Compete With Mom And Lose Either Way
If you grow up in Alaska in the outdoors guns will become a part of your life. After all, you’re a part of the food chain there. My dad’s best friend was killed by a grizzly while on a deer hunt.
From a young age I never had the desire to hunt. I love animals and just don’t think I am strong enough to kill one to eat. I have the utmost respect for people that harvest their own meat. I’m just not strong enough to do it myself. I’d rather go to the grocery store like most people and not face the reality of it.
Don’t get me wrong, though. I very much enjoy putting holes in paper. I find target shooting very relaxing and a stress reliever so I partake whenever I can.
Gun safety is very important to me so when mom said she wanted to get back into shooting I told her I would be happy to take her to the range for some practice but that we should take a class. I like to brush up on my skills with instructors periodically anyway and it would definitely help her improve.
We signed up for a two day class at Alaska Tactical with Steve McDaniel, the owner. I cannot speak highly enough about their quality of instruction and would recommend their training to anyone in the greater Anchorage area.
Day 1 was all classroom and covered everything we needed to think about in terms of safety and responsibility. Steve even had a police officer from the Anchorage Police Department join us for part of the instruction. It is always good to keep up with any changes in the law as well as refresh my memory of practices and procedures.
The class was pretty full and Steve warned the couple that chose to sit at the front right table that his dog liked to hang out there. They said it was fine, not exactly understanding what he meant. So imagine their surprise when, right in the middle of class, the dog leaped onto the table and just plopped down. It was pretty funny. I love that dog.
Day 2 was at their private range in Sutton, just outside of Palmer. Their attention to detail and focus on safety was only surpassed by their patience with my mother as she constantly asked questions, took her time and acted like the sweet little old lady she isn’t. She is a badass Alaska woman. Fortunately the other students were patient as well.
The plan was to put 100-120 rounds into practice targets from 3-15 yards away. As you can see from my picture above, I shot pretty well at all the distances. The instructors challenged me by having me shoot more quickly than I normally do and I enjoyed the increased difficulty. Mom’s practice shots were a bit spread out but she got better as the day went on.
As we prepared for the test target mom decided to take it up a notch. The instructors had us firing at a 9″ metal dish 20 yards away. The goal was to fire until you hit it once. Mom hit it on the first try. So did I.
We took a break to reload our magazines while the instructors placed the test targets on the range. The little old lady routine continued. I had a shot go wild into the 8 ring. Mom had her groups tighten. The instructors announced cease fire and headed down range to take score.
Maximum is 360 points. Mom shot 355. My errant shot put me at 354. I will never live this shit down…
