Getting to Grips with a Gun

On Saturday Bill and I attended a Basic Pistol Workshop taught by NRA instructors. I've had my gun about 2 weeks but haven't fired it, let alone had the ammo in the same room. I've been reading instructional manuals and watching YouTube videos so now I knew how to hold the gun, how to dismantle it and I'd also changed the magazine release from being right handed to left handed.
There were about 15 in the group, 4 of us women. We were supplied with a training manual, plenty of pistols and revolvers to inspect and we got straight down to business.

We were allowed to bring in our own guns as long as our ammo was left in the car.

Above is the first thing to learn about gun ownership, responsibility. This was emphasized throughout the class, drummed into us repeatedly, and I relaxed as I soon realized that everyone in the class was a responsible person. For some reason, probably due to negative media, I had been petrified before attending as I'd been concerned about having a ISIS wannabe in the class. But looking back in hindsight, any persons purchasing a gun and not giving a damn about responsibility wouldn't be likely to bother attending this class in the first place. I really wish this class was law before anybody could buy a gun.

We learned about single action, double action and striker actions in revolvers and pistols, swapping guns with each other as we tried out and learned the various movements and working parts of each individual weapon.
The workshop wasn't too fast paced and I welcomed that it was so visual and hands on. We had the literature in front of us in a book or on the wall but every nugget of information was shown to us first hand.

We even learned how a bullet worked and I was fascinated to understand the workings and see what these lethal nuggets contained. I had known nothing about centerfire or rimfire primers and absorbed the facts eagerly, wanting to understand all aspects of what I would be handling. I found an excellent website that explained it fully here.

My desk from above. I kind of liked how it looked, reminding me of a crime scene investigation!
After a morning of class I felt a lot more comfortable about my gun. We had covered everything needed to understand the workings and the handling of it. We had even been shown how to clean it properly. To finish the morning we were given a test and I was rather pleased to get 48/50. Apparently if anybody got more than 5 wrong it would be an issue but since none of us did, I never found out what would happen in that event.
We ran to grab a quick lunch and then drove to the firing range, which was on a local farm. Some primitive targets had been set up, and once again I became anxious at the thought of making errors when getting my gun ready for firing. But first we had to shoot from .22 revolvers to show we'd learned how the action worked.

That was fun and helped to relax me, each bullet that popped into the target released some stress. I wondered if I was the only one that had been feeling a little frazzled due to beginner's nerves.

The instructors had brought the guns from the class with them for us to try. I wasn't too bothered about any of the 9mm since that was what mine was, but I did want to try out the two 45's, a 1911 and a Glock. Bill is shooting the Glock above. I wasn't too keen on this gun, it felt too small and didn't fit into my hands snugly like the 1911 did. Both had a kick when fired and we all agreed the 1911 was the better pistol.

The instructors' guns above, for our use if we wanted to try any. I wanted to get mine out so asked an instructor to show me the correct manner in which to do this. I had already loaded 2 magazines with bullets but could only get 15 in each. They hold 17 but my thumbs simply weren't strong enough to push them in! And so for the first time I fired my Sig Sauer P250. It felt awesome, and sat comfortably in my hands. I was a very happy bunny as I pumped and reloaded. The paper target in front of me was soon completely riddled with holes, from me and others, so after 80 rounds I decided to stop since I couldn't see where my bullets were going. But now I felt assured that I knew how to handle my gun correctly, holding, firing, loading and packing away.
One of our group had brought along his latest acquisition, the Vepr 12, based on the AK-47. A couple of us jumped forward eagerly when asked if we wanted to fire it, video here of one of us having a go.
 And so our class came to an end. I had been very impressed at how it had been conducted and at how professional the instructors were. Every question had been answered and I had left without any doubts nagging at me. I felt assured that I could now be a responsible gun owner and handle my pistol in the correct manner.
And of course that meant that as soon as I got home I cleaned my gun. I had all the correct equipment necessary and because it was my first time, and I was on my own, I took photos as I dismantled it, so I could put it back together again correctly. 20 minutes later I had a spotless Sig Sauer in front of me and it wasn't until everything was cleared up and locked away that I treated myself to a cold beer for a day very well spent!

Parting Clouds and Partying Clowns

Most days last week were dull, dreary and for the most part foggy so when I woke early one morning and saw heavy, dense banks of mist hugging dewy grass out of my bedroom window I decided to rush out and head for the Skyline Drive, hoping I'd see some amazing clouds. I'd managed to get a few hikes in last week too, so I'd also go and get an annual pass to the park, as one of my New Year's resolutions is to hike every trail, or as many as I can, on the Skyline Drive.

I left an eerie looking Meadow House and drove as fast as I could to the park. There was no line to get in and very few cars; I had the place pretty much to myself. I soon realized as I drove along that there would be no hiking today. The clouds were incredible, blowing across the lower valley and slamming into the peaks, but the trails along rocky ledges would be dangerous, with visibility impaired, so I decided to concentrate on just capturing these big floating fluff balls before they dissipated and blew away forever. The sun kept trying to break through but was failing, only managing to produce some lighter areas in the grey clouds.

