No. 28: Learn to shoot a gun

No. 28: Learn to shoot a gun!

I did it!

Friend loves online auctions and one morning he asked "Didn't you say you wanted to learn to shoot?"  Yep, I sure did.  Soooooo..... he bid on a gun for me.  And I totally forgot about it.

Until the next morning when he announced I was now the proud owner of a Smith & Wesson 38 Special.  Uh, how did that happen again?

Isn't it cute? 

Anyway, the gun arrived, a membership to the gun club materialized and Voila! all I had to do was schedule myself for a class.

With all the traveling and the pandemic and, you know, life....I had not gotten around to it. Until I did. 

I signed myself up for the Women's Only Introduction to Pistols at Bristlecone Shooting range in Lakewood, Co.  This was the week. Four hours of instruction: two in the classroom and two on the range.

Now, I wanted to learn to shoot a gun because it just seems like a good thing to know.  I have no delusions that I will be packing heat on a regular basis but I did want to feel comfortable around them. And I do have a house in the woods surrounded by bears and mountain lions and ...ahem...a few crazy people.  Besides, aren't Texas girls supposed to know how to shoot? 

So I paid close attention during class and then nervously entered the range. There had been much discussion about "recoil" which was not something I realized I needed to worry about.

We dry fired our guns...practicing without bullets... before I got the lesson on loading and a review of safety rules and then...show time.

Geez, I was nervous. I pulled the trigger and screamed "F**K". (Thankfully only 3 of us on the range and no one seemed offended.)   It was at that moment that I realized I basically just set off some gun powder in my hand, barely encased in the stainless steel. And here is my first shot. 

If you're looking all over, 

let me just point out that one perfect hole in the center of the A.

Which was exactly where it was supposed to be.

Not bad, huh?   But that was because I was unaware of how LOUD it would be. And there would be a bright flash. And the gun would actually smoke at times. 

The first 45 minutes I jumped at every shot, mine or the other student's. And sometimes at the shots from the range next door. It seemed that box of 50 bullets was going to last forever... and there was still another hour of range time left....and maybe this wasn't such a good idea. 

Cock that gun...

But I persevered. And it got to be fun. 

Aim.

And no, I wasn't that great although I can proudly say that there were fifty bullets in the box and I ended up with fifty holes in the target. 

We weren't supposed to aim for the head. 

I did feel bad about getting the target in the nuts, though.

Can't wait to go back. No. 28 is done.

(And no, I was not sore the next morning. That little revolver really didn't have much recoil.
BUT... My right shoulder blade was sore the second morning. Probably just from holding my arms at an angle I was unused to....)