Adventures on the Gun Range
Aug. 27th, 2008 11:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
przedI haven't felt too much like posting lately, but I did something tonight that I have to mention: I went to a gun range. And shot a gun. Quite a few guns, actually.
For years, I've been meaning to go shooting with a friend who belongs to a local gun club. Well, the club is getting pushed out of the current premises, high in the rafters of Union Station, by their landlord, the City of Toronto. (Toronto has problems with gun crime, and council figured the optics looked bad, having a gun range on city property.) Tonight was the last night the range is open, so I headed down with Bernie and his son, our sometime babysitter, Luc.
It was very, very cool.
After a primer on gun safety, I started with a 22 calibre revolver, 'cause it was the gun with the least recoil. It was also way too big for my hand. It was a struggle for me just to pull the trigger, let alone aim it. Then I switched to a .22 semi-automatic pistol that was pretty much awesome, though having hot brass jackets blow out of the gun and into your face takes some getting used to.
I tried one magazine's worth of bullets in a Sig Sauer, and that had one heck of a kick. But not as much kick as the .357 Magnum. I only shot two bullets from that one: one to prove I could do it, and one to prove I wasn't scared of it. But I doubt I could hit the side of a barn with it, the recoil is so great.
The range took some getting used to. Even with ear protectors on, I flinched every time someone took a shot for the first ten minutes. And cordite definitely smells pungent. My throat was getting totally dried out by the end of the evening.
After we closed the joint down (Bernie was the range safety officer for the night), we took a nighttime walk on the roof of Union station. As much as the shooting, that was amazing. The city skyline surrounded us, but we were totally alone up there. (I cursed myself for not bringing my camera for that one. I'm never likely to get up on the roof of Union Station again.)
As expected, I enjoyed the experience immensely, and if the club ever finds a home again I might go more often.
Here's some photographic evidence of my adventure:
The casing from one of the .357 Magnum bullet's I shot.
My best target. Note the bullseye! (I won't mention I did this from a resting stance that made it way easier to hit the target. And I also won't mention the other targets that I didn't leave a scratch on.)
Me with my target. Yes, I'm squinty. So is Renee Zellweger. Get over it.
For years, I've been meaning to go shooting with a friend who belongs to a local gun club. Well, the club is getting pushed out of the current premises, high in the rafters of Union Station, by their landlord, the City of Toronto. (Toronto has problems with gun crime, and council figured the optics looked bad, having a gun range on city property.) Tonight was the last night the range is open, so I headed down with Bernie and his son, our sometime babysitter, Luc.
It was very, very cool.
After a primer on gun safety, I started with a 22 calibre revolver, 'cause it was the gun with the least recoil. It was also way too big for my hand. It was a struggle for me just to pull the trigger, let alone aim it. Then I switched to a .22 semi-automatic pistol that was pretty much awesome, though having hot brass jackets blow out of the gun and into your face takes some getting used to.
I tried one magazine's worth of bullets in a Sig Sauer, and that had one heck of a kick. But not as much kick as the .357 Magnum. I only shot two bullets from that one: one to prove I could do it, and one to prove I wasn't scared of it. But I doubt I could hit the side of a barn with it, the recoil is so great.
The range took some getting used to. Even with ear protectors on, I flinched every time someone took a shot for the first ten minutes. And cordite definitely smells pungent. My throat was getting totally dried out by the end of the evening.
After we closed the joint down (Bernie was the range safety officer for the night), we took a nighttime walk on the roof of Union station. As much as the shooting, that was amazing. The city skyline surrounded us, but we were totally alone up there. (I cursed myself for not bringing my camera for that one. I'm never likely to get up on the roof of Union Station again.)
As expected, I enjoyed the experience immensely, and if the club ever finds a home again I might go more often.
Here's some photographic evidence of my adventure:
The casing from one of the .357 Magnum bullet's I shot.
My best target. Note the bullseye! (I won't mention I did this from a resting stance that made it way easier to hit the target. And I also won't mention the other targets that I didn't leave a scratch on.)
Me with my target. Yes, I'm squinty. So is Renee Zellweger. Get over it.
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no subject
Date: 2008-08-29 02:56 am (UTC)Hey...wait. I don't think Canadians are ALLOWED to carry guns. It's so...un-Canadian...isn't it?
no subject
Date: 2008-08-29 03:20 am (UTC)As for guns being un-Canadian, well, you can't carry concealed weapons. Unless you've got a trigger lock on 'em and have 'em in a locked bag. And handgun ownership is restricted. And... you get the idea.
I have to say I'm totally for most of our gun laws, but man, sport shooting is fun.