# Stress management when handling a gun



## san012 (21 Dec 2014)

So today I went to shooting range and I fired a gun for the first time in my life. It was a  glock 17 9 mm.  The guy told me that I looked stressed and I also felt stressed out. I'm wondering if any of you have any advices to control stress when handling a gun. Do you guys get stressed out? How was the first time you fired a gun or rifle? I went to the shooting range because I'm doing my BMQ in the reserves and after the Xmas break we're going to shoot with our c7s. I just wanted to prepare mentally in advance what to expect.


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## thehare (21 Dec 2014)

I've been shooting since my mid teens but I still remember the first time I held and shot a firearm. I was nervous of course, it was a new experience and I didn't quite know what to expect. I found it's just something that feels more natural the more you do it.

Just remember to follow the RSOs and ARSOs directions and do your drills properly and the rest will take care of itself. The nerves will disappear with time as you gain more experience with firearms.


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## san012 (21 Dec 2014)

Thanks! I'm doing my BMQ and I don't wanna screw up shooting my rifle. 

Do you think that practicing with airsoft guns will help me get use to it?


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## thehare (21 Dec 2014)

Nah, the two are pretty different beasts. 

Just try and relax while on the range, focus on your drills and you won't mess up. I think you're over thinking it a bit, a rifle is just a tool and as long as you follow your training and listen to instructions from your staff it cannot hurt you or anyone else on the range. 

I know I'm repeating myself here, but there isn't really anything else to it   like the rest of your BMQ listen and listen well and you'll be okay.


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## expwor (21 Dec 2014)

My first experience with firearms (FNC1,FNC2 and SMG) was when I joined the Militia
If the Armed Forces is like it was when I was in (late 1970's) it's baby steps.  They teach you as if you know nothing (because most do).  
And you won't just use it for shooting, but for drill too...it will be part of you. I could, (and it's been 33 years since I picked an FN up) if one placed in front of me strip and assemble it
By the time you shoot live rounds you'll know that rifle forwards and backward
Just treat your rifle with respect, it's not a toy, and follow your instructors orders

Tom


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## Haggis (21 Dec 2014)

The best way to relax is to focus on your front sight.  Line up your front sight with the centre of the target and focus on it until it is crystal clear and sharp, all the while slowly squeezing the trigger.  It seem simplistic, but it works.


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## KevinB (21 Dec 2014)

I'll be less diplomatic than Tom above -- by the time you fire live rounds in the CF, any fun with the weapon will have been erased 

  Serious a multitude of 40min lectures on everything about it (right or wrong) will not have you nervous about it a bit.


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## Colin Parkinson (21 Dec 2014)

Nowadays my wife sends me to the range to de-stress.


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## san012 (22 Dec 2014)

Thanks guys really appreciate it


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## Loachman (22 Dec 2014)

I do not remember any such apprehension when I first shot (Cadets, Lee Enfield No 7 .22 cal, 1972).

Shooting was a more "normal" activity then, and most boys had pellet or BB guns. Too often, now, an ignorant press and many politicians see those who enjoy the use of firearms as anything but normal. They are wrong. Unfortunately, their attitudes and misconceptions have generated an apprehension of firearms across society in general.

Most people who try shooting enjoy it to varying degrees, but to many in the CF it is just another thing that has to be done from time-to-time.

A firearm is a very simple piece of precision machinery with few moving parts and even fewer controls to operate. Mastering care and handling to an acceptable degree is not difficult and you should become comfortable with that quite quickly. Comfort and familiarity should never lead to carelessness and complacency, however. Treat your weapon with respect and follow the basic safety rules that you will be taught, religiously and without fail.

Shooting skillfully takes longer for most, and, unfortunately, the CF can seldom afford to be generous with ammunition. There are never enough truly good coaches available on the range, either.

Do not fear this, but look forward to it and determine to do well.

My standard method of self-motivation when faced with a challenge is a simple reminder that "dumber people than me have been able to do this".


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## Humphrey Bogart (22 Dec 2014)

Loachman said:
			
		

> A firearm is a very simple piece of precision machinery with few moving parts and even fewer controls to operate. Mastering care and handling to an acceptable degree is not difficult and you should become comfortable with that quite quickly. Comfort and familiarity should never lead to carelessness and complacency, however. Treat your weapon with respect and follow the basic safety rules that you will be taught, religiously and without fail.



Well said, it's no different than operating a power tool.  Would you freak out operating a bandsaw?  Then why freak out over firing a gun?


