rhino Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 I don't know if any of you ever have shooting-related dreams, but I used to have one that recurred every few weeks where I'd be in a defensive situation and I'd have my gun(s), but no matter how hard I pressed on the trigger, the gun would not go off. That particular dream was sometimes altered to where it would discharge, but even though I hit the threat, it would have no effect. This morning I had one that was even worse. I was asleep in my house when a "home invasion" happened. It kept replayin in my head, but each time I was unable to get to where my weapon was stored in time to do anything about it. This is kind of weird since I carry on my person around the house, but dreams don't usually follow reality (or else they wouldn't be dreams!). There earlier dreams I've "solved" by sort of "taking control" in my dream state and repeating the scenes, but with things going the way I want them to go. That cut way back on the frequency too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted March 25, 2004 Author Share Posted March 25, 2004 I used to have dreams that a USPSA or 3-gun match was happening at a non-existent range in my hometown, but I would always arrive too late to shoot. I'm almost always late anyway, so that's not anything that scared me, but it sucked to miss "the big match" in any case. Of the times I've made it in time, the match would somehow go inside of a gymnasium and I'm not sure why everyone didn't get killed by shoot throughs and such with all of the stages back to back down the length of the gym. Very weird and unnerving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Oh, you mean real dreams. I thought you were talking about something bad happening while shooting. I don't have dreams anymore, got over the flash backs. Have seen 2 people shoot themselves in the leg at matches. One guy did it twice. He did not shoot anymore after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooter Grrl Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 My shooting dreams are never bad - they always involve me winning a stage at the Nationals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 I'd be in a defensive situation and I'd have my gun(s), but no matter how hard I pressed on the trigger, the gun would not go off. I used to have this dream quite recurrent in my childhood: same incapacity to pull the trigger. This all vanished by itself when I started to shoot IPSC and got quite a bit capable of making a gun fire. I guess my young bad dream might have originated from having tried to pull a toy revolver trigger still being a little kid, then (almost) not being able to accomplish this due to lack of strenght and/or stiff trigger. Now my recurring nightmare (almost once in a month) is I haven't graduated at the university, and I have to go back to school to pass last 3 or 4 exams to get laurel... Final note: you watch too many "shoot the zombie" movies... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted March 25, 2004 Author Share Posted March 25, 2004 Oh, you mean real dreams. I thought you were talking about something bad happening while shooting. Heh, nah ... but sometimes my shooting is nightmarish enough to make me cringe! I don't have dreams anymore, got over the flash backs. Should I infer that you are a veteran? (Vietnam?) I can only imagine that dreams of that nature must be much worse than the fabrications of my mind. Have seen 2 people shoot themselves in the leg at matches. One guy did it twice. He did not shoot anymore after that. I've never seen it happen, but I know people who have done it (not at matches, though). My shooting dreams are never bad - they always involve me winning a stage at the Nationals Hah! I can't even shoot that well in my dreams! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 I have had gun related nightmares where the gun would not function or if it did it would fail to neutralize the threat. Almost everytime I have had these kinds of dreams I owned either a faulty gun or some small caliber mouse gun. Now I carry a .45 that runs 100% so I am bad dream free! -ld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Rhino Yes, I am a Viet Nam vet. Yes I saw combat, no I was not injured. Saw some bad things, over it for a long time now. We had a guy shoot himself in the calf holstering his gun, six weeks later, he did it again, almost same place...that's got to hurt... My bad shooting dream always involve me beating TGO in the '84 Natl's shootoff. It never works out like I want it to, that dream always follows reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 rhino, I don't want to sound glib or insincere, but, dude, seriously... counseling, therapy, psychologist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 If rhino would quit sleeping in his bandoliers, things might be different.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 the bandoliers keep his pj's from falling down. lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 LOL...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 After a traumatic experience, I had various bad dreams for quite some time. Then they were coalesced upon seeing (of all things) the video for "We Belong" by Pat Benetar: Its a beautiful setting; waterfall, garden, childrens choir, reflecting pool, etc. Except in my version, around the corner, under the waterfall, lurked evil. Cthulhu-class evil, with death camp guard attendants. And regardless of what I went around the corner with (and I had no choice, I had to go) they all malfunctioned; BARs, Garands, Thompsons, Browning A5, 1911, katana, broadsword, mace and flail, they all malf-ed on me. I'd wake up screaming. Then fall asleep and go through it again. My "solution" was to work hard, and drink coffee all day long, in the hopes I'd be so exhausted that I wouldn't dream. Sometimes it helped. What helped were friends, and realizing that the trauma had not been my fault. No man is so tough he can handle trauma without friends or help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Ankeny Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 rhino: I had a conversation with a sleep therapist