I'm So Badass, Volume Two
Guess who qualified to carry concealed!
I was expecting a long day at the shooting range, but it went surprisingly fast. The instructors were amazing and so helpful, never condescending or rude. I don't think we could have picked better people to teach us. Anyway, we had a private "classroom" at the range. Basically, we were surrounded on three sides by burms. The bottom of the U-shaped classroom was were we were shooting. To warm up, we just shot a few rounds together, each of us with our own target. We used nine-inch paper plates for this exercise since they are are smaller than the target we'd have to qualify on.
After the initial exercises, we moved on to shooting with only our dominant hand on the gun, and then shooting with only our weak hand. I thought I'd flop if I tried to shoot with just my left hand, but I actually hit the target both times, even if it was the very edge of the paper plate. Anyway, moving and shooting exercises came next. It was so very cool. They set up a triangle of criminals and hostages. We had to run into the area, shoot a criminal holding a hostage, turn and shoot another criminal with a hostage, then do a one-eighty and shoot the last hostage-taker. Then we had to back up (keeping our weapon pointed at the bad guys)and take cover behind a wall so we could peek out and shoot two additional bad guys. I only killed two of the bad guys because I suck at shooting and moving, but I'll deal. I did better on the speed shooting of the bad guys because they were lined up in a row. I ran down the line and shot the bad guys without shooting the friendly folks' pictures. There were five bad guys and I got all but one of them in the twelve seconds given to us, even if I did shoot one of the bad guys in the ear.
Qualification came last, and it was a breeze compared to some of the moving and shooting exercises. Because most violent confrontations happen within three to seven yards, we had to demonstrate that we could hit a target at those distances. In New Mexico, if you want to carry (concealed) a pistol and a revolver, you need to demonstrate competency with both firearms. So, my first qualification test was with a 9mm Ruger. I passed with just missing two shots at seven yards. You can miss up to seven and still pass. I also qualified with a .38 Special. I know I said I wasn't feeling the one I rented at the indoor shooting range on Friday, but the one I shot today was nice. It was actually a .357, but we used .38 Special ammunition. I hit every single shot at both distances with it, and I had never shot the gun before qualification. Jason, Payroll Girl, and Super Foreman (the other fellow I work with that attended) all qualified as well. Jason qualified with the same handguns as I did.
This is a target I used to qualify. The square in the middle with the bad guy is about four inches, but any shots falling within the interior of the oval are considered correct and give you four points (you need 72 out of 100 points to qualify). This target is significantly smaller than the maximum target that the Department of Public Safety says you can qualify with which is twelve inches by eighteen inches. The tears in the paper along the far edges aren't bullet holes; they are where I removed the paper from the cardboard target since it had been stapled on.
We have to jump through a million hoops now to actually get the license itself. The hoops include, but are not limited to:
- Filling out the application form and two additional release forms which need to be notarized.
- Talking the county Sheriff into doing two fingerprint identification cards for me.
- Obtaining a certified copy of my birth certificate.
- Copying my driver's license to prove I live in New Mexico.
- Writing a whopping $100 check to cover the fee for the license.
- Delivering all of the above info to the Department of Public Safety.
- Waiting for my background check with the local police department to clear.
- Waiting for my background check with the FBI to clear.
- Waiting for the Department of Public Safety to make my super awesome concealed handgun license card and send it to me.
If only Mulder could do my FBI background check... Then it would be all sexified.
The Chronicles of Riddick is on television. I'm sad that it wasn't better since I really wanted to love it.
I was expecting a long day at the shooting range, but it went surprisingly fast. The instructors were amazing and so helpful, never condescending or rude. I don't think we could have picked better people to teach us. Anyway, we had a private "classroom" at the range. Basically, we were surrounded on three sides by burms. The bottom of the U-shaped classroom was were we were shooting. To warm up, we just shot a few rounds together, each of us with our own target. We used nine-inch paper plates for this exercise since they are are smaller than the target we'd have to qualify on.
After the initial exercises, we moved on to shooting with only our dominant hand on the gun, and then shooting with only our weak hand. I thought I'd flop if I tried to shoot with just my left hand, but I actually hit the target both times, even if it was the very edge of the paper plate. Anyway, moving and shooting exercises came next. It was so very cool. They set up a triangle of criminals and hostages. We had to run into the area, shoot a criminal holding a hostage, turn and shoot another criminal with a hostage, then do a one-eighty and shoot the last hostage-taker. Then we had to back up (keeping our weapon pointed at the bad guys)and take cover behind a wall so we could peek out and shoot two additional bad guys. I only killed two of the bad guys because I suck at shooting and moving, but I'll deal. I did better on the speed shooting of the bad guys because they were lined up in a row. I ran down the line and shot the bad guys without shooting the friendly folks' pictures. There were five bad guys and I got all but one of them in the twelve seconds given to us, even if I did shoot one of the bad guys in the ear.
Qualification came last, and it was a breeze compared to some of the moving and shooting exercises. Because most violent confrontations happen within three to seven yards, we had to demonstrate that we could hit a target at those distances. In New Mexico, if you want to carry (concealed) a pistol and a revolver, you need to demonstrate competency with both firearms. So, my first qualification test was with a 9mm Ruger. I passed with just missing two shots at seven yards. You can miss up to seven and still pass. I also qualified with a .38 Special. I know I said I wasn't feeling the one I rented at the indoor shooting range on Friday, but the one I shot today was nice. It was actually a .357, but we used .38 Special ammunition. I hit every single shot at both distances with it, and I had never shot the gun before qualification. Jason, Payroll Girl, and Super Foreman (the other fellow I work with that attended) all qualified as well. Jason qualified with the same handguns as I did.
This is a target I used to qualify. The square in the middle with the bad guy is about four inches, but any shots falling within the interior of the oval are considered correct and give you four points (you need 72 out of 100 points to qualify). This target is significantly smaller than the maximum target that the Department of Public Safety says you can qualify with which is twelve inches by eighteen inches. The tears in the paper along the far edges aren't bullet holes; they are where I removed the paper from the cardboard target since it had been stapled on.
We have to jump through a million hoops now to actually get the license itself. The hoops include, but are not limited to:
- Filling out the application form and two additional release forms which need to be notarized.
- Talking the county Sheriff into doing two fingerprint identification cards for me.
- Obtaining a certified copy of my birth certificate.
- Copying my driver's license to prove I live in New Mexico.
- Writing a whopping $100 check to cover the fee for the license.
- Delivering all of the above info to the Department of Public Safety.
- Waiting for my background check with the local police department to clear.
- Waiting for my background check with the FBI to clear.
- Waiting for the Department of Public Safety to make my super awesome concealed handgun license card and send it to me.
If only Mulder could do my FBI background check... Then it would be all sexified.
The Chronicles of Riddick is on television. I'm sad that it wasn't better since I really wanted to love it.