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June 26, 2007
Stranger in a Strange Land, Part 2
The second installment of my adventures in a pistol safety course
"Okay, folks...now's your chance to come up here and handle some of these firearms."
The instructor stepped back from the table and we all stood up. Some of us tentatively, others more eagerly. I was somewhere in between - I wanted to feel what some of these things were like in the hand, but was keenly aware that they were still guns. I know, intellectually, that an unloaded gun is nothing more than a hunk of metal with some moving parts, but that doesn't stop me from being nervous while picking one up. I have what you'd call a very healthy respect for the little guys.
The first pistol I picked up was an autoloader - a Glock 9mm G19. It was light, fit well in the hand and seemed like a nifty little gun. I dropped the magazine, racked the slide, reinserted the magazine and dry fired it (we had the instructor's permission) a few times.
Well, that was fun. Next pistol. A 9mm Sig Sauer P229. This one I liked a lot. After running through the safety drill to ensure it was clear, I practiced my two-handed grip and breathing technique.
At that moment, I became Jack Bauer.
"I don't have time for this..." Click.
"Stop right there..." Click.
"Show me your hands! Show me your hands!" Click.
"Tell me what I need to know!" Click
All the while, I was trying to line up the stupid front and rear sights. The book and the instructor made it sound almost easy - front sight should be in focus, everything else a little fuzzy. They didn't explain what to do when everything was fuzzy.
Once I figured that out, I took the Sig back to the table and looked for a new pistol to handle. While doing so, I asked one of the more knowledgeable class members how much the Glock and the Sig cost.
Yikes. Turns out I have expensive taste in guns.
The instructor brought a .44 Magnum revolver to the class. He said he hasn't fired it in years because it's too heavy and hard on his hands, but likes it as a teaching tool because it's so big.
It certainly was that. And heavy doesn't even begin to describe this monster. Proper clearing technique demands the revolver be held in the left hand when opening the chamber. This gun put a heck of a strain on my wrist. When I held it up one-handed, I could feel the muscles weakening after half a minute or so.
One thing is for certain. This class will made action movies a lot harder to watch. There is just no way Clint Eastwood could hold this thing in one hand and fire it that accurately. The average magazine only holds a dozen or so bullets, not the hundred or so Arnold fires in every movie he's in.
Now, I'm a total novice with guns, so you're probably wondering how I managed to know so well the manufacturer and caliber of the guns I just named. Easy answer: the instructor made us.
At the end of the class, each of us had to go up in front of everyone else and identify one revolver and one autoloader, then clear it. I spent much of our "free time" looking at each pistol, figuring out the manufacturer and caliber and semi-memorizing the information. Of course, I was one of the last up to the table, so I ended up trying to safe one autoloader I ended up hating - the Browning .45 1911. That gun was heavy, cumbersome and the slide almost bit me.
Oh well, I made it through the exercise without dropping a magazine on the floor or "shooting" (accidentally pointing the muzzle at) a fellow classmate.
Once again, I was struck by the seriousness of firearms. Each of those pieces of metal on that table, every pistol I held this evening, has the ability to end a life. Yes, they can be used to stop a crime in commission, or protect my family, but the end result would be the same - someone would end up injured or dead.
Holding a pistol in your hand really makes one realize how much faith the founders had in the American people when they wrote the Second Amendment. It's a pretty humbling thought.
Tomorrow, we go live with .22 rimfire.
Posted by slublog at June 26, 2007 10:21 PM
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Comments
Even more awesome.
Great introduction to firearms Slubs. Tell me more about the next session.
Posted by: Dave in Texas at June 26, 2007 11:30 PM
I had a friend far more knowledgeable about such things take me shooting a few times. I got to try his Glock 9mm, Sig Sauer 9mm, and .44 Magnum. The Sig Sauer was by far the most fun to shoot (plus I had my best accuracy with it). The .44 Magnum was a monster that I shot once and slooowly walked away from afterward.
The only gun I actually own is a shotgun, but if I bought a hand gun that Sig Sauer would be mighty tempting.
Posted by: Doug Williams at June 27, 2007 10:28 AM
I've owned all of the above, though I only carry my Glocks now. They're very decent guns; accurate, easy to learn how to shoot well, easy on the pocketbook. I do recommend that if you pick one up, you plan on doing a LOT of draw/reholster practice because of the lack of a manual safety- it seems that at least once a year I hear about someone who has a ND out of his Glock because they didn't keep their finger out of the trigger guard.
You CAN shoot a .44MAG accurately with one hand. A lot depends on how habituated you are to the weight and the recoil. It also helps if you use "mild" Magnum loads or hot .44 Specials instead of Magnum hunting loads. Try it again in a year or two from now and see what you think.
1911's can look and feel cumbersome at first, but once you're used to them they can be some of the best self-defense handguns around. 1911 users can be damn near a religous cult... not one of the smily, beads-flowers-and-sandals cults either; we're talking Manson Family here. A LOT of people who take shooting other people seriously carry 1911's (Marine Force Recon and the LAPD SWAT team, among others).
Congratulations!
Posted by: DaveP. at June 28, 2007 05:20 PM
...so I ended up trying to safe one autoloader I ended up hating - the Browning .45 1911.
Blasphemy! Hot dogs, baseball and apple pie got nothin' on the 1911. Commie.
Seriously, Sigs are very nice and Glocks are nice carry guns, but when it comes to putting .45 caliber slugs made of pure freedom on target, the old 1911 is almost impossible to beat. Spend some time shooting one and you'll better appreciate it.
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