In Case of A Zombie Apocalypse ... I'll Be In BIG Trouble

I hate guns. I really do. Yes, I understand the need for them, and I would suppose that I can appreciate the fact that the people around me have them. I do support the right for people to own guns. I just don't personally like to handle them. I did not grow up with guns in my home, and people might be surprised to know that I still managed to always feel safe. But Herman does like guns. He isn't a hunter, but he does like to go shooting whenever he gets the chance. Even though I am a nervous nelly when it comes to having guns in the house, we do have them safely locked away in a safe, ready if we ever need them. Herman likes to say that we are preparing ourselves for the zombie apocalypse. But we don't really live in an area where Herman has the chance to go shooting very often. Technically we are out of city limits, and the sheriff's department has said that it is okay for us to target shoot on our property, but our neighbor's are close enough to us that they don't always appreciate it if Herman is outside shooting things.

Mindful of that, I was a little excited to see that a new shooting range was being built over by my parents' house. As soon as I realized what that big structure was going to be I knew what I would be getting Herman for Christmas this year.

A week before Christmas I walked into this new business and purchased a six month family membership at the Bow and Barrel Sportsmen Center. Boy, did I feel like a fish out of water in that place! They have quite a setup, and if I was a gun enthusiast I would have probably felt like I had died and gone to heaven. So many guns. So many things to do with guns. I had no idea what I was doing, but the nice uniformed workers there walked me through the process. 

Christmas came, and Herman was super excited to use his new membership. Things were crazy for a few days, but then he headed over there for target shooting on his own one day. After that he was excited to have me come along with him on a date. Even though I am not a gun person I was not opposed to this for a date. In fact, I really have felt like I needed to take more time to familiarize myself with shooting. My dislike of guns has more to do with my own discomfort around them than anything else. I figured that I needed to take some time to practice shooting so that I wouldn't be so nervous. I'll sign up for a class one of these days, but for now I was willing to do some informal target shooting with the love of my life.

Last Friday night we headed over to the center for a date night of shooting the tar out of our set of paper targets. Herman brought one of his handguns and a .22 rifle. We started with the handgun. I did horribly. So. So. Bad. The gun had a huge kickback after it fired, and it made me a bit nervous. I tried to channel my inner Charlie's Angel, but it just wasn't working out. I kept missing the target, even when Herman brought it up closer to me. There was another yahoo there shooting his target way far back who kept hitting the bullseye every single time. Not me. I would feel good when I managed to hit the silly board. It didn't take too long for me to realize that the eye I thought was dominant was actually not. That made a huge difference as I shot, and soon I was able to get closer to the target. Herman was still doing ten thousand times better than I was. I just didn't like the feel of that particular handgun. Things got easier when we switched to the .22. That felt a bit better to handle. After a few attempts to get a feel for the thing I was able to do pretty well. By the end of the night Herman and I had a friendly competition, and I managed not to get destroyed by him. I think I could figure things out eventually.

Still ...

In the event of a zombie apocalypse, I'll be in BIG trouble.