There’s nothing quite like heading to the gun range or out into the woods — the peace and focus allow all the cares of the world to simply drift away as you concentrate on hitting your target.
You know that you enjoy the activity, but did you know that there are some great additional benefits of shooting? Everything from honing your reflexes to gaining confidence are all positive side effects of your favorite shooting activity.
Here are four benefits you get from hitting the range.
1. Focus and Mental Discipline
The ability to narrow your focus to a single point doesn’t happen magically. It takes time, effort and concentration to reduce all the external inputs to a minimum and force your brain to accurately aim your weapon. Your mind may still as your brain calculates everything from wind speed to the distance to the target to barometric pressure — and you may not have a clue that all this work is going on in the background! Expert shooters believe that whether your bullet hits the mark is determined before you ever squeeze the trigger, simply based on your preparation and decisions leading up to that point.
2. Building Strength
Guns are heavy! Anyone who has had an extensive round of target practice can attest to that fact. Even the lightest gun will start getting heavier after a while. Carrying and raising your gun is actually a great exercise, and requires arm strength to ensure that your weapon doesn’t wobble as you aim. Aiming is another time that you’re getting in some toning activities. When you’re holding your breath and tensing before a shot, you’re building core strength.
3. Relieve Stress
Do you ever feel physically lighter after you’ve been shooting? That feeling could be the release of endorphins from having fun — or it could be stress leaving your body. When you focus on the task at hand, you’re pushing away all of the day’s stressors and replacing them with the athletic concerns around shooting your weapon. You may find that the cares of the day have simply melted away and you are able to bring concerns back into perspective after a shooting session.
4. Tactical Thinking
Anyone who hunts game or shoots in competition knows that you need to think tactically if you’re going to be successful. Hunters are continually trying to stay several steps ahead of their prey, causing you to research various animals and gain a greater understanding of the natural world. When you’re shooting in a tournament or at the range, you may have to determine which shooting position is best for a particular shot or course, as well as planning how you’ll move throughout the range to be successful.
You probably didn’t need another reason to get out there and get shooting. Just in case you did need a reason to take up America’s favorite pastime, these four reasons are a pretty compelling argument for getting started.
~ Firearm Daily
