to shoot our 50 cal on our APC I got a thrill.
It left me fast when I realized there would be others shooting back some time.

Thanks for the pics.

Why does it make a difference to you whether or not the shooting experience is a bucolic one? Is it just that such facilities make it marginally more difficult to paint gun owners and shooters as toothless rednecks or sociopaths?

Not me.

I have no idea what the attraction is for gun owners, this caught my interest due to
the elite configuration of the group...or so they present themselves as such.

It's exactly like an exclusive country club for golfers, but for people of means with guns. Would I want to go shoot here? Hell no! I'm perfectly happy off in the woods or in my buddies back yards shooting targets as opposed to going to some hoity toity place for people with more money then sense looking for a status symbol.

Another thing, from a post above, about the targets that are shaped like humans. That is the standard for most firing ranges around the country, as well as quite a few shooting competitions. It's just the way it is. It's not people going out to shoot targets that look like humans, specifically for the purpose of shooting a human shaped target. It's what they have on hand, so they use them. Most weapon sights are designed around placing a round center mass. As someone who shoots regularly, it's much harder to hit a classic "bullseye" on a target, ie; a round target, then it is to place a round center of mass on a paper target that happens to be shaped like a human. There's nothing malicious, evil or inherently violent about using that type of target. It would be the same idea as using a funny target printed out to look like a zombie.

Shooting isn't something bad. It's a hobby and a sport that people enjoy as well as an incredibly perishable skill. If you don't practice, practice, practice, your skill in the sport will deteriorate back to square one. Something that they teach in the military is the "1% mindset". You practice and train 99% of the time so in the 1% time that you actually have to use the skill that you've practiced and trained on, you'll be ready, be that hunting, competing or needing to defend yourself from an attacker. Do I condone taking of a life? NO! Not in the slightest. But if it were come down to either someone threatening bodily harm to myself, a loved one or even a random stranger, or the person that might do them harm, I'm going to choose putting said attacker down on the ground in the fastest, most effective way possible. When lives count, seconds matter.

This group is a safe haven for support of gun control legislation.

The open gun forum is here -

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1172

Is it only about learning to shoot a gun properly, understanding the mechanism etc?
No, I don't think so...I see these elite clubs as a further investment Americans make
in guns as entertainment..guns as glorified and fun! I don't understand the fascination
and I am not asking for these clubs to be band from existence.

The OP is posted for exposure and as an example of Americans fascination with guns...and a special
place for the elite among them.

same old tune. Welcome back Bubba...