Shooting guns and other fun girl stuff...

This week I spent a day shooting guns.

Anyone who knows me really well will probably be shocked that I wanted to do this sort of thing. I am a girly girl. I like makeup and clothes and fashion ideas. My favorite magazine is In Style and I love to pour through it to get new ideas in how to improve my face.

You might be wondering what brought about such a change of personality or desire. Well, I'm writing a book and it involves my character knowing a lot about guns. When I asked Josh if maybe he and his friend, Robert Milton, could show me how to shoot a gun or at least let me watch he jumped on it. So on Wednesday the three of us traipsed up to Butte Falls with an M4, Beretta 9mm, Pistol 1911, a shotgun with hand grip and pump action, Josh's .22, Smith and Wesson airweight .38 special and 2 rifles, one of them was a sniper, the other resembled an AK 47, but I don't think that was the technical name for it.

Robert shot the M4 first, I wanted to watch him do it, and I was little nervous to be honest. He emptied the first round into a target sitting precariously against piece of wood. The kick kind of scared me, I don't like bruises. Then he reloaded and handed it to me, showing me the safety and how to aim using the red laser dot at the end of the scope. I didn't want to look too silly or fearful so I handled the gun like he said, resting the end into my left shoulder (I'm left handed), aimed and shot at the target.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The silence shattered as the shots echoed against mountains and trees. I stood there with this amazing weapon butted into my shoulder, gunsmoke filling the air, and rocked the power behind my forefinger. I looked at Josh and Robert and yelled (we wore earprotection so we all yelled) surprisingly (I surprised myself), "I love this gun!"

Josh and Robert started laughing and I went back to emptying the round like Robert had done. I was hooked. I shot a round with each gun, even the shot gun. I learned how to bum shoot with them as well, that was really fun. I learned the smallest gun I thought would be the easiest turned out the most difficult to aim and fire. The kick was intense on that little .38 special. I understood for the first time how a gun could be described as beautiful, the smell of spent bullets could be described as actually quite pleasant, and how big a relatively small slug can look, especially if you imagined being shot by one.

I stood transfixed by these two guys, watching them shoot up pop cans (because in Butte Falls that's what makes up most of the targets) and for the first time I understood the mystery of why guys like to shoot things.

There is a feeling of power in a gun. There is a feeling of being in control, using the gun to shoot wild game, bringing food home for the family, protecting your children and wife from intruders. I think this is what sane men desire for thier lives, a sense of control. I'm not talking about the mental cases that shoot up retirement homes, mountain retreats, or schools. There are always people out there that will take something meant for good, productive use and use it for evil deeds.

What I'm talking about are the good guys that have been raised to hunt with their dad, uncles, and grandpas in order to feed the family and share some good camaraderie as they sit around the campfire. I'm talking about the men (and women too) in the service who use weapons to protect those they love back at home.

That day I learned why guys like to shoot guns. I also learned the value of entering into something my husband truly enjoys and sharing it with him. When we dated I pretended to like all kinds of things just so I could be with him while he did it. Somewhere in eleven years of having babies and paying bills I forgot what it was like to spend an afternoon doing something he really liked. There was a friendship and intimacy shared between us in that open field with a bunch of guns that I hadn't shared with him in a long time. It was an intimacy involving us standing side by side without a word, shooting guns and simply sharing a brief three hours together.

Its funny, I went up to shoot a gun for research on a book and I came back with so much more than I expected. You don't have to shoot a gun in order to enjoy your spouse, but sometimes doing something you didn't think you'd like turns into a hobby you couldn't imagine your life without, even if you're only doing it for the one you love.