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Why should we learn to shoot, hunt, and take care of ourselves?

OK, who has the answer to this question? There are many answers and all of them are valid in some way. So let’s break down the question and look at the individual pieces. There are actually three questions here and an implication for more. Let’s take a look at them and see where they go.

First, Why should we learn to shoot? There are many reasons for learning to shoot, and they would include sport, hunting, personal protection, and personal desire; but it goes further than that. When we learn to shoot properly, we learn patience, accuracy, safety, and a whole raft of other things. But, as the NRA simply puts it, we develop skills, knowledge, and attitudes toward the shooting for any firearm for any reason. The skills are developed for the technical side of shooting. This includes sighting, trigger control, what goes into accuracy, estimating distances, and best positions and techniques. All of these things are put into use every time you pick up a firearm. Knowledge is the putting those skills to use for a successful purpose, and this would include gun functions, ammunition, maintenance, and repair. The proper attitude towards firearms and firearm safety is absolute. Without the proper attitude you will be unsafe and will be putting your shooting partners and others at risk and in harms way. These attributes are many times taught to us by our fathers and friends, but we must be careful to learn them properly. If we do not, we may end up damaging or destroying property, the environment, or even lives. Learn from a professional, a certified instructor, or through sanctioned training classes.

It is also one of the few activities that we, as Americans, can enjoy more than anyone in most any other major country in the world. Many or our fathers, grandfathers, and other forefathers fought for and lost their lives protecting the rights we have as Americans. Our firearms ownership has been one of the most widely challenged rights lately, and if this right is not exercised and actively defended, it will the first of many to fall.

Second, Why should we learn to hunt? We hunt for food, sport, specialized clothing, and trophies; it is also a good form of recreation and exercise with productive results. Learning to hunt takes skills in tracking, patience, stealth, understanding the game you are hunting, tactics, endurance, knowing your background and being aware of your environment. Hunting includes not only hunting skills, but also safety, survival, first aid, conservation, ground navigation, cleaning and preparing game, knowing the habitat for the game you are hunting, and learning the habits and traits of your game.

Third, Why should we learn to take care of ourselves? Our forefathers were mostly self-sufficient in that they would hunt, farm, and care for their families on what they provided. They did not depend on the government for money, protection, medical care, old age care, bailouts, loan guarantees, and such. If we do not learn to take care of ourselves, there will be no one to rely on in times of emergency. If we always depend on others to take care of us, who will we turn to when in time of emergency, and there is no one there to help us or our loved ones?

So, Why should we learn to shoot, hunt, and take care of ourselves? Because we can, we need to, and it is what is right.

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