3/21/2010

Rule #2 - Double Tap

Rawkstar and I went to the pistol range yesterday. Lacking my enthusiasm for exiting airplanes in flight, she insisted that we find an exiting hobby that we could to together. So, we took up shooting sports.

We've not been at it long. We've only gone to the range together a half dozen times or so but she enjoys it a lot and, for her experience level, is on her way to being a shooter of some skill. Her pattern is tight, her stance solid, her hands steady. She's actually a better shot than I am, though for the sake of my pride it tell myself that that's because her .22A is much more manageable than my 1911. At 25 yards, both of our patters were decently tight. Neither of us is going to qualify for the FBI but we'll both be okay in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse.*


I did notice something the last time we were at the range, something important in regards to this post from a few weeks ago. Excluding the guy in the stall next to us, who I garner is an ex-cop that likes to keep his skills up, nobody else in the place could hit a fucking thing. Seriously, we're talking about the firearms' equivalent of broad side of the barn here. Of the eight occupied lanes, only the two of us and the cop could consistently hit what we aimed at.

Were these novice shooters? No, they all talked the gun talk and they had all brought their own weapons. Granted, there was a guy a few stalls over that was obviously coaching his son, but I really got the feeling that his son had been shooting since he could first talk. Everyone there seemed to be a veteran shooter and not a single one of them had a pattern that would garner a Boy Scout merit badge, let alone a confirmed kill. Most of these people had no pattern whatsoever; they couldn't put two slugs within six inches of one another. At the same time, Rawkstahr and I, who've not fired five thousand rounds between the two of us, can each put half the clip in a target's vitals every time. I even triple stacked, a rare achievement for me.

Was this a fluke day and everyone else was off their game or was I right in my previous post and most gun owners are yee-haw types who care a lot more about getting off on shooting guns than on actually being competent to shoot one?



*In addition to the usual bulls-eye and silhouettes, our range offers several varieties of Zombie targets. Aim for the head.




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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are too many people running about loose who've never taken "gun control is being able to hit your target" as a nod to proper training, expertise, and responsibility. They just like it cuz they think it's Snark Win.

Gabe said...

I recently started shooting and noticed most people just get off on the bang. Rawkstar i can't speak for, but girls in general get off on it most.

nursemyra said...

I'd rather skydive than shoot

RawkStahr said...

@Gabe: No matter how many times I shoot, the initial 'bang' always kinda makes me jump...the anticipation of knowing it's coming but not quite able to tell when...hmm. You're right. It's all about the sex aspect. :o) (Actually, it's not just the bang--it's the power and confidence I feel while wielding a powerful weapon.)

I'll let Thomas comment further. ::grin::

Bukko Boomeranger said...

Look, in the movies and on teevee, the good guys ALWAYS hit their targets! (And the bad guys always miss, except when they wing one of the good guys in the shoulder, and everybody knows that doesn't hurt.) And all these 2nd Amendment heroes on the range KNOW they're good guys, right? So why should they worry about hitting some silly targets? When it comes time to actually "taking out" the evil-doers that are attacking their double-wides, they won't shoot their wife or kids, just the criminalterrrrrrrrrrists. Because life is just like the movies...

renalfailure said...

I would assume your accuracy is because you see shooting guns as a useful skill to master, and not as a way of puffing up one's sense of masculinity and hiding one's inner fears of a world that doesn't fit their preconceptions.