To Own or Not to Own, ...

[chet wisner]

... this is the predicament.

See, I've never owned. For 50 years, I have never seen a need to have a gun. I've never had a "dislike" for guns, it's just that I wasn't brought up around them, and so the necessity never seemed critical.

Until just recently (well, last month) I never even fired a gun of any type, other than a BB or Pellet Gun, and I want to tell you about the experience I had when I did fire my first handgun, a .38 S&W.

I went to one of my local stores, well... Strictly Shooting, was the store. As far as I know, they're the only ones with an indoor firing range. I had been there before, simply browsing. But one day, I just took a notion that I wanted to shoot a gun, and I knew that I could probably do so there.

So, after looking around awhile, and explaining my situation to the clerk, about how I was a new shooter and all, he suggested that I rent one of his guns, and take it to the range. So, I picked the .38, and he got me all loaded up, took me to the range, and ... left me there!

Now there I was, alone, with an extremely deadly weapon in my hand that I had never held before, and didn't even know how to unload after firing 5 shots, which I think took me 15 minutes, because after that first shot, the decibels it produced was panic inducing. I know it took me a couple minutes BEFORE the first shot to convince myself that I had the gun pointed in the correct (safe - away-from-myself, and toward the large paper target) direction.

Plus the fact that it occurred to me only AFTER the first couple shots, that I could actually load 5 rounds at once, and fire them without having to reload one at a time. Which I did, as fast as I could, so I could get the hell out of there without killing myself.

Well, I don't know how many rounds I had; I suppose he sold me a full box (what 30 or so in a box - I don't know). Anyway, I didn't use them all. My azz was out that door as fast as it could get after having fired about 15 (the rest of them are locked up tighter than Dick's hatband in a filing cabinet down in my basement). My nerves were wrecked, and I simply couldn't go through anymore.

Driving home, with the remainder of the live rounds I had, was unnerving as well. I just knew one of the damn things were gonna take on a demonic personality, and fire itself into my head.

Oh, what a day!

I don't know know what it was that got me so panic-stricken. Maybe it was the loudness of the shot. I had the head gear and all, but it was still so damn loud. I've never been consciously aware of any gun phobias I might have had in the past, so I'm just kinda WTH??

Anyone have similar fears, phobias their first time?

PS) any thoughts about the salesman having left me there alone, considering I was a noob? He didn't even walk me through any basics.

 

[ihateiraq]

no. on the salesman, hes exactly that, a salesman. hes not an instructor. that was kind of an a-hole move though. do you have any friends or family who are well versed or at least competent with firearms? thats your best bet.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Wow. Simply wow. Salesman or not, that was a really crappy thing to do on his part. Right then and there he may have lost a potential gun enthusiast and customer. From a safety standpoint he was an idiot. I'm hoping there's someone on the board here who knows the gun store and range and can have a talk with management about this.

Let me start off by welcoming you to the board and to guns in general. I hope your experiences in the future are much better than that one, and there's several folks down in the Evansville area who can introduce you to the sport much better than that. As a general invitation, I live an hour and a half away near Bedford and have a private range and a lot of experience teaching novices, so if you can't find anyone closer, send me a message and you can come up to my place and we can start you out better. Trust me, under competent instruction you'll soon find out why many of us really enjoy shooting. Like any new complex activity, new folks need to be introduced properly and safely. For me it's a very Zen experience.

 

[Hoosier8]

With all of the hype surrounding guns, it is no wonder you had a semi-panic attack. Familiarity will make that go away, once you realize it is only a tool and you can handle it safely.

When you drove home did you have similar trouble driving your car which is just as deadly to you and other people? Of course not, it is probably second nature to you now to drive a car. The same thing happens with firearms, once well versed and familiar. They are only simple machines.

If you manage to find the sport enjoyable, you will wonder about your previous fear. I went from a run of the mill first handgun to finding I like to collect military surplus rifles and handguns. Loud noises still make me jump though.

