Wherein two leftist feminists go a-shooting

[sabotabby]

As previously mentioned, UofT plans to close the 88-year-old shooting range in the basement of Hart House. Someone from the gun club was kind enough to show me and S. around yesterday and teach us how to shoot pistols.

Anyway, it was terrific fun. I once fired off .22 rifles at camp when I was a kid, but I've never so much as held a pistol before, let alone shot one (or three). If for no other reason than accurately depicting firearms in my writing, I've always thought that it was a good thing to know how to do.

The Hart House range is particularly cool for a few reasons. They keep guns there—locked up, of course—which means that you can be a club member and not actually own a gun. They also have instructors on-site, so you don't need a license to shoot, which makes it quite good for beginners and cash-strapped students.





This is with a .22.



Here's the 9mm.



And here's a .45.

As you can see, I'm not a very good shot, though not beyond hope. It's much harder than it looks, particularly when one has the beginnings of astigmatism and kind of shaky hands.

I suppose the most interesting thing was how cathartic it was. Not in the "I'm blowing off steam and envisioning the faces of my enemies" sort of way, but in a "nothing exists except for the sights and the target" way. It was surprisingly meditative.

Anyway, it will be a pity if they do close it. As far as I can tell, the university thinks that it "looks bad." But the university seems to have no problem getting funding from the military. Which kind of makes you wonder.

P.S. Sorry folks, they don't allow photography in the range. So no pictures of me shooting things.

P.P.S. The basement of Hart House is a bit scary. They have giant cockroaches. I didn't know cockroaches got that big in Canada. The one we saw was so big that at first I thought it was a mouse.

Comments

[apperception.livejournal.com]

You were a pretty good shot with the 9mm, considering it was your first time. I don't think I was that good the first time I fired a handgun.

[sabotabby]

You should have seen S. with the .45, though. She was awesome, especially given that she has tendonitis in her wrists and was doored by a car a few days ago.

[class-matters.livejournal.com]

Looks pretty good for a first time out. When you actually need to shoot at someone you're supposed to aim for the torso and those targets usually tend to be smaller then a person's torso.

It's been ages since I got to go shoot. It is quite rare when I do since I have to depend on others who actually own guns.

[sabotabby]

The targets were nicely abstract. I think even a person-shaped target would have disturbed me.

[sabotabby]

When you actually need to shoot at someone you're supposed to aim for the torso and those targets usually tend to be smaller then a person's torso.

Except that if it's a zombie, you really do need to aim for the head.

[class-matters.livejournal.com]

True that.

[ironed_orchid]

Very important point.

[dobrovolets.livejournal.com]

Clearly you need to go with the nine for all your self-defense needs.

[sabotabby]

Except that I had problems closing it.

[jvmatucha.livejournal.com]

A gun nut friend of mine took me shooting once. I was surprised at how difficult it is to aim a handgun! I was deadeye with the rifles and shotgun, but I was all over the place with the hand-helds.

We should go hunting sometime! What shall we hunt?

[sabotabby]

We should go hunting sometime! What shall we hunt?

Zombies, obviously.

[eternal-green.livejournal.com]

Cockroaches *shudder*
My parents actually got married a heart house. :)

[sabotabby]

We're talking three inches, at least. It was the size of one of those Madagascar hissing cockroaches and had no fear—until someone dropped a piece of wood on it. Which, incidentally, did not kill it.

Hart House is beautiful. I love the Gothic arches.

[frandroid.livejournal.com]

You shoulda put red backing paper when scanning those target sheets, to highly the holes a bit better :D

[sabotabby]

Heh. I'd have to find some, though. I'm in the midst of cleaning my apartment.

[lovableatheist.livejournal.com]

I had a hard time even hitting the target the first (and only time so far) that I shot pistols, but it was really fun. Sadly, the friend that I went with sold all of his guns except for his pistol, which means I won't be firing anymore shotguns any time soon.

[sabotabby]

Are shotguns fun?

[lovableatheist.livejournal.com]

Oh HELL YEAH! The one I used kicked like a mule, but it didn't have that cool cocking thing that we see in movies. Shooting a shot guns was fun, but the cocking thing would have been the icing on top.

[courtly.livejournal.com]

I love archery, but I'm generally fairly clumsy, and I think handguns have done much more harm to the world than they have done good.

So I'm thus fairly conflicted about handguns. I think I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to shoot, and I think I'd even be fairly good. But I'm not about to rush out for that option.

[courtly.livejournal.com]

It seems like you did GREAT though. Congratulations!

[sabotabby]

I found archery really, really hard, as opposed to just hard.

In my ideal world, handguns would only be used for competitive and recreational shooting. I mean, I don't even eat meat.

[courtly.livejournal.com]

Of course... having a wish that something both exist and be used only for good ... is idealist to the point of being ridiculous.

Still, there's no way to put genies back into bottles, so I guess the question comes down to how each of us uses that something, right?

Oh, and if you ever want to try archery again, I keep meaning to get some equipment for a portable target at the public range near the Science Centre. (the public targets tend to be abused and destroyed). I wouldn't mind assembling a group of people who wanted to try shooting in the new year. It might get me back into practice.

[sabotabby]

I would totally be into that. But you can't laugh at my paltry upper arm strength.

[courtly.livejournal.com]

That's the nice thing about archery. Just like with firearms, you can get a set that more suits your strength. Less tension in the bow means less arm strength needed.

Quite similar to fewer grains in the round. :)

[mr-flabulous.livejournal.com]

so jealous. i wanted to try out the shooting range, sucks that they're closing it.

[sabotabby]

It's not 100% certain yet. But it doesn't look good.

[seanmonster.livejournal.com]

Spoon?

[sabotabby]

Huh?

[seanmonster.livejournal.com]

The first target has 'SPOON' stamped on it.

[sabotabby]

I...really hate spoons.

Not as much as forks, though. Forks totally suck.

[corvus.livejournal.com]

http://www.wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/3256

hrm!

[corvus.livejournal.com]

http://nowarforisrael.com/

hah!

[sabotabby]

*Canadian free speech activist Paul Fromm,

Hoo boy!

I've seen the second link before, but the banner on the first one takes the cake.