Noises in the dark
By MARJ LAW
“My house is so dark and quiet at night,” says Ellen to Tracy. “When the kids were growing up, I used to think a few moments of peace and quiet would be heavenly.”
“Yes,” Tracy agrees. “Noise and commotion never stopped. If it wasn’t my kids, it was their friends. But now…” and her voice drops off. She adds: “Now, it’s so quiet, I can hear myself breathe. Night times are the worst.”
Ellen nods. She remembers thoughtfully: “When I was young, I used to have a night light. I was afraid of the dark. When Harry and I had a houseful, I was never afraid. But now…”
Both women reflect on the change in their lives. The kids have flown the nest, and their husbands have passed away.
“The old house settles,” Ellen continues. “Do you know that old houses settle? They creak all night long.”
“And the clocks tick!” Tracy adds. “I never noticed the grandfather clock ticking before. And it bongs so loudly! I hear when the chains are moving, right before the clock strikes the hour. Then there’s a thud noise. Is it the clock, or is it something else? I wonder.”
“I hear every creak and thud. Mostly at night. I’m like a child again, afraid of the dark,” says Ellen.
“I’m going to get a gun,” Tracy is decided. “I want to feel safe in my house. I want to be able to defend myself.”
“Me too. Being afraid is for the birds,” agrees Ellen.
So later, Ellen and Tracy are at the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range. They have both sought out handguns for defense. Ellen bought a gun when she was in another town. She was comforted by the sight of the gun salesman. He was easily 6-foot-5, tall, heavyset, and very muscular. “He must know what he’s doing,” she thought.
He asked what she wanted, and she replied she would like a gun for defense.
“The name’s Hank,” he says, reaching into a case. “This here’s just what you need. It’s a .45. A Smith & Wesson revolver called the Governor. All you have to do is point and shoot. With .45 Colt ammunition. It’ll take a man right down. It’ll even drop a bear!”
Ellen takes the gun and looks it over.
“It’s heavy!” she exclaims.
“You don’t want no wimpy little gun. This here Governor weighs 30.2 ounces. It’s a real man’s gun. Carry this beaut, and you’ll never be afraid of anything. I’ll even throw in some ammunition!”
Ellen agrees it’s a lot of gun. “I’ll take it.”
Tracy bought her gun locally.
“You can’t go wrong with this Kimber R7 Mako,” the sales person reassured her. “It’s a 9mm handgun. This particular model comes with a Crimson Trace reflex sight, so aiming is easy. It’s pretty lightweight at 19.5 ounces, and it’s only 1-inch wide and super compact, so you can carry it under your shirt and it won’t ‘imprint’.”
“For defense, don’t I need a gun of higher caliber?” Tracy wanted to know.
“One of the magazines holds 10 rounds. After a little practice, 10 rounds may seem like a lot, but then, you’re defending your life.”
“But where’s the safety?” Tracy asks. “My son says I need a safety, and I don’t see one.”
“This Mako has a trigger safety. You don’t have to remember whether your safety is on or off. That’s really handy when you’re stressed.”
“I’ve heard that Kimbers are great guns, but aren’t they overpriced?” Tracy is thrifty.
“Is defending your life a time to be cheap?” he asks. “This little Kimber is well under $1,000. The trigger is light, so you’ll be able to practice without hurting yourself. You may even find that shooting is a fun sport!”
Tracy buys the gun and ammunition.
Later, when both women are at the Sheriff’s range, they wait until the range is “hot” and they place their pouched guns on the shooting bench. They compare the handguns.
“Mine is a lot larger and heavier,” remarks Ellen. “Hank said it could even bring down a bear!”
“This magazine holds 10 rounds,” says Tracy. “How many can fit in your revolver?”
“It holds six rounds,” replies Ellen. “Hank said one shot is plenty to take down a home invader.”
“So, let’s shoot your gun first!” says Tracy, wanting to share this new experience. “One look at that gun, and I’d be running away!” she exclaims.
Ellen loads her revolver, points at the target and pulls the trigger.
“Huh,” she looks down at the gun. “Nothing happened.” She tries again. This time, she pulls hard.
Blam! The gun fires. Her hands fly in the air. Ellen looks down.
“Ow! That’s an awful hard trigger pull.” She shakes her hand. “I almost hit my head with the recoil!”
She looks at the pristine target ruefully.
“Maybe, now that you’ve tried it, next time won’t seem so hard,” consoles Tracy.
“I’ve learned my lesson. No more shooting for me today! That gun sure packs a wallop! Mr. Bad wouldn’t stand a chance. That is if I can shoot straight.” Ellen is clearly disappointed and is still favoring her sore hand.
“Let’s try mine,” suggests Tracy. “Maybe it’ll be easier because it’s a smaller caliber handgun.”
She loads her magazine and aims her gun.
“I like this red dot! It looks easy to line up. I like that it fits my small hands too.”
She takes a breath, lets it out, aims and squeezes the trigger.
Blam!
“Wow! It wasn’t hard to pull the trigger!” Tracy is delighted. She’s even more happy when she looks at the target. She sees a hole about 2-inches below the bull’s-eye.
“I expected more of a kick! This is great! Ellen, are you ready to shoot it?”
“I don’t know,” Ellen says dubiously.
“Oh, go ahead. I think it’s a lot easier to shoot than that big gun you have!”
Ellen takes the Kimber. She sighs.
She holds the grip as tight as she can and aims.
Blam!
Unbelieving, she looks at the target. There’s a second hole!
“Did I do that?”
“Yes, you did! And on your very first shot! Good job!”
Ellen and Tracy take turns shooting the Mako.
Tracy turns to Ellen.
“You know, when we get good at this, your gun will seem so much easier to shoot than it did today,” she consoles Ellen.
“Maybe,” says Ellen, but she doesn’t look very happy at the prospect.
When she returns home, Tracy looks up Ellen’s Smith & Wesson Governor on The Truth About Guns.
“The Governor’s stainless-steel barrel and gaping muzzle together present an extremely intimidating image to anyone on its business end,” she reads.
“I bet that’s true,” she thinks. She reads further. “Recoil was snappier than a Schnauzer.”
“That’s sure true, too. I wonder what they say about my Kimber Mako.”
“Easy to hide under a shirt…” the trigger is “crisp” and it’s a “great shooter.” Furthermore, she reads: “I was able to track the front red dot without losing it under recoil.”
“I guess it’s all up to the individual,” she muses. “Hank was a very large guy and probably had no problem with recoil of the Governor. It would make a great defensive gun for him.
But for Ellen and me, the smaller Kimber was much easier to manage. It did have an easy trigger and low recoil. And I think the red dot sight is easy to align.
For small-boned women like Ellen and me, the Kimber makes a better defensive gun because we can handle it well. In fact, we plan to come to the range again next week, and get in some practice.
I’ll keep it by my bedside.
I don’t intend to be afraid at night ever again.
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.