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## KevinB (22 Dec 2014)

I'm much more nervous about power tools - they can do all sorts of unpredictable things -- guns just launch bullets.


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## daftandbarmy (22 Dec 2014)

san012 said:
			
		

> So today I went to shooting range and I fired a gun for the first time in my life. It was a  glock 17 9 mm.  The guy told me that I looked stressed and I also felt stressed out. I'm wondering if any of you have any advices to control stress when handling a gun. Do you guys get stressed out? How was the first time you fired a gun or rifle? I went to the shooting range because I'm doing my BMQ in the reserves and after the Xmas break we're going to shoot with our c7s. I just wanted to prepare mentally in advance what to expect.



Two suggestions:

1) Picture all the people you've ever hated standing in front of the target
2) Keep lots of ammo handy to re-load because you'll need it

I call it 'Operation Serenity Now'  ;D


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## BorisK (22 Dec 2014)

Best advice I can offer from spending a decent amount of time on a range and also working with dangerous heavy machinery at work : learn how it (whatever the device is) works.  Inside and out.  If you are confident in your knowledge of how something works and will behave, your confidence working with it significantly rises.  

As I have not yet attended BMQ however, I am reluctant to give any actual advice with respect to you educating yourself on the mechanics of firearms because I am certain the CF (based on what I have seen) will ensure you are confident in the operation of the C7 well before you get anywhere near a range.  

In short, just relax and enjoy the ride.  You'll do well.


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## Fishbone Jones (22 Dec 2014)

The key point(s) have been made..........a couple of times.

No need to keep repeating them.

---Staff---


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## Shrek1985 (24 Dec 2014)

Even the best gun dog is shy the first time out, relax and trust your staff.


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## NavyShooter (24 Dec 2014)

3 simple things I use when shooting....a little "mental program" that one of my coaches taught me to embrace.  Find a system and stick with it.  Establish your position, test and adjust (line up, look through the sights, close eyes, relax, open eyes, adjust body, not rifle, to be in alignment with the target, then test again) then do these 3 simple things...

1.  Breathe and relax.  Full deep breaths.  Good air in, bad air out.  (Fire on the exhale, with a natural pause...you'll see that in trg)

2.  Focus.  Front sight (or tip of the picket on the reticule)

3.  Shoot your own F***ing target.  



Hope that helps, and yes, you'll be hands on with the rifle many times before you fire it.  Many, many, many times.  

NS


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## GAP (24 Dec 2014)

> Stress management when handling a gun



ends up being one of the most relaxing things you ever do....just imagine who/what is on the receiving end and all your troubles go away..... ;D


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## ballz (25 Dec 2014)

BorisK said:
			
		

> Best advice I can offer from spending a decent amount of time on a range and also working with dangerous heavy machinery at work : learn how it (whatever the device is) works.  Inside and out.  If you are confident in your knowledge of how something works and will behave, your confidence working with it significantly rises.
> 
> As I have not yet attended BMQ however, I am reluctant to give any actual advice with respect to you educating yourself on the mechanics of firearms because *I am certain the CF (based on what I have seen) will ensure you are confident in the operation of the C7* well before you get anywhere near a range.



Your confidence is, regretfully, misplaced.

It wasn't too long ago I was an Officer-Cadet having only done BMOQ and I was advocating that the CAF put more emphasis on *how* the C7 works for the exact reasons you described. Like anything, some agreed, some disagreed, and some felt my opinion meant nothing because of my experience level. Many years later, it is one of the few opinions I have held that didn't change...


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## Shrek1985 (26 Dec 2014)

ballz said:
			
		

> Your confidence is, regretfully, misplaced.
> 
> It wasn't too long ago I was an Officer-Cadet having only done BMOQ and I was advocating that the CAF put more emphasis on *how* the C7 works for the exact reasons you described. Like anything, some agreed, some disagreed, and some felt my opinion meant nothing because of my experience level. Many years later, it is one of the few opinions I have held that didn't change...



agreed. I have noted this many times in review sessions with standards as well. despite teaching on more than 20 courses, they don't listen to me either.

in the past I had time to do extras with showing the troops how firearms in general and the C7 in particular worked, but not anymore.


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## RedcapCrusader (27 Dec 2014)

Most of the time you'll be more stressed out about getting all the brass flakes and carbon out of your C7 prior to an inspection than anything else...


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## Fishbone Jones (27 Dec 2014)

Advice has been already given by a poster that shoots for, here in Canada, the Queen's medal and has attended Bisley.

Pretty sure the question has been answered.   The rest is all repetition.

---Staff---


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