“Sporting Use” concept should’ve faded from our vernacular a long time ago!

A remark in an article about the MP7A1 in Recoil Magazine caused many reactions in the firearms community.

Some people are asking, understandably, why I have been so involved in the Outcry against Recoil Magazine’s Editor’s Statements over the last couple of days.

I labored under & against the “Sporting Purpose” concept since the ’90s and have had to deal with several companies/organizations over the last 15 years that were slow to move out from under that politically correct marketing approach. When I taped my first DVDs for the PDN Series distributed by the NRA in the mid-2000’s we weren’t allowed to use human shaped targets. There was no “Tactical” section at the first several SHOT Shows I attended. Just recently, another instructor and friend was uninvited from teaching at a shooting range that claims now to be for ‘sport shooting’ only. I’ve had trouble booking courses in certain areas for the same reasons.

Especially in an election year and especially from a magazine that has a growing influence on younger shooters new to our community, I won’t tolerate the concept of guns needing a “sporting purpose” inside our own ranks… and Recoil Magazine has certainly put itself into the training community in a big way.

Do I have a dog in this fight? Yes… and the dog is long in the tooth with a good memory and a perspective on how far we have come in recent history. Let’s not start slipping backwards.
-RJP