I know exactly what you are saying. I know hundreds of people that own guns, and would be considered "gun people" that might only fire a gun once a year or even less. I know a lot of hunters who at most check their zero before hunting. A lot of them figure that once they zero, that is done and there is no reason to ever check it again. They don't fire a gun at all unless they are hunting or getting read to hunt. For them, they enjoy hunting, not shooting.
I also have read countless posts on this board written by people who ONLY own a gun for self defense. They probably practice with it, maybe even a lot, but I wonder if it isn't just work to them: they feel the need to aquire and maintain their skills but arn't doing it for enjoyment. I know a lot of people who bought a gun strictly for self defense and have never fired a single round through it. They don't think about guns, talk about guns, participate in any activities related to guns. They have a gun in their nightstand, dresser, car or whereever. They know it is there, but actually firing it never crosses their mind. I work with a guy that is very right wing. He went out and bought some type of handgun, I guess for self defense or possibly just because he considered it his duty as a right winger to own a gun. Some other people told me that they went camping with him and his wife. At some point during the trip, he and his wife took their handgun, hiked miles away from everyone else. He loaded the handgun and fired one round. He handed the gun to his wife and she fired one round. They then put the gun back in it's case and hiked back.
When I was growing up, I think just about everyone owned guns. But, I think very few of them every fired them. They might have been passed down through the family over the years, they might have been a war trophy, they might have been won in some raffle; who knows where they got them. They were pretty much just considered a fact of life, but I dont' think they ever really shot them or talked about them. To many, they were just a tool. I remember people would occasionally shoot a varmint, or maybe shoot down a wasps nest with a shotgun. My dad was a prime example. He owned at least a half dozen guns. His great grandfather owned a gun, his father owned a gun, my mothers father owned a gun............... and my dad ended up with all of them. He stuck them up above the duct work in the basement and never touched them again, until I started begging him to let me shoot them. Since I moved out, I am pretty sure he has never fired another gun.
I know a collector who for many years bought lots of guns and knew all about them and their history. But, he never fired them. He was strictly a collector. He has since turned himself around and now buys guns based on how they shoot.
I even have known at least one guy that talked about guns and even bought gun magazines. Yet he didn't own a gun and had never fired one.
I am not one of these people. I am into this hobby primarily for shooting. I do sort of collect guns, I do hunt, and I do own guns for self defense. But 99% of the reason I own guns is because I enjoy shooting them.
