Little did I ever knew I'd be shooting? One of my 23 before 24 list was to go shooting Alaskan style and with the help of my wonderful new Alaskan friends- I accomplished. Originally I was supposed to go shooting a day after my birthday soiree however I spent my Sunday recovering...you know. It is strongly advised to not go shooting with a lingering hangover. The night before rescheduled shooting date- my friend picked me up and when I got in the seat, there was a brown bag sitting. The friend and her friend started signing "Happy Birthday to you, Clara!" in American Sign Language. They demanded me that I open it (of course, I would!) It turned out that she got me the pink ear protector, I immediately thought "SHOOTING!" It is cute but I hate pink! In my head, I'll let this one slip because it is for shooting! I'd wear pink so I'd be able to shoot. Note: mind the jacket- it is coral/salmon, not pink! :) It also came with a set of earplugs- the friend learned that I'll need extra protection because I'm Deaf. I thought the opposite! It had something to do with protecting your eardrums.
On the next day, I met up with other friend at Rabbit Creek Range- I had a mixed feelings of excitement and nervousness. We went in to sign in and pay the fee, I could hear and feel the loud blasts from the rifle range. I kept on thinking "I'll touch, hold, and shoot from a gun soon." When it was time to replace targets, we placed ours. The friend showed me the handgun, he showed me the basics then had me do a mock version of shooting. It wasn't so bad, the handgun was a bit hefty but manageable. Then I realized, it would be different when you shoot it- the weight and the force. He loaded the gun and told me to shoot, I chickened out and asked him to shoot so I could watch his form. (which was totally a b.s. I was chickening out, over-thinking things) When he was in his form, I timidly took a couple of steps back and hid behind him- anticipating for the shot. He shot then loaded it, placed it on the table- gestured me to take and shoot it. I had this stupidest grin on my face, a really nervous one. I picked it up and worked on my form and the grip. I took a glance at him and he gestured "pull the trigger" I proceed with this "do or die" mentality and bam! There! My first shot. Eventually we played around a bit- learned how to look at the target and position myself properly before shooting. It was not bad at all, it was fun! I used a CZ SP01.40 handgun.
It was the fear of shooting that got to me. It is not about shooting, it is about the fear. I found shooting to be a nice form of stress-reliever. I had a couple of errands I needed to get done before the Alaskan winter comes (studded tires!) The errands list kept on expanding daily and it was starting to get stressful. But after shooting, I realized I didn't think of those errands at all. I definitely want to continue shooting, buy the friend next round of ammo, and work on my shooting skills. I'd like to see myself hunt for game meat in Alaska. I'm hoping for shooting to be one of my new hobby, we'll see about that. I am for using guns in controlled environment: shooting range and hunting areas.
And, I cannot lie- I felt more Alaskan after this experience!
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