2010.10.10 |
I decided to take a pistol course at a local facility. I did it because it had been years since
I'd handled a firearm I do not own one and thought it would be a good thing to get knowledgeable
about and comfortable with them (I've a dear friend who shoots and I've never felt comfortable going out
to the range with him); and because, quite frankly, I wanted to do something constructive that would get
me out of the house for a while. That is, someplace that is not a restaurant, and without
the Kindle.
I felt the course was very worthwhile. The staff was outstanding; we were trained and tested on nearly
all aspects of basic pistol selection, safety, maintenance, aiming and firing. For the first two days
we received presentation after presentation about just about everything, and held, dry-fired, and cleaned
the pistols. We didn't actually step into the range until our final day (this morning).
I would wholeheartedly recommend this class to anyone who doesn't feel comfortable with handling a
pistol. Advanced training courses are available, and I'm considering attending their concealed pistol
license (CPL) training at the end of the month encouragement comes in the form of my new refrigerator
art: two official targets punctured in a very tight groupings (a photo of one of them may currently
appear in the margin at left). Considering I hadn't shot in 20 years,
I'm pretty satisfied.
In the class, we practiced on 9mm Glock pistols, but on the range, we shot .22 cal Browning Buck Marks.
Shooting the Buck Mark was fun, but I think I'd like to shoot a Glock 19 like the one I favored as
we practiced. We also practiced with Glock 26's, but I felt the pistol was too short for me the 26
uses the clip to extend the grip (the manufacturer's promotional material refers to this model as the
"Baby Glock").
I met some good people in class, and we exchanged contact information for getting together to shoot.
I think this is something I'd like to do every now and again to practice what I've learned.
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