Gun Un-Shy

A few weeks ago, I asked my dad, "Dad, do you own guns?" Turns out, he's had them for my entire life and I had no idea! I asked if he'd be willing to teach me to shoot sometime. It looks like it could be a lot of fun -- in a safe environment, of course. He had taught my brothers to shoot, but although he'd asked me I wasn't interested as a teenager.

So, I was thrilled when Dad called Thursday to ask if I'd want to go shooting. I didn't even mind getting up at 6:00 on a Saturday morning so we could go before the weather got too hot. He brought my brothers Peter and Aaron, his friend Vlad, and Vlad's son-in-law Andre. Vlad and Andre are both originally from Russia, so it was neat to hear their accents, answer their questions about American history, and hear about what a doctor's life and gun control are like in Moscow. (Andre's a doctor. Turns out, fewer people have guns in Russia than they do here, so he doesn't see a lot of bullet wounds. I didn't know that.)

We drove over to Utah lake and found a non-residential place up a dirt road. We weren't the first to shoot there, as evidenced by a LOT of shells and junk with bullet holes all over the place. It comforted me immensely knowing that my dad and brothers are all accomplished Boy Scouts. Peter had even brought his BSA Guns and Shooting manual to refer to.

My brothers set up targets and tin cans and some shot-up bowling pins, and my dad brought out 6 different kinds of guns, all rifles: 1) 12-gauge shotgun, 2) 20-gauge shotgun, 3) deer rifle, 4) ball-and-powder musket/muzzleloader, and 5&6) two 22-caliber rifles. He gave us a few minutes of instruction, reminding us to make sure the safety is on and not to point the gun at another person EVER. "Always treat it like it's loaded, even if you know it isn't."

I was very impressed with Dad, Aaron and Peter's skills. They hit more targets than they missed, and were very patient with me as I learned to load and shoot.

Aaron with the deer rifle

Peter with the musket

I shot each of the guns a few times, but my favorite was one of the 22-caliber rifles. It was the gun my grandpa used to teach my dad to shoot; my uncle had it for years and finally gave it to Dad last summer. I didn't think at first that I was hitting anything, so I was really surprised when my brothers presented me with my target sporting several bullet holes in it! The deer rifle was awesome, too -- the scope made it easy to hit the bowling pins.

The results of my first bunch of shots

By the end of the three hours, I was managing to knock over some tin cans, and even hit one clay pigeon out of the air by sheer luck. It was FUN! Totally worth getting up early. Always nice to try something new, eh? I'm excited to go shooting again!

Dad with a 22-caliber rifle

I love how completely kick-butt I look with the deer rifle in this photo!

Me and my expert teachers -- they are the best!

(Thanks Aaron for helping me with all of the gun designations and labeling which are modeled in each photo. We'll have to go again so I can get better acquainted with them all!)