I'm really late making this post since it happened almost 2 weeks ago (on Feb 10), but I just couldn't be bothered to take the time until tonight.
Most everyone is surprised that I had never shot a gun before 2 weeks ago, especially since I grew up in Mississippi where hunting is practically a rite-of-passage every 4-year-old has to complete before he starts kindergarten. Las January I admitted this factoid about myself, and a friend from Texas told me, "You just lost your 'Mississippi persona' for me." It's not that I didn't want to shoot guns or had anything against killing Bambi's mom. I just didn't have the opportunity. I didn't even know that there was a gun in the house until after I graduated from college (but I wouldn't want to shoot that gun- who knows when it was last cleaned). I've wanted to learn how to shoot and shoot well because I believe that is an important life skill: you never know when the revolution or zombies might come. A Canadian friend told me about the University of St Andrews Rifle Club, which meets just behind the Whey Pat pub. I was really surprised that this inconspicuous 2-story white building behind one of my regular pubs housed a bunch of rifles, ammunition, and a shooting range just a quick 5 minute walk from my flat. So, I went with a couple friends to try it out.
The guns weren't spectacular. They were small-bore with miniscule bullets. If I was trying to hurt someone, I would be better of swinging the butt of the gun into his face than trying to shoot him. When the zombies come to St Andrews, DO NOT go to the armory and take these guns (I'm not sure where I'll go in the zombie breakout- the castle? St Rule's tower? the Old Course? St Salvator's Quad? a pub?). From what I understand, the club shoots full-bore rifles in the countryside somewhere. The club's captain was very helpful in showing me how to work the rifle and get into the right stance. When it was my turn to shoot, I was surprised by how small the target was (only about an inch or two across). It just looked like a small, distant black dot through the sight. I've played enough video games and watched enough war documentaries to know that I needed to hold my breath in order to stabilize the gun as I shot, and the club's captain gave me a couple other pointers. Since the target was so far away, I couldn't tell if I had even hit it or where I had hit it. I just kept loading the next bullet in the chamber and hoped I was hitting something. The gun barely had any kick; I've probably shot paintball guns with more kick. It was slightly uncomfortable, though. The cheek rest was too high so that I couldn't easily look down the sight, and the stock was too short so that it didn't rest easily into my shoulder. I'm not sure if that's normal or not. The captain gave me a carpet roll to rest the barrel on since I was a newbie, but I found the roll annoying because it kept the gun lower than I would have liked. The more experienced shooters had jackets/slings that helped them keep their arms steady as they shot (when I first saw this jacket, I thought the dude had a broken arm but was stubborn and still wanted to shoot). After I fired my 5 bullets into each of the two targets, the captain gave me a scope so that I could see what I had done. I was proud that I had actually hit the target. He said I had done "some bloody good shooting" since I was consistently hitting the same point on the target. I would just need to adjust the sight a little in order to hit it perfectly.
I want to go back on a regular basis. I didn't go last week because I was slightly sick and really busy. Today I went, but the schedule was booked since a bunch of people were shooting for a competition. Next Wednesday I'll hopefully get another chance.
My 5 bullets in 2 targets
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