Thousands of Rounds

Some time back, a person I know put up a Facebook live video. It was unintentionally hilarious. This individual was in the Army National Guard. He was deriding civilian firearms training. This individual had served as an infantryman, an artilleryman, and also in recruiting. He made near constant claims of going to soon join the Army Rangers. He also claimed to actively train with Army Rangers "all the time." 

His rant continued. He said he "shoots thousands of rounds every month." And this was the part that made me laugh out loud! You see, his profession was as a truck driver. These days, the average truck driver in Tennessee earns about $55,000 per year. After taxes, that works out to about $3600 per month take home. He was also divorced and paid child support. According to what he had told me, it was about $900 per month. So, his net earnings were somewhere in the $2700 per month range. Maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less. 

How is this funny? Hang on and stay with me here. 

At current prices (ammo prices were much higher at that time), 1000 rounds of .223 ammo is about $620. That's just 1000 rounds - not "thousands" (plural). Somehow, I seriously doubt that someone spends virtually a quarter of their take home pay on shooting. Particularly someone who is or has been in the military - very few do any appreciable amount of shooting. 

No, this was braggadocio - plain and simple. This individual was grasping at straws, attempting to build "credibility" with regards to firearms skill.