A "Bang! Ding!" Date

Having been on a real shooting range only once and having shot hand pistols only a few times in my life, I will NEVER claim expertise. EVER. With that having been said, that was fun! I was allowed onto the firing range where  Specter Tactical was running a class (Lucky was the firearms instructor). Okay... For the most part, I sat in the sun on a tarp in the grass, enjoying a glorious day wearing ear muffs and safety glasses, but still... (As a side note, those ear muff were funny. The only noises that I heard were the sounds of me chewing gum... In my head... It was weird)
So, at one point, I was allowed to try a few types of pistols. The first was a Browning. Not too bad... I hit the thing, made it go "DING!" and yay, great. I also tried the Glock... Oy VEY! The thing kicked like a mule! And OWIE! I hit the target three or four times... After that, my hands were shaking so much from the recoil I wasn't able to hit the broad side of a barn with the rest of what was left in the magazine. I tried a little double action revolver... I couldn't pull the trigger to save my life. After Lucky pulled back the hammer, I was able to, but yeah... No. The highlight came when I tried the 1911. The thing was heavy as all get out, but it was weird. I was more accurate with that than with any other one I tried that day, my groups were tighter and Lucky said I did pretty well (and we were further back from the targets to boot). Go figure... It's hard to tell where I was hitting when I was shooting at the targets. I was only able to hear the "Ding!" sounds as I hit them. Lucky was watching where they hit and he said he was mighty impressed even though I am a noob. He said that my groups with the 1911 were "scary". Aww! It was so much fun!
On the other side of that, the raw power and the amount of devastation you can cause with a pistol and feeling it as I stood behind it squeezing the trigger, it gave me a better respect for it and I learned a thing or two. I managed to remember to keep the weapon pointed down range until Lucky took it from me and made sure that it was clear and finger off the trigger until I was ready to shoot at the targets. There's really no room for carelessness on the range and everyone there had a great respect for that. I think it's important that anyone who is carrying, whether it's for work or for personal protection should be as well trained as they could possibly be. But that's just my opinion.
I can see how it wouldn't be the kind of thing for everybody to do as a hobby. For one thing, it's expensive as hell. The cost of ammo... Well, apparently, it isn't cheap. I found that out when I got a couple of boxes of .45 ACP for Lucky for Valentine's day. (Nothing says love like ammo.) The different types of guns that showed up that day weren't exactly cheap either. Range fees and paying for the class... Add it up and I have to tell you.... It ain't a hobby for the financially challenged.
Another thing is, it's not exactly something some would be comfortable with. Whether it be fear of the weapon or the loud noise or whatever it is. Just like rock climbing or bungee jumping isn't for everyone, shooting goes the same way.  It's a preference.
The people who showed up to this particular class were really cool and very nice. Sure, I'm the instructor's girl and all, but they didn't treat me like a noob even though I am. I was so proud of Lucky being all professional and teaching a class and being all "instructor" like. It was neat to watch him go about doing his thing. Tee hee hee... Being all teacher-y and instructor-y and shooting and commanding and stuff... <Sigh...> Nice...
Even though it wasn't like we were spending the day together, we spent the day together and it was nice. I have to say, it was a very cool "date" and I had a lot of fun. A great weekend... Thank you, Puppy Guts!