Breathe, THEN shoot.

Let me start by saying that I have NEVER held a GUN, and NEVER have shot a gun before tonight.

( I also am not sure of the names of the guns, so please excuse the lack of details about the guns)

Tonight was the night I have been anticipating for about 2 months.  Half of our class met at the Police station, and the other half went on the tour of the County Jail.  We started with about an hour briefing on gun safety.  The Sergeant went over basic marksmanship:

Stance

grip

sight

center

breathe

shoot

After familiarizing us with the weapons we were going to shoot, we loaded into the police van and headed to the Gun & Rod Club in Plymouth.  http://www.plymouthrodandgun.org  We all put on our bullet proof vests, ear protection and eye protection, and listened to more safety instructions.

We arrived at the range and there were 4 stations, 2 pistol station, 1 rifle, and 1 shot gun.  Each station had a police officer there handling the gun and going over complete safety instructions again.  It is all about safety.

Most of the class was down at the pistols first.  I decided to go BIG and start with the shot gun.  I think it was an A 25 ?  At first I was a bit intimidated at the size of the gun.  The metal was heavy.  With the help of the officer, I loaded the gun, took aim and shot the gun.  There was not much kick back, what shocked me was the loud noise of the gun.  I think I jumped big.  Everyone around me laughed & I did not know what they were laughing at.  I shot another 4 rounds for a total of 5 rounds.  By the end of this station, I felt comfortable with the gun and had a bit of a rush.  Can't quite explain it, but I gotta say I did enjoy it !  It is no wonder that this is a powerful and loud gun.  Seeing the size of the ammunition one can only imagine the noise and the strength of this powerful weapon.  After 5 rounds my arms were tired.  This is a heavy piece of machinery.

Next up was the hand gun.  The Smith & Wesson 45 pistol.  The Sergeant was at this station.  He kept reminding me of my grip and the having the thumbs together.  I do not know why, but I was more nervous shooting this gun than the shot gun.  It was hard to keep my arm locked and straight.  The gun clicked up as I shot the weapon.  I did not like that feeling.  It was harder to feel the control of the metal when it was so far away.  I preferred the up and close contact with the shot gun.

Lastly was the  semi-automatic rifle.  This by far was the easiest to shoot for me.  Again though, I think it was the loudest as well.  The metal was not as heavy as the shot gun.  By this point I had shot a shot gun and a pistol. I felt more conformable with the fact that this one you could shot repetitive shots and no need to reload.  I can see why this would be important in an emergency situation.

My ears are still ringing.  I did not think it would have been so loud, I cant even imagine if the range was full of people practicing.  There were only 4 guns going off, and not always all at the same time.  

It was amazing.  An experience I will not soon forget.