On Target

I think the last time I fired any sort of gun beyond a water pistol was when I was about nine years old and on a school trip to an activity centre. We piled into the little rifle range and took it in turns to fire at paper targets, and I ended up being the second-highest scorer in my group (the highest was this kid who was a total gun fanatic).

I'd always wanted to have another go, so when I saw a rifle range set up at the South of England Show (which I blogged about recently), I happily handed over £2.50 for the pleasure of firing little bits of metal at a piece of paper. Yay! 
Firing these as a novice is harder than it looks. The sights are tricky to get used to, and being something of a weakling when it comes to arm muscles, I found it difficult to keep the crosshairs on the centre of the target as I was firing.

Despite that, it was fun, and in doing this activity I was able to cross a goal off The List:

085. Fire a gun

 ....Alright, I admit it, I edited one of the goals on The List, so that I could check it off.
I guess that's kind of cheating, but also something of a reality check.

085. Go clay pigeon shooting

Became

085. Fire a gun

Which is actually a suggestion made ages ago by Marcy at Too Timid and Squeamish, but I never added it because it was too similar to the original goal 85.

Why I changed it:
Mainly, I'm not really interested in trying it anymore.
Then there's the fact it costs money (not too much, but enough) and the places that offer it are all a bit out of the way, meaning I'd either need to pester someone to drive me, or pay for a taxi (which is never cheap) just to get there. Which really is too much money and effort for something that I'm not in a mad rush to do.
Therefore, I broadened the scope of the goal.

The rifle range (which I didn't think to take a photo of, or get the name of, because I was on an 'I Did Something Different!' high) was enjoyable and I was tempted to return for another go, but by that point the place was packed!


As for how well I did?

I think I did pretty well! Especially considering I'm a left-hander who was shooting right-handedly!
It was fun to have a go at, and if I see a stand like this again, I'll probably give it another go.