we've got all our online groups of close friends and good folks that talk about guns all day long.

 

[Maggot]

we actually have a guy at work that lives in OK and brought up hunting...i didn't say anything except express interest in feral hog hunting and he said he could hook me up if i was out there.
some of our outdoor public ranges rent "shooting bays" for a few hours at a time (longer if nobody else is waiting for one).
basically you can do whatever you want as long as they approved whatever you're using for targets.
they might drive by in a cart once in a while to make sure you're being "safe".

I live in Oklahoma and damn near everybody talks about guns. My dentist wants to go shooting.

Oddly enough, everyone is extremely polite, as well.

 

[hlee]

I also work for a SF Bay Area company, though as a remote employee, I don’t live in Cali. My interactions with co-workers are limited to email, Teams meetings, and perhaps an annual in person conference. I don’t hide that I shoot. But, I don’t advertise much either. I’ll listen curiously if someone wants to talk about firearms (maybe once or twice) but I don’t offer anything.

In grad school I worked with a guy that retired from a SF Bay Area company. He said that his company kept a list of employees known to own firearms. True? Maybe. Surprising? No.

Co-workers are just that. It is not unhealthy to have a barrier between work and home. This, from a guy that works from home.

 

[rlarsen462]

I guess I'm pretty lucky my entire career has been in oil & gas. Worked for a big service company (like the biggest) and it was definitely going the wrong direction with diversity hiring and quota stupidity so I read the writing on the wall and left in 2017. They went full DEI ESG not long after that (kind of hard to imagine an oilfield services company doing this but there you have it).

Started my own outfit in 2019, in the Permian Basin. Being among my clients and employees there for the last several years has been extremely nice. Everyone shoots, everyone's conservative, I can be myself in almost every conversation. Have actually made a lot of good friends for the first time in my life.

Unfortunately my ex wife and kids are still in CO so I live here half the time when I have the kids. I basically don't even interact with anyone here aside from the current wife and a couple of my like minded neighbors that also happen to be in the industry. I get the feeling of isolation at times but I've always been a loner at heart so I don't really miss people, especially if I just know I would have to pretend to be someone else to avoid being in fights all the time.

 

[nikonNUT]

Man, I feel blessed...
Every so often day at work... Boss/Owner of my company "These fuckin idiots are gonna drive me insane!" Me "You'd feel better if you killed something boss!" Him "Good idea! Bring your shit tomorrow. We're cutting out early and going hog hunting!"
Or...
Son of the owner of my local LGS... "Whatcha doing tomorrow?" Me "Not a damn thing." HIm "Cool! Get your shit. We're going to the range!"
Or... and I have not experienced this yet but my CHCL instructor/Preacher/Freind "Man... Ain't nothing more fun than shooting a hog in the face with a machine gun! You should come with us sometime!" Me (out loud) "Cool!" Also me (but in my head) "Not now boner!"

 

[hlee]

How do you ruin a perfectly good day at the range?

Bring a friend.

 

[Tempest 455]

We shoot a lot (a lot) of rifle matches. I don't talk about it at work unless someone who knows asks. Then it's too bad you are going to hear about it.

 

[DocRDS]

Any of you guys feeling a little isolated, maybe check into local matches even if a particular genre doesn't cater to long range. They are sometimes painfully slow and tedious but the company is usually good honest people who like guns. A few may like long range and eventually you have long range shooting buddies.

Yeah my lifeline has been an F-Class group. (I'm still the only guy who sweats in winter...) Breaking into that is hard cause there guys have been together for years...slow and steady though. And hopefully my willingness to pull/setup targets get me brownie points for membership committee. I'm loading like crazy for a PRS this weekend. I don't give a shit if I finish dead last--I gotta get me some range time.

 

[Emerson0311]

This place is my therapy. Up here in Canukistan even the “conservative” support gun control and drag shows for kids. I am girding my loins for a period of psychological breath holding and stoic endurance. Thankfully, covid mandates really strengthened my spirit through a couple years of throat punches. The shit show is just beginning. I keep training because if you stop working you are giving up. I’m too ex marine to do that.

 

[Mister Ridge]

Certainly at work but outside of work is (partially) my own damn fault. Not strictly a firearms thing though. Mind seems to work on a different level than people around me. Not sure if I'm crazy or stupid...

 

[MarshallDodge]

Just about everyone I know is into guns. I went to dinner the other night at friends of my wife. Her husband was into guns and her son in law. They can't wait to hit the range with me.

There was a gay male couple there. They were pretty cool but were shy about the whole gun thing. By the end of the evening we had them talked into going to the range with us.

If we don't grow this sport then it is going to become harder to get support behind it.

