The Stuff of Bucket Lists and Firearms

Me, on the range at Blackwing

Remember that bucket list I wrote about? I had always wanted to ride horses on the beach, which I was finally able to do this past summer.  But then my friend Alex noted that my list also included "learn how to shoot a gun."

I am thankful for her observation skills.  And I am thankful she is my friend.  And I'm thankful she paid for and went with me to a class Blackwing Shooting Center, one of my new favorite corners of the world.  Nothing like celebrating your 30th birthday by learning how to shoot a firearm.

Mind you, I had never shot a gun before in my life, minus a squirt gun, which clearly doesn't count.

But can I just say, I surprised even myself during the 3-hour, ladies-only course at Blackwing. I LOVED learning how to use a handgun.  I loved the intense concentration it required and I loved completely tuning the world out and focusing solely on that target just down the range.  It was a strangely liberating and empowering feeling.  After I got done, I thought, "Why the heck didn't I do this sooner in life?!"

And it turns out, I'm not too bad of a shot, if I do say so myself.

Twenty five rounds later, all 25 hit the target and a select few make it to the center of the individual targets.  (There was that random stray that hit the very bottom of the target.  I must have zoned out for a second when I fired that shot, but hey - at least it was still somewhere on the target.)

I left Blackwing thinking, "Dang, that was fun - I gotta check my calendar and figure out when I can get back up here to fire off a few more of these things!"

So, thank you to my dear friend, Alex, for helping me cross that one off the bucket list.  I have been introduced to a whole new world that I am thoroughly enjoying (in a non-disturbing way, of course, so nobody needs to be alarmed at my newly acquired fascination with shooting firearms).