After my introduction to firearms by my most awesome father-in-law; a retired Army veteran and longtime hunter, I drove back to SoCal itching to try more. A google search later, I discovered that there were a couple of indoor ranges in my area that would be willing to rent to people. Most awesome! And even more to my surprise, you don’t have to be a member to use their services! I packed my happy butt in the car and drove out to Riverside Indoor Shooting Range, where extremely kind employees checked me in and where I rented my first firearm (with husband alongside since they can’t rent to someone who doesn’t have a firearm on their person, a safety measure for suicide prevention; not to mention he wanted to try a Glock himself)!
Keep in mind, my previous experience with handguns was a .22 revolver and a .45 1911. The .22 gave me about as much feedback as a pellet gun, while the .45 was a whole lot of gun in my newbie hand. I adored the weight of the 1911, but, yeah, a *lot* of gun. I wondered about how a 9mm would feel.
There’s no way to predict how loud an indoor range is going to be. I thought I was prepared— had my ear protection, had my eyewear, figured I’d be set. I was not set. That was loud af. I was a flinchy mess. I flinched at my shots, I flinched at everyone else’s shots. The fact I got any rounds in paper lead to me being rather, not proud, per se, but satisfied. Here’s the result.
And that was with the Glock 19
(Imagine used with permission from the most helpful local shop, AmmoBros and if you’re interested in getting one, you’re in luck because it’s available there Glock 19 gen 3 at AmmoBros)
Clearly, I’m not a savant when it comes to shooting. Didn’t expect to be. Did I have a great time? Abso-freaking-lutely. And for me? That was entirely the point.
*Side note, I mentioned that ranges don’t rent to solo shooters that don’t have their own firearm as a suicide prevention strategy. If you or a loved one is contemplating suicide, there are resources. The Crisis Lifeline is one of the most popular programs. They can be reached by calling or texting 988. Yeah, it won’t fix all your issues in one call, but they can help get you started.