For the first time ever I held a large black object in my hands. It was scary and exciting at the same time. I was finally going to shoot a gun.

My desire to shot a gun comes from too many Hollywood movies and a feeling to be prepared if there is ever a revolution in this country. Instead of relying on TV shows I decided to go to the shooting and learn how to shoot and handle a gun properly.

After they take your driver’s license, you sign all the ‘no-fault’ shooting range disclaimers and pre-pay the ammunition; they give you a tray of your gun, ammunition, headsets and goggles. Then you go into this warehouse type area which is the real shooting range. Of course this is the hottest summer ever and I go to the non-air conditioned range. My goggles are steaming up and can barely hear anything with my airline traffic controller headsets.

The first step was learning to load the .22 caliber gun the shooting range manager said I should start with since I was a beginner.

‘The last time I shot a .22 gun was in boy scouts.” My shooting partner said who is of legal drinking and shooting age. Sometimes I think I need to date older guys like 25 years old so he can rent a car and we can cross state lines.

I was quite happy to start with the smaller gun. I set-up my generic shooting paper target up and I fired my first round. It was a shock at first but then I got into it and actually starting to hit the target. Then the manager upgraded me to the .38 caliber gun which was the old school western type guns. This gun was more powerful then the .22 and I could take more controlled hits on the target.

My barely legal shooting partner was using the more powerful .357 Magnum which I was able to shot a few rounds. This gun was way too loud; the shell cases were going every where and making a mess. I think I will stick with my .38 revolver since it is more lady-like.

Anyways, I predict more women will be going to shooting ranges in the near future especially when they start having kids.

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