A wave of boredom hit me yesterday so I decided to try something new. Before I knew it I was flinging hot lead into a silhouette of my mortal enemy.
All over town there are ads for a place called Coal Creek Armory and their indoor firing range. This place is hailed as a shop for beginners and military / police specialists alike. I walked in and looked around until someone asked what I needed. I talked about how long its been since I’ve shot a guy of any type, aside from killing hookers which I only did once with a firearm, and how I’d thought I might like to try it again.
I don’t really have a reason why I’d like to try it; I guess I was hoping for a rush or something. I finally got to the right counter, filled out my paperwork, got my box of 50 bullets, eye / ear protection and chose my gun, a Bresa .380 22 cal. This gun is surly not the hand cannon of Dirty Harry, in fact it was really light and easy to handle. I didn’t feel like I was holding a real gun.
I was lead into the range shown how to load the gun, I’ve seen my dad’s gun and watched enough movies that this wasn’t news but I totally appreciated the refresher. After a few more pointers I was left to my own deadly devices.
The guy helping me set the target at 3ft. My first seven rounds were all center kills. Reloaded, my next seven were within four inches of each other, all kills. At 15 feet I started to spread my hits a bit more. All were within the right shoulder, my target area. Feeling that I had done alright I rolled my target to 35 feet and aimed for the head. Five of my seven hit in the area if not killing the guy I would have at least given him a wonderful headache and one pierced ear.
I changed to a fresh target and finished off the rest of my rounds with moderate satisfaction.
If you’ve never shot a gun I’d recommend it if for no other reason than to garner its respect. Walking into the range the smell was something else, a warm metallic aroma chased by exploded gun powder gave me a feeling and since of excitement as I prepped to squeeze off my first few rounds.
It was a fun experience and I’m very glad that I spent the time and money, around 30 bucks to try something new. Maybe when I try it next time I’ll be able to leave the range with a propellant created Martin Riggs smiley face.
45 comments:
I haven't been target practicing in a while.
It is quite fun to fire a gun and practice your aim.
When we lived in Geaorgia, we went to church with a ggame warden whwo also happened to be a professional target shooting competitor.
The guy had somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 handguns, most of which he had won as prizes from various competitions he had placed in!
The guy was steady as a rock. We went out one afternoon after church and shot targets with a dozen or so of his guns and his own special hand loads.
He could put a smile on a silhouette from 50 ft, easy. Amazing and fun!
i love shooting guns.. we have one in our house, but i havent shot it in awhbile, which s dangerous because you relaly should shoot your gun at least once a year...
if i could legally bring it to tennesse id go with you mullins... although I am sure there are places in montgomery for me to do that, just never thought to look...
good blog!
Jamison I guess we've found something to do when we get together haven't we?
Like I said I'd like to try it again but I do think it would be more fun with someone else setting up a light competition or sorts.
What type of gun do you have Jamison?
Sipper with your military experience, are you certified with any gun? I thought you had to be certified on a certain number of small arms or something. Do you own any, again because of the AF.
I've been around guns all my life.
I've even gone deer, squirrel, turkey, dove, quail, rabbit, etc. hunting numerous times. I just don't do it anymore.
My Papaw (Dad's dad) gave me several guns before and after he died.
My favorite is my 20 gauge Italian double-barrel shotgun. But, I have a Remington semi-auto 22 rifle, 16 gauge goose gun (Sears and Roebuck), single shot 12 gauge Iver Johnson (made in the late 1800s...family antique), Marlin bolt-action 22 rifle...
and finally, the only one I keep in my house, is a 32 calibur Colt Police Positive. This is also a family antique (bought new by my GGGranfather) and was standard police issue in the early 1900s when it was made. It's only had about 48 rounds shot from its chambers in its life.
Sorry this is so long...I am qualified on the M16 (Air Force), too. Never got the chance to qualify on he 45, but I think I probably could.
i have a .38 special, 5 round chamber.
wanna feel alive? Shoot a 12 gauge pump action shot gun.
Hold the triger down and pump your left arm... youll feel like elephants are rushing through your muscles.
