So my buddy who's an Army Ranger stationed out in Washington came home for leave this past week, and I've been begging him to take me shooting. I hadn't shot anything besides bolt action 22's, but have always researched firearms since I was about 8 years old and had a strong interest in them.
We go to the shooting school down the street, and rent out a civilian M4 clone. Basically an AR-15 with a collapsible stock, shorter barrel, semiauto 5 round mag. I've long been familiar with the way the sighting works, how to load/unload M16/M4 type weapons, the S.P.O.R.T.S. method, etc., but just in case, I did have an Army Ranger with me to make sure I was all set. I load up the magazine, set the target range at 10.0, load the mag, release the bolt, disengage the safety, sight the weapon, squeeze the trigger....
Holy. Fucking. Shit. If you've never shot an assault rifle, go do it right now. Easily the most empowering feeling I've ever had in my life. The kid who was shooting a Glock next to us had brought his girlfriend; our AR15 was so loud that she had to leave a couple of times because of how upset it was making her
She looked like she was going to cry.
If that wasn't fun enough, the guy next to us had rented out a Glock 21, which is just a full-sized Glock .45 cal. I'd never shot a handgun in my life, but he offered to let me try it, and like the AR15, I'm totally familiar with the way Glocks work. Such a powerful feeling. Firing a .45 just gives me a new respect for pistols; you see them so much in TV and movies and until you shoot one, you just can't comprehend how dangerous and powerful these things are.
All in all, I'm sure I sound like a total noob to most of you in here, but it's safe to say I'm now addicted to shooting.
