Gun Day Monday: Shoot More, It's Your Patriotic Duty

By Lt Col P

Instead of directing you to my other blog-- where I can vent on punks who richly deserve it and not sully this august forum-- let's do Gun Day Sunday (or rather, Monday) right here this week.

If you've been following my other threads you'll know that I'm interested in calling attention to, and promoting, the theory and practice of widespread civilian marksmanship, especially as it relates to preparing for defense of the nation. I believe that that neglected and misunderstood aspect of American life is one of the conrnerstones of our defense and needs to be reinvigorated. Today let's take a look at how the civilian shooting industry plays an unheralded but vital role in national defense.

The right to keep and bear arms ensures that the citizen can purchase and maintain small arms at his own expense and for his own lawful purposes. The purpose may be hunting, it may be heavily stylized target shooting, it may be purely practical shooting, aimed at self-defense and combat.

What other national defense function does widespread ownership and use of firearms serve? The maintenance of production capacity, through the mechanism of supply and demand. How expensive and inefficient would it be for the Federal government to maintain a monopoly on the production of small arms and ammunition? Very expensive, and not very efficient. When the population at large has access to small arms, then seeks out and is willing to pay for the best that can be had, the nation benefits incidentally, because civilian industry will expand and contract to meet the demand. The resulting industrial base, made up of private firms large and small, can be levied in time of war to supply the demands of the military.

Furthermore, the Federal government can benefit from the constant drive for product improvement that characterizes a market-driven industry. The firearms industry reacts just as well as any sector to the imperative to keep pressing the envelope of productivity and quality. A government-run arsenal doesn't heed the call of competition because it doesn't compete.

Now, of course, the gun industry can go off chasing after strange gods, fads and trends and all sorts of things that try to persuade the shooter that expensive gear can make up for brilliance in the basics, but when the shooting industry has at least one foot anchored in practical, military marksmanship then the chances of foolishness diminish. (And ask Jim Zumbo what happens when you forget the object of the exercise!) Outfits like ODCMP serve to link the civilians to the DoD, ably seconded by Gunsite and other organizations.

So, the militia of the United States, when truly well-regulated, is defense-on-the-cheap in more ways than one. The Federal and State governments do not have to draft and train every able-bodied male in order to have a large force that possesses a baseline knowledge of marksmanship. Nor do they have to maintain a large production base and concern themselves with every aspect of research and development. Rather, they simply have to encourage it, stand out of the way and let it happen.

What can we do? Call our Congressional representatives, and our State representatives. Tell them to keep their hands off our property, and remind them of the vital role the shooting public plays in an effective and cheap national defense.

Yet more reason, in my opinion, to open up the ranges and let the firing begin.

March 26, 2007 04:09 PM Homeland Security

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Comments

you would LOVE it out here Sir.

We drive 30 minutes out of town, bring a bag of bottles, and just find a field, get drunk, and shoot 'em.

Ah, simplest pleasures....no?

John · March 26, 2007 08:12 PM

Especially in Illinois.

John - back in the last century when I was but a young Ensign, I had the privelge of going to the NPTU (Nuclear Power Training Unit, the land-based reactor plant where we qualified just as we would once we got to a ship) in Idaho. Just outside Idaho Falls was a area the National Guard used to use for a range, but had long since been abandoned. Of course there is lots of high plains desert, too, but it was a 10 minute ride out of town to where we would shoot. Buckhorn Beer was $1.99 a sixpack. We would not drink it (even then, I did not drink and shoot) but would have everyone line up with something large and throw a can out into the desert. Quite dynamic...

bullnav · March 27, 2007 03:01 AM