Gun Range

Hi,

Today I accomplished two challenges. I will discuss the most challenging first.

I married a man who shoots. His father shoots so he taught his son to shoot.
I was a pacifist who hated guns with a passion.

So, today, I took one of the biggest challenges I could think of. My husband took me to a gun range and I shot my first .22.
I have never held a live gun before or even thought of shooting one. To me, they were and are still something to be feared, respected and treated with the most caution one can provide to an object. It is not something I take lightly.

The hardest part was getting the first shot off. My heart was racing and I was sweating so much my safety glasses kept fogging up. I was allowed to shoot 35 rounds. My husband finished the 50 and shot 50 9mm. I do not like 9mm. The sound from the gun as it went off was enough to stop my heart. As well, the flame that comes out of the 9mm made my skin crawl. Everytime it went off, I got this instant feeling of dread and the desire to bolt out of the room as fast as I could. Imagine that 50 times and you'll now understand why I am exhausted. The 9mm also caused my ears to pop and I was wearing full ear protection.

The .22 did not have any kick to it at all and was a breeze to shoot. It wasn't very loud and I could still feel my heart beating after shooting all of those rounds. I have to admit the first 7 rounds did not hit the paper, but I was able to shoot the centre of my target. I was also able to provide the target with a hair cut (meaning I aimed very high) and scare him a little bit (I missed the man, but hit the paper). I have attached a photo of my target as further proof of my handi work.

The biggest thing to me was that I did it. There was such a sense of happiness I felt as we were leaving the range. I never ever thought that I could shoot a gun. These things kill people every day and to me a gun represents the end: death. However, today I learned that if I treated something responsibly and respectfully it wasn't that bad. However, I am glad there were range officers there who were watching every move we made to ensure safety came first. I think shooting may be something I could do again, mind you only the .22. I couldn't handle any more kick or noise.

Thanks for reading.

Lynn