Congressman John James is taking his best shot at distracting voters in his home state from his island vacation — amid the ongoing government shutdown — by reminding them he’s a badass with a gun.

Here’s the deal … yesterday, right around the time we posted a pic of Rep. James on his Turks & Caicos getaway, James posted a clip of himself unloading hand guns and assault rifles on targets and knocking out some pullups. Y’know? Super alpha male stuff.

In his caption, JJ said he went out shooting with the good people at the local outlet the Michigan Enjoyer, and he definitely did … but it was 8 freakin’ months ago!

This seems to be a move right out of the Congressional recess playbook … remember, after we published photos of Lindsay Graham toting around a bubble wand and riding Space Mountain at Disney World, he shared a skeet shooting pic to try to change the narrative.

BTW … James is posting a ton about his home state — also sharing an old pic of himself at a Detroit Tigers game in honor of the team’s home opener Friday afternoon.

We just don’t know if he’s actually in Michigan or relaxing on a beach somewhere. His office did not respond when he called for comment about the Turks pic.