Gun Totting Diva

This Saturday I had the wonderful experience of taking a gun safety and concealed carry weapon permit class. The class was all day, but was a very much needed experience. My husband was raised around guns and was definitely good at using them. I, on the other hand, had never even fired a round. Prior to the class, my only encounter with guns consisted of the video game duck hunt and clay shooting (think early 90’s Nintendo). 

I went to the class confident and ready to shoot. I had visions of being a sharp shooter. I thought I was going to do damage to the paper targets. First, the instructor had the class use his gun to dry shoot (sans bullets). The gun was black, small and shinny. I held it and it felt just right. I approached the target. I correctly positioned my hands, aimed, and placed my finger on the trigger. When the instructor yelled “fire!” I squeezed the trigger. Then I squeezed again, and again…and again, nothing happened. I squeezed so hard that my hands started shaking. The gun was too big! My fingers were too short! After another failed attempt, the instructor told me to simply aim, point and instead of attempting to fire the gun, I was told to simply yell “bang!”….Sigh…. nothing could be so embarrassing (it felt like a swift kick to the ovaries). My situation was not made any better when an older lady taking the class walked up to the target and was able to squeeze the trigger. Being the only one relegated to yelling “bang” made me feel like the last puppy in the box. 

When we got to our truck, my husband (my biggest cheerleader and hype man) filled my head with visions of me stealthily crawling through barbed wire and shooting at my target. Yes, in the five minute conversation, I was deemed “the kneecap assassin”. By the time we arrived at the shooting range, I was ready to shoot any tree and grasshopper that looked or even dared to look at me. My husband loaded my weapon of choice a .22 caliber sig mosquito. I gripped my gun, pointed and fired. It felt good! I fired my sweet .22 and gained confidence with each round. By the time we left the range, 100 bullets were spent. 

The class made me realize the need for and importance of gun safety and self defense. If you or anyone in El Dorado, Arkansas is seriously considering getting a concealed carry weapon permit consider taking Larry Combs’ class. I am now a proud and responsible owner of a sleek .22 caliber named Betty….Betty Gun. I am seriously thinking of adding some serious bling-age by bedazzling my sweet .22. I am going to buy a caliber firearm to match my age on each corresponding birthday; Next up, .25! 

Have you taken a gun safety class? What was your experience like?