Shooting. The only sport endorsed by the Founding Fathers

So last time out I talked about America’s biggest obsession; food.
This week I'm going to discuss Americas other fanatical fixation; guns.

Now obviously I was well aware of what the attitudes of the majority of people were on this subject over here, especially down here in Texas, where it is considered not just a right to be able to own and fire a gun, but a responsibility.

There are 9 guns for every 10 people in this country, and I suspect that number is higher down here. Even in Austin, which is a pretty liberal thinking island in the Texas sea of right wing, red neck, republicanism, is still pretty much in love with firearms.

When I was up in Dallas I met a guy who inside his waistcoat had holstered two pistols (one in each side) and a spare clip for each!! We were only going out to Western dance lesson, what did he expect to happen?!? Maybe while we were going through the canyon we might have been set upon by a band of wild Indians, or the bar could have been seized by terrorists with dodgy German accents, and we would have had to crawl through the air ducts and take them out one by one while making light hearted wise cracks.

 

This gun fixation definitely had me feeling uneasy. I have never liked the idea that deadly weapons and ammunition could be purchased with such ease and with such indifference as to the reason they why were being bought in the first place. I knew the chances of actually looking down the business end of one were pretty slim, but knowing there were so many around made me think twice before I cut in line at the bar.

Yesterday however, thanks to Graham’s girlfriend Laura, we had the opportunity to go to a gun range outside of town and try some ‘ballistic therapy’.

So after paying our membership (yes, I am now a card carrying member of a gun range) and watching a 5 minuet safety video, they gave us our pistols; one revolver, one semi auto, some ammo and our targets and left us to it. Before we go any further I would like to point out that the people that worked there and the other members were Exactly how you are imagining them.

So we took turns to drill, pop, plug, open up, smoke, pump and bust a cap, from 10yds and two thoughts came to mind.

One; how easy it was. Now I know we were only using small caliber pieces, but after years of playing computer games, this was no different at all. This is a very scary thought.

Two; how empowering and fun it was. There were very strict rules as to what you could and could not do on the range, but the power that you feel when you hold and fire a gun is truly amazing. Another very scary thought.

So I write this to you, all Rambo’d up, armed to the teeth, camouflage paint on, about to head into the woods until my old commanding officer can talk me down :)

Until next time…

This week I’ve been mostly listening to…