It had been a loooong time since I had been on a range. And for my father, it had been decades…read more After the CVid 19 toilet paper fights and craziness though, I decided it might make sense to get a firearm in the house again. But I just hadn't made time to get acquainted with it. I was actually a little nervous about how much I might have forgotten. Felt there were probably a hundred little things - stupid little mistakes - I could carelessly stumble into. So I had been putting it off.
Turns out I had *nothing* to worry about. Instead of trying to pretend like I remembered what I was doing, I signed up for a basic introductory gun safety class for myself and my Dad. Figured the safest thing would be to build a solid foundation by starting back again at square one. Sure, a lot of it was review -- but it was good review. Our instructor Payt (Peyt?) was amazing! He was incredibly knowledgeable, had a great way of explaining things, but most of all, he had an incredible sense of calm control that assured us everything was okay, everything was being done safely, that we were safe, and that we were being trained to BE safe for others as well.
Everything was step by step, which was exactly what I'd hoped for. And sure enough, it all started coming back. By the end of our session we both felt comfortable, confident and safe clearing our weapons, loading rounds into our magazines, loading magazines into our weapons, chambering, setting a proper stance, sighting, breathing, making adjustments, firing, handing recoil, working safeties, clearing jams, ejecting spent magazines, and clearing our weapons again for safe storage. In short, as I stated before -- Peyt was awesome! And the entire time was pleasant, enjoyable, and fun.
Put about 100 rounds downrange that day between the both of us. We had a great time, and definitely look forward to going back soon. We see not only an opportunity to rebuild a valuable skill down at the Sharp Shooter, but also a chance to spend time sharing a pass-time we can both enjoy getting better at...together.
Thanks Peyt! And thanks to everyone at the Sharp Shooter! Definitely a top-notch bunch of knowledgeable, professional, and all around great people.