So, on my last morning in Arizona, I was up bright and early and at the gun club a few minutes before it opened. A few other people were waiting to get in, mostly men in their 60's. They could have been dressed for golf, except they had come to shoot.
I explained why I was there to a young man at the counter and he took me into a side area where I watched an eight-minute safety video (which made me even more nervous than I already was), and signed a two-page waiver, basically saying any harm that came to me, anyone else, or the furniture was my fault.
I went back to the counter to select my weapon. I asked what might be appropriate for a first-time shooter, and was set up with a Smith and Wesson .38 revolver. I was shown how to load and fire it, and how to eject the spent casings; given a box of 50 bullets, ear protection and a lanyard with my lane number on it; told to select three paper targets and how to set them at the appropriate distance; and sent out to the range.
Even with the hearing protection, the noise was terrific. To my immediate right, a man was firing a large calibre handgun, while farther to his right I could hear the sounds of machine guns firing. To my left was a young woman in gym rat clothes, maybe law enforcement, firing a large handgun with a laser sight.
I attached my target, sent it out 15 feet (I'd been advised to start at a distance of 12-15 feet), loaded my weapon, aimed and fired.
The kick was about what I expected and I remembered all that stuff from TV shows and books about squeezing the trigger and not letting the recoil pull it up off the target. I didn't do too bad. I continued firing until the cylinder was empty, ejected the spent casings, reloaded, and picked up the gun. That's when the range safety officer tapped me on the shoulder. I had broken one of the cardinal safety rules: I had picked up the weapon with my finger inside the trigger guard.
He was very nice about it though, and when I told him it was my first time shooting, he gave me some pointers, including suggesting I try cocking the trigger so it would fire on one pull. The Smith and Wesson fires on two pulls: a strong pull on the trigger cocks the gun, and a second, lighter pull fires it. Though the double action is more likely to pull a shooter off target, I found the lightness of the single action a bit too sensitive, given all the adrenaline flowing through me.
I continued firing and reloading, moving the second and third targets out to twenty feet, and finished the box of ammunition. Trembling slightly from the adrenaline and the noise, I returned the gun to the counter, and declined the offer to try a semi-automatic Glock. Range time, gun rental, ammo, targets, ear protection, and tax cost me $50.
Am I glad I tried it? Yes. Would I do it again? Probably not. Like driving a very powerful car on a slippery road. it was an intense, exciting experience, but it didn't give me a rush of power; if anything it scared me.
While in Arizona, I gained an appreciation that firearms, like horses and cowboys, are an integral part of the history, tradition, and culture. And while the gun club did seem to be a place where safety was paramount, gun fetishism is still incomprehensible to me.
After we checked out of our hotel, we spent our last day in downtown Scottsdale. We had lunch by the water, rode the free trolley, shopped, and explored the park and arts precinct.
Then it was off to Sky Harbor airport to return our Ford Escape and catch the redeye for home.
Arizona captivated us with its natural beauty and historical and cultural attractions. We hope to return.
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