15 april 2023

At the time of writing, I am already four weeks in the US and I can’t believe it’s already been that long. It feels like yesterday that I arrived in the States but then again, I have been mostly working and we have been making long days to finish in time and before the deadlines are up (we do want happy customers of course!). My last story is from Tacoma (Seattle), that is Washington state for those of you who are curious. But right now I am in the state of Wisconsin. A state known for their many Native American reservations and rich history. I have just finished one project in Waukesha and I have decided to do one more project before flying onwards to Indonesia. This next and last (I think… ) project is in Oconomowoc; another Native American town. I do hope to learn and see more about the Native American culture, but so far we have been working most of the time and taking a proper rest in the weekends. The weather is cold, cloudy and wet so I didn’t really feel like going out and exploring anyway. Otherwise, I would have gone out into the nature and go for a long hike or climb a tall mountain. This is something I will have to safe for next time.

USA, the land of opportunities. If there is one thing that is famous or infamous (depending on how you look at it) in this country, it is their gun laws. I have no desire of owning one and I am definitely against aggression and violence, but I have always been curious about firing a gun. And what better place to do that than right here in the US. I ask my local colleague if he is interested to go and he didn’t have to think twice about it. He is from Texas and he goes to the shooting range on a regular base, he knows a thing or two about guns so that comes in handy. We are getting along well and he is the perfect “guide” to go to the shooting range with me. It’s a Saturday morning and we go to the range to “shoot some stuff”.

I have never even held a gun in my life and we start with a short introduction and safety video before we are allowed onto the shooting lanes. They have a wide selection of guns; from mini handguns to the biggest handguns, and from shotguns to riffles to fully automatic weapons. They have something for everybody but I will start with something simple and easy to handle. My colleague picks out a Canik TP9 (8×19) handgun out for me, no idea what it is but it is a small caliber and doesn’t have a huge kickback. A good one to start with.

We take the guns and the targets with us to the shooting lanes it’s time for some action. I put the target on the hanger and slide it back. I load up the ammo-holder of the gun, lock it in position, pull the safety clip off, aim and pull the trigger… *BAM*… I am way of target but what a rush, that was so cool!

Only after a few rounds I finally noticed the actual laser point the store owner was talking about. I guess I was not looking properly through the aiming window on top of the gun. After I found the laser, aiming on the target becomes a lot easier and suddenly I was shooting targets like James Bond. I am surprised how easy I get use to holding it and shooting it. Especially with the laser, it makes it really easy. Before I know it I finish the whole box of bullets (50 bullets that is).  My colleague is in the next lane, blasting away as well, it is fun and not as intimidating as I imagined. After the bullets were out, it was time for an upgrade, or at least something different.  

I have always been intrigued by revolvers so I wanted to fire one next. The store owner hands me a Ruger GP100 match Champion revolver. The name doesn’t really mean much to me but it is a beautiful revolver with a wooden grip, and nothing too big. I get the box of bullets and we are back on the shooting range. It does not have the laser and aiming is a bit harder but the challenge of aiming and shooting the target is more fun. I love how you load the bullets into the cylinder and how you can pull the hammer on the back for faster shooting. Maybe I have watched too many Western movies but I definitely enjoyed shooting this revolver far more than the first one. I think it is the whole picture of the gun, how you load the bullets, spinning the cylinder, pull the hammer back and shoot. And when you are out of the six rounds, just drop the bullet cases out of the cylinder.

While I was shooting with the revolver and picturing myself in the Wild Wild West, my colleague was shooting a massive handgun; The Desert Eagle. Now this is a real beast and one of the biggest handguns out there. This gun can do some serious damage to any object or human being for that matter. This gun actually scares me, but I couldn’t resist in giving it a try. This one makes all the other guns look like children’s toys. It is big, heavy and gives a huge kickback with a LOUD bang. It’s a .50 caliber and bullets are expensive at almost a dollar a piece. I made sure to have a very good grip on the gun and hold it tight with arms slightly relaxed (allowing the gun to have his kickback and only push my arms back and not my whole body). I shot a few rounds with the Desert Eagle and it surely was quite an experience, but a bit too much for a beginner. In the end, I enjoyed shooting the revolver the most. I felt like a real cowboy and it was fun.

We spent two hours in the shooting range and we had a blast, but we were also 200 dollars lighter. It was worth though and it is something to cross off the bucket list. Maybe next time, I’ll try the rifles or the fully automatic guns.  

A few random photo’s:

To end this post, here is a cool video of me shooting the guns (allow some time to load the video):

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