what i learned at the gun range
You get used to ejecting cartridge shells hitting you in the face. It is possible to shoot with both eyes open. Calling cartridges bad words gets them into magazines faster. Guns were not designed for people with French tips. If you stop thinking and just aim you will hit what you aim at. If you mention this to anyone Army, they will get upset and tell you you are supposed to think before pulling the trigger. [This sounds good in theory but really not thinking is key to hitting what you aim at and who are those Army boys kidding? Like anyone Army went through basic to learn how to think?] Always remember to get your driver’s license back from the guy at the counter before you leave. This will really help when you get pulled over on your way home carrying a firearm you were too tired to lock in the trunk.
18 Responses to what i learned at the gun range
About your comment at The Writers’ Block:
Interesting.
As a writer, I’m also a reader & I know what I enjoy in a book and why. But I think I understand what you mean. Readers (that are not writers) may know that they enjoy in a certain book, but may not always know exactly why. They may not always pay attention to the language or the characterization, the arc.
This isn’t to figure out how to write to an audience, though. Just to see what readers enjoy.
Thanks for the comment!
Yes, and don’t forget to make sure you sign in, just in case an unexpected need comes to test your French-tiped fingers for gunpowder residue. And never wear v-necks – nothing makes you look less like Angie Dickinson in ‘Police Woman’ than jumping around trying to get hot brass casings out of your bra.
damn that sounds good… I am gonna go shoot in the morning, I have a pine tree I am trying to kill.
Well the tree was asking for it really.
Mama Pants was rocking her long nails her first time shooting. With her, it was her excitement that scared us. Whenever she hit the target close to the center, she got excited and waved the gun around. We eventually voted her off the lane and she and I went shopping in the accessory aisle. You can get some seriously awesome purses for guns.
Now I want to go shooting.
Is that a Glock, Ms. Pants?
Yup. Brother Pants owns a glock (I feel like a tool when I say that word) and another one that I really liked–it was bigger. But something about my grip jammed up doodad hole where shells come fly out of. They wouldn’t expel entirely and then the chamber thing (?) wouldn’t load properly and essentially, it was decided that while I shot very well with that particular gun, it didn’t like me. So I went back to the glock too.
My gun prowess is amazing, isn’t it? Doodads, things…. Yeah, gimme a firearm!! (To be fair, my brother has all the appropriate classes, licenses, etc. for all that stuff and took us to show us what it’s like. We all wound up loving it.)
Well a glock has a light trigger, less foot pounds of air behind it when you pull. That makes it a real good choice for women and people who spend too much time on the computer. Because, aiming is sort of important, but if you lose aim attempting to pull a trigger because the pressure on the trigger is too high, hello, that is kind of problematic.
Glock has another interesting component. There is only one safety. The safety in your head. I always have liked that about glocks. That the assumption, if you are shooting with a glock? Is, be intelligent enough to know when the safety is on — and the safety is you.
I bought a Smith and Wesson lightweight short barrel 38 that has a really light trigger. I just love it. Hey, I want a cool purse for my gun, Ms Pants, my purse sucks.
They weren’t cheap. The lowest price I saw was about $250. (Scottsdale Gun Club in AZ, by the by.) But they were gorgeous leather, soft, full of great compartments. They were purses I’d buy even if I wasn’t trying to tote a gun around. (In my fantasy world anyway because $300+ for a purse ain’t happening in these parts!) Some had a pocket you could shoot straight through, some had a pocket on the outside and then another pocket on the inside that you could reach the outside pocket from…. They were awesome!
Of course, if some dude was trying to rob me and I had to shoot through my $300 purse to thwart him, I’d be very, very angry. Angry enough to kick the bleeding dude in the balls and maybe go through is wallet to see if he had the cash to replace my purse. Friggin thieves. No manners.
Max, what got you into shooting guns?
lol @ Ms Pants
Well. Guns. Guns are kind of dark. The day I picked up guns was the day I knew I was willing to kill another human being. It took a lot to get to that point. But. I have been beat up, knocked down, abducted — you reach a point, you say, that is it, I have been lucky so far, I have always found a way out, but one day, I am going to hit a corner I cannot back out of. On that day, what is the answer? The answer is I will, no questions asked, pull the trigger. And I won’t look back.
Abducted? My God, I don’t even know what to say to that so I’ll just remain speechless for now and await a story on that – if you ever decide to share.
Maybe you can take me to the range – I suck at shooting.
Oh well I did. That was I’m Still Here.
You should go to the range with a real shooter/instructor. It is good to have solid training in that.
I did. I have a concealed weapon permit. I was ok at one time but my lack of practice and my broken eyeglasses aren’t a winning combo.
I’ll check out the story.
Ah. This I should have known. The girl who gets first class tickets to see Arnie would never be unprepared.
ps: I’m Still Here is at http://celluloidblonde.wordpress.com/2006/12/18/sherry/