But as the morning wore on, it became evident that the wind was succeeding in ripping the clouds apart, finally letting large blue areas of sky burst through and the last of the white clouds sank into the valley pockets, hugging the river beds and convincing the towns below them that it was still a very foggy morning. But up at 3000ft the sky was clear and it became very cold with strong blustery breezes pummeling across the ridge.

I left after noon and was glad to get back home. This had been my first real arctic experience this winter and with the warm temperatures we'd been treated to through the fall, I wasn't ready for the cold yet!
On Saturday evening our DCUE crew met for a party at Liz's house.

Lewis brought along an old Polaroid camera with film from his expansive collection and took some great shots of the party. A couple are above; it was wonderful waiting for them to develop into the old retro style.

Jason did his usual thing, finding a comfy sofa and settling down for a snooze.

Andrew and John with little Zoey, who like Kota, has her own Facebook page on which she shows off her vast wardrobe of outfits.

Richard made this collage using our beer bottle caps.

We had many laughs playing Cards Against Humanity, one of the best games of all time, and one which is very difficult to stop playing. But after midnight I was feeling tired and having an hour's drive decided to leave....

...and Jason was still on the sofa.

The Foggy Dampish Days of Christmas

At first I was not looking forward to Christmas Day as the weather forecast had predicted a warm day with the sun shining so I grinned with delight when I opened the curtains in the morning to see a soggy, dripping and foggy day. Awesome, the Christmas lights would look lovely with this backdrop!
I had decided to stay at home despite having 3 invitations and so spent a lovely relaxing morning taking my time to prepare the roast dinner and then talked for a couple of hours on the phone with Mum who had already enjoyed her salmon lunch.

 The cats opened their presents and I had to chuckle as I realized they actually had more gifts than  me! Kota allowed Rosie Lee a quick turn on the new cave bed, she had no idea that she should be in it and not on it. Once they were settled I could concentrate on getting my lunch ready and since I'd done all the preparation the day before there was little to do except time the cooking of various things.

 My roast was cooked to perfection even if I say so myself and after having quaffed a couple of sherries while chatting to Mum, I was hungry. The roast potatoes and parsnips were just the right amount of crispy on the outside while tender in the middle, my sprouts and broccoli were firm and the turkey had cooked itself splendidly. The stuffing was moist and crunchy on top and the gravy was just the right consistency. I filled 2 little bowls with turkey, kibble and gravy for Kota and Rosie Lee then sat down to enjoy my meal with a glass of Merlot. Delicious!

The birds had their seed out the front of the house along with some chopped cooked giblets for the crows, and little Sebastian sat on his tree trunk and tucked into the nuts I'd laid out for him. We all munched happily and of course afterwards the inevitable snooze beckoned. With no guests to entertain, Rosie Lee and I settled down on the sofa while Kota snuggled in his new bed, which incidentally I had purchased for both of them, but he had no desire to share, so I've had to order a second one for Rosie Lee. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the grey fogginess outside which wrapped around the house like a cozy blanket while we lazed together by the soft Christmas tree lights.
On Boxing Day, or the day after Christmas Day, I had resolved to work off some of the extra calories I'd consumed and so joined a group at Manassas Battlefields for a hike. It rained all the way there but thankfully eased off when we started walking. There were only 8 of us so it didn't take long for us all to get acquainted and we chatted as we marched. We did notice how few other people were out with us on the trails, likely not ready to work off their dinners just yet.

As we walked we stopped to take photos, noticing the raindrops glinting on bare tree branches like diamonds, and the bright lichens on the wet tree trunks. We were also aware of guns shooting in the distance and laughed when Tom commented on how cool it was that they also supplied sound effects on the battlegrounds to enhance our experience. We realized it was actually the gun range at Bull Run Park.

 

Tom's idea of a group portrait, pretending to beheld at gun point, or I should say, 'cannon point'. We finished our hike, dry but very muddy. I was glad I'd brought spare boots and even happier later once I was relaxing after a hot shower.

The next morning was a foggy one, drippy and dank, the sky heavy with grey moisture, branches and grass laden with dew drops. I grabbed the camera and hit the back roads for a few hours.

This cow image was my favorite of the morning, with the 'star' cow staring into the lens, once I'd whistled at him a few times!

I came across an alpaca farm, and was delighted to be greeted enthusiastically by the herd. They all trotted over, took a stance and posed quite contentedly, holding their heads in different positions and looking into the lens. I noticed that they gesticulate a lot with their ears, flapping them back and forth excitedly. But they bored quickly with me and after a few minutes trotted off despite me pleading with them to stay. I drove for a while longer until the mists dissipated, lifting off the hills and leaving behind clear blue skies.