Going to a Shooting Range for the First Time

Hey Beauty Bees,

I know this is not a beauty or fashion related post but I found this topic to be a very important one to talk about, especially after the experience I had this past Friday. To start out, Chris has been wanting to take me to the shooting range for years now and on Friday we finally got the chance to go. We had it planned for about 2 weeks and I will be honest in saying that I was pretty nervous for it as I had never shot a real gun before.

The range we went to was called Original Bob's Shooting Range in Salisbury, Massachusetts. As soon as we got there I could here the gun shots from outside and I will not lie, I jumped about 20 feet the very first one I heard. Once inside, there was many cases full of guns and even more mounted on the walls. I started to get a little anxious while I watched the man behind the desk pull the two guns that Chris choose for us; a .22 Ruger and .40 Glock. I was coming to realize that in just a few minutes I was going to be shooting an actually gun.

After we got everything we needed, including our chosen targets, we headed into the range. For the first fifteen minutes, I jumped or flinched at every gun shot I heard and every empty bullet casing that flung toward me. Chris then went over how to use the gun a couple of times before I understood fully on how to use it.

It was then time, time for me to take a shot. I do not know if everybody had just left the range or not, but it became completely silent in my head. I could feel my breathe quickening when I tentatively picked up the .22 and aimed down sight. Once I finally got my breathing to calm down, I pulled down the trigger and felt my hand slightly jerk. I will admit I totally missed the target but I did not care, I just needed to put the gun down and step away for a few minutes. I could not get out of my head that if someone was standing right in front of me I could have killed or badly hurt them. I know this may sound over dramatic but this is how I actually felt at the time and  it goes to show how serious shooting actually is.

It then took me a good 10 minutes to even consider trying it again, unfortunately for me Chris started to pester me to try the bigger gun. I kept refusing but he was persistent on me taking at least one shot because that was the gun he was considering getting. I picked up the heavier, bigger gun and aimed down sight once again. The difference of this shot was that my arm jerked straight up and I knew I was not going to be able to control it. I put it down right away and told Chris to not make me shoot that again. I was not comfortable with it and knew I was not going to be able to control the recoil. 

It took me quite a while to want to even try the .22 again after this. I just stood back and let Chris shoot a few rounds while I waited for my heart rate to calm down once again. He then taught me how to load my own gun and try just a round of 5 shots so I could get more used to it. I knew that I would be able to handle the smaller gun again since it was like nothing compared to the .40. Once again I walked up to our shooting cubby, loaded the gun and aimed down sight. This time I was determined to hit the target and I did!! My 5 shots hit the far right of the target. While reeling in my target, my adrenaline started to pump making me want to hit that bulls eye. Without any hesitation, I reloaded my mag with 5 more bullets and headed back to my target. 

After a few rounds, Chris taught me to aim better and I am proud to say that I shot a bulls eye TWICE! I noticed in the last few rounds that I was getting very comfortable with the gun and confident in my shooting. I wasn't scared anymore and was actually enjoying myself. I can now totally understand why so many people find this sport fun, if its done safely. I can definitely see myself going back in the near future.

The whole reason for this trip was for me to get comfortable around guns since Chris is thinking of getting his license to carry. I now feel confident enough to properly and safely use a gun in a self defense situation if it were to ever come up. After this experience I have a whole new respect for guns and people who carry them as part of their job but also can not comprehend how there are so many people out there who are so loose with their weapons. This is something that could seriously injure people and they act like it is nothing.

I recommend that everybody go out to a shooting range and learn how to safely shoot a gun so you can have the same realization that I did this past Friday. If you do there are two pieces of advice I can give you.

1. Take it at your own pace. If you are not comfortable shooting right away, take your time. Just try holding the gun unloaded and aiming down sight. There are no rules on how fast you have to go and you should feel safe and comfortable the whole way through. I also suggest going with someone who knows what they are doing because that will help you stay calm if you feel nervous or scared.

2. Don't let your ego control you. There are so many movies and games out there that display these big scary guns and making them look cool. Remember, that is not real. Guns are not toys and you should never walk into a shooting range thinking that you want to try the biggest baddest gun just to look cool or show off to your friends. You could seriously hurt yourself or others. If it is your first time always start with a smaller gun and work your way up.

I am happy that I got over my slight fear and tried something new like shooting, which I ended up really enjoying. I would love to hear about other peoples first experiences with going to the shooting range and what their mindset is on guns.

Have you ever gone shooting before? Let me know how your first experience was.