Today I did something that I haven't done in quite a long time. I went shooting. Not such a big deal right? Well not particularly, unless you believe that before long Obama's administration will ban hand gun ownership, in which case it will be a good day to remember.
Now this isn't the first time I've been shooting. My grandfather and his friend, a police officer and retired marine, taught me how to shoot when I was kid. Starting me off with a little .22, working up to .38 and then a .357 magnum. Eventually my grandfather got a Glock 17 back when they were all the rage. Ah, what a beautiful weapon that was to shoot.
They taught me gun safety and range safety in addition to how to actually shoot. It is a fond memory from my childhood.
After that, I didn't shoot again until I was in the Air Force where we had to qualify with an M-16. Now that was fun. I still remember being half a shot off from getting my expert badge and the instructor wouldn't give it me. Oh well.
A couple years after that I was in Idaho for a month doing some work and one of the guys there had a few guns. We went out to the desert and did some skeet shooting and I got a taste of the power of a .454 Casull. What a cannon that was!
Fast forward another 10 years and a coworker bought a new .45 caliber Springfield XD (pictured) and asked if I wanted to go shooting with him. What a blast that was. We put 160+ rounds through it. Turned out I was still a pretty good shot too. The .45 was just powerful enough to have a good kick without being too over the top. We even put 50 rounds through my wife's .22 magnum for something different. We were even going to try out his AR-15, but the rifle range was getting a remodel. I was really looking forward that one.
So what's the point of all this? Simple, we as Americans have the right to own guns and shoot them, plain and simple. The guns themselves may not be cheap, but shooting isn't overly expensive depending on the kind of ammo you get. I would say it was comparable to going to a movie for two with popcorn and soda. It was fun and a challenge and unlike the many priveleges we enjoy in this country, it is a constitutional right.
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