52 To Do

We spent the weekend in Portland, OR where my husband is from and for my first shooting experience, I thought it would be fun to go with his twin brothers to the range. His brother, Gabe, is a member of the Tri-County Gun Club about a half hour outside of Portland. When I was setting out to shoot a gun for the first time this week I didn’t realize what was in store for me with John’s brothers. They have some serious guns. I shot a .40 caliber handgun, an AK-47, and AR-15 and a .308 rifle.

It’s a little unsettling to be around real guns & real bullets for the first time. BBs are so tiny in comparison! I was definitely nervous about making sure the guns weren’t pointed at anything. When you see how strong the bullets are and feel how heavy the guns are you know you’re not playing around anymore. It’s good to go to a range because they’re sticklers about safety. No chance of going Dick Cheney on anyone.

The first gun I shot was a Sig Sauer .40 caliber handgun. This was probably my least favorite gun to shoot because it felt like I had the least amount of control with it. It had a pretty strong kick & I felt like it could go flying out of my hand. This was also the gun that felt most “real” to me. It didn’t require all the preparation of the other guns.

The AR-15 was a pretty fun rifle to shoot. It had the least amount of recoil and was easy in terms of accuracy at 50 yards. Overall I didn’t do too badly for my first time. Even some of the old timers came over to see what a “little lady” like me could do.

My favorite experience was the .308 rifle. We shot at 100 yards but can accurately hit a target at up to 800 yards. It took awhile to get used to how loud all of the rifles were & to not get distracted by others shooting when you were trying to focus. Gabe was a good teacher & helped me focus on my breathing to steady the gun. I ended up with 3 bulls-eyes, not bad for my first time!

It was a little unsettling being around the guns, seeing how powerful they are and imagining shooting something or someone for that matter. I can see how people get into shooting and improving their accuracy. Despite the noise there is something relaxing about shooting. There are few things nowadays that can completely command your attention and focus the way shooting does.

I don’t know that I’ll be running out to get a gun anytime soon but I’m glad I gave it a shot.