It allows me to clear my mind of anything that might be eating on me. Shooting helped me get through some very rough times after my helicopter accident that forever changed the lives of my family and me.
Shooting as a stress reliever
- Thread starter walters900
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It can be anything, shooting, golf, gardening, restoring classic cars, etc. This being a shooting website we have a lot of shooters so we obviously enjoy that.
People smarter than me with degrees and fancy titles and salaries have said that spending time on things that you enjoy AND control is the secret to relieving stress, anxiety, etc.
When you're forced to do things you don't want to do, and you don't have control over the outcome, that's the definitive source of stress in your life.
So, in summation, spend as much time on things you enjoy and as little on things you don't as possible.
I'm told that's the key.
People smarter than me with degrees and fancy titles and salaries have said that spending time on things that you enjoy AND control is the secret to relieving stress, anxiety, etc.
When you're forced to do things you don't want to do, and you don't have control over the outcome, that's the definitive source of stress in your life.
So, in summation, spend as much time on things you enjoy and as little on things you don't as possible.
I'm told that's the key.
Yeah, gone are the days when you can go to the feed store and pick up sticks of dynamite to blow up a stump.
Shooting relaxes me and so does reloading. It also stops me from being a raging alcoholic. Anytime I touch a gun, my blood pressure goes down.
Anything with control and practice is meditative. I think the worst part is the limited variation when you're stuck with a single distance range and paper.
i love my time at the range and behind the scope when ever i can get it . To me its very relaxing no yelling no nothing but me and the scope and dam that fly and my bullet that either hits the steel plate and makes me very happy with a ding or curse that fly I missed lol either way its always a relaxing day sunshine blue sky's and birds chirping .
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Personally, I also noticed that shooting helps me to relieve stress because during it I think only about it and abstract from other thoughts.
I was told shooting was cheaper than therapy. That was a lie.
Bull's Eye Pistol, Service Rifle, Long Range Rifle, 3 Gun, handload for everything except .22 rimfire. We are well past getting cheaper. Of course I could shoot for a few years and not spend a dime now.
Yeah but people get upset when you do that at the range.
Took my RPR out to 1080 yesterday. It was nice seeing and hearing that steel get smacked.
Doc
Doc
Off-hand is a lost art of shooting imo. Im not new to shooting but went to the local range to watch a PRS match just to see what its all about, thinking I may participate in the future.
People pulling carts from stage to stage, lots of bags, tripods, etc. So much gear, I guess I wasnt expecting that. I mean, ive read about it here, but wasnt expecting still, i guess. Maybe not for me...
And im not knocking it, still many good shooters that rang plenty of steel that day. And definitely requires skill. Maybe just not my cup o' tea.
More my style to offhand plink small critter silhouettes at 100 with a 22LR. Or revolver/handgun at 50 yrds. Or soda cans at 200 with "other" calibers. Buddies and i do friendly wagers to make it "competitive". And a good brisk walk to reset the targets, then back to the firing line. Is amazing how much different it is to shoot when heart rate is up. Offhand this is even more evident and the silhouette dances around in your crosshair, until you can get yourself back under control.
I do enjoy to benchrest further distances (with bag and bipod) and in no way am i saying any form of shooting is better.
but offhand is my fav...and is the most satisfying and stress relieving to me.
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Well ol’salt, if you’re down in the east central Florida area this year during the odd months, I’m going to be running some Long Range .22lr matches here at Volusia. There will still be some there with crazy heavy PRS style rifles, but gear for the whole match is limited to one bag and a bipod.
I will always include at least one positional stage, whether it be standing, kneeling, or sitting; all unsupported, no bags. It will have some prone stages, with certain ones being unsupported with either a sling only or not even that. Most PRS guys hate these stages, heh, heh. But it will include the 5 NRL22 monthly stages each month and the accompanying score recording for those that are NRL22 registered.
Come on down. Every match has its’ share of newbies, as that is a prime motivator for me. Matches will be Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, Nov. and will be listed on PractiScore for match registration and payment. Look for Volusia or Swampland Precision.
The jacked up part is, you now have people in office that want to take this stress relief away from us. To me it’s no different than Golf but they perceive it as a threat because guns are bad. Got news for them, you can beat the shit out of someone with a 9 iron to, yet that’s ok I guess. WTF?
as somebody that is otherwise "online" and working most of the time, yes.
i leave my laptop at home and drive over an hour to get to an outdoor range of any kind, and at those times i know i cannot "work" so i can stop thinking about it until i get home.
i leave my laptop at home and drive over an hour to get to an outdoor range of any kind, and at those times i know i cannot "work" so i can stop thinking about it until i get home.
Very simple reason. I used to golf before I got into shooting; and it did the same thing for the same reason. Whenever you have to really concentrate implicitly on something to do it well - you only concentrate on that and nothing else. Hence all the other distractors in life - work, family, politics, finances whatever cannot occupy your thoughts while you are doing that activity. Thus the stress relief.
After I had a stroke in 2011, I suffered from anxiety and panic attacks. Getting back into precision shooting helped me learn to relax, control my breathing and heart rate which was the very same thing they were teaching me to control the anxiety and panic attacks. Shooting has become a Zen thing for me and is a great stress reliever.
It's weird any range I go to somehow my phone gets horrible reception and I can't receive calls. I had a really good spot for awhile. I would take 3-4 guns and shoot till dark. Great way to spend a warm summer night. Shoot all the expensive stuff then shoot rimfire till you can't see. Sometimes my one buddy would be there and we would goof off with our .22's like kids. Great times and I really miss it. Like so many things these days it's over and gone.
I only fired a minigun once and it was super cool. I think many people like me shooting helps to relieve tension after a hard working month. This has helped me many times during difficult moments in my life. But there were situations when it was not possible to go to the shooting range and a friend helped me very much. He supported and also recommended the best kratom buy for me so that I could calm down faster. It helped me deal with the stress of breaking up with my girlfriend after a serious and long relationship. I am very grateful to my friend, I wouldn't have managed my anxiety and depressive mood alone, especially with this pandemic.
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