22. Shooting a Gun
It turns out I’m a pretty good shot. Still, once is enough. I never want to shoot a gun again.
Firearms, of course, hold awesome and terrifying power - yet I didn’t feel powerful holding these machines of destruction in my hands, jolting with the explosion of each pull of the trigger, hearing their “pow” in every cell of my body. I just felt bewildered that in many states, almost anyone can walk into a gun shop and without training, registration, or permitting, walk away with a semi-automatic rifle.
My friend, Mark, and I took an Introduction to Shooting Handguns and Rifles class at the Mass Firearms School in Holliston, MA. This wasn’t my first time shooting; as a kid at summer camp, I took Riflery - I think with BB guns. Then, in college, I went once with my then-boyfriend to a big, empty field where we shot his family’s old-style rifle at gallon jugs of water. Hearing the thwack of the bullet hitting the jug and watching the water pour out gave me a little thrill; it felt exciting to be doing something new and slightly dangerous.
Forty years later, not so much.
For someone who lives far out of gun culture, stepping into the Mass Firearms School feels a bit surreal. Guns line the walls (well, duh …); shoppers speak with salesmen (and they were all men) about the features of different guns the way someone shopping for a computer would ask about memory and battery life; staff members walk around with handguns tucked into holsters at their hips.
While we waited for our class to start, Mark talked to one of the salesmen about the way different guns worked. I waited in the lobby, trying to wrap my head around the matter-of-fact way people talked about guns and the unsettled feeling the place gave me.
Soon enough, our instructor, Brian, gathered the six of us taking the class and brought us into a room where, using plastic replicas, he demonstrated how the handguns and rifles we would be using worked. Then we geared up with goggles and noise-deafening headphones and headed into the shooting range.
We each had two turns to shoot. The first time, we used two different handguns, a Ruger MK IV and a Smith & Wesson 617. Mark went first. Brian loaded the guns and walked him through how to hold each one, to aim, and to unlock the safety. Then he shot 10 rounds with each gun.
I shot next. With the training about how to aim that I received in my archery class the previous week, I mostly hit the target.
After everyone used the handguns, we each had a turn at shooting two different rifles: a 15-22 and a Colt AR15-9mm. With the electronic sights - a red dot inside a red circle - it’s even easier to hit the target than it is with the handguns.
When everyone had had their two turns “at bat,” Brian instructed us to wash our hands with cold water and soap before leaving. I told him about my adventure quest, and he asked if I wanted to shoot a “real” handgun. The ones we used seemed pretty real to me, but apparently they’re mostly for training. He showed me how to use an HKVP9, which fires louder and kicks back more of a recoil. It uses bigger bullets, too.
During the class, Brian talked about use of guns for self-defense during home invasions - likely a reason many people take the class and buy a gun. But as invulnerable as owning a gun may make people feel, the evidence points to the opposite - an armed home is not a safer home. I kept wondering how, if someone broke into my home, I could possibly unlock a safe, load a gun, and protect myself. Unlikely, for me at least.
On the left: my target after shooting the rifles.
On the right: my target after shooting the “real” handgun.
Brian was a patient and kind instructor, and the Mass Firearms School delivers on what it promises. Mark had fun, but it’s just not my thing.
Glad I did it? Yes, for the experience. Want to repeat? Mark does. Me? Never.
Mass Firearms School, Holliston, MA: $75 for an Introduction to Shooting Handguns and Rifles class. Mark generously paid for this one; he got a Groupon for $42/person
