Izzy

Meet my little friend Izzy
This is Izzy, and this is what I did to Izzy a couple of weeks ago. So…I had the opportunity to go to the range, and suddenly, all those years I’d dreamed of wanting to be a sharp-shooter in an alternative life frightened me to pieces. Whenever I go to a carnival or amusement park, I am always most interested in the shooting games rather than the ring toss or hoop shots. Even when it’s just the water gun and balloon game - I don’t even care about the prize, I just like hitting the targets with precision. My most favorite game has always been at the BB gun shack which allows you to fire out the little red stars hanging from a piece of paper. So, when I found myself hesitating at the offer to fire some live rounds, I was feeling completely puzzled. This was the real deal here and I was feeling intimidated and frightened by the thought of using a “real” gun. I finally talked myself in to going, but I swear I don’t think I spoke one word the entire car ride to the range. I didn’t want to blow my opportunity to go, so I just pushed on and tried to act cool as I learned to load the cartridges and hold the guns properly. Not only was I a little worried about totally fucking up and shooting a toe off or something, but I was struggling with the idea that I was holding a deadly weapon and it didn’t sound at all like the real me that doesn’t particularly like any kind of violence. But that’s when I realized that it was better to have this knowledge than to fear it. Not that I plan on packing heat any time soon, but at least, if ever in a situation where I would need to know how to use them, I was now completely confident in Mike’s expert knowledge and safety precautions. I took my first shots with a 9MM and I hit my target! Once I got the hang of the push and pull of the hand position, I really started to enjoy it. In the end the only thing that still freaked me out a bit was the spent bullets that fly at you from the shooter on your left. They are hot as hell and a little distracting when you’re trying to focus. Someone just asked me today if I liked it. I said I still wasn’t sure, but now that I’ve had time to think about it more, I did like it and would definitely go back and try it some more. I wasn’t a perfect shot, but I’m pretty sure I could be. And as far as coming to terms with weapons, I’d rather know how to use them than not know and wish that I did.