Insanity, plans for Sunday

[thebratqueen]

Thanks to all who gave feedback on the bit of insanity. I'm currently cornering it and poking it with sticks. We'll see if it manages to survive.

Tomorrow looms large on the horizon. This was originally supposed to be the day of the party at my dance school, which would have included me performing. It still is the day of the party, except

Comments

[elke_tanzer]

Pretty much everything I know about firearms isn't online anywhere, but I do know of this good site: http://www.io.com/~cortese/resources/guns.html. :-)

[thebratqueen]

Cool, thanks!

[the_star_fish]

Guns are louder than you think. They kick harder than you think, too, even if you're braced for it. And it's fairly hard to keep your eyes open and not flinch ...

My dad taught us all how to handle a pistol and a rifle when he thought we were old enough ... and then we were told not to touch them EVER unless an adult family member said we could.

I'm a lousy shot, by the way -- bad eyesight and sucky depth perception.

[thebratqueen]

The lesson wouldn't be until next month at the earliest. I'm figuring I should build up my arm strength in the meanwhile ;)

[elke_tanzer]

Oh, yes, I meant to mention this! My first few times at the indoor range, a friend loaned me big outside-the-ear protectors, like what my Dad used to call "mickey mouse ears" from his time in the Navy. I used orange foam inside-the-ear earplugs inside them and that was much better than either type of ear protection by itself.

I didn't grow up around guns at all. I'm a pretty good shot, considering, but my wrist gives out fairly quickly if I'm shooting larger calibers.

Above all... always be aware of where guns near you are pointing. Communicate (listen and speak; communication needs to be both ways) with the person giving you instructions, and be aware of any other students near you.

[thebratqueen]

The one tidbit I remember from the only time I ever saw a shooting lesson is "a safe gun is a gun pointed in a safe direction."

[chorus_of_chaos]

if you are firing a handgun, especially a strong caliber one, be prepared for it to kick. Some can kick hard enough and unexpectedly enough your hand will fly back and you'll practically hit yourself in the hand.

[thebratqueen]

I am fully prepared to start off on the girliest, wimpiest gun they can give me. I'm not proud. Esp since I'd be very apt to hit myself in the head even without the help ;)

Learning to shoot.

[tianyu]

Hi, its

Re: Learning to shoot.

[thebratqueen]

Thank you so much for the advice!

The lesson itself is someone paying for me to get six hours of instruction from a professional. I think the end result of this is NRA certification, but I might be confusing the place we ended up choosing with another one. Either way, it's six hours to start, possibly with more to follow if it turns out we both like it.

Up is not a safe direction.

When I lived in New Orleans they used to have billboards and such reminding people that what goes up must come down, and therefore shooting guns into the air was perhaps not the smartest way to celebrate the New Year. ;)

Re: Learning to shoot.

[lucifrix]

A kid died a few years ago because some dumbass shot a gun into the air on the street around the corner from me--and you've seen how little those streets are. I never even thought about how fast the bullet would come down, I just know that you don't shoot a gun without having an actual purpose and target, especially when there are people around. That's like fact number one.

I'm curious, did you ask for these lessons or is this someone who wants to make sure you never get raped in NYC or...?

Re: Learning to shoot.

[thebratqueen]

It was Dad deciding he wanted to try it and offering to pay if I wanted to come along as well. I figured why not?

[desoto_hia873]

Shotguns? Will leave you in fear and awe at their power of destruction. They will also give you bruises when you fire them.

Shooting is kind of fun. But cardboard targets only for me, thanks.