That's Going To Leave A Mark...

Yesterday, my hubby and I went to a firing range with Mal. My hubby was raised around guns but this was my first time actually holding one, much less learning how to fire one. My hubby claimed that firing guns would be right up my alley.

We used a 9mm. I learned how to load the clip, how to chamber a bullet, and how to sight down the barrel.

My first attempt wasn't great. If my target had been a man, he would have been missing his knees.

My second attempt would have scraped his elbow and maybe parted his hair a bit and I would have had to ask him to pause for five minutes while I figured out how to reload.

I had a hard time chambering the first bullet (that slide on the top of the gun is tough to move). I was all over the place with my aim. And I nearly shoved a clip backwards into Mal's gun which, had I succeeded, might have ended our friendship. ;)

Shooting became more than just a new experience. It became a challenge and I NEVER back down from a challenge. I was determined that by the end of the day, I would be able to quickly load, cock, and rapidly empty a gun into the center of my target.

Meanwhile, Mal was emptying clips one after the other and blowing his target to pieces and my hubby was doing the same. At one point I was standing behind my hubby to watch him shoot and a shell casing flew behind him and went right down the front of my shirt.

That's the kind of choreographed teamwork 12 1/2 years of marriage will give you. =)

My hubby watched me get ready for my third attempt and realized that, while I'm right handed, I was using my left eye to aim and was standing with my right foot forward.

He informed me that I had it completely backwards in every way.

Hmm...

I adjusted my stance, yanked the slide back, sighted down the barrel, and hit a bulls-eye. My second shot was accurate too. I decided to just empty the clip, one after the other, as fast as I could. When my clip was empty, I reloaded and emptied the second clip just as rapidly.

The men around me were watching me with a strange mixture of awe and trepidation.

I retrieved my target and examined it. 20 bullets. 17 hits. 16 in the body mass. 1 head shot.

Now that's what I'm talking about.

Turns out my hubby was right. =)