J Owen, the former college minister at dalraida, has one and we went shooting on his dads land once with it and a host of others. He also has a TAC 9 (or tec 9) which is sort of a thug-gang weapon of choice.
That 12 gauge we have will just about knock you down. The recoil on those things is pretty hefty.
I don't like guns.
Sorry, I'm a little bit of a hippie when it comes to that stuff.
I had to shoot a gun in 7th grade hunter education class. Not a fan.
Guns are just instruments, in my opinion.
People kill people.
But, indeed many a violent deed has been doen using a gun.
Eddie Izzard has a funny bit about that.
I’m really split on the idea. I see nothing wrong with guns in and of them selves, like Sipper said they are tools and used properly are exceptionally useful. On the other side there are people who don’t need guns because they are stupid.
I only like the idea of hunting if you’re actually going to use the meat and pelt. If you’re hunting for environmental reasons like population control, since there are no more “natural predators” anymore, that’s fine too.
My father carried a gun almost my entire life and there were too many times I grabbed it out of the glove box to look at it having no idea what I was doing. I shot it maybe once or twice and I’ve shot a rifle and shotgun a few times but I really don’t know much about the mechanics of a gun.
As Isaac and Caleb get older I want them to grow up with a respect for the less than savory aspects of their world and the idiots which reside within their space. Someday the subject will come up and I want to be able to give them some rudimentary guidance on the subject.
I do like the mental and physical skill and control one must gain to control a weapon professionally, that’s very intriguing to me.
As far as being a peaceful hippy, allow me to introduce myself…
sip, is your shotgun a pump action that holds 8 rounds? big difference.
shotguns are great home security guns because the pellets most likely will not go through the wall, if hit by it on accident, the damage doesnt go as deep as a single bullet, and most crooks will wet their pants when they hear or see a home owner jerk a shotgun in their hands to put one in teh chamber...
Sipper cool collection.
I’ve got a very old rifle from my grandfather that was also a Sears and Roebuck type deal. I did some research and it’s from the 30’s or 40’s of something. The best part about it are the notches in the stock from hitting its target. It was used for hunting small game when Charlie Farra Mullins was a young lad. Actually I guess he would have been in his late 20’s or 30’s at that time.
.38 Special… I’ve always like Foreigner myself.
Alright Jamison and Sipper lets go shoot something. By myself it’s interesting but teeters on the cusp of boring but if we shoot together it might be fun.
Who else had a hunter’s educations class? I’ve never heard of such a thing in a school. Di, did you go to one of those Myrtle Beach militia schools or something.
no, i don't like pump shotguns, particularly.
the single-shot 12 gauge we have is a pure, hunting gun. that thing was used for this purpose over 4 generations of our family. it's retired now. it'll still shoot, but you probably don't want to. Thing kicks like a mad bull.
anyway, I don't do too much with guns these days. i stopped hunting a long way back because i didn't see the point anymore. if we lived out in the country and had a big freezer, i'd probably hunt some. but, we live in the city and there are these wonderful things called grocery stores...
Reminds me of a time when my brother lived in Fl with my dad. Dad had bought a .45 and was doing something with it in his room. Nathan was in the living room watching Conan the Barbarian when all of a sudden there was this loud bang. Dad accidentally fired a round into the closet. As Nathan came into the room to inspect what was going on he saw dad sticking his finger into a hole in the wall and subsequent support stud. Dad and Nathan realized very quickly that if it were not for shear dumb luck of that bullet hitting that three inch piece of wood its trajectory would have been Nathan sitting in the recliner.
Not a funny story but one that certainly teaches a bit of respect for the gun and one that makes me want to know something about those things before my son has the chance to find out the wrong way.
I'm a hippy in pretty much every respect. I'm not really into guns either. Although I'm not one to say we should get rid of them all or anything. Though I will say we should enforce the laws we have.
It is far too easy to buy a gun in this country.
Although I do understand the point of this blog. I'm sure it is quite a thing to feel the power of a gun going off in your hands. Though I have no desire to go to a shooting range.
I see a gun like a see a hammer or a pair of pliers.
People can use the hammer and pliers as good tools, or to torture and kill people.
While the purpose of a handgun is to defend ones self, I can see how folks would think the original intent was for outright killing of other people.
