First Time

I finally did it and went to the range alone, it's not that I was scared or nervous to just other things just kept coming up.  It wasn't bad at all, I had a great time and I was in need (not want) of going out to the range.  I had been feeling a bit down but I seem to be feeling a ton times better.  It was a bit awkward being alone and everyone watched as I walked down to my station but that could also just be me being sensitive and while I was shooting one guy came over and watched and was even nice and swept up my casings.


Fun things are coming up, my company's annual clay shoot is the Friday after next and I'm really hoping to make some leaps and bounds from my total hits last year.  Sometime in the next couple of weeks I plan on taking a basic pistol class even though it's pretty much all the stuff I know but I'm sure there will be a lot that I don't plus I just want to have some formal training under my belt.  Sigh, I just feel so much better after this evening and at least if I never find friends to go out shooting with, I know I'm good to go on my own accord.

Intent & Open Carry & Other Things That Tweak Me.

I very much support carrying, as anyone who reads this knows but I had never considered intent, I just always assumed that people would carry for protection only but I was proven wrong the other day and what my friend did I completely disagree with.

A small background on my friend, he has a lot of back issues and takes what I and a lot of his friends consider too many narcotic pain killers, this in of itself I don't think he should have guns around him, especially after hearing about some things and that he is falling into a deep depression but anyway, I'm sorry I deviate.  So this friend of mine has been trying to set up a Rhizotomy before the end of the month since his insurance runs out.  Now I can understand feeling a bit stressed about that but I do not understand going into the office directly openly carrying gun with the only intent to intimidate them into giving him an appointment.  I almost want to call that brandishing a firearm even though he wasn't waving it about.

The whole thing got me to thinking about intent, obviously concealing isn't and couldn't be intimidation but it makes me wonder if those who do openly carry do it because they want to intimidate people.  I'm sure not all people do but I wonder if there are a few out there.  I usually think the better of people and this leaves me a bit naive but I chose to because I don't want to become so bitter and hardened that I can't ever trust anyone.

On another note with this same friend, this is me more or less just trying get it off my chest since I can't really discuss guns and gun related things with my family and most of my friends.  So talking about the same friend, which I mentioned above and other instances where I felt it might be better that this person didn't own guns, at least not until he gets himself back in order because normally he's a sane rational person, who is level headed to a T.

He lives with his ex girlfriend because neither one of them can afford a place by themselves, he's doped up on pain killers and alcohol pretty much all the time now. Well she came home late one night from work and I guess bumped into a lot of things on her way through the living room, he came out of his room and pointed a gun right at her.  Now I understand the dark thing, etc. but when you live with someone I would figure you might take that into account and listen a bit more before rushing out of your room and pointing a gun at someone.  I think if he wasn't so doped up all the time, this wouldn't have happened.  I live with someone and sometimes I hear things go bump in the middle of the night but I listen for a bit to try to determine the situation.

On a different note but medical related with guns and depression.  Another friend was telling me how her friend had decided that he was too depressed and asked a friend of his to hold onto his guns until he got past it.  I think that took a lot to do that and to be able to recognize oneself as a risk and to ensure safety of themselves and others.

I wish that my friend who is going through this rough time would recognize that he has some serious issues and shouldn't be around guns right now but mentioning this to him is met with anger and opposition, of course that's how an addict reacts to being called out.  Just so I don't seem to come off as over reacting, just last night he tells me, while he's in Chicago for a few days, staying at a hostel that he was woke up by paramedics.  I inquired for details and basically he passed out, the staff couldn't wake him so they called the paramedics.  He tells me that it's a good thing that they didn't check his blood because they would have found a ton of alcohol, valium, Flexiril, Baclofin, which he lied to the paramedics and said he had only taken Flexiril.  I'm sorry that sort of shit (excuse my French, I'm angry) just screams addict.

I am in debate on keeping this person as a friend but a part of me wants to be a friend that can help but there isn't anything I can do; I don't want to be like all his other friends that have cut the friendship because of these same issues but it's stressing me out watching someone I care about decline further down and being helpless.

Okay enough drama, sorry to deviate from the gun subject.

Family Shooting Center @ Cherry Creek State Park

I went out there this weekend with a friend of mine and her friend, I had fun spending time with them and it's always fun to shoot guns.  My issues with this particular range is it costs just about as much as an indoor range, it's outdoors, there are stationary targets so every half hour, they stop everyone from shooting and you get to walk out on the range and change out your targets, which isn't too different if I go up in the mountains but the difference is I'm not paying $16.50 in the mountains.  I just think because there is less overhead and less to maintain that they shouldn't be charging a couple bucks less than an indoor range but they more expensive than Firing Line, which is an indoor range.

Oh well, like I said, shooting guns is always fun so I can't complain, I am glad we got there early before the long lines and the really hot weather hit.

