I’ve never shot a gun before in my life… I know, I know, what kind of man am I. But growing up in New Jersey, it just never came up. So when my friend Brody asked me if I wanted to head to a shooting range that was close by, it was impossible to say no. By the time I arrived at Hague’s Indoor Range, Brody had already checked out all the guns that we wanted to shoot and had everything set up. He was in the Army for a while and he loves to shoot guns, so needless to say he was pretty stoked.
I thought my experiences between paintball & video games would be enough to handle the rifle he put in my hands, after he explained how to use and reload it, would be enough… Sadly it wasn’t. The kickback of that AR15, really puts in perspective the power that firearms have. The scope on the rifle made it pretty easy to pick the targets I was hitting, but once I tried the Glock, all bets were off. The recoil on a handgun proves those Hollywood cop movies were bogus. You know, the ones where the cop, with one hand, shoots the villain 100yds away as he’s running down the street. It was difficult to hold onto the handgun with two hands as I fired the clips to empty.
I got way more comfortable by the end of the day after firing a few magazines on each weapon. The most fun I had was at the end, we each fired a single round out of (INSERT SHOTGUN NAME). My expression in the video, pretty much says it all. It felt like someone punched me as hard as they could in my shoulder. Afterwards, I definitely did not feel the need to go buy a gun, but I am confident that I could fire a weapon if I ever need to in the future. A skill that I think everyone should have. I think I would much rather shooting targets outside, especially clays or bottles. You know, to get the satisfaction of seeing something explode.
Don’t Forget to:
-Listen exactly to the instructions on how to handle and fire a weapon. NEVER, NEVER, place your finger on the trigger, unless you are about to pull it. Don’t be pointing it down, while reloading, and have your finger on the trigger.
-Always have ear & eye protection, especially indoors. The chorus of firearms blasting down the line of stalls in the range would be enough to make anyone go deaf by the end of the day.
-Take a breath to relax before you pull the trigger. If you tense up too much, you could hurt yourself with the weapon’s recoil. That little, metal device has way more power than you could even imagine.
Hi there, my name is Zachary Kenney and I’m an adventure filmmaker & photographer. My passion is to tell stories that will hopefully motivate you to go live a more adventurous life. Whether that is to experience the view from the summit of a mountain, or wandering through a new town on a road trip. Currently based out of Park City, UT.
