Let’s talk newbie and the range
By MARJ LAW
Years ago, a friend gave me an RG .22 Saturday Night Special revolver. He thought I should have a gun because I lived alone and needed something for self-defense. It fit in my hand and my purse perfectly. I had my first handgun and Mr. Bad better not try to break in my house and get the best of me.
I was working at the Sheriff’s Office at the time. A group of deputies looked at the gun. Nobody snickered.
“That is a gun,” said one guy nicely.
One of them suggested that practice at the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range would be a good idea.
Practice? Did that mean I’d actually have to shoot it? Yikes.
So, I’m at the range and a deputy has informed me of range rules. I borrow “eyes” (eye protection) and “ears” (ear protection).
The deputy walks me to the pistol range. We put on our eyes and ears. No one else is at the range, but he yells: “Cold!” so that I know that when the range is cold, it’s the time to put up targets. When the range is “hot,” then people can load and shoot their guns.
We walk to the nearest target backing and put on a black shoot n see sticker. I heard these are the best to see exactly where your bullet hits.
The deputy talks stance and grip. I take a breath, let it out and squeeze the trigger.
Blam!
The black sticker is still pristine.
I take another breath and try again.
Blam!
Still pristine.
“What am I doing wrong?” I ask.
“May I try it?” he asks.
I hand the gun over, keeping the muzzle pointing downrange.
The RG is tiny in his big hands.
He places his feet. He aims. He shoots.
Blam!
The black target is still pristine.
“Huh,” he says thoughtfully.
He aims carefully.
Blam!
Nope. Nothing on the target at all.
He hands the revolver back to me.
“It’s no use. You can’t hit the broad side of a barn with this thing.”
I look at it in dismay. Drat.
He helps me pack up.
Well. I have a gun, but I don’t have a gun. What good is that?
A few years later, I meet Joe. He’s really into both handguns and long guns. I show him my RG.
“That’s not a gun!” he laughs. “That’s a piece of… pot metal.”
“Then what’s it good for?” I ask.
“You could get a shadow box and hang it on the wall. But, if you think you need a gun, I’ll get you a Real one.
My RG has been royally dissed.
A few days later, we’re back at the WCSO range. This time, other people are there, too. The range is cold, since several people want to put up their targets. Again, up goes an 8-inch black shoot n see sticker.
We return to the pistol range. The guy to the left of us yells: “Hot!” so we move the gun in its pouch to the shooting bench.
We unpack a Ruger Mark III. This guy is heavy and long. He sure won’t fit in a purse.
Joe says it has a 5.5-inch “bull barrel.” Guess bull barrels are thick and weighty. It’s stainless steel with a black polymer grip.
He shows me how to pull down the button on the magazine so that we can load it with .22 rounds. Once loaded, I try to put it in the grip. Backwards. Didn’t fit.
“Just a minute!”
I put the gun down and he turns the mag around and pushes it in. He steps back.
I think about stance and grip and begin to aim.
“Stop!” he calls. I freeze.
“Both thumbs must be on the same side of the grip,” he explains. “Otherwise, the bolt can come back and rip the tender flesh between your thumb and forefinger. Try again!”
Okay. I think about stance and grip very carefully. Don’t want to look any stupider.
Take a breath. Let it out. Squeeze.
Blam!
Wait! Wait! There’s a hole in the target!
I look around to see if the guy to the left accidentally shot at my target.
“You did it!” says Joe. “It’s in the 7-ring. Good work! Try it again!”
Yay! I did do it! I try again.
Blam! Another on the target! This is fun! After 8 more shots, the bolt flies back toward me.
“What do I do now?”
“You push the button here. That’s the magazine release.”
So, I push the button, and sure enough, the magazine slides onto the shooting bench.
“Now what?”
“You load the magazine again.” He’s nice enough not to say: “Duh!”
After a few more magazines, I’ve had enough. Plenty of excitement for one day.
We arrive back to the house.
“That was a lot of work!” I exclaim, ready for a Guinness.
“We’re not done yet!” Joe opens the gun pouch. He points the gun away from us. He drops the empty magazine. He pulls back the bolt.
“See, the chamber is empty!”
Well, I know that. I shot off all 10 rounds.
“Every time you or someone else handles a gun,” he explains, “you show that the gun is empty. The magazine is empty and the chamber is empty.”
“Okay. Shall we put it away now?”
“No. Now we clean it. I cleaned it when it was new, but .22 ammunition is very dirty. It’s time to do it again.”
“Really?” I reach for Dawn dish detergent.
“No, Marj. First, we fieldstrip the gun. Since we’re certain the gun is empty, we pull out the locking bar on the back of the grip. This allows us to pull the pin down from the bolt. Now we can take the bolt out.”
He lays the pieces on the rubber mat and shows me how to clean them.
“That wasn’t too difficult!” I’m quite sure I can do this again.
“The hard part is getting the gun back together. First, we move the hammer forward. The tricky part is lining up the hammer strutt to the rear of the gun…”
Where’s the hammer? What’s the strutt? How did he line it up? What happens if you don’t do it right? I’m so lost.
“I thought you said this is a great learner’s gun! Yes, it’s easy to load and easy to shoot. But what Newbie is going to be able to reassemble it? Not me!”
“I’ll do it,” he says reasonably.
“Thank you, but what happens when you’re not around. After all, it’s going to be my gun. I need to be able to take care of it myself!”
“Do you want me to show you how to reassemble it again?”
“No! I don’t want to be responsible if I don’t align it correctly and all those tiny springs pop out.” This is very frustrating.
When he’s not around, I get on my computer. I check youtube videos to see if that’s the only way to clean the Ruger 22/45.
The bad news is: that’s the way to do it.
The good news is: Ruger makes a Ruger Mark IV. I think I can fieldstrip and reassemble this one.
Maybe it’s time for a new gun?
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.