Shooting 101

Since I moved I have been thinking about getting a gun for protection. The idea really scared me at first because I have never even held a pistol but my friend Brandon is and ex-Marine and he told me he would help me learn to shoot a pistol and all the safety rules, etc... We went and looked at guns a few times and I held them in the store but I finally got to shoot one this past weekend.

I drove out to Brandon's house and we went to his friends land for target practice. He taught me how to load the gun and put a bullet in the chamber...which was the hardest part for me! You have to hold the gun and pull the top part (as you can see I am such a girl when it comes to this) back and it is not as easy as it looks. Brandon made it look easy and then when I tried I felt like I had no arm strength to do it. By the end of the day I had finally got it down but it still wasn't easy.

Anyway, Brandon set up a pizza box as a target and the target was the blue square in the middle of the box. After lessons on gun safety I held a pistol for the first time! It was such a scary feeling at first thinking I am holding a weapon that could kill someone so I had to get comfortable with it. My hands were shaking at first but after holding it and shooting it I got over the nerves. I was a terrible shot! Hopefully my aim will get better the more I shoot! I was shooting over the pizza box into the pond to the right of the box, to the left, so the target became to just hit the pizza box and forget trying to hit the blue square in the middle :) Poor Brandon was very patient!!

Can you guess which bullet holes are mine and which ones are Brandon's?? 

Then, his friend JD came out there and brought skeet to shoot. I am use to shooting a shotgun because my family likes to shoot skeet at my uncle's house sometimes. I made the mistake of telling them how I am pretty good at shooting skeet and so you know I missed every one! Oh well, it was fun anyway!

Brandon and JD skeet shooting

Waiting for the skeet

Me skeet shooting

After skeet shooting Brandon got his deer rifle out and set up a target 100 yards away. I got to shoot that as well and...

I actually shot the pizza box from a 100 yards away!! My shot is the one right on the edge of the box! Progress!

I am not exactly ready to get a gun just yet but maybe after a few more practice sessions I will be. I at least have to be able to load it quickly and hit the target before I even think about getting one!