The other day Scott and Jon decided to go shooting, and I decided to tag along. I hadn't actually shot my gun since I bought it forever ago. In fact, I hadn't shot anything in more than two years! I wasn't sure how rusty I was going to be, but since I carry for self-defense, I figured I ought to make sure I'm an effective self-defender.
We went to the indoor range at Impact Guns in Ogden. I had never been to an indoor range before; it was a lot louder than I expected, especially because there was a guy in the booth next to us shooting the giantest gun I have ever seen. It shook my bones. Also, there was no wind to dissipate the smell, so even though I like the smell of gunpowder, it was too strong and was stinging my eyes a little.
Scott got a picture of me shooting my gun, but it was blurry, so here's the picture of me shooting his (smaller) gun:
And when I say smaller I mean smaller caliber. His is physically bigger than mine, but lighter and quieter.
Here's my target:
The smallest holes are from Scott's gun, the medium ones are from my gun, and the giant ones are from Jon's gun. Only two of my shots the whole time went off the "man", so I am deadly, even though I'm a terrible shot. I hope I never have to actually defend myself. I would feel so horrible actually shooting someone, even if he were trying to kill me.
The end.
oh. guns. such a complex thing for me. see, i'm a southern kid; when i was little, guns were just a part of my yearly visits to my family's farm in south georgia.
ReplyDeletefast forward to the spring of 1994. i have a dear friend who had a little brother. her parents had rifles. her brother and his best friend decided to play cops and robbers. through a series of stupid mistakes, the best friend ended up bleeding to death on her parents' bedroom floor. it was that day, that god-awful day, that i gave up ever shooting again.
i'm not a huge gun crusader. i understand that people like to hunt and shoot. if i were queen of the universe, i would outlaw guns for all purposes except defense in war. but at the same time, i think this is one of the few true states' rights issues in this world. the need and scope of gun laws are, and should be, different in DC than they are in utah.
i kinda miss how fun it was to go shooting. but every time i look at a gun, i see that sweet dead boy's face, and i just can't go there.
I totally see where you are coming from and I'm so so so sorry you had to go through something that horrible.
ReplyDeleteGuns are part of my family too; both my parents were military.
I could never EVER shoot an animal. I would never forgive myself. People who hunt for sport rather than the necessity to eat sicken me. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out here that hunt, and I just have to grit my teeth and ignore it.
The only reason I carry is for self defense. On my way down to Mim's house I pass the state prison, and if my car ever broke down near there at night...ugh. I'm not physically strong and I can't fend off anyone any bigger than I am (so basically I can't defend myself). If I could do away with guns I would too but the sad truth is that even if you outlaw them there are people who will get ahold of them illegally and use them to take advantage of the people who were following the law and didn't have a gun to defend their homes and families.
Scott has needed to pull his a few times, and in one instance he might have been severely injured if he hadn't been armed because the other party involved was armed with a knife.
All that being said, my family and I all practice and learn gun safety over and over, and all firearms at my parents' houses are under lock and key in a fireproof safe so no child could ever get to them. We have ours hidden away and no child is ever allowed upstairs in our home.