But, it's a tool and some folks misuse it. Just like beating someone to death with a hammer or crushing someone's testicles with some pliers.
i still love the pic mullins added to this blog... sean was a good looking man....
my dad has a nice gun collection and some illegal guns. he goes to gun shows and carries around these old hand guns he has... a man walked up to him and offered him $1,600 cash for one he was carrying. It scared dad to death because he knew it was worth alot, but not that much. Needless to say he gripped it tighter as he left the show...
he also has a chinese miltary issued SKS rifle, semi automatic with i think an 18 bullet clip. About 30 years old, never been shot. Comes with scope and bi-pod. It is a fave among terrorists... maybe i shouldnt be blogging this....
here is a pic of one like his... Only dads is cooler because it has the bi pod and scope...
SKS rifle
But a pair of pliers never accidently went off and blew someones brains out.
And frankly, I'd much rather be attacked by a guy with pliers than a 9 mm.
hmmm, debateable... i would imagine getting killed by pliers would be more painful than a bullet to the head...
Any conversation that turns to the squishing of ones genital by pliers is one that I’ll happily see my self away from.
Actually I see both points very clearly and have no way to argue either side very clearly. Happily upon the fence is my perch.
I will say this that if someone is going to kill me I’d rather it be by the 9 mm than the pliers, it’s simple a matter of one quick moment and grueling hours. If you’re going to have a bullet rattle around in your own head by choice your obviously sick and depending on how cynical I am that day is relative as to how “bad” that may be.
I digress.
The reason I went to the range to begin with was to see if learning more about guns was something that might be interesting to me, sort of like a hobby testing.
I don’t see a need for guns by the general populace but I can see the desire to have them for hunting or protection, though I think I read that the majority of people shot by bad guys in their own home is done so using their own guns, go figure.
Accidents do happen but they seem to be more from simple carelessness and lack of knowledge more than anything else it seems. Kids should never be around guns!!! Stupid people qualify for this same regulation too.
I think for me it’s having knowledge and experience with something that I don’t know about. I’m an information and experience junkie. We’ve only got one spin on this ball I might as well try to squeeze in as much as I can while I’m here right!
Yeah, true that gun accidents happen. Pliers just accidentally pinch...ouch!
I'd definitely rather go the quick shot-to-the-head way, though...I mean, if i had to choose that or pliers.
Dang, if the Russians ever parachute into America and try to take over, I'm going to Jamison's folks' place!
We'll just hunker down and be like the hillbillies of old. of yesteryear!
Yeah, but if I had my choice between a crazy guy trying to kill me with pliers or another one trying to do the same with a gun.
I'll take my chances with the pliers.
No, torture with pliers doesn't sound like fun, but at least with that I'd have a chance. With a gun one good shot and I'm done. Good luck trying to kill me at long range with pliers.
And I'm pretty sure, statistically a lot more people get killed with guns over pliers.
Again I'm not saying we should take everyones guns away, but I do believe in regulations.
You must have never read the stats on pliers incidents.
I can tell you that accidental nail gun death/injury is a problem. That's somewhat comparable.
But, guns are dangerous. Especially when handled by morons.
ive always HEARD that statistic, but ive never really seen the real stats on that fact that more people die by gun accidents by ones in their home...
I mean, most people die in car wrecks when they own a car too... most people who own homes have in-home injuries... most people who have showers get injured showering...
most victims of food poisoning eat food....
however, i HAVE read that having a gun in the home increases the chances that someone will be injured by it by 4 times... that isnt saying people DO die by guns in the home, it is just 4 times more LIKELY, which, is saying "If you dont have a gun in the home, you wont get injured by it, but if you do, you might...". Well... DUH!
the only real stat i have heard on this subject is that about 50% of all homes in america have a gun in them. And I work with 1200 kids and go to church with 500 people (so, statistically, i am in contact with 850 familys with guns in the home) and have yet to hear of anyone one of their family members getting injured by a gun in thier homes...
Honestly, im pro gun rights, but not a die hard, ill-fight-to-the-death-to-keep-mine kind of guy... but i do like the debate...
wait... i take back what I said.. i know one guy who i USED to go to church with who was trying to put his pistol in his holster that straps to his upper body. It got stuck on his jacket, when he reached in to fix it, it went off and shot off the front part of one of his ring fingers... so not he has a jerry-garcia-finger...
but he still has guns, and 3 children.
fyi brew, these friends now live in scottsburg indiana and if larissa and i come visit yall, we will stop and see them on the way up.
ok, last comment in a row...
this particular gun (so i heard him and my dad discuss this weekend) is not supposed to go off by the hammer being snapped back, which is what happened. Turns out, he had an older model without this safety feature. My dad was saying he has one just like it only newer. It has a safety feature now that prevents it from going off by the hammer being snapped back by hand...
No, actually my darling, this is a required class that all 7th graders must take in Sevier County, TN.
i would assume that in that county, hunting is big time. So most children will be in homes with guns. So I think it is a good idea for those kids to learn gun safety and how dangerous one can be...
I definitely see both points of the matter. I agree with Mullins on the hunting. I don’t see the point of killing an animal so you can have it’s head on your wall. Honestly, This isn't an issue I’m all frisky about. A grown man can own a gun and go fire it, it's not my business. So many people own or can get access to guns, though. Look at the Columbine shootings. Look at all the “hoodlums” on the street with them. Charlie has bad road rage and on of my biggest fears is that he will be shot one day. Alive one second, gone the next. In that case, there’s no rewind, it’s just done. At least with pliers he has a chance of survival. So it’s not so much that I don’t like the responsible gun owners, it’s just that they make up about 10% of the gun owners and that scares me. Life can be taken from us so quickly.
My biggest sort of anti-gun thing is with children. Very young children (2-6) developmentally cannot tell the difference between reality and fantasy. Case in point, how many of you were Han Solo as a child? What happened when someone called you by your name? Children will get so involved in their play; they refuse to be called by another name. I strongly believe that a child doesn’t know the difference between a toy gun, the guns he sees on TV/video games where a character gets shot and is alive next episode/next life and the gun he finds in his dad’s closet. After six they can but even then children are uncap able of thinking of consequences.
My dad had a gun when I was little and my step brother knew where it was. Sometimes when the parents were gone he’d get it out and chase me with it. What if it had been loaded?
Aha the class was in Sevier County, now it all makes sense. The ninth grades classes are left in the woods for a week to hunt, trap, and skin their own bucks I hear. Folks in east TN love their guns.
I would agree that if you are going to be in a home that combines kids and guns they should be required to take a safety class at some age. Some kids will be able to walk in and pass the test while others may have guns all around them and have no idea what they are capable of.
The day the government tells me that I will not be allowed to have a gun I will buy one but I do not think they have the right to tell me what I should and should not be doing and having in my home…
Yeah but not by force.
Idiot gun stories, read with CAUTION…
In my sophomore year a guy who was always mean to me had been getting bad grades and subsequent thrashings from his dad. On one report card he had done very poorly. Having not come home that night, that his folk knew about he was found in one of the schools parking lots with the report card taped to the steering wheel of his car early the next morning. Seemingly taking his own life was a better option than facing his dad with bad grades.
My sister in-laws brother and his friends were out driving around late one night when he realized there was a revolver in the glove box. Encouraged by a few beers he thought he could successfully spin the wheel and walk away a winner. The third time he didn’t.
In the wrong hands the story always ends sad.
I’ve got a few about dad too but their too long to go into this morning.
I meant to say in my previous post that I'm not going to allow guns in my classroom or with my kids.
Toy guns that is.
I agree and disagree with Di....
Any true gun lover who respects the gun will agree with everything you said Di.
I, too, do not see myself letting my child play with toy guns either. I hate seeing kids "play" with one another like they are shooting each other. It makes me gringe. (No offense to you parents who allow it).
I do not think that killing one another should be taught as a game.
where i disagree with you (and it is different for every family) is this:
I not only wanted to be han solo, but also indiana jones. Both had guns.
My dad, took me in the bedroom when i was about 5, showed me the gun, showed me where it was, and told me never to touch it.
To this very day, that exact gun, has never touched the palm of my hand. I have touched his other of his guns, but never that one.
I would go with my dad to the lake when i was younger, when we first got out duck hunting dog, josie.
Dad would shoot his shotgun in the air to gether ears used to it. Nothing scared me more than that noise.
I still, to this day, touch a gun with caution and care. Dad told me to NEVER point a gun at anyone even if you are 1,000% sure that it is unloaded. And I never have. The only toy gun i had was a pump action b-b gun, which i loved, but my chocolate lab loved even more since she identified it with dads shot gun.
it's important to teach that respect if for no other reason than your child may have friends/family whose parents keep guns around.
if a child goes to their friend's house and the kid starts playing with Daddy's gun, I'd want to know my child would have enough sense to either get away or to call me.
of course, knowing your child, their friends, their friends' parents, etc. helps, too.
but, if your child never knows how to react to the situation or the instrument itself, he/she could be in a bad spot.
>The day the government tells me that >I will not be allowed to have a gun I >will buy one but I do not think they >have the right to tell me what I >should and should not be doing and >having in my home…
Not that I want the government to tell me that we can't have guns, but what is the difference in this and say the government telling us we can't have heroin or say underage prostitutes in your home?
I don't own a gun, nor do I suspect I ever will. Reasons why:
I don't hunt or have the desire to.
When I think of it as a protectionary tool, the cons outweight the good.
I live in a safe neighborhood/city. Chances somebody is going to break in and kill me are slim. Really the chaces of anyone breaking in aren't that good. That they will break in when I happen to be home are even slimmer. The chances that they are going to break in and kill me even slimmer than that.
I suspect most break ins are done with the intent of gaining goods, not to murder someone.
The chances of somebody breaking in, intending to kill me and me being in close proximity to my gun, and being able to use my gun to stop me being killed seems pretty darn slim.
In the end I prefer to take my chances without the weapon.
When I add to that the thoughts of accidental death due to the gun I don't want one even more.
My last comment for the moment. I totally agree there should be education involved and that respect for the power of the weapondry is important.
I've never understood why anyone would be upset when some restrictions are put on buying a gun. Why is a waiting period such a bad thing? Why is a criminal back ground check on someone wanting to buy a lethal weapon an invasion? I had an extensive background check before I could get a job. And the only lethal weapons there are staplers?
Why can I walk into a Wal-Mart and walk out with a weapon that can blow a hole clean through a human being.
Better yet, why can I walk into a gun show and buy a freaking machine gun?
I totally agree with the idea of if there's a gun in the house, talking about it and I think y'all's parents did a great job of putting the fear of the gun into you.
Most parents don't do that stuff though. Most parents aren't as good as yours were or some of you are.
I'm not going to have guns in my classroom, however, my students and I will talk openly about WHY there are no guns in my classroom, and WHY Mrs. Stubblefield doensn't like them. Most of my students will not have parents that will talk about guns to let them know how dangerous they are, so sometimes it's up to teachers to cover a parents behind.
Strangely enough I'm not opposed to toy guns.
As a kid I played "guns" all the time. We had water guns, cap guns, heck I used to pretend those little curtain rods were shot guns. But I understood that this was all pretend.
I think that comes down to parents teaching their kids about the effects of real violence. About kindness and treating everyone with respect.
To this day I love violent games and movies, but the though of actually inflicting violence on real people disgusts me.
I have no idea if I'll let my kids play with toy guns. It isn't something I've discussed with Amy...
As far as not knowing anybody having been killed accidently by a gun, do you know anyone who has saved their life by having a gun?
Again, children from 2-7 (ages I'll be teaching) don't understand the difference between fantasy and reality. If I were going to be a 5th grade teacher, it'd be different.
dunno about saved life, but I a friend of mine (J. Owen, former college minister at dalraida) was almost mugged in downtown montgomery, until he lifted his shirt to reveal the handgun that he carries everywhere he goes...
another example was a friend of my brothers. A man broke into their house at night. They locked their bedroom door and got the gun out, the man pounded on teh door demanding they give them the keys to the car.
The friend of my brother cocked his gun one time, said "leave the house I have a gun" and the man fled...
probably not life threatening, but you never know
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