Here we have a Scotsman documenting his first time pulling a trigger. Well, a few of them. Anyway, to hear the powers that be from his homeland tell it, no true Scotsman would contemplate firing a gun, let alone admit how much he actually enjoyed it.
His reaction after his outing in the wilds of Maryland (of all places) — skip forward to the 9:50 mark — probably won’t surprise you. Alasdair’s (or whatever his name is) conclusion after his exotic, American experience pretty much comports with that of 95% of all the new shooters ever taken to the range by a gun guy or gal they know. He had a hell of a lot of fun.
But that’s not all. Despite everything he’s likely heard and been taught through his life, Alasdair concludes that people try come out and shoot for the first time, “because they want to grow up, basically. They want to be adults.”
I can see absolutely how…a guy can get really into this. As a hobby and…not just as a hobby, though, as something that would relate to the whole of his life and identity. Like, ‘I’m a guy who can fire a gun reliably and proficiently and productively.’ So, yeah, wow. What a rush. But also, yeah, it feels healthy. It feels right.
If that isn’t an abject display of toxic masculinity, we don’t know what is. Which is why the best cure for an acute case of hoplophobia is a single trip to the range…exactly what the civilian disarmament industrial complex fears most. What’s the best reaction you’ve seen by a new shooter?