Gun Range
Earlier this week DmentD took me to the gun range. This might seem odd and bizarre to anyone over there in the UK, you’re all wondering now whether I’m living with a gun-toting maniac *grins*
The answer’s no I’m not.
This was infact the first time I had seen any of the guns though I knew of their existance. It’s legal, in Texas, to shoot someone if they’re on your property.
Since I’m at home on my own for the best part of the day (or at all) DmentD wanted the piece of mind knowing that should anything happen while I was alone I would have the knowledge and the confidence to go and pick up one of the guns and protect myself (while also calling the police, I’m not stupid).
We started by getting the three guns out here, showing me how to hold them, load and unload, turn safety’s on and off.. basic gun safety and handling.
We stopped off on the way to the range and picked me up some ear protection and glasses to wear.. and some lunch too!
I don’t really know what I expected from the place, but it did the job, the sign in the shop saying “we don’t call 911” with the gun hanging below it amused me, as did the one saying “keep all moves open” not the sort of place you want people to think you’re going to try and rob them!
We got our lane, the range is basically a row of little cubicles, with a wood ledge in front of you, and space for people to walk past behind you, a broom to sweep up the shells when there gets to be too many. It was very loud in there, even with the ear protection on.
We started off with the revolver, I didn’t do too badly.. I hit the target! It took some getting used to, especially trying not to anticipate the shot as it made me lose my aim, but trying to relax is kinda awkward in that situation. I was getting better near the end. I think the gun was slightly too big for my hand, it was just marginally uncomfortable to hold when taking multiple shots.
Next off came the rifle. It was actually the same as the one I shot in Africa, except semi-automatic so I wasn’t having to reload as often. I did fairly well just shooting it, I was keeping in a fairly close circle to where I was aiming. But then I tried it using the stand they provided, kinda like a barracade to hold the barrel up (as that was where I was wavering, my arm was tiring holding it up so it was wobbling) and I did really well, keeping it in tight circles where I was aiming.
Finally, out came the shotgun.. I didn’t actually shoot this. DmentD fired it a couple of times (though the photos are him with the rifle) and even knowing it was coming the sound was making me flinch (yes, I’m a wuss). I think it will take me some time to get used to that one before I want to try firing it.
When the zombie apocalypse comes hand me the rifle!
Come on, where’s the all important details? What makes and models and what calibre? ;o)
– Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolver, 4″ barrel. Original (old school) police issue sidearm with newer, modified grip scales.
– Winchester 1300 Defender 12-gauge pump action shotgun. Modified with pistol grip and folding stock. Last of the legal-to-produce 18″ barrel shotguns. Not legal for hunting — security, armed forces, peacekeeping and personal defense use only.
Since no pictures from the range are to be had, I’ll give you a few links here: imagine THIS with a folding sock/pistol grip and you’ll have a good idea of what “Lobo” looks like, here is what happens to a SODA BOTTLE and a WATERMELON when the shotgun is turned on them, and finally THIS is a shining example of not only my accuracy, but what 12-gauge slugs can do to a hard drive.
– Winchester Model 74 .22 long rifle. Manufactured in 1946. Semiautomatic, with a 14 round magazine. Shoots like a dream… no recoil whatsoever. Survived being completely immersed in floodwaters for near to two weeks with only a little discoloration on the butt-end of the stock to show for it.
Fantastic. I’ve shot a .22 modified Lee Enfield SMLE which was lovely. Only had a 5 round clip though if I remember, and was bolt action….
Shot gun barrels have to be over 20″ now don’t they? I’ve never understood the limit on using large capacity shotguns whilst bird shooting, is it just a bird stock management thing?
While I’m not a hunter myself, I’ve always understood that limited capacity shotguns (aka “plugged” — either a short magazine or a plug-and-rod device, that reduces a standard shotgun’s capacity to three shells) were implemented as part of a “sporting chance” regulation in regional hunting laws. It is more common than not, but there are some areas that do not enforce that. Also, 18″ barrels are legal in most areas to hunt with — and technically I could bring my shotgun back into compliance by reinstalling its original stock and purchasing the appropriate plug to limit the magazine. But as I said, I’m not a hunter, and Lobo wasn’t meant to go out in the field anyway. *grins*
The barrel-length nonsense was all part of a “good intention, poor execution” gun law that addressed the symptoms of violent crime: “guns are killing people, so let’s outlaw a shotgun that maybe-kinda-sorta could be hidden in a person’s trousers if the shooter walks with a limp to disguise the fact that he has a large gun in his trousers,” rather than “criminals are killing people, let’s do something to catch them.”
A violent person can kill you with a brick, a spoon, a length of twine, their bare hands, a knife or a gun — and outlawing bricks, spoons, twine, hands, knives and guns only puts a pretty bandage over a nasty wound without treating the wound itself. It’s the kind of thing that shuts voters up without actually having to get your hands dirty.
Now, I read back over what I’ve just written, and even to my own ears I sound like a gun totin’, fanatical, cliche of an American… and really, I’m not. I’m an average guy who happens to own a few firearms, but never manages to think about them except to bring them to the range once a year to keep them in good working order. It’s not like I wear one around the house, or take them out in the evenings and polish them while whispering dirty little things to them, hoping that somebody tries to break in just so’s I can plug ’em with my pistola. Hell, I live in fear that one day I may just have to defend myself or my loved ones from someone who means us harm. I have taken many non-lethal measures to protect my home and the people within — an alarm, extra locks, and the capacity to lock ourselves into the bedroom with no means to undo the locks from without — just so I never have to pick up a weapon and bring it to bear on another human being.
Having said that, I’ve learned proper gun safety, I know full well how to operate each one that I own, and how to shoot with a great deal of accuracy. I treat every weapon with respect and a sobering dose or reality that its one and only purpose in this world is to potentially take the life of some other living being — bird, bear, deer or man. Punching pretty holes in a paper target is what you do to fill time.
Yep. I agree with you actually. The laws over here are stupid, and have been implemented to answer media hysteria and mass reaction to such rather than the causes of those crimes in the first place. I’d love to be able to own a hand gun and go range shooting regularly, unfortunately in the UK this is not possible. Rifle shooting is ok, but way to damn expensive over here!