 

[Jgunner]

I feel ya. Even within the gun community there are a ton of people i would never want to assosiate with. I am into nitche segments of firearms. "Gun people" try to converse with me, seems like they are into their thing and dont understand mine. Its fine, but i cant hang out with people who think they make shots on 6" target, offhand, while driving with an iron sited mosin negant or someone who has a 5k dollar 338 lapua with diamondback scope who claimn2 mile shots either.

I like hunting, but with precision equipment. Not very many are into that.

 

[sandhiller]

Guess I am lucky here.

There is very little negativity when it comes to firearms.

We run the scale from the person with one gun to shoot coyotes to keep them off his calves to the guys with money and high end rifles, glass and thermal.

When someone buys a new toy, he'll bring it into the feed store, fire meeting, bowling alley, we all ooh and ahh, sometimes get to shoot it.

I get a chance to handle and shoot stuff (like a .50 cal) I could never afford.

The other night we were sitting behind the back chutes after our little Memorial Day Rodeo sipping cool ones and someone brought out his latest acquisition, then the gun show was on with everyone emptying their pickups

 

[TicTacTex]

Fed Bois watching this one close…

 

[DocRDS]

If you aint on their radar you ain't shooting enough

 

[fpgt72]

Where the wife works they do a sporting clays office shoot once a year. There is already a waiting list to go do this. Only so many slots. They also allow CCW, but it is not "everyday talk". One of the new people are working on getting her, and me to go back and do USPSA, not sure I want to. I am too old and broken to move fast. From what I understand the talk is "allowed". He is working on several others.

Here no big shock no big deal.

 

[Bantam1]

The company I work for has very few shooters. There are about 10 of us, but I'm the only serious one outside of a guy that shoots trap and skeet. The funny thing is when one of the guys from another department figured out I shoot, he came over and talked to me almost like it was some sort of secret society. He had to let me know there were a few guys that shoot in that division. Mind you there are many lefty's in that part of the company. I am pretty open about it because fuck them all. Shooting has been a part of my life since I was about 5. I am mindful of who I talk to about it. It's not worth causing panic to the ones that think if you own a gun then you are a bad person. In the corporate world you have to be a little careful.

The good thing is we have plenty of desert not too far away to go shoot at. I have access to some private land where my rich buddies play with their NV and IR lasers. I'm fortunate being where I am in So-Cal, but still want to leave this state. The closest rifle range to me has steel out to 600. Good covered bunches which help with load development. The pistol side has plenty of steel and an area to put paper out to 100. The RO's aren't out of control there. They run a safe range but aren't over the top. 2 hour drive and I'm have many different desert spots to shoot at.

 

[EddieNFL]

I shoot with a guy who uses a pseudonym to register for matchs. A few years back someone either intentionally search it out or stumbled across his name on a shooting related site. It became a very big deal in his office.

 

[DocRDS]

I shoot with a guy who uses a pseudonym to register for matchs. A few years back someone either intentionally search it out or stumbled across his name on a shooting related site. It became a very big deal in his office.

I know of several who did that. Even thought of it myself if I ever get good

 

[M4orturnate]

Yeah my lifeline has been an F-Class group. (I'm still the only guy who sweats in winter...) Breaking into that is hard cause there guys have been together for years...slow and steady though. And hopefully my willingness to pull/setup targets get me brownie points for membership committee. I'm loading like crazy for a PRS this weekend. I don't give a shit if I finish dead last--I gotta get me some range time.

Youll find prs guys around the country are super welcoming. Pretty sure its because we realize how few of us there are. Im a true gun nerd and so are a lot of prs shooters. Shooting the 2 days is really cool and turns into just hanging out with buddies from different states in different states. Shot with a random squad this weekend at pigg river and now i feel like i have 10 new buddies that are as addicted as i am.

 

[greg1147]

I work at a range PT so the only people I talk to are are gun people, I have no friends just my dogs so my life is relatively simple.
There was a time though it was fucked up, that's why my in-laws avoid me

 

[Californio]

Going shooting tomorrow with a friend. Several of the wives in our social group, shoot also - good to be in Free America. I taught one of my wife's tennis girls to field strip and clean her Kimber 45acp.

 

[MCSO1357]

Lately I've been having these terrible feelings of isolation. First of all at work, you can't talk shit about guns. TYpical workplace, sometime back one of our workers talked about how should couldn't even talk to 'those people' (Down in Mississippi) and she wasn't refering to the Amish. I've fought that battle before and lost hard, so I just kept in the closet.

While most of the family is sympathetic to firearms, none of them 'dig it' like I do. Somtimes my wife will go shoot, but maybe 1-2 times a year. Everyone else just pays lips service. Meanwhile I'm trolling Brownells late at night like a crack-head or scrolling through the reloading forum or any other source of info.