 

[00BlasterResto]

Yea that was a rude/unsafe thing to do, mabey their hearing protection sucked? I always use my own (plus people sweat in them things BAD).
Another thing is a .38 looks to have some punch to it, never had a hweel gun yet myself but its a pretty good size round. Mabey try a 9mm or even a .380.
As far as the live rounds go. They may seem a little scarry. just the idea that they can kill, but with all the dropped rounds, dropped guns, guns left in hot cars etc. you really don't have anything to worrie about with just a box of ammo, the chances of that round randomly blowing up are pretty much nill, also realize that the round gains velocity on its way down the barrel and a round that just went kaboom all on its own would probly be closer to an M80 than a bullet I would think. I'd rather have bullets than a propane tank in the car
Just my thoughts.
I would give yourself time to recover from the ordeal, find someone educated in the subject and try a safer, slower paced orientation to firearms.

 

[BloodEclipse]

WOW!
I love this post. It is refreshing for someone to be this open and honest about an experience like this.
The salesman did you wrong. He should have at least covered the basics with you.
The loudness is enhanced by being indoors. Outdoor ranges won't be quite so noisy.
I agree that you should go with a friend or family member, who knows their way around a gun, next time you decide to go shooting. I hope this experience hasn't soured you too much.
Your fear is a good thing really for a noob. It shows a respect for the weapon.
Noobs who have no fear or respect are the ones who get themselves or others hurt.
With experience comes confidence.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Hey OP...

There are SEVERAL Evansville-area members here on INGO.

I'm sure that a few of them (if they haven't already!) that will GLADLY invite you to go shooting with them.

And teach you the basics.

And allow you to learn on a .22, THEN move up to something more powerful.

-J-

 

[stilllearning09]

First of all, to . You are not alone. A friend of mine took an NRA class, and knew what he was getting into. During the first rounds fired, his hands shook like crazy, and that's after receiving 4 hours of classroom instruction prior to firing a weapon. He knew what to do but still, it was intimidating. Luckily, he had 2 NRA instructors there to help him along. You were alone, and I give you credit for going and finding out for yourself what firearms are all about.
Don't give up on guns from one experience. Find an ACT or NRA instructor in the Evansville area and take a basic pistol class. Ask a friend if they are gun enthusiasts and take you to a local range to fire different weapons. You just joined the nearly 7,000 member club in INGO. There might be someone on this board in your area who you could meet up with to find out a lot more than walking into a gun store.
What you will find out is this sport is addictive. You start with one, and end up with a collection of firearms and stuff.
From personal experience, I owned a shotgun but didn't get into the pistols until I was older. There is a lot to learn, and joining this group is a great start.

 

[Eddie]

Salesman didn't sell

If you or any other members know the owner of that gunshop, they should let him know that his salesman took a beautiful opportunity to take a guy who came in and browsed and turn him into a guy who came in and spent money and totally blew that opportunity.

I like to support the little "mom and pop" gun stores. I've had great experiences at Darrell's, Morton Country Store, Crazy Horse Guns, 2nd Amendment Guns and Marsh Creek Outfitters. All of these places have consistently acted like I was important to them and they wanted my business.

That salesman did you a wrong turn and he did the owner of the business a wrong turn by chasing away a customer.

 

[snorko]

It sounds like your fears and anxiety were significantly enhanced by the situation, ie the abandonment on the range. I have heard of some folks with no exposure to firearms having similar, let's admit it, irrational fears when dropped into the same situation. Perfectly understandable and fear is another weay of your body keeping you out of trouble.

As others have stated, there are quite a few of us on here from Evansville (howdy ). When the weather warms a bit, it would be a pleasure to meet up and give you an intro to shooting and safety. Heck, maybe an INGO range day in the early spring can happen. I don't teach much anymore but am an NRA certified instructor and also a Hunter Safety Instructor for IDNR (again, like a lot of great guys on here).

 

[antsi]

1. It is not unnatural to be frightened of shooting a gun. It is in fact, perfectly natural, to be a bit disturbed about deliberately setting off a potentially lethal explosion in your hand. Plus the media hype as mentioned above. Only by learning, developing skills and confidence, and ingraining safety rules are these fears overcome.

