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Glocks

When I was a kid staying with my Grandparents in Tennessee my Grandpa and I would go out sometimes and shoot .22 rifles at tin cans. Also, one time when I was probably eight my uncle let me shoot his 9mm pistol.

Other than that I've never really done much shooting.

I've kinda wanted to do a little pistol shooting for a while so last weekend I found a local firing range that lets you rent guns to shoot and gave it a spin.

It's a bit surreal. You walk in, show them your ID, sign a form saying you aren't high or drunk and they slide you a Glock and a box of ammo.

Here's what they handed me

A 9mm Glock 17 pistol laying on a tray beside its magazine which has been removed

Considering I've never really shot a pistol I think I did okay.

A target with several bullet holes in it. One main grouping in the lower left of the 10 ring and other holes scattered below

There are 40 rounds in the target below. Twenty shots from about 8 yards and twenty shots from 15 yards.

These were the last of the box of 50 that I shot and my arm was surprisingly tired. I didn't really think it would be a workout.

If you have never shot a pistol (or I suppose a gun of any sort), it's a wild experience. You squeeze the trigger slowly and nothing happens for a while as it's moving back.

Then, with a suddenness that's hard to describe, you are holding a controlled explosion.

It's over so fast you don't have time to react to it till a half second after the bullet has hit the target. It feels very different than it looks in movies.

No. I'm not going to turn into a "gun nut", but it was a fun experience. A little pricy though. Gun rental was $15 for two guns (I also shot the smaller Glock 26 as well as the 9mm Glock 17 pictured above.

Range fee was $10, and the box of 50 shots of ammo was another $10. About $40. I don't know if that feels expensive or cheap. But it was certainly worth it for the experience.