The Gun Range
http://rebekahyami.blogspot.com/2012/06/gun-range.html
SUNDAY, JUNE 3, 2012
The Gun Range
My week was very random. We've been having constant rain and the low
pressure + stress caused me to suffer with migraines for most of the week.
My husband and I started to nerd it out and are making our way slowly
through the History Channel series *Cities of the Underworld Season
1
*. And we've been enjoying pausing the DVD and discussing parts of it. Now
we have some places we are definitively going to travel to one day! The
host is a little annoying but it's alright. It's great for my husband who
is not super familiar with Western Europe places and myths and ancient
history (unless it's WWII related). That's where I come in! :D
The highlight of my weekend was a LivingSocial voucher we finally redeemed.
It's for a concealed weapons course. Now y'all know I don't like guns and
don't condone using them for anything other than to protect yourself (I
don't even like hunting) in your home. I grew up in a house with guns
(mostly rifles) but we were NEVER allowed to touch them and my dad always
had them well hidden. I could not tell you where they were, ever.
So we went to a gun and archery range. Y'all know I did archery for years
and love it (note I did not use the past tense), but here, they have no
open ranges, not like out in east of Town and Country/Tampa in the archery
forests near the Boy Scout Camp. I miss that place :/
The instructor was very thorough. Yeah, I felt bad I needed to handle the
semi-automatic multiple times to understood how it worked but I was just
happy he let me practice with the unloaded one first. It was hard to load,
my left shoulder is significantly weaker after the injury but I did it. But
it's near impossible to pull the barrel back to load it. I'm sticking with
revolvers. I like things that are low maintenance anyways.
We got to shoot (part of the class) and it was so funny. I pressed myself
into a corner with my target shivering. The room was hot, small and shells
were flying everywhere. It was so damn loud even with the earmuffs.
I watched my husband go and he did so-so. Which I still think it's funny
because he's military trained! I waited to go almost last, just until I got
used to the explosive noise of guns going off around me. I get to my little
area, he hands me 10 bullets and tells me to let him know when I'm done
loading. Now having a elbow height table to load, made it easier and
somehow, I got 10 bullets into the magazine. He hung up my target, moved it
to 5 yards and shaking, I held the gun, he adjusted my hands. Watch my
stance! I adjusted and I had a fabulous moment. I remembered using a spot
meter in the photo studio.
When I can compare things to art it's easier for me. Using the gun was a
like the spot meters we trained with in college for studio photography. You
had to align your sights, close one eye and press the trigger and you get a
metered result.
Ditto. I fired. I jumped and I remembered him telling me "Do not drop the
gun!", I held onto that hot piece of metal. I was sweating and I did it
again, I hit and hit and then it jammed. I get a moment to breathe (thank
you!) as he explained about bad bullets. It jammed again. Again, I got to
breathe.
I just kept my eye on the target, leaned in with my shoulder, and tried to
hit area 5 (stomach/abdomen). When the barrel looked weird (like it was
open), I ran out of bullets. He hollered something at me, maybe "What do
you do next?" (I was so freaked out) and I dropped the magazine and stepped
back.
He pulled the target in and I was so shocked. Out of the other 4 students,
I hit the blue figure-shaped person with my bullets!! I can aim and hit.
Wow...
My husband was so proud, I think everyone expected me to fail but I did it.
So I passed. We went home and dad showed me his baby, his .22 revolver (I
don't know anything about brands). So I am going to be keeping that guy in
shape. The range we were at have half-price Mondays and you can rent guns
too. So every once and a while, I'll practice with a semi-auto just to
remember.
AND the best perk out of all of this, I know what's it like to fire, load
and hold a gun. It will be a billion times easier to write my main heroine
since she uses a gun. I already have the Crime Scene Tech education and now
gun handling. If I could do paintball (when my back is not sore), that
would be even better and I'm set on her hobbies.
I was working on a short story for a competition and last night, I went in
and adjusted a scene JUST because of this course. Thank you SOOOOOO much!
Just to add a note. I told my husband in bed, that was loud and scary. I
would rather have a baseball bat to hit people with. I cannot even imagine
the emotional trauma I would endure after watching someone scream after I
shot them in self defense. Just gives me the willies thinking about it!
