Shoot 'em up
Ann had been had been hinting that she wanted to go shooting with me for some time. I don't know what sparked her recent interest in firearms. Maybe she's been watching old western movies lately. Last Sunday we bought some ammunition, packed up the pistols, and headed for the local shooting range.
I was looking forward to firing my vintage pistol. My father had "liberated" it during World War 2 when he was in Germany. It was manufactured in 1943 for the German Luftwaffe. It hadn't been fired in at least the past 40 years. Although there were concerns that old firearms sometimes blow up when fired. I reassured everyone that it would be OK since I'm using old ammunition".
When it came time to fire the Luftwaffe pistol, Ann restated the warning. "That might blow up". I told her to stand back and cover her face. I had dissembled, cleaned and lubricated this pistol and was confident there would be no problems. On the other hand, this was the only German World War 2 pistol I had ever disassembled/reassembled and my father had failed to "liberate" any instructions along with it. So, just in case, I turned my head and closed my eyes on the first shot. It fired perfectly giving me a renewed confidence in messing with things I know nothing about.
When shooting high power hand guns, paper targets only reflect accuracy and not power. I think the experience could be enhanced if, in addition to paper targets, the range also sold assorted fruit. Blowing a watermelon apart would make you feel that you're getting your money's worth out of those high priced bullets.
I was looking forward to firing my vintage pistol. My father had "liberated" it during World War 2 when he was in Germany. It was manufactured in 1943 for the German Luftwaffe. It hadn't been fired in at least the past 40 years. Although there were concerns that old firearms sometimes blow up when fired. I reassured everyone that it would be OK since I'm using old ammunition".
When it came time to fire the Luftwaffe pistol, Ann restated the warning. "That might blow up". I told her to stand back and cover her face. I had dissembled, cleaned and lubricated this pistol and was confident there would be no problems. On the other hand, this was the only German World War 2 pistol I had ever disassembled/reassembled and my father had failed to "liberate" any instructions along with it. So, just in case, I turned my head and closed my eyes on the first shot. It fired perfectly giving me a renewed confidence in messing with things I know nothing about.
When shooting high power hand guns, paper targets only reflect accuracy and not power. I think the experience could be enhanced if, in addition to paper targets, the range also sold assorted fruit. Blowing a watermelon apart would make you feel that you're getting your money's worth out of those high priced bullets.
posted by John at
9:22 AM
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