Sun's Out Guns Out

             Hey y’all! Since I posted the list last week I’ve gotten a lot of really good suggestions from people such as hunting, belly dancing, using public transportation and even going on a ride along with the police. So all of those are now officially added to the list. I’m sure you’re on the edge of your seat wondering what I’m going to do next so here it goes….. Shooting a shotgun or "shotgunning" as I like to call it.

            How is she going to accomplish this you’re asking? Well, I happen to attend church with a couple of guys who, given the amount of firearms they possess, would be handy to have around should there ever be a zombie apocalypse. And wouldn’t you know it they both have the same name, Steve. So for clarity's sake I’m going to call them Steve S. and Steve R.

              After church this week I, along with the Steves and my fabulous friend Hannah, all headed out to Steve R.’s house up in San Antonio. San Antonio, Florida that is. J Steve R. is lucky enough to live out in the sticks on a pretty big piece of property, or "a swamp behind St. Leo University" as he calls it. So we can take our target practice out in his backyard without worrying that the police are going to respond to a shots fired call and ruin our fun. While a trip down to lock up is definitely something that terrifies me, going to jail is not on my list. I look terrible in orange! Anyway, the weather was gorgeous and absolutely perfect for shotgunning. At least it was in my estimation. I’m not exactly sure what premium shotgunning weather would be but 85 and sunny with a slight breeze can’t be far off.

            At this point I think I should take a minute to explain why shotguns made the cut. It isn’t that using a shotgun is especially frightening to me, I mean I have a concealed weapons permit and own a handgun that I like to take down to the range on occasion. I’ve also shot various types of handguns and rifles but never a shotgun. The reason is that they are a little intimidating. There’s the kickback that leaves a nice bruise on your arm/shoulder and they’re also really heavy and loud! That’s why shotgunning made the list.

            You already know we’re exercising our Second Amendment rights right in Steve R.’s backyard but I just realized I haven’t told you what we’re using as targets or what model of gun we're shooting. We're targeting the clay discs that they use in clay shooting. They're about 4-5 inches across and painted a bright, neon orange color. Which sounds easy enough to spot, right? Wrong. Too bad for us you can’t teach accuracy as quickly as the Steves showed us how to hold and shoot the guns! Speaking of the guns Steve R.'s shotgun is a model Baikal MP 153 Auto and Steve S.'s is a pump action Mossburg 500. 
           
            It turns out Hannah and I are terrible shots. At least we are with moving targets. I feel like I can say that without hurting her feelings as niether one of us got anywhere near the targets. The important thing is that we got out there and tried something new. As for the kickback, I was really expecting a lot worse. Don’t get me wrong, it hurt like the dickens the first time I fired the trigger and the butt slammed into my arm but afterwards it wasn’t too bad. Just think of being repeatedly punched in the same spot. After a few hits the spot goes little numb. But I didn’t even get a bruise! Just a little bit of soreness around the impact zone. I kind of wanted a bruise though. They make good stories J

            I think the sound of gunfire must act as a magnet for men because within a few minutes of commencing our shooting lesson one of Steve R.’s roommates meandered out to the backyard/gun range toting his very own AR-15. It got me to thinking maybe that’s what us single gals are doing wrong? Maybe we should hang out at the local gun ranges since the sound of rapid gunfire draws the guys in like moths to a flame? Just a thought…

Ok, back on track…For you gun novices, AR is short for assault rifle. Don’t freak out, while it sounds scary, it’s totally legal. Since we’re having such poor luck at shooting moving targets (when I say we I mean Hannah and myself. The Steves hit way more than they missed) we decide to set stationary targets up a few yards away so we can practice with the AR-15. This is about the time I asked a pretty dumb question. I promised I would include it in the blog since the reaction I got from the Steves was pretty funny. I asked if we could use my little girly handgun to shoot the clay discs while in flight. Now, if you don’t know very much about guns and/or bullets you might not see why this would cause any sort of reaction. However, if you do know your way around firearms you’re probably laughing right now because you know that bullets from a handgun go way farther (we’re talking miles people) than those shot from a shotgun. Lesson learned!

            At the end of the day we had a total blast (haha) and Hannah and I did MUCH better with the AR than with the shotguns. We hit almost all our targets and looked pretty cute doing it! Maybe I should think about asking Santa for an AR -15 for Christmas?! Only if they make them in pink!