Go to a Firing Range - Check!

Before this trip, I had only been to a firing range once. It was an outdoor range near my uncle's house. I have a picture of it somewhere, but I remember most of it vividly. The neon yellow plastic bow-clip in my hair, my blue jacket, the big mound of dirt in front of us, how to hold the rifle, spent shells scattered haphazardly on the ground. It was amazing, and taught me to have a healthy respect for rifles and shotguns and not to simply fear them.

However, I had always been leery of handguns. I knew nothing about them...how to hold them, how to load them, nothing. It was important to me that I learn the right way, so I didn't have to be afraid and could defend myself were I ever caught up in the Zombie apocalypse (though I have heard shotguns are better for that; but you never know what type of weapon you might come across)...or something like that.

So when my friend Ryan - who has been shooting for a long time and is now a certified instructor - offered, I took him up on it. We were initially supposed to go as a group: me, my husband, Ryan, his wife Carmen, our friends Christy and Scott, and some other people. But it ended up just being me, Carmen, and Ryan, and I won't lie...I was glad. I got some great one-on-one training and gun time that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise!

He started me on the small gun and we worked our way up. First, a .22. Then, a 9mm. Next, a .45. Finally, the classic revolver. Before touching the guns, we went over general gun safety rules, including that one should never, ever, ever point a loaded or unloaded gun at anyone. Ever.

The .22 was a good start - we worked on grip and aiming, and I wasn't so worried about recoil. The 9mm was a "tougher" gun that I enjoyed, and helped me focus my stance and breathing. I was nervous about the .45, but once I finally shot it I found it addicting. We worked on proper trigger control and not anticipating the shot, so that I wouldn't "push" the gun or pull up slightly, affecting my accuracy. The revolver made me feel like I was one of the Three Amigos; I wished I had brought my sombrero. The hammer is a little more difficult than I had always thought, and I learned to appreciate the double action revolver.

I was a pretty good shot - simply because I had an awesome teacher - and can definitely see myself going back. If you are ever interested in taking a lesson or two, I definitely recommend contacting Ryan. He is an NRA certified instructor for the basic pistol course - teachmetoshoot@gmail.com or 407.506.6736. The more afraid you are of guns, the more I recommend taking lessons.

Check out my handiwork! Most hit the paper; he would give me some direction, let me try it and see how it felt, then show me how to do it better. And better I got!
Note - None of us would ever shoot a real squirrel; they are way too cute. Self-defense only.



Thanks to Ryan Land Services for making this possible!




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