Add in that what I do is very specialized, and almost no one wants to hear about it or go "Wow that's hard" and its like walking around in a bubble where you can see and hear everyone but no one can see or hear you. Wife babbles endlessly about teaching and I'm like uhh yeah I did a thing that's a world first and get a "thats nice honey"

Plus the double whammy of being new to an area so I haven't broken into the shooting community, clubs are multiyear waits (Learned my lesson, already waitlisted) and even public ranges are few and far between. Its sad I have contemplated heading out to Sureshot in IA, and rent the range for a day just to have some range time on a decent range away from the Hunters/FUDDS/ROs. I think the local reloading shop thinks I'm a stalker cause I end up spending an hour at checkout shooting the shit. I even considered doing a(nother) class just to hang out with other shooters.

Forgot: Doing a pre-surgery class and it was all women. That was a nice punch to the balls.

Don't know where I am going, just wondering if any other people are feeling super isolated due to the current climate/work/family/etc... The world has left me by and I think I was born about 50 years too late.

If you are close enough to Sureshot, chances are good that I am in your general neighborhood. If you need someone to shoot with, smoke a cigar with, drink scotch with or just shoot the shit (pun intended) just holler. You are not alone, but just like having a constitutional outlook on government, you are meant to feel alone/isolated.

 

[acudaowner]

get out of closet and get to a range ...
smile your still breathing and can go and use your guns in the open .

 

[gunsnjeeps]

I think most people figure out I'm a match shooter pretty quick. Could be the wall paper on my computer (Quantico Range 4 at 1k) or my first clean .22 target next to my monitor, or trying to recruit new Navy Marksmanship team members.

 

[748rpilot]

I'm feeling less isolated lately, as I've recently started a new job, but before that I was out of work for an extended period of time due to medical issues. Once I improved to a point where I could focus on things other than physical rehabilitation, I started to feel very, very isolated. Part of it is what I went through, I think that not having been through it, many people couldn't truly relate. But friends and family were there for me all the same and I'll not forget it. Also, once I hit that improved point, I was on my own again, and didn't really have anyone readily around or coming to visit.

The other part is that my life has changed quite significantly and I can no longer engage in my previous hobbies. I'm having to find new direction and outlet in my life, and this is actually what led to me picking up shooting again. Prior to this year I had not done any real shooting in nearly a decade.

So between a fairly unique life experience and loss of my normal routine, hobbies and job, I felt very alone. Many days I felt it was a struggle to pass the time and to manage the stress and emotions effectively. Some of those things are still a struggle but they show up differently. As I said, I have a new job, so I'm busier now, I'm around more people and...back to work!

I'm still isolated though. My work is highly technical and highly specialized, no one outside of the office really wants to hear it and even some people at work don't read my emails LOL. And I don't know anyone into guns or shooting, so I don't have anyone, besides the Hide, to talk about my only hobby with, and I just go to the range by myself on weekends.

 

[jorbkkit]

Outside of my friends group and family, yes. I've felt the same way about hunting for even longer, so it's not really anything new. Just disappointing that you immediately get stereotyped once people know.

 

[Maser]

When it comes to all of my hobbies in general (including guns and hunting of course), I don't take them seriously. I am perfectly fine being a filthy casual in all my hobbies. I firmly believe that the very nanosecond you take your hobbies too seriously, they're no longer hobbies, they're work. Hobbies are suppose to be fun, not work. That said, I've never felt like I couldn't talk about guns with people outside the internet. Then again, I'm pretty autistic when it comes to saying things in public I probably shouldn't say. Who knows? Maybe I've been offending people with my pro-gun talk and have never noticed. Hell, the very first conversation I had with my new neighbor when my family and I moved into our new house was a long ass conversation about Kyle Rittenhouse. He was anti-Kyle and I was pro-Kyle, but we both were very pro-gun and he showed me a shit ton of full ammo cans in his garage. I still believe it is possible to have conversations with people who disagree with you without both parties pushing their agendas onto eachother.

 

[ggmanning]

Here many of the men shoot something on the real regular. All buds have a rifle in the truck all the time. Same with hunting beginning in September for dove and finishing with turkey in May filling in any gaps with fishing and killing coyotes. My range is behind the house away from the cow pasture so we shoot any time for any reason. My wife couldn't care less what I spend on guns and shooting as long as I have her a revolver filled with rat shot and some ear muffs staged for her in the dining room buffet for snake season. Hear gunshots in the evenings at least 50% of the days of the week. When we get together to grill at friends houses there is usually some plinking right up to serious shooting or trap shooting involved. I guess it's all location, part of the country and how rural you live.