2. Your salesman obviously did not do a good job helping you do that.

3. If you want to pursue shooting, some things that would really help:
3a. Go take a basic shooting class with a professional instructor and learn safe gun handling
3b. Consider starting out with long guns (rifles) - easier to learn in some ways
3c. Start out with .22, not with centerfire (louder, more powerful) calibers

 

[groovatron]

My buddy recently got into shooting and we went out and bought him an XD .40 and a M&P15. He has shot before, but it had been many years. He'd saw some gun "paraphenalia" around my house and said....."let's go buy some guns."....I said....okee-dokee. Luckily, he had me along with him for guidance as well as help on the range. I first took him to a large outdoor range where we shot trap and rifles. Great fun and he did great. A few weeks later, we took some pistols to a small indoor range. I gave him a few pointers and watched him unload his first magazine into the paper. He was a little shakey, but doing all right. I stepped into my lane and cycled a few mags. Then I revisited him. At this point he is loading his magazine, his hands are shaking, and he has blood dripping from his grip hand. He had caught some skin while dis-engaging the slide. At this point, he was shaking so bad that aiming at the paper down-range was useless. I told him to pack it up and we got out of there......Anyway....back to the OP

My buddy is no wuss. In fact, he's quite the badass. But the tight lanes, elevated sound pressure and flying brass of a close quarters indoor range was just too much for him at first. It takes some getting used to. Some people never have a problem, while others never shoot at indoor ranges.

The salesman was an idiot. From a saftey standpoint as well as a customer relations standpoint. I'm sure you will find some other evansvillers on this forum who will be glad to take you out and show you the ropes. Good luck!

 

[Greg.B]

chet; First of all, welcome to INGO! It's good to see another member from Evansville here (there are a few of us)!!!

I'd like to extend an offer to you. As an NRA Instructor for pistol, rifle, and shotgun as well as a Range Safety Officer, I'm active in Boy Scouts Shooting Sports, Indiana Hunter Education, and am also an avid hunter and recreational shooter.

So, what I'm getting at, is this...even though I normally work with kids and teens, I'll gladly extend the offer to meet up with you and give you some basic instruction and spend an afternoon letting you shoot and learning to do it safely. All you need to do is let me know if you're interested!

 

[buzzard pickins]

WELCOME TO INGO. I am very curious, what was the date you were using the range.

I am visiting various ranges this week. my experence at Strickly Shooting was pleasent and I had new shooters with me.I would like to investigate this further.I would'nt want to recommend this range to family members if this is the treatment they can expect.

 

[cce1302]

Start a new thread "who wants to take a new shooter to the range?"

I'd like to help, but I believe I'm at the opposite end of the state from you. Maybe 7 hrs away.

Glad you joined us here, and hope we can make your next experience a better one.

 

[RachelMarie]

Start a new thread "who wants to take a new shooter to the range?"

.

THIS. And accept on the offers. I did, and now I'm hooked.
How you feel about firearms (and actually shooting one) depends, IMO, on how you were taught. You knew nothing when you got there and was left (ALONE) at a Live Range and a highly dangerous firearm. Of course you freaked out, Any newcomer would have.
It took me some time to be comfortable enough to go to the range by myself!( It helps that I have a number on speed-dial that I can call if something occurs I can't figure out on my own. And I have....and will again, I'm sure.)
My point....go with someone who can teach you (at-least) the basics. Get into a Basic Pistol class or Personal protection class. Knowledge is everything...the more you know, the higher your confidence will be.


And WELCOME to ! Keep us updated on how your next time shooting goes. Keep that "Open Mind" that you have now. Awesome post and reps to you, Sir.

 

[esrice]

Start a new thread "who wants to take a new shooter to the range?"

Glad you joined us here, and hope we can make your next experience a better one.

This is an excellent thread, and the quote above shows why-- that is great advice!

Chet, Welcome to INGO! On behalf of gun owners all over the Hoosier state, I'm sorry you had such a crummy first experience.

If you take the above advice, I think you will quickly find a friendly INGOer in your area that can take you shooting in such a way that will make you much more comfortable with guns.

 

[alwalker84]

Beware of evansville ingo'es who wheres an INGO cap.

 

[shooter521]

This is an excellent thread, and the quote above shows why-- that is great advice!

Yep. This kind of friendly - and local - participation is what sets INGO above the other gun boards out there.

 

[Bigkeger]

Professional help may be needed. They have an Appleseed event in Evansville maybe twice a year I think. Get in touch with the instructor and see if he can spend some one on one time with you.