Not one you've designed or shown us.
: /
What bothers me, though, is that while you are not carrying a gun, others might be. I would much rather carry one myself too just to even the odds (which brings it to another issue - preparation. You need to be good with your gun or else it does not matter carry you it or not).
It's not that I don't want to try firing one, I simply haven't.
I'm curious what it's like despite how much I don't plan on owning one. I see it like how Jin expressed to that one kid that it's only wise to carry a sword if you plan on using it, that it changes how others view you. I'd rather appear unassuming and weak than appear to pose some sort of threat. Despite that, the knowledge of it's use strikes me as something that might save me if random chance throws that at me.
"I see it like how Jin expressed to that one kid that it's only wise to carry a sword if you plan on using it, that it changes how others view you.".
I just fire my the rifle I put together, it's always kept at home, out of sight when its not at the range. Others dont get a chance to see it really. I will say that comparison is spot on with pistols. Everyday people getting pistols and permits, practicing and shooting eventually takes its toll on them. They start carrying it around holstered in public, some hoping/looking for an excuse to test out the skills they've been practicing. I'd never carry around one of those.
It can be really relaxing and even therapeutic(or at least it was for me) in the right circumstances. Proper marksmanship has the right amount of complexity to make it feel extremely rewarding when you finally nail your target, I imagine you had something similar to that in martial arts.
I still shoot occasionally but I'll always miss those long range targets I could only have access to on base. Sitting back at the 800 meter line, getting down in the prone position making sure my legs were the right distance apart(the wider you legs the lower your aim, the closer together the higher), making sure my elbow placement was right, getting the rifle snug in the pocket of my shoulder and glancing through the optic. Making sure I had a good cheek weld and eye relief, looking at how small and far the target appeared, calculating on the bdc(bullet drop compensator, the reticule) how far up I should aim, adjusting/accounting for the wind. Then keeping a steady/calm breathing cycle, slowly squeezing the trigger at the bottom of my natural respiratory pause. All that just to see a tiny whole hit within the fatal T zone, was really gratifying.
If done right it's like that, most just shoot watermelons and water bottles as fast as they can. Quick, cheap fun I suppose, but proper marksmanship really is close to its own art form.