I was thinking, is it better to be a good rifleman or a good handgun shooter in practical real life situations?  I would say it would be handgunning even though I shoot rifles MUCH better.

I'd say a handgun because you can carry a pistol without being noticed in public much easier than carrying a rifle.

That being said, it wouldn't hurt to be a good shot with either...practice, practice, practice!

Would a submachinegun be included in the rifle catagory?

... Because my handguns are [i]available[/i] far more often than my rifles are I've chosen to master the pistols first.

... Besides, it always impresses the womenz when you can repeatedly clang a 6" steel target at 50 yards with your .45 when most of the other guys in the group are all proud and shit when & if they tag the same target with a long gun!

[img]http://www.geocities.com/geodanny/gifs/jollyroger/firing_gun.gif[/img]

(broak spell checker)

There's an old Mexican saying - something like "The man with the rifle usually wins."

For me it's a handgun.  I carry and figure it would be much better to have a accurate pistol skill when and if it comes time to give some poor bastard a lead supplement...
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A submachine gun would be in the submachine gun category [:D]

In my honest opinion, being a good shot with a pistol is much easier that being a good rifleman.  A pistol is the last weapon besides a knife that i would want to do combat with.  For close range a shotgun is the best alternative. However this creates a problem. A shotgun is difficult if not almost impossible to conceale.  This is the reason a shotgun is ruled out unless ou are defending against a home intruder. For common defense situaltions, such as a mugging or a robbery a person armed with a pistol does not have to be that good of a shot.  Since the distance of most confrontations are under 10ft away a person will only have to hit an area roughly 2ft by 3ft.  Such a shot is extremely easy if you train with your weapon at least one a week.  Now being a good rifleman is much harder. Now really think about this for a min, if you are shooting a rifle more than likely you are aiming at a target anywhere from 25 to 1000 yard away. There is much more to take into consideration when you try a shot.  Distance is the main one.  Most people have a hard time judging anything past 100 yards.  Wind is another factor, and yes even with a large caliber wind still has quite a bit of effect on the bullets flight path.  In the heavy winds of the panhandle you would be suprised how much the wind will affect a bullet.  Basically you must ultmatly decide wich kind of shooting you will mostly be doing.  If you are a rifle hunter place your emphasis on the rifle. If you are more worried of what will happen when TSHTF, concentrate on tactical or a battle type shooting.  As for me  I concentrate on the rifle.  I have little use for a pistol and am more interested in the hunting aspect of shooting.  However i do not neglect the pistol, i always make time to practice at the range with my Colt 1911. After all you never know what is going to turn up wheather it will be a deer or a crazy bastard that wants to kill you in that dark alley

Use your pistol to get to your rifle.  That's the only way to do it.  A rifle usually means more firepower and greater range.

As a resident in a concealed carry state, I'm with Waverunner and Winston on this one.  If someone tries to shishkabob me at the ATM machine, I don't think running home to grab a long gun would be an option.