Drizzt
Member
Squeezing off some fun
Sun men visit handgun range
By PAUL TURENNE
Being a good shot is one of those old-school man skills -- like being able to barbecue a good steak, being able to hold your liquor, and knowing the sequence of winning poker hands. I can report I've discovered I'm a good shot. Just not as good as my colleague Dave Schmeichel.
Dave and I paid a visit to The Firing Line Gun Club in St. Boniface last Monday in a continuing quest to determine who is better at unusual stuff.
Having already schooled Dave in a massive burger-platter eating contest, I was sure I could easily hand him his butt at handgun shooting.
I had fired plenty of guns before, from pellet guns to a .30-06 to the fake Uzi on the Operation Wolf arcade game. I even killed a deer in November.
But that obviously wasn't good enough.
Dave won 175 (out of 190) to 171. Seemingly pretty good scores, but we were only shooting from about eight yards.
Sheldon, the club's president, let us use the 9-mm Beretta, the Smith and Wesson .357 revolver (my favourite), a .22-calibre High Standard Citation, and the good ol' Colt .45, which by far made the biggest holes in the target.
People often talk about feeling a sense of power when they're gripping the cold steel, but I didn't get that sensation. The way I see it, guns don't represent some raw energy to be feared.
They're just guns. And they're kind of cool. And they can be fun.
Sure, people at "drinking parties" and in gang disputes often shoot each other with them, but a gun range hardly gives off the same vibe.
Was it cool to bust a cap in a target? Hell, yeah. Did it make me feel like a big man? Not really (especially since I lost).
Of course guns can be dangerous in malicious hands, but shooting is also an Olympic sport. Like I said, guns can be fun.
In fact, "fun" was Sheldon's seventh rule of shooting. The Firing Line even hosts beginner classes and corporate retreats so people can come out and have a little fun.
And our little shooting contest was fun. Even if I got screwed by missing too much with the stupid .22.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/03/20/966796-sun.html
Sun men visit handgun range
By PAUL TURENNE
Being a good shot is one of those old-school man skills -- like being able to barbecue a good steak, being able to hold your liquor, and knowing the sequence of winning poker hands. I can report I've discovered I'm a good shot. Just not as good as my colleague Dave Schmeichel.
Dave and I paid a visit to The Firing Line Gun Club in St. Boniface last Monday in a continuing quest to determine who is better at unusual stuff.
Having already schooled Dave in a massive burger-platter eating contest, I was sure I could easily hand him his butt at handgun shooting.
I had fired plenty of guns before, from pellet guns to a .30-06 to the fake Uzi on the Operation Wolf arcade game. I even killed a deer in November.
But that obviously wasn't good enough.
Dave won 175 (out of 190) to 171. Seemingly pretty good scores, but we were only shooting from about eight yards.
Sheldon, the club's president, let us use the 9-mm Beretta, the Smith and Wesson .357 revolver (my favourite), a .22-calibre High Standard Citation, and the good ol' Colt .45, which by far made the biggest holes in the target.
People often talk about feeling a sense of power when they're gripping the cold steel, but I didn't get that sensation. The way I see it, guns don't represent some raw energy to be feared.
They're just guns. And they're kind of cool. And they can be fun.
Sure, people at "drinking parties" and in gang disputes often shoot each other with them, but a gun range hardly gives off the same vibe.
Was it cool to bust a cap in a target? Hell, yeah. Did it make me feel like a big man? Not really (especially since I lost).
Of course guns can be dangerous in malicious hands, but shooting is also an Olympic sport. Like I said, guns can be fun.
In fact, "fun" was Sheldon's seventh rule of shooting. The Firing Line even hosts beginner classes and corporate retreats so people can come out and have a little fun.
And our little shooting contest was fun. Even if I got screwed by missing too much with the stupid .22.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/03/20/966796-sun.html
