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My First Day at the Range with the New Gun

Wynder

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So, about two weeks back I bought my first firearm; a S&W Sigma 9mm Allied Forces (black & black, two 16rnd mags) -- if you've followed my rants, my wife forbode me to fire it until I took my CCDW Training Course, which I had scheduled as promptly as possible and happened to be yesterday. Mind you, this is the second time I've ever fired a gun.

In any case, we spent the first couple of hours in the classroom going over the parts of the gun, safety issues, handling, grips, range commands, etc... afterwords we finally head out to the range. We were at the Brandywine Hundred Rod & Gun Club -- an outdoors club with three ranges (50-meterassault range, 100meter range and 200meter rifle range... also had a stretch of land for clay pidgeon and a mechanical bird thrower).

In order to gauge our safety habits, the instructor has I start out with a pistol -- we started by learning how to load, unload and cock the revolver. He put up the targets and we moved up to about 10 meters and he drew a line and had me load and move up to the line.... well, (stupid me), the line didn't extend across to the target at which I'd be shooting, so I drug my foot and extended it when I hear "Control that muzzle!" I had turned sideways to extend the line and wound up pointing a loaded gun at the instructor... mind you, finger off the trigger, but stupid on my part no less. :(

In terms of safety, that was my only *huge* error -- outside of that, I had minor mistakes such as not taking my finger off of the trigger when I came back off of my target into a ready stance. The instructor did commend me on (after that first incident) maintaining muzzle control.

In any case, the pistol was *HEAVY*... a lot heavier than it looks, and I didn't realize that my arms would be so fatigued in such a short period. So, the next several hours consisted of me and my buddy trading off doing (I think this is the correct name) 'Ball and Dummy' exercises. Basically 5 live rounds and 1 empty case -- spin the cylinder and put bullets into the target at 6 o'clock.

All in all, I didn't do too badly -- had 1 shot that was on the white of the paper, but most others were in the black and hit the center area 4 times or so in the first 30or 40 rounds. All in all, I just didn't feel really comfortable with the revolver. My buddy, on the otherhand, with single action, had a tight 3-inch grouping of about 5 shots out of a set of 10 he did for one set...

After we went through our first box of 50 cartridges, he said he felt comfortable with our safety practices and said I was allowed to use my Sigma if I so desired. He had me give him my two clips loaded with 10 rounds each and he stuck two dummie rounds in each one and had me fire in sets of three.

Yeah, I flinched -- more so near the middle. The beginning wasn't so bad (was usedit to more with with revolver and corrected myself towards the end). However, my accuracy skyrockted... In about 30 rounds, I blasted the center of the target 8 or 9 times and the rest drifted slightly left and downwards -- I'm thinking from fatigue and the fact that the weapon has a very heavy trigger pull. All in all, I'm ecstatic with my weapon -- only put about 70 rnds through it, but no malfunctions (except when my buddy used it and would guide the slide back into position causing a botched ejection).

If you've read my other posts, you may recall that my wife *hates* guns, but when I got home that evening and the kids went to bed, I pulled it out to cleaned it and she really didn't seem to mind and actually asked how to get a round out that was in the chamber which you didn't want to fire.

So, all in all, a very fun day (outside of forgetting my sunscreen... OUCH). I learned a lot and I'm looking forward to the second half of the class and getting my 100 rounds out of the way. He gave us the NRA Basic Pistol test which I did last night -- aced it -- so I'll be giving that back to him next time as well.
 

HankT

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Congrats, Wynder. Great range/classreport.

You're on your way... :)

Remember, safety above all else. And be prepared in all things...
 

OBXMIKE

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Thanks for being responsible and taking the class. Safety IS paramount. Remember to ALWAYs know where your muzzle is pointed, keep your finger away from the trigger until you're ready to fire, and be sure of what's behind your target.

You can't call that bullet back once it leaves!

Thanks for not just showing up at a range with a gun and some ammo and goofing your way through it. Kudos to you, sir! :dude:
 

Legba

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I sympathize. My gf is not a gun person, but I got most of my pieces before we hooked up, so there isn't much she can say about it now. The good part is that she's so uninterested that she doesn't notice when I acquire a new piece, unless I'm perving on it overmuch (ok, so she does notice, since I always do that with a new piece). Anyway, we've reached a level of mutual tolerance/resignation in that neither is going to win over the other on this count, and that's ok. I still have her and the guns, so I chalk it up as a victory, even if she'll never go on a range trip with me.

Glad to hear the classes are going well. Better than the brute force field training I got.

-ljp
 

ixtow

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Wynder wrote:
If you've read my other posts, you may recall that my wife *hates* guns, but when I got home that evening and the kids went to bed, I pulled it out to cleaned it and she really didn't seem to mind and actually asked how to get a round out that was in the chamber which you didn't want to fire.
I'm NOT trying to be insulting, or to asume too much, but this should be a yellow flag.

It's happened enough to warrant mentioning:

You'll load the gun for defense, put it somewhere near the bed so it can be reached in case of a break in while sleeping, etc... all prudent things. She'll unload it without your knowledge. Notice, that's the only thing she asked about? It could be jsut out of sheeple fear and wanting to know how to "make it safe." But a secretly unloaded gun in a moment of need could be fatal for your whole family. And if she survives it, you KNOW the fact that she neutered it will be left out and the terrible tragedy just be used as another examople of how bad guns are and how they don't really help.

It could be innocent curiosity, maybe a first step in the right direction. It could be the simple desire to neuter the weapon whenever she can, a trend women often carry into many aspects of their lives. But I digress.

I wouldn't suggest confronting her about it or anything like that. Just check it often if you do keep it loaded for a useful purpose. If you ever find the ammo removed, and you not having been informed of this; it's time for a serious discussion. You need to protect your family even from itself. You ned to be as wary of someone who only wants to know how to unload a gun, as you must be of those who go to flight school but don't care to learn how to land...
 

Wynder

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No, Ikeep it in my digital safe. She doesn't have the combination. I keep the gun unloaded with a full clip next to itand that's a calculated risk I'm willing to take.

We've been together for a good, long time and she's not one to have alterier motives -- no yellow flags there.
 
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