Until next week!
SUNDAY, JUNE 3, 2012
The Gun Range
My week was very random. We've been having constant rain and the low
pressure + stress caused me to suffer with migraines for most of the week.
My husband and I started to nerd it out and are making our way slowly
through the History Channel series *Cities of the Underworld Season
1
*. And we've been enjoying pausing the DVD and discussing parts of it. Now
we have some places we are definitively going to travel to one day! The
host is a little annoying but it's alright. It's great for my husband who
is not super familiar with Western Europe places and myths and ancient
history (unless it's WWII related). That's where I come in! :D
The highlight of my weekend was a LivingSocial voucher we finally redeemed.
It's for a concealed weapons course. Now y'all know I don't like guns and
don't condone using them for anything other than to protect yourself (I
don't even like hunting) in your home. I grew up in a house with guns
(mostly rifles) but we were NEVER allowed to touch them and my dad always
had them well hidden. I could not tell you where they were, ever.
So we went to a gun and archery range. Y'all know I did archery for years
and love it (note I did not use the past tense), but here, they have no
open ranges, not like out in east of Town and Country/Tampa in the archery
forests near the Boy Scout Camp. I miss that place :/
The instructor was very thorough. Yeah, I felt bad I needed to handle the
semi-automatic multiple times to understood how it worked but I was just
happy he let me practice with the unloaded one first. It was hard to load,
my left shoulder is significantly weaker after the injury but I did it. But
it's near impossible to pull the barrel back to load it. I'm sticking with
revolvers. I like things that are low maintenance anyways.
We got to shoot (part of the class) and it was so funny. I pressed myself
into a corner with my target shivering. The room was hot, small and shells
were flying everywhere. It was so damn loud even with the earmuffs.
I watched my husband go and he did so-so. Which I still think it's funny
because he's military trained! I waited to go almost last, just until I got
used to the explosive noise of guns going off around me. I get to my little
area, he hands me 10 bullets and tells me to let him know when I'm done
loading. Now having a elbow height table to load, made it easier and
somehow, I got 10 bullets into the magazine. He hung up my target, moved it
to 5 yards and shaking, I held the gun, he adjusted my hands. Watch my
stance! I adjusted and I had a fabulous moment. I remembered using a spot
meter in the photo studio.
When I can compare things to art it's easier for me. Using the gun was a
like the spot meters we trained with in college for studio photography. You
had to align your sights, close one eye and press the trigger and you get a
metered result.
Ditto. I fired. I jumped and I remembered him telling me "Do not drop the
gun!", I held onto that hot piece of metal. I was sweating and I did it
again, I hit and hit and then it jammed. I get a moment to breathe (thank
you!) as he explained about bad bullets. It jammed again. Again, I got to
breathe.
I just kept my eye on the target, leaned in with my shoulder, and tried to
hit area 5 (stomach/abdomen). When the barrel looked weird (like it was
open), I ran out of bullets. He hollered something at me, maybe "What do
you do next?" (I was so freaked out) and I dropped the magazine and stepped
back.
He pulled the target in and I was so shocked. Out of the other 4 students,
I hit the blue figure-shaped person with my bullets!! I can aim and hit.
Wow...
My husband was so proud, I think everyone expected me to fail but I did it.
So I passed. We went home and dad showed me his baby, his .22 revolver (I
don't know anything about brands). So I am going to be keeping that guy in
shape. The range we were at have half-price Mondays and you can rent guns
too. So every once and a while, I'll practice with a semi-auto just to
remember.
AND the best perk out of all of this, I know what's it like to fire, load
and hold a gun. It will be a billion times easier to write my main heroine
since she uses a gun. I already have the Crime Scene Tech education and now
gun handling. If I could do paintball (when my back is not sore), that
would be even better and I'm set on her hobbies.
I was working on a short story for a competition and last night, I went in
and adjusted a scene JUST because of this course. Thank you SOOOOOO much!
Just to add a note. I told my husband in bed, that was loud and scary. I
would rather have a baseball bat to hit people with. I cannot even imagine
the emotional trauma I would endure after watching someone scream after I
shot them in self defense. Just gives me the willies thinking about it!
Until next week!