Oh Shoot!

Santa was good to John this year. He got a Benelli M2 shotgun - something he has been wanting for a little while. He was dying to take it out and he asked me to come with him. I got a babysitter and away we went.

We went to a state-owned tract in the middle of the desert where they have a few open ranges and some dirt bike trails. With all the pick-ups, our mini-van stuck out a little. But we traversed all the dirt roads and ended up at a range that was suitable for a shotgun.

We started out with a pistol that John just inherited from his grandmother. It's an old .38 Savage magazine loading handgun - and it's smaller than his Glock .40 caliber - so he thought I would like it better (his Glock has a huge kick to it, and I anticipate it too much and can't aim well). He was right - I liked it better.

I then shot his Glock, just to prove that I could. I still don't like the punch that it blows back.

Then we went on to the real reason we came out. The Benelli! (Cue the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Hallelujah). John was so proud! He was so patient with me (I'm not a gun novice, but definitely not an aficionado) and explained how the gun worked and where the ammo needed to be loaded. He showed me how to place it on my shoulder so that the kick wouldn't hurt as badly. Then he told me to point it to the bullseye and fire a coupla rounds. Ouch!

Then we got into the fun stuff! He brought out a box of clay skeets and a skeet thrower. I told him I would throw the skeet first, just so he could show me how to do it. I had to learn how to throw the little clay disks, and how to get them into the thrower without breaking them, and how to aim them properly so that I didn't beam my weapon-wielding husband with them, but I got pretty good at getting them into the air. Then it was my turn to shoot. I was really afraid that I wasn't going to hit anything. I didn't want to look like a complete dork.

Results - I didn't look like a complete dork and I totally enjoyed myself. I got a little thrill every time one of those little orange clay targets exploded in the air. My shoulder is a little sore today, but it was all worth it. We also had a little adventure when the van wouldn't start and we had to walk half a mile or so to the next pick-up truck where we could ask for a jump. Even with that - we had a great time and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

The bonus is that all the guys at John's work (his normal shooting buddies) think I'm cool. I guess all their wives are sissy-pants.

I'm just glad John was willing to share his Christmas present with me - it makes me happy to know that he'll have a lot of fun with it.