As part of my goal to learn to defend myself (No. 3 of the 40 things to do by the time I'm 40), I must become more comfortable around guns. That's not to say that is the only thing I have to do to accomplish this goal. And of course it's not that I should not be afraid of guns. A healthy fear is necessary. But due to my inexperience with guns (and the inconvenient fact they were designed to kill), I have never felt comfortable near them – even when they aren't loaded.
Yet I'm married to a man who owns several.
I never expect to have to use a gun to defend myself. My current plan, however impractical, is to hide in the master bathroom if someone breaks into our home and hope that my 12-pound Chihuahua's growl makes him sound like he is bigger than he actually is so that the intruder runs off. For those of you (family) who have tried to wake me up while he was still sleeping next to me, and have heard him growl as a result, this scenario is not that far-fetched. Ha! At least I can hope.
Back to the guns. I used to be scared to sit in the same room while my husband cleaned his guns. But his top priority is safety, and he's shown me many times how to see if a gun is loaded, and which guns have safeties and which don't (and why not). I've also learned basic rules about handling a gun, and we have three gun safes to ensure they are secure. I'd argue many accidents with guns happen because someone does not know how to handle them safely or they are stored incorrectly.
If I'm going to be living with guns, I should know what not to do if I'm forced to pick one up. If I ever have a child, that child will understand these rules, as well.
Yesterday I went outside of my comfort zone and attended a shooting match with my husband. I did not shoot, of course. I went to watch and become more comfortable in the world he spends so much time in. My husband once told me that the safest place to be is at a gun range. I'm not convinced on that, but what I did see showed me how high a priority safety was for the participants. Every guy and gal there had a gun, but all guns, according to rules, were unloaded and holstered until it was their turn to shoot.
The courses of fire in the competition were centered on a scenario where you'd have to use a pistol to shoot someone in self-defense. There were shoot targets and no-shoot targets. If you shot a no-shoot target (a hostage) you lost points. If you missed the shoot targets (the gunmen) you lost points. The participants were also timed. All of this together resulted an overall score and rank.
It was bitterly cold out there so I probably won't go back to watch again until it's summer, but I am glad I went, if only to show support to my husband and to learn a little more what shooting sports are about.
Here's my husband's YouTube video if you're curious to see what these competitions are all about.
He also blogs about his shooting: shoot-no-shoot.wordpress.com.
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