Guns

I hadn't shot handguns in a long time before this morning. I think the last time must have been in New York several years ago. I had been down to the skeet range at Cherry Creek just before Christmas, but it'd been a long time otherwise since I'd smelled gunpowder.

This morning I joined a girl from work at the indoor range. She had never fired a gun before and was interested to give it a try. I volunteered to show her the basics. We started out shooting a 9 mm which she quickly decided was too big for her, too powerful. In part, I think she was intimidated by the blasts coming from the aisle next to ours. Two guys were alternating between a big .45 and the monstrous Dessert Eagle .50. It kind of freaked her out.

Next, she tried a .22 Ruger pistol. That was much more to her liking. That gun goes pop, pop, pop more than bang, bang, bang. She was hitting the target with each shot but lacked consistency in her placement.

When it was my turn to shoot, she would often leave the lanes to get away from the noise. It really seemed to shake her. I was happy with the way I was shooting. From the first target location I was grouping my shots pretty well, especially with the 9 mm. At the further distance, all of my shots were landing to the left by about 3 or 4 inches.

It was a fun time all in all. She was glad to have gotten a chance to try shooting, but didn't seem too interested in ever needing to do it again. I, on the other hand, will likely be shooting again some time soon with another acquaintance who has recently expressed an interest and lack of experience.

Jonathan 3/25/2007 01:00:00 PM