Shooting Report

Today I took --- and passed! --- a Basic Pistol I class given by a local training outfit. Now, I grew up in a gun owner's home, but that gun was strictly for home defense --- Daddy fired it twice a year (yes, he fired it into the air --- as far as I know, no one was ever hit), and the rest of the time it lived on the top shelf of the closet in my parents' bedroom.

For various reasons, both cultural and personal, my Daddy never went to a gun range. I have never before been to an outdoor range.

Well, that changed today.

Before going, I had to stop and buy a baseball cap --- it's the first one I've ever owned or worn. I have a big head, and the kind of caps that have the adjustable strap don't work for me --- I have to have the elastic sort.

Maybe a boonie cap would work better? ...

The course was held at an extremely rural location --- an hour's drive east of Austin, on roads that went from eight-lane blacktop to four-lane blacktop to two-lane paved to two-lane gravel to one-lane rutted dirt --- good thing we're currently suffering from "exceptional" drought conditions!

Two dozen head of Longhorns grazed in a pen next to the parking area. The lecture part of the class was held in a nice shack, complete with indoor plumbing <smirk> and a nice kitchen. A gregarious old Lab mix wandered
through the classroom, or sat listening to her Daddy, the lead instructor, talk. She even came outside, and stood well away from the tables but close to the people.

Business is very, very good for this training outfit; in late November, when I first contacted them, they didn't plan to hold a Basic Pistol I class until March 2009; they had two classes today, and apparently have scheduled two for next
Saturday. Both classes were full, and the lead instructor told me he'd had to bring in all his part-time instructors to help. There were six other instructors there, two of them women.

The women in the class got a special sheaf of information intended to allay any case of female jits. I didn't read it closely ... I was there because I wanted to be.

There were about a dozen students in my class, half men and half women. All the women, save one, was there with her husband. Most of the couples were gray-haired, but there was a pair in their mid-twenties, and a male friend of theirs who was about the same age. You could easily tell which woman was genuinely interested, and which was a martyr to the cause.

We had been asked not to bring our gun, if we owned one; in this class no one owned a gun, or, if they did, they didn't admit to it. Apparently, several in the morning class brought their guns, and got them critiqued.

The course lasted a little over three hours, and roughly half of that was spent at a primitive outdoor range consisting of six long wooden tables, firing various types of pistols at metal targets ten to fifteen yards away. I hit some, and missed some. I fired:

• A Springfield XD 9mm (first one I handled);
• A S&W (I think) 1911-style .22 with an electronic sight (which I liked very much!);
• A S&W .38 revolver (which I kinda liked);
• A S&W 9mm (solid kick!);
• and a Glock 17 (which I also liked).

I fired a full magazine (or cylinder) with each pistol --- just enough to whet my appetite! Sadly, I didn't get to fire all the guns that were there.

Durnit!

Not every one there was having a good time. While waiting to fire the .38, I sat next to a lady who had shot two pistols and was done with the whole concept. She and I talked about New Balance athletic shoes (I just bought a new pair, to replace the pair that was destroyed in the Great Apartment Flood Of 2008) for a few minutes, until the instructor with the .38 was free.

I learned:

• No guns, watches, bracelets, or rings at the range (and you know I love my bling);
• The 1911 frame fits my hand;
• Iron sights are difficult to line up;
• Brass is rude;
• This sport is stinky and dirty;
• I can be vain about my hands;
• It's hard to shoot with long nails;
• I could have passed the shooting portion of the CHL today;
• I need to practice lots before I get good at this;
• I have every intention of getting good at this.

I made an acquaintance today at the class; one of the instructors, a woman, was intrigued by my presence and started chatting with me to see where I stood on The Second and guns and the concept of gun ownership as a civil right. In my wonderfully subtle manner, I let it be known that I was not in agreement with the imminent Administration. This instructor's husband --- another instructor, who had the 9mm I fired --- has written a book about the fallacies of the gun control movement.

She has invited me to a women-only firearms class in a different rural location, which I will attend.

I will also be taking Basic Pistol II, if not in early February, then as soon as possible thereafter. I think I can make it to a nearby indoor range week after next ... I now have a ball cap, a rocker patch that says "Basic Practical," and a yen to become a better shooter.

I am Dangerous ...