over 15 years ago about the type of dreams you describe. Turns out, the failure to fire and failure to neutralize dreams are very common and perfectly normal. Yes, I have had both but not for a very long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted March 26, 2004 Author Share Posted March 26, 2004 I had a conversation with a sleep therapist over 15 years ago about the type of dreams you describe. Turns out, the failure to fire and failure to neutralize dreams are very common and perfectly normal. Yes, I have had both but not for a very long time. Whew! I've read that they're kind of like the dream where your teeth crumble and fall out ... something about feeling like you're not in control of something you wish you could control. No man is so tough he can handle trauma without friends or help. Thanks for the insight, Patrick! the bandoliers keep his pj's from falling down. I know you're joking, but you're closer to the truth that you think. Almost all of my sweatpants and shorts I wear to sleep and around the house are way, way, way too big even for me. When I'm up and around (or at the gym), I wear one of those wide, nylon weight lifting belts ... mostly to keep my pants from falling down! Coincidentally, it give me a nice place to snuggle an IWB holster while retaining lounge-around-the-house level of comfort. If rhino would quit sleeping in his bandoliers, things might be different.... Last night I was adjusting my chest rig ... and I wore it around the house just to make sure it was nice and comfy. Heh! My bad shooting dream always involve me beating TGO in the '84 Natl's shootoff. It never works out like I want it to, that dream always follows reality. Keep trying! If you can master that "lucid dreaming" business, you'll be able to beat him at least some of the time! Thank you for your service, by the way. I have had gun related nightmares where the gun would not function or if it did it would fail to neutralize the threat. Almost everytime I have had these kinds of dreams I owned either a faulty gun or some small caliber mouse gun. Now I carry a .45 that runs 100% so I am bad dream free! You may be onto something there, too ... I have a hard time trusting an mechanical device, even when it has proven itself over and over, thousands of times. rhino, I don't want to sound glib or insincere, but, dude, seriously... counseling, therapy, psychologist. Interesting ... I don't necessarily see a need for that, but thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 guns-in-dreams Most of mine--the few that have occurred thus far--have either been my handling a new gun, someone handing me a new gun (or one they want me to test or consider buying) and the involved-but-not-involved ones depicting a scenario/incident or a hypothetical scenario/incident where I'm advising someone on what happened or what could've been done had I become involved and drawn my weapon. Sort-of a chatting-and-theorizing-with-the-authoriities dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 I have a friend who was a Vietnam Vet. The dreams have never gone away for him. His guns stay in the garage, in the gun safe, period. He won't allow any type of weapon in his bedroom - it's that bad. Took him to a practical rifle match...exactly once. The poor bastard didn't sleep for a week after that. ============================================== Been through the same deal at Patrick. About scared my parents half to death once when I visited them 5 years ago. I got into town very late and just headed straight for bed. Dad woke up and peeked in to see if I'd made it, and I started going berzerk in my sleep because I thought he'd come to kill me. Do me a favor. If you're not going to unload your guns while you're going through this, lock them the hell up. Doing neither is not a viable option. My problem was that I had actually had people try to kill me in real life, and the nightmares were so vivid that it took me a while to differentiate dream from reality after I'd wake up. Have the wisdom to do the right thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liota Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 the bandoliers keep his pj's from falling down. lynn Lynn, You mean it keeps him from having a "wardrobe malfunction"? Liota Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Yeh, he's already had a couple of good ones!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 After a traumatic experience, I had various bad dreams for quite some time. ...around the corner, under the waterfall, lurked evil. Cthulhu-class evil, ...No man is so tough he can handle trauma without friends or help. Patrick, I don't know what trauma you had but I feel for anyone who describes their dreams in Lovecraftian terms. -ld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Maybe you all are dreaming right now..... Neo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 You should be too...it's almost 2 am in Ohio! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted March 26, 2004 Author Share Posted March 26, 2004 Hmmm ... When I was younger, I couldn't tell that I was dreaming until I was awake and realized that I had just been dreaming earlier. In the last 20 years or so, somehow I know when I am dreaming. It doesn't change the intensity, but somehow my unconscious mind can categorize it on the run. I wonder if that's why I can "control" things so often, or almost always when it's a dream I've had before. The only dreams I can't seem to control are those where I am looking for something and can't find it. They're not very spectacular in terms of evoking emotions, so perhaps my brain has less motivation to change the scenario or rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 My shooting dreams are never bad - they always involve me winning a stage at the Nationals Yeah, right SG! In your dreams! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooter Grrl Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 My shooting dreams are never bad - they always involve me winning a stage at the Nationals Yeah, right SG! In your dreams! Ya never know... it COULD happen! In my dreams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now