Outside My Comfort Zone – Fletcher Arms

This post is long overdue. When I found out I was pregnant, I put most  of my blogging on hold while I prepped for CJ’s arrival. Now I’m playing catch up with some fun experiences I had prior too and during my pregnancy. I’m actually holding him while I proof this.

**I know this topic can be a bit controversial, but I am sharing my experience and my opinion. 

In the past few years, I realized there are certain things that I haven’t done because I have not stepped outside my comfort zone.  Ask many of my friends and they will tell you I play things safe 🙂

But in the last two years, I have been venturing out and doing more adventurous things with the persuasion of my friends–you only live once and so it’s worth trying. I may not have completely loved all of them, but I am glad I can say I tried. Some examples include hiking in Colorado, zip lining, whitewater rafting, kayaking, and paddle boarding. And then there is the biggest one that I never thought I would do–shoot a gun.

My parents don’t hunt–we are a fishing family so there was never a reason for me to hold or shoot a gun while I was growing up. And to be frank, guns scared me–not just a little bit, but a lot.

My friend lives alone and works from home most days–she talked to our close group of girlfriends about learning how to use a gun for self-defense reasons and getting her conceal carry. She lives in a safe area, but now a days, you just never know, We talked about it a bit and thought that it could be in all of our best interests to at least take a class and learn more.

My husband used to be co-workers with one of the owners of Fletcher Arms. They stayed friends after moving onto different jobs, and I have gotten to know her family through the years. So I reached out to inquire how we would go about learning more and possibly shooting a gun. Megan did me one better and offered us a lesson that would end with time on the range. Fletcher Arms wants to educate as many people as possible about the safe use of guns and it provides classes and lessons to the public in addition to being a store and range.

My friends and I found a date that worked for us and the instructor, and we got together to learn about guns. I will admit that I had a lot of anxiety even just walking into the gun range and seeing all of the firearms that are available to the public to rent or purchase.

We met Mike and sat down in the classroom at Fletcher Arms and here is where my perception changed. Mike has a way about him that makes you understand guns while keeping the conversation light and easy to understand. My anxiety dropped drastically after just a few minutes of education. Guns are a serious matter, but that doesn’t mean that the conversation has to be dull and boring. He spent a lot of time with us to make sure we understood the basics and that the weapon wouldn’t become a weapon against us.

What we received was a solid overview that educated us before our initial time shooting, but I would recommend to anyone that wants to know how to shoot a gun, to take a class a Fletcher Arms and get an education on firearms. I am definitely interested in taking more classes. By no means is the class going to make you an excellent marksmen, but you will learn how to be safe, respect the firearm, and how to aim to produce a quality shot.

After the class, we picked three guns with Mike’s recommendations from the rentals to shoot in the range. One was small and pink that would fit nicely in your purse (and it looks “cute.”). The second was a 9mm medium sized gun, and the last was a 45 that was rather large and the heaviest. Mike wanted to show us the difference in power in these guns.

Upon entering the range, I got a little sweaty and my heart was pounding. I took a moment to calm down with a few deep breaths because no one wants a “Nervous Nelly” holding a gun. Mike assured us we were prepared for this. We went in the short-distance range and put on our ear protection (FYI – GUNS ARE LOUD).

The three of us each took a lane, filled our magazines with ammunition, and prepared to shoot. Many safety precautions are taken at Fletcher Arms, and I felt as safe as I could to shoot. I readied the gun in my hands, finger off the trigger, and took the ready stance.

I learned something interesting on how I prefer to shoot–though I am right-handed, I shoot left-handed (see image). Based on the eye I closed and stance I took, Mike told me to use my left hand to pull the trigger. This isn’t the only thing I do lefty – I shoot pool lefty as well. Not 100% sure why, but it just happened that way. I don’t think it matters which hand you shoot with, but you don’t want to close your left eye and pull trigger with right finger as that causes a bit more of a cross and the shot will be less accurate without correction.

We all shot a round on each gun and then traded until we all shot all three. You move and the gun stays in its lane, but we took our target with us to each lane. The kickback, though small in this case, was still impressive on each gun, and the sound is something else. I don’t think I have ever been close to someone shooting a handgun, and the noise is definitely different that an shotgun or rifle. It’s loud, even with the ear protection.

Here’s my opinion on the three guns after shooting them:
-The pink gun, though cute, isn’t a practical option (IMO). I kept releasing the magazine and basically jamming the gun so it wouldn’t fire. The gun doesn’t fit nicely in my hand and overall lacked in power.
-The 9mm medium gun was my favorite and I was able to shoot it rather accurately in the range.
-The 45 had a lot of power and was fun to shoot, but for me, it was too much.

Guns sure do have a kickback and the larger they are, the more power there is behind them usually.

After releasing the empty magazine and clearing the gun to make sure there wasn’t anything left in the chamber, I was able to pull my target forward and see my shots. Overall, I would say I have a pretty accurate shot. Sure there were a few that missed the target completely when learning the gun, but once I understood how the gun fired, I got more accurate. And for my first time, not bad. I enjoyed archery as a child and in high school and was rather accurate then too. Darts, I’m somewhat accurate with, so maybe I have good hand-eye coordination.

Before I would consider purchasing a gun, I would take more classes from Fletcher Arms. I don’t take guns lightly and would want to learn everything I can about them before I would want to own one. However, I feel I know enough about guns now, that if my friends and I wanted to go to the range again to shoot, we would be able to do it without too much guidance from the staff. And my anxiety will not be as high. I won’t say it will be gone, but definitely lower and manageable.

Fletcher Arms offers gun leagues as well as discounts on nights to help you save on the cost of gun rental and ammo. They have Happy Hours, Ladies Night, and Free Rental promotions. They also offer memberships for the gun aficionados to help you save.

By the end of the night, I was sooooo happy I joined my friends and took this class. It was definitely outside my comfort zone then, but now it’s on the border, and I know with more experience, it can become inside it. And a huge shout out to Megan and Mike for making it so quick and easy for us to get in and get an education. My friends are considering taking more classes and possibly getting their conceal carry, and we all said that a ladies night is in our near future!