Shots Fired

Let me be clear, I am terrified of guns. They make me nervous. I married someone, however, who feels very differently about them. Not only does he have a concealed weapons permit, he likes to carry a gun. Oh, the many 'talks' we've had about this over our 3 years of marriage. We are both so passionate about our point of view.

There are a lot of things that will change the way you approach new things in life. Some go for new year resolutions, some go through 12 steps, I went for face your fears head on. Friday night, Josh and I went to the shooting range with some friends. We didn't get to shoot long, due to a typo on their website listing hours, but we shot off a few rounds. Josh showed me the basics, since I hadn't shot a gun in about 15 + years. (Even then, we were camping and I was a kid. Not much fear and targets were pop cans.) I started with a .22. It was lightweight and easy to shoot. No kick back and Josh had explained where the slide would come back, so I wasn't injured in any way. I was pretty proud of myself for my aim, considering I was shaking uncontrollably. (Plus, another person was shooting a 357 Magnum next to me - aka hand cannon. I jumped every time it went off!) Then I moved quickly to the 9 mil. This was much heavier to hold and definitely had kick to it. I had loaded the clip and tried 3 times to fire the gun and it wouldn't fire. Obviously, if I'm scared to death of guns, having a locked and loaded handgun possibly misfire is not my idea of fun. I finally begged Josh to come look at it, which he did. I hadn't put the clip in far enough, so it wasn't loading bullets. Phew! I presume the one shot that was way off target was probably my first shot with this gun. I was such a wreck, at this point. Then, as you can see, you are in a confined little cubicle. The spent shells fly out and bounce off the wall to go behind you. Well, one of these shiny, HOT shells ricocheted right at my throat and promptly went down my shirt. Yes, I shrieked and jump around, shaking out my shirt. All the while, loaded 9 mil. in right hand. No permanent damage done, just a little crescent shaped mark on my neck. I know that I've got a long way to go in the shooting world, if I'm going to feel confident. I would aim the gun, lightly place my finger on the trigger, close my eyes and shoot. Probably not very safe. I am the same way when I slam on my brakes in the car. I close my eyes when I'm scared. I'd better work on that.

We were only able to shoot for about 15 min. before closing, but we plan to go again. Especially, since my Dad didn't believe he trained me well enough to hit the target at all. He's gotta see this first hand!

Josh bought me some ear protection and we couldn't resist trying them on Mason first.