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#10-Shooting a gun at the firing range

This a blog about trying new things. Reaching beyond my comfort zone, exploring and making the most of life. My goal is to try 52 new things. One per week for a year.

My husband has a couple of guns and occasionally, once or twice a year, he goes to the shooting range with some friends and 'pops some caps'. He has even taken our son Leo who is a natural marksman. It would not surprise me in the least if Leo grows up to be some kind of weapons specialist. I had put "shooting a gun" on my list of new things to try and was fairly excited about giving it a go. Joel picked the Manteca Sportsmens club and we decided to get some ammo at Bass Pro Shops on the way. The range itself was waaaayyy out in the country. I didn't realize how far south Airport Way went. Once we got there, I just followed Joel's lead. We went into a gray concrete-block building and went into what reminded my of a kind-of recreation room. A big table with chairs, tv, and a counter with a register. The lady(and I use that term VERY loosely) had us sign a waiver and handed us our target papers. Then she said "tapes or staples?". Meaning... do you need it to hang your target? Joel said tape and grabbed some. Then she said "eyes and ears?" Apparently she was asking us if we had eye and ear protection. Joel said, "yea, we're good." I was quiet as a mouse. If you know me at all, that is pretty out of character for me. As we approached the shooting range, I started to feel a little nervous. I obviously had no idea what I was doing. We were the only ones there, for the time being. Joel put the targets up then pulled out the guns. The first one was a 9mm semi-automatic pistol. He started putting the bullets in the magazine then handed it to me so that I could put the bullets in. It was not easy. After about 4, I couldn't push them hard enough into the magazine. Once the magazine was full, Joel started giving me some pointers, stand with your feet shoulder width apart, called a Weaver stance. Always keep the gun pointed towards the range. Line up the lines of sight to the target. Squeeze the trigger, don't pull. As you get ready to squeeze, breath out. I asked him to shoot first so I could see his technique. Bang, bang, bang... The loud pop startled me, even with ear plugs on. Then there was the smoke and the bullet shells flying. I was getting a little bit anxious but thought, once I actually shoot the gun and see how easy it is, then I will feel more relaxed. WROOOONG! I picked up the gun, tried to remember everything Joel told me to do and I squeezed the trigger. My hands were sweating. The kick back shocked me and I missed the target. I looked at Joel, he motioned me to keep shooting. I felt awkward and all wrong. But I finished the clip. At this point, I would have been perfectly happy to leave and be done. Joel suggested I try the other gun an antique Colt Army 38. Revolver. It reminded me of the kind you see in the old westerns. It had even more kickback. A few more guys showed up to shoot. Then I learned another part of shooting range protocol. When someone wants to go put up there target you put your gun down on the counter and stand behind the red line. Always, safety first. I asked Joel to put up a clean target instead of one that we both shot at so I could see how I was really doing. I got 1 out of 8 on the target. Notice I said ON not IN. That's because I got it outside of the target but onto the paper. I was lousy. I was totally taken aback at how nervous and overwhelmed I felt. I thought I would feel strong and empowered. On the drive home, I told Joel how I felt, he said "it will get easier with practice". I could tell that he was proud of me for trying, even though I totally sucked.
In the end I am completely split. On one hand I feel like, I tried it and it's not for me. On the other hand, I want to go back, try again and totally redeem myself. For now, I'm onto the next new adventure.

Comments

This was a great post! I've yet to try shooting, too.

You are so honest about thinking you'd feel empowered but instead, you felt scared and nervous. I suppose it's because you're learning to be in control of something so powerful that could be destructive.

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