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Fun with guns! (long)
Nothing sucky here, just some fun I had at work a couple of days ago... if you can consider being scheduled to go to the range & shoot guns as "work". 
Yeah, guns for work. I've mentioned before that sometimes I'm part of the security department. What I didn't mention is that we're allowed to carry. Since the weapons actually belong to the company we don't have to have regular licenses, but we do have to undergo testing to ensure both safety & accuracy.
So... it was a great day for me. I was schedule to work from 6AM to 6PM and those of us who were shooting had to be ready to go to the range at 6AM. So... yeah, the longer it took us to shoot, the less time we'd have left on shift - another bonus.
I ended up in the third group to head out... I did try to join the second group on the buses but got bumped off for someone else. Eh, no big deal... I kinda wish I'd brought a book or my iPod, but hey, sitting around and waiting is still "not working"
And then... well technically the bus came back for us, but they waited behind some trucks and didn't get out to see who was left. So they figured we'd all gotten rides to the range and went back without us. One of the females in charge (also waiting) had to call up and say "where the F are you?" and the bus came back for us. But...well I'm not sure how, but the driver got lost on the way back to the range... so a 20 minute trip turned into 60 minutes. The people who weren't on shift, who had to come in on their off-time were pretty pissed, commenting "You just came from the range and you can't find it?" I agreed silently, but... well heck, not much for me to do about that, so I took a nap until they got themselves un-lost and arrived at the range, at about... maybe 10:30 or 11.
Now normally when we're getting our quals done, they do the 9-mil shoot first, followed by a "course", and sometimes follow that up with a 12-gauge shoot. This time, because we were so late, they had us join in where the others were at. So, I got to start off with the "course".
I've seen different versions, but with this one they had us start out with doing jumping jacks - with the 9m strapped in the gunbelt and ... I don't remember if we were loaded up yet or if we loaded up afterwards (3 clips, 6 rounds each). But anyway, when they were ready to test us, they had us run to the range - they had enough room to score 2 people at once - and tell us what target pattern to shoot at... like "1, 2, 3, 1" or something like that. And of course we got to shoot from different positions like lying down, standing, kneeling, and using cover to reload etc. In all... just 18 shots fired, minimum of 12 to pass.
The bitchy side of me wants to point out that ... the gal I'd had the "argument" with a few days prior, the one who'd I'd said had an attitude.... it took her 3 times to pass. And her normal job deals with guns. But... It was suggested by my boyfriend - and others in security - that she'd been trying to fail on purpose just so she wouldn't have to arm up. (I think she thought she'd always be a dispatcher, sitting on her ass inside while everyone else stood watches). ... But... there is no failing at this gun shoot. They will make you take the test until you pass.
My own score was 15. Then again, I've armed up at previous locations in the company, so it was no big deal to me.
Now my next test was the shotgun. There's no scoring involved really cos ... well face it, with 9 pellets coming out of a round, you're going to hit something. But we still need to prove we can load it (combat load and tactical load) and shoot. I hated it this time, but only because I never really got it in "the pocket" of my shoulder. So, every time I pulled the trigger I took a recoil just below the shoulder joint and it hurt. I wanted to just throw the damn thing down and say "I quit" but... Hey I'm not stupid and I have more pride than that. It's still sore though.
Lastly, I had the regular 9m shoot, the one that really matters. It doesn't matter how good you do with any of the other weapons cos if you can't qualify to use the 9m you can't use the others - when you arm up with a shotgun or whatever, you have to carry the 9m as backup.
I was second in line to test and spent my time watching the shooters in front of me and practiced my shooting stance using my right hand as a fake "gun". I'm sure it looked odd, but the people calling the range would never fault any of us on practicing.
This is also where I first realized that girl - and one of her friends - were trying to fail on purpose... The friend missed the silhouette at the 3-yard mark. How the hell can you MISS at that range? ... unless of course you were trying to miss. Needless to say, neither girl scored out of the double-digits, and you have to score at least 180 to pass.
Oh, I might as well mention scoring too. You get 5 points for center-of-mass - mainly the center of the torso and the head, 4 points the outside of the torso, 3 for the arm, and then 0 points for the rest. And I was determined to ... not just to beat those two girls (cos that'd be insanely easy) but to beat some of the guys.
So... most of my shots were in the abdomen region, in the 5-point area. In fact they were pretty much in a cluster of maybe... 5 or 6 inches. Admittedly I did want a higher score than what I got, but... with a score of 217, not only did I pass, I also got a compliment from the woman calling the range. (She likes it when women show strength, and it was obvious that I wasn't one of the girls who was trying to get out of pulling their weight at work).
Then the bus took us back to "work". But... it was now 5PM, so there wasn't anything for us to do except wait to leave. I know the schedule says 6 to 6 but we always do things 30 minutes early, so just a little after 5:30PM they told us to be back the following morning.
Of course... I'd said to myself... "You know, now that I'm qualified, they'll probably make me arm up tomorrow."
Yeah they did.
The other gal had to arm up too, and I guess she was pissed. Me... I've carried at 3 different places now, so it's no big deal. The only thing I didn't like was wearing the vest under my work shirt cos it was too big for my shirt really. but o well.
And that's about it for my day of fun with guns.
(and my 12-gauge bruise is already turning yellow so it's not that bad, just a little sore).
Yeah, guns for work. I've mentioned before that sometimes I'm part of the security department. What I didn't mention is that we're allowed to carry. Since the weapons actually belong to the company we don't have to have regular licenses, but we do have to undergo testing to ensure both safety & accuracy.
So... it was a great day for me. I was schedule to work from 6AM to 6PM and those of us who were shooting had to be ready to go to the range at 6AM. So... yeah, the longer it took us to shoot, the less time we'd have left on shift - another bonus.
I ended up in the third group to head out... I did try to join the second group on the buses but got bumped off for someone else. Eh, no big deal... I kinda wish I'd brought a book or my iPod, but hey, sitting around and waiting is still "not working"
And then... well technically the bus came back for us, but they waited behind some trucks and didn't get out to see who was left. So they figured we'd all gotten rides to the range and went back without us. One of the females in charge (also waiting) had to call up and say "where the F are you?" and the bus came back for us. But...well I'm not sure how, but the driver got lost on the way back to the range... so a 20 minute trip turned into 60 minutes. The people who weren't on shift, who had to come in on their off-time were pretty pissed, commenting "You just came from the range and you can't find it?" I agreed silently, but... well heck, not much for me to do about that, so I took a nap until they got themselves un-lost and arrived at the range, at about... maybe 10:30 or 11.
Now normally when we're getting our quals done, they do the 9-mil shoot first, followed by a "course", and sometimes follow that up with a 12-gauge shoot. This time, because we were so late, they had us join in where the others were at. So, I got to start off with the "course".
I've seen different versions, but with this one they had us start out with doing jumping jacks - with the 9m strapped in the gunbelt and ... I don't remember if we were loaded up yet or if we loaded up afterwards (3 clips, 6 rounds each). But anyway, when they were ready to test us, they had us run to the range - they had enough room to score 2 people at once - and tell us what target pattern to shoot at... like "1, 2, 3, 1" or something like that. And of course we got to shoot from different positions like lying down, standing, kneeling, and using cover to reload etc. In all... just 18 shots fired, minimum of 12 to pass.
The bitchy side of me wants to point out that ... the gal I'd had the "argument" with a few days prior, the one who'd I'd said had an attitude.... it took her 3 times to pass. And her normal job deals with guns. But... It was suggested by my boyfriend - and others in security - that she'd been trying to fail on purpose just so she wouldn't have to arm up. (I think she thought she'd always be a dispatcher, sitting on her ass inside while everyone else stood watches). ... But... there is no failing at this gun shoot. They will make you take the test until you pass.
My own score was 15. Then again, I've armed up at previous locations in the company, so it was no big deal to me.
Now my next test was the shotgun. There's no scoring involved really cos ... