Tis the Season

A few weeks ago, I went to a firing range for the first time.

Having never held a gun, much less fired one, I wasn’t sure what to expect. There were two experienced shooters in our group: a long time gun owner and a state trooper. Because of that, the range allowed the rest of us to rent pistols. The folks at the range were no-nonsense and quite friendly. And gun safety is really just common sense. Don’t point a loaded gun anywhere except down the range, wear ear protection and goggles, set the safety back after shooting, hands off the gun when talking to someone, etc.

I shot around 80 rounds, which isn’t really much. It proved to be a wonderful mental exercise and actually relaxing. My mind was focused on nothing but the gun and what I was doing with it – the immediacy of handling something that could so easily kill pushed aside all other worries and stress. The routine of loading, checking safety, taking stance, aiming, breathing, created its own kind of zen. I can definitely understand why some people love shooting and could spend hours at a range just being in the moment.

The rental was a semi-automatic .22 pistol and hardly had any kick at all. I think with enough practice, I could have shot that thing one-handed with considerable accuracy.

Then I tried my friend’s .44 and big difference! Thanks to Tai Chi, I didn’t fall over or hit myself in the face. But it definitely takes some strength to keep steady while firing. Movies and TV shows where the badass shoots high caliber pistols from each hand – yeah, I don’t think it works that way.

While I won’t consider owning a gun, I wouldn’t mind going back to the range and renting again. It was really fun and certainly a skill I wouldn't mind having.