learn to shoot a pistol

My grandpa has a closet full of shotguns. My gramma has a pistol in her linen drawer and my mom has a shotgun as well. It runs in the family; I guess we’re a violent bunch, hahah. I’d love to own a gun though, just to be able to shoot targets and have fun.

target shooting (olympic style) with my husband many times, since he belonged to a club. I also took my concealed weapon permit, after a 2-day class. As a sport, I can see where some poeple might enjoy this. My sons enjoy it in varying degrees, as a sport. For self-protection, I prefer to use my mind, my intuition, and my voice. It’s worked so far.

did it. I signed up for a class at a local indoor range. After a few hours of instruction (laws, safety, types of pistols, ammunition, etc) the spent a couple hours on the range with a variety of pistols. A touch unnerving, those first few rounds but then it became quite fun. Going back sometime soon.

A couple years after retiring, my parents moved to Oregon. And amidst the packing, my father decided to present me one of his pistols. The details of the pistol itself are irrelevant other than its a Colt 45 Automatic. But how he aquaired it, while not a complicated or amazing tale, interests me more.

When Dad decided to join the Sherriff’s department, a family friend and collegue of my father’s mother gave him the pistol. Jim had entered the US Navy during WWII as a junior officer, and was given a service issue pistol. Once Jim was range qualified, he put it back in its box and into his locker for the duration of the war. After the war, it sat in a closet for another 25 years.

Dad used an office issued service pistol till the department allowed officers to carry their own pistols. At that point he bought another 45 Automatic, and had it smithed to his preference. So the Colt sat in the closet durning his career, sadly, the original box long gone.

Now the pistol sits in my closet, locked away. I’ve never fired a pistol. Surprising, perhaps. I asked many times while a young boy, but Dad had no interst in teaching me. I’ve had the gun a few years now, it’s time learn.

Shooting targets on a shooting range is like simplified archery, I think. I wouldn’t shoot a human.