First trip is , that if you are in a situation where you need a pistol, a rifle would normally be a better idea, and then, if you need a rifle, you probably messed up getting security and a surplus by being around the cool people in the first place.
Hitting a target you are aiming at, makes sense, and it is an accomplishment that requires self discipline to do more than once in a while. That is cool, the idea is that while you are at the shooting range, you are not in traffic, or at the gym bothering other people.
I live and work in the wilderness and mostly I challenge myself to try to get better at living in the woods so I will need to carry a rifle less and less. The thing is heavy and it is always in the way, and it is only really cool to have it when there is a caribou or moose or a big bird or something to get for dinner.
I think, from living in the woods I have learned that it would be really easy to hurt another person with old fashioned rocks and sticks about as fast as with a rifle. So I am not all that interested in debating if rifles need to be legal as much as I think the traffic and people bothering people who are shopping is more likely to get somebody hurt.