Mountains and Four Hours of Bliss with Guns

I don't know if anyone else has this issue but I am dominantly a right hand shooter who is left eye dominant.  Normally this doesn't pose a problem for me when shooting and most of the time I usually just keep both eyes open but today I learned my right eye is completely retarded and I, for the life of me, cannot focus my right eye with a scope so when I shoot rifles with scopes, I do have to shoot left handed, which is awkward with right hand rifles.  I'm thinking when I get around to buying my own rifles that I might just consider buying left hand ones.

Today was completely blissfully wonderful but then again what day isn't when it involves shooting guns and being in the mountains.  Today I shot, of course the .45 but new to me was the AK47 and 98 Mauser rifle and not new to me was the .22LR Rifle and the AR15 (I love the AR15, it just brings the biggest smile to my face) and I think that's all we shot today.  As for high capacity mags, it certainly is nice not to have to reload all the time and I can continue the fun.

I'm just so happy, a day of shooting and now I'm home and just relaxing.  Pictures and videos:

I love this gun!

And the AK47

And I guess none of the videos are going to upload so I'll just post links:

AR15

Ignore the sloppy wracking, I was working left hand on a right hand gun.

AK47 Video

What is better than one .45? Two of course.

You?

Ok, this one isn't really related to firearms.  

If you're reading this. Tell me something about yourself.  

Where are you?

What's something interesting about you?

Mountains & Guns

I am greatly looking forward to going up to Allen's Park and doing some shooting, I haven't been out since I took my sister last month so this is much needed.  I'm also exited because I'll get to shoot an AK47 for the first time, I always love to try something new.  The cooler temperatures will be nice as well.

Liebster Blog Award

I want to thank GunDiva for awarding me with the honor of receiving the Liebster Blog Award.

HOW TO ACCEPT THE AWARD: The Liebster Blog Award is a way to recognize blogs who have less than 200 followers.  Liebster is a German word that means beloved and valued.  Here are the rules for accepting the award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and include a link back to their blog. √
2. List 11 random facts about yourself. √
3. Answer the 11 questions given to you. √
4. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.  √
5. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or fewer followers to nominate and include links to their blogs. (I only have 9 but I'll sort through the ones that I read regularly and torture them too ~ at least the ones I've interacted on)
6. Go to each blogger's page and let them know you have nominated them.

11 Random Facts about me (boy this is going to be hard).

1.  I'm a twin

2.  I was born in Pueblo, CO (for shame, lol)

3.  I've worked for the same company for almost 13 years now.

4.  I have OFD (Over Focus Disorder, the opposite of ADD ~ No OFD isn't for real but should be).

5.  I love learning new things.

6.  I currently drive a 2010 Mustang GT (I love my car)

7.  I currently only have 9 followers on my blog (which is why I get the Liebster Award)

8.  I am special, oh wait, that's subjective and not fact.

9.  I'm learning Spanish.

10. I'm trying to gain 15-20 pounds (not too succesfully)

11.  I aspire to be an instructor dealing with guns.

Answering my 11 questions:

1. What is your passion? To learn as much as I can about shooting, guns and become really good at it
2. If you could do anything you wanted for the rest of your life, without having to think about money, what would it be? Travel the world, meet new people and learn new things.
3. What is your guilty pleasure? Smoking cigarettes (A love/hate relationship)
4. Favorite book ever?  Sex, A Natural History
5. Favorite movie ever? Dangerous Beauty (I even read the biography of the person the main character was about)
6. Have you ever met anyone famous? Edward K'spel, Kathy Jackson
7. Who would you like to meet (living or dead, real or fictional) and why? I'll have to ponder this one.
8. Biggest pet peeve? People who don't know how to use their gas pedal, especially when they are on the on ramp getting onto the highway.
9. If you won the PowerBall or Lotto and wanted to donate a chunk to a charity, which charity would it be and why?  I would probably have to divy up the chunk and do research on who I would donate to but the first one to come to hand is an animal shelter.
10. Favorite place you've visited? I've haven't been to too many places, mostly to work but I guess the one that's closest to home is the cemetery in Silver Plume, followed by Fairmont in Denver.
11. Where to you want to visit that you haven't been able to?  Ireland

11 Questions for the blogger I nominate (which I still have to go through and figure out who my victim will be).

1.  What is the scariest thing you have ever encountered?

2.  What did you want to be as a kid and did you become that?

3.  When you were younger, did you think you would be where you are now?

4.  Tell me something that you feel you did that changed someone's life?

5.  What are you most proud of and why?

6.  What is the meanest thing you have ever done?

7.  What is the nicest thing you have ever done?

8.  Tell me the first childhood experience that comes to mind when you read this?

9.  Why do you think everything on this award is the number 11?

10.  How do you change the world?

11.  Do you deserve a break and not have an eleventh question?

My 11 Bloggers, really only 9 (sorry to torture any of you and don't feel obligated to do this):  I'll have to come back to this one.