Wednesday, February 13, 2008

My Secret Identity

Up until recently, my only real hobby was photography. Taking pictures and sharing them to the world was my passion. When the time came, nothing else around me mattered. Just the camera, and the object, person, or thing I was taking snap shots of.

Then last year I was introduced to shooting. Not picture shooting, but firearms. I have always been fascinated with them. The history of firearms, the science, the engineering, and the physics. I'm a huge World War 2 buff. The idea of firing one for real intrigued me, but no one around shared the same interest as me.

The along came Norman. I met him randomly while longboarding down a parking garage. We eventually realized we shared many friends, and one profound interest. That being firearms. The rest is history.

A couple of weeks later I was in a shooting range experiencing the sheer noise, and power of a Glock 19, a 1911, and an AR 15. From then on, I was hooked. I would bug the poor guy every week to go shooting like a child. Until eventually the time came where buying your own gun would be more economical.

I started off with a Ruger 10/22 rifle which fired the very economical .22 Long Rifle cartridge. Eventually I spent around $500 on modification without even realizing it. Thats when I knew that it was becoming a serious hobby.

Now after about a year since that first encounter, I go shooting at least once a week. I own two firearms, and enough ammunition to last me a month. Not only does it help me relax, but it has taught me to become a responsible adult. After all, firearms are not toys. Far from it. They are dangerous, and can easily injure someone, or worse. But if you respect the firearm, it will respect you back.

Thanks to Norman, the master, this apprentice is getting better and better, thanks to his coaching. Who knows. Maybe eventually I'll get into competitive shooting, or some other kind of shooting sport.

Shooting my Walther P22
Picture Courtesy of MJ

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