While I may write about them, I’m generally not enthusiastic about firearms. So how’d I wind up at an NRA workshop at a rifle club in Ridgewood, NJ with four other Sisters in Crime?
Like them, I was itching for answers. Will a pistol go off when it drops to a hard surface? Not likely, unless it’s a revolver. What’s the easiest pistol to conceal in a pocketbook? A derringer, which doesn’t need to be aimed...just shove that short barrel against a stomach and you’re good to go.
Along with my mild and modest sisters, I found myself crowding around a disassembled semi-automatic, firing questions at our instructor, Mike. He gallantly adjusted to a group less interested in competitive shooting than in learning how to get away with murder. He did emphasize safety, but he abandoned the overhead projector and flip chart, and got down to the grit.
Some tidbits:
- Pistols are guns you can hold in one hand.
- Semi-automatic: Repeatedly squeeze the trigger. Automatic: One squeeze of the trigger.
- The longer the barrel the more accurate the shot.
- Revolvers have an advantage: they don’t spit out spent shells that would help identify the gun.
- Shotguns are deafening, and likely to take out the kids jumping rope on the sidewalk along with the target.
- Though it may be a small caliber, a shot in the head from a .22 bullet is deadly because it ricochets in the brain instead of passing straight through. (Sounds like it's a lot less messy, too.)
We took turns firing Mike’s .22 semi-automatic and learned there’s a lot more to shooting than ‘Ready, aim, fire’. Fill the magazine with bullets and shove it into the hand grip. Pick up the barrel then wrap your fingers around the grip. Take off the safety. Rack the slide. Steady the gun with two hands and line up the sights. Squeeze the trigger. Squeeze it again. Aim for a cluster of holes in the target.
A friend asked me how it felt to shoot a gun. Honest? I felt—just a little—like I was in my villain’s shoes, stepping over the line of convention and decorum to stand behind a weapon that kills.
I’m not giving away the criminal ploys that Mike slipped into his training, all in the interest of literature. For those, you’ll need to sign up for the next workshop. (Contact Clare2y if you’re a SinC-NY member!)
- Lois
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9 comments:
Love the picture, Lois, and the rundown! Mild and modest, huh? I'll have to see your target. If you spelled your initials on the paper forehead in bullet holes, I'm gonna be suspicious.
That is very cool!
The Bag Lady, in her previous life (meaning her first marriage) was married to a gun nut. She had to learn to fire a .22 (rifle and handgun), an M1(?) (it's been 30 years, and she has blocked a lot of the memories) and a derringer. She was a pretty good shot.
In fact, just last year, the Cowboy was target-practicing with a single-shot .22, and she asked to try. He was astonished and amazed when she hit the Coke can on the dirt-pile across the yard on her second shot... (she's still picking up the spent shells that HE wasted...)
I have been inseveral critique groups where I think they invited me and kept me around jsut for my knowledge of guns and other mnaly things. I've never been in a crit group with another man.
Yep, Clare, might have done that...I was scared by my steady hand and accuracy. Yikes....
Rich experiences, Bag Lady! Are you packing your own shells now? We learned how!
And Travis...you know, I came home from this workshop all excited by my superior knowledge and found that my husband knew it all. I kept asking how in god's name to you know this stuff? Shrug.... Now my writing group wants him to read their stuff for accuracy.
And Bag Lady...I'm sorta glad you've left that previous life. Did that Coke can contribute to the marriage's dissolution?! And yeah, it sure seems like he DID waste some spent shells!
I had to actually go to a firearms store to do research for my first book. Very interesting, but kind of creepy at the same time. You a much more thorough researcher than me; you fired a gun! Thank you for all the details. It made for a great post!
How very interesting. It is surprising how heavy handguns are isn't it? Note - I have only held one once and never fired one.
We had an old single-shot .22 on the farm that fascinated me. I used to play with it, unloaded.
Interesting weapons lore.
Barrie, Reb, and Leah...so apparently women do have some closet fascination with guns. Hmmm. I wonder how much other 'guy' stuff we believe we're not interested in.
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