Shooting Range 2019

I managed to take another item off my bucket list: going to a shooting range and hitting bulls-eye. This event was filled with mixed emotions and some contradictions, along with clarification and enjoyment. Talk about a mixed bag. I managed to experience this with two important people in my life, my mother, and my best friend Jon.

Truth be told, I've wanted to do this for a very long time. I think the first time I was curious as to how it would feel to shoot a gun was when I was just starting high school. My very first character that I created, Selene Grey, had a bow an arrow. Though her son used twin guns. This was in honor of the character which inspired her creation, the Selene from the Underworld series. They always made it look so easy and precise, and I found it difficult to write such scenes since I didn't personally know what the experience felt like.

Many, many years later, I finally get the opportunity to try it out for myself, and it wasn't what I was expecting. Some people disagreed with my interest and choice. One person felt like it was reckless and perhaps making light of all the tragic events that have been caused by guns, especially with the attack in New Zealand, which was less than 24 hours before. Another individual thought it meant I was "joining the dark side" of the extreme right conservatives because some how, pulling a trigger automatically makes me pro-gun. Others were somewhere in the middle.

Personally, I felt a bit hurt, since both people were important to me and their thoughts and opinions mattered to me. If anything, I wanted to see what all the hype was about. Especially because it has divided my country in half with all the mass school shootings and terrorist attacks. I can't say I was ever anti-gun, and after my experience at the Poconos Pistol Club, I definitely don't consider myself an anti-gun person. It was exciting, nerve wrecking, but most of all enlightening.

Pulling the trigger was the hardest part. Not once did I picture or think about the horrible things people have done using them, as I emptied out magazine after magazine into my target. If anything, it was the same rush and poise I feel when aiming my arrows at the target. Aim, breathe, release. It's a tool, that yes, can kill. It's a weapon, no doubt about it. The issue for me are mostly how they are used and why. The ideals and claims that the acts are executed in; those are the concerns that truly bother me. Not the gun that was in my hands.

Having my mother with me, seeing how nervous and scared she was to hold it, not to mention shoot it, was surreal. By the time she finished, she would smile and laugh. The adrenaline pushed the fear back. I was next, and I thought I was ready, as I placed my hand on the grip of the Glock 19, and wrapped my left hand around my right, aligning my thumb with the barrel and lifted my arms up. I lined the aiming indicators and took a deep breath. Pulling the trigger felt like an eternity until I felt the shot go off and the brass shell casing bounced on the floor. I didn't even see the bullet as a hole magically appeared on my target sheet.

Having Jon give me pointers from behind really helped my confidence. Mom was supportive and I felt the tension slowly leave, as my competitive nature started to come out. With Jon being a cop, I wanted to see what the accuracy difference was between us. I watched his stance and his posture, the steadiness of his arms as he used his NYPD licensed weapon. These, I learned, have what's called a higher pound trigger. Basically that means that in order for him to pull the trigger, it takes more force to push it, than the average gun. Mine only needs 5 lbs of force, while his needs 12 lbs of force. This prevents the gun going off too easily when they are on the field.

By the time I finished by rounds, I got to see my target up close and to my surprise, I did very well for my first time. I hit the bulls-eye more than once! Even the instructor there gave me compliments. I felt proud and even considered making this a more regular practice. For visual comparison, his was the pink one and mine was the green target. I already want to continue practicing my archery skills, adding firearms to the list will help during the zombie apocalypse don't you think?

On a more serious note though, I don't regret it. If anything I feel that it only makes the tragedies around my country and the world harder for me to understand. What does it take for a human to point a gun at another human and pull the trigger? I hope to never understand. Once you understand why someone does something, you can't help but empathize with them on their reasoning... and that can be a very dangerous feat.

At the end of the day, respect the gun, and don't abuse the immense power it provides you. #pewpew