John Wiseman (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} limeodor) wrote,@ 2004-05-05 11:29:00 |
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Rootin' Shootin'
Last night I went to the gun range with Lauren. It was my second time shooting, ever. I was excited to try something bigger than the .22's I shot the first time, so I rented a .45 with a laser sight.
Why is the caliber of the gun such a big deal? After I go to the range, I feel the urge to buy a gun, but I picture buying a .22 target pistol and applying a monastic intensity to learning how to shoot; controlling my breathing, timing my shots between heartbeats, i.e., meditative shooting. But when I was actually on the range I couldn't wait to try firing the big .45. BLAM! A few clips through that was about all I could take, and I switched to the 9mm.
In the context of meditative shooting (which I suppose could be done in a different way with big caliber guns, too), the laser sight seems like a bit of a cheat. But not in the way you might think, not because it makes it easier to hit a desired target. I thought the interesting thing about the laser sight was that it amplified the invisible tremors of my hands into a violently jittery bright red dot way off in the distance, on the target. I suppose it compresses the experience of sighting down the barrel, shooting a full clip, recalling the paper target and interpreting the pattern of holes as a map of the shooting technique that occurred a minute earlier into something more immediate and direct. A little like using a digital camera, where you have immediate feedback as to how good a shot is, compared to a film camera where you may have to wait days to see how your pictures turned out. It's probably something that's more helpful to beginners than to experts.
Last night I went to the gun range with Lauren. It was my second time shooting, ever. I was excited to try something bigger than the .22's I shot the first time, so I rented a .45 with a laser sight.
Why is the caliber of the gun such a big deal? After I go to the range, I feel the urge to buy a gun, but I picture buying a .22 target pistol and applying a monastic intensity to learning how to shoot; controlling my breathing, timing my shots between heartbeats, i.e., meditative shooting. But when I was actually on the range I couldn't wait to try firing the big .45. BLAM! A few clips through that was about all I could take, and I switched to the 9mm.
In the context of meditative shooting (which I suppose could be done in a different way with big caliber guns, too), the laser sight seems like a bit of a cheat. But not in the way you might think, not because it makes it easier to hit a desired target. I thought the interesting thing about the laser sight was that it amplified the invisible tremors of my hands into a violently jittery bright red dot way off in the distance, on the target. I suppose it compresses the experience of sighting down the barrel, shooting a full clip, recalling the paper target and interpreting the pattern of holes as a map of the shooting technique that occurred a minute earlier into something more immediate and direct. A little like using a digital camera, where you have immediate feedback as to how good a shot is, compared to a film camera where you may have to wait days to see how your pictures turned out. It's probably something that's more helpful to beginners than to experts.