 

[Ronws]

Let me make all of you jealous. Where I work, my bosses (the owners) and I have guns. One of the other guys has guns. At least 3 of us are always carrying. In fact, I carry every day my M&P 9mm (17 rd double stack) in an OWB holster under a large angler shirt. Couple of extra mags within reach.

A sign on the window next to the door informs that guns are welcome and please keep them holstered unless the need arises. Then judicious marksmanship is appreciated.

One has a handful of AR-15s. The other has several rifles including an MRAD. Trophies in his office are an Aoudad he got with his .300 WM. Antelope with a .25-06. A few others. two whitetails. A fox with a .22-250. It was because of him that I got turned on two getting two of my rifles from Windham Weaponry. The Dissipator M4 A3 (5.56) and the R16-SFST308 (AR-10 in .308 W.)The only reason we don't talk about guns all the time is because we are actually working and the business is not gun-related. Just gun-protected.

 

[Milf Dots]

I'm feeling less isolated lately, as I've recently started a new job, but before that I was out of work for an extended period of time due to medical issues. Once I improved to a point where I could focus on things other than physical rehabilitation, I started to feel very, very isolated. Part of it is what I went through, I think that not having been through it, many people couldn't truly relate. But friends and family were there for me all the same and I'll not forget it. Also, once I hit that improved point, I was on my own again, and didn't really have anyone readily around or coming to visit.

The other part is that my life has changed quite significantly and I can no longer engage in my previous hobbies. I'm having to find new direction and outlet in my life, and this is actually what led to me picking up shooting again. Prior to this year I had not done any real shooting in nearly a decade.

So between a fairly unique life experience and loss of my normal routine, hobbies and job, I felt very alone. Many days I felt it was a struggle to pass the time and to manage the stress and emotions effectively. Some of those things are still a struggle but they show up differently. As I said, I have a new job, so I'm busier now, I'm around more people and...back to work!

I'm still isolated though. My work is highly technical and highly specialized, no one outside of the office really wants to hear it and even some people at work don't read my emails LOL. And I don't know anyone into guns or shooting, so I don't have anyone, besides the Hide, to talk about my only hobby with, and I just go to the range by myself on weekends.

Hang in there brother, things will get easier at some point. Remember- it could always be worse!

 

[748rpilot]

Hang in there brother, things will get easier at some point. Remember- it could always be worse!

Appreciate it. I'm hanging in pretty well, main thing is to keep perspective; even though my life now is significantly different, I'm lucky beyond measure that things for me turned out as they did. I spent a good amount of time around people who weren't as fortunate, and their situations aren't really going to change. It was truly eye-opening and I try to take time each day and remember how things were, and how fortunate I am.

 

[thebeav]

One of my jobs, years ago, was at a local R&D firm here. I worked in the gun range there, improving guns, for mainly military use. So, needless to say, there was a lot of gun talk. From there I went to self employment in another industry, so I could talk about anything I wanted.
Retired today, but I still hit the gym for a few hours every day. There are a few shooters there, but I talk shooting with almost everyone. I'm recognized as a level headed, problem solving type person, so even if you don't like guns, you can see that other 'normal' people do. When I talk about a particular success I had target shooting over the weekend, no one has told me they don't want to hear it.
I like talking to anyone who's excited about what they're telling you, regardless of the subject. I think most people think like this. In some small way, I like to think I'm doing a good thing.....

 

[DocRDS]

Certainly at work but outside of work is (partially) my own damn fault. Not strictly a firearms thing though. Mind seems to work on a different level than people around me. Not sure if I'm crazy or stupid...

Same. I don't "fit" with the shooting crowd (no tats, I generally dislike all the skull crap, and I'm too fat and goofy to be 'tactical', don't smoke and had to give up alcohol for health--my "tactical hat" has Homer's donut from the simpsons) and I damn sure don't agree with the "Intellectual" crowd I work with--who now are also becoming very very young (ok Boomer!).

The dreaded question: "What do you do?"
Fake Answer: "I work in IT"
Real Answer: "I develop and research Artificial Intelligence"

I know I'm not stupid, but sometimes I do wonder if I am crazy.

But I will say shooting helps--Tuesday met a nice guy at the range, Wednesday shot my best score at 1000 (187 2X--I fucking donuted that X ring off a bipod/bench no less) Saturday is PRS. But it should we be nice to have one of those groups pull a "Norm!" if I show up.

 

[MadDuner]

Every person that works at my company carries.
We have "show and tell" in the lunch room whenever anybody buys yet another gun.
We used to shoot suppressed 9mm upstairs in the office until we ran out of sacrificial particle board partition parts and old phone book or Grainger catalogs. I'm not sure a single day has ever passed here that at least one conversation wasn't about guns, or bullets, or YouTube videos about shooting. Yeah, we have ZERO motherfucking liberals working here.