Stages of Learning in Riflecraft

The way of the rifle is a journey that could last a lifetime depending on what it means to you, what you’re willing to give it, and what you want out of it.  There are many landmarks along the way to give you an idea where you are.  They are no different from the landmarks of learning any other art.  I can only speak to what I have experienced, but I think I have managed to get down the road a ways.

The beginner has just stumbled onto the rifle.  He has no context, he just feels the pull towards the steel and walnut, or fiberglass, or aluminum and plastic, or the massive claw extractor, or the power and speed (mostly these last).  The beginner has a choice: to remain a beginner with some cool equipment, or to adopt a method and begin learning about shooting.  In the flow charts that follow, notice that to the left is an end, and to the right as a continuation.

To continue learning the beginner will adopt a method and become a disciple.  The disciple believes first and foremost in his discipline, and usually his in master as well.  Note that the master in some cases may not be personally known to the disciple; he may publish a method to be followed via media.  The disciple believes without any doubt in the superiority if his system.  Why is this?  It is because the disciple does not have the experience to realize that his discipline exists within a defined context.  The particular discipline is probably functional within this context, because the context is also defined by the method.  But the disciple does not have the knowledge or experience to imagine that there are other methods to address other problems or other definitions of reality. 

With regular practice and application, the disciple with become an advanced practitioner of his method.  This is analagous to a 1st degree black belt in the martial arts- having a bit of skill, but not mature skill.  Traditionally, this is the level in which the practitioner is ready to begin serious study.  Currently, because not many people understand the difference between having a little skill and mastery, this level is thought of as more of a destination than a waypoint. 

The acquisition of a little skill is kind of a milestone- hence the new black belt for the uniform.  Curiosity on the part of the practitioner may lead him to explore other contexts of skill in the same discipline.  This is frowned upon by insecure instructors, or those with an immature level of skill themselves.  This brings the practitioner to another fork in the road: to wallow in his expertise in his system, or to begin to feel what is outside of his system, which is to question the system itself.

It is a difficult thing to question the method.  The devotee has invested time and probably a good deal of money into learning and mastering it.  Questioning the system can lead the practitioner to feel duped- all that time and money, not only that, but the emotional investment- for what?  It will lead the rifleman to feelings of resentment toward his system.  On the other hand, it is a period of tremendous growth.  The rifleman can apply his considerable skill to learning other ways, to solving other problems he has not considered before.  It will give him a new and broader context to frame what he already knows, and to realize what he has yet to learn. 

Note that the rifleman does not necessarily need to leave the system.  He may decide that the system is sound, although he will have improved his mastery of it through his questioning.  He will find weaknesses that he will learn to address.

The rifleman may adopt a new method and start anew.  He may dabble in more than one method.  What the rifleman will discover is that with each new method comes a group of new people that believes as he once did in the superiority of their own system.  But now the rifleman can see that these new peoples’ vision is limited, that their context is narrow, and that what they are doing may be better at addressing some things, but also limited in ways the people cannot see. 

As the rifleman grows, he will become weary of seeking out new skills, only to find yet another “teacher” with no more skill than he, telling him “you’re doing it wrong, my way is best”.  He begins to take correction as a challenge, and is not very easy to teach.  He may become angry or resentful.  This is essentially pride in his skill that is blocking him from learning.  This is a problem because the rifleman is correct to question what he is being told, but incorrect to be defensive.  At any rate, the rifleman cannot help but be who he is and where he is.  If he cannot settle with a system, he will become his own master.

Taking responsibility for one’s own learning opens a floodgate for the rifleman.  The possibilities are endless.  He has a huge perspective of the world of riflery.  He has enough information to form his own context and make his own path through the world.  He can apply his own logic and reason to draw his own conclusions, and devise a method that will address each conclusion.  He will work to bring his craft from the nebulous and uncertain to the square and defined.   

It is human nature to want to make order out of chaos.  If his skill, perception, timing, and luck all come together, the rifleman can create a legacy for himself along the lines of Whelen, O’Connor, Cooper, and Hathcock.  He can bask in the glory that he deserves after all of his tireless inquiry… or he can fight stagnation yet again. 

 

What’s odd about learning is that we seek to find the answers.  At the beginning we don’t even know what the questions are, but we seek.  We may learn the answer before we figure out what the question was.  Then we start to learn the answers to other questions.  Then we can know enough to ask our own questions and learn our own answers.   

Finding the answers can be anti-climactic after a while.  Sometimes it seems like the answer given was produced off the top of someone's head to keep them from looking stupid in front of the "class".  The answer is just there to function as a plug in the pathway.  It’s the questions that lead to an influx of learning, to making realizations, to huge leaps in progress.  The rifleman will discover that he doesn’t need to know the answer, but only needs to ask the question. 

The rifleman will then realize that although his is good enough to make his own way, it will benefit him at times to take counsel from others.  He will discover that he needs to find a golden mean between self-reliance and humility.  He knows that he need not depend on another to show him the way, but that he can still suspend what he knows or has used in order to further his progress along the way.

 

As I said before, I can only speak to my experience.  Not all of it is with shooting, but life is life.  I try to call it as I see it, but obviously I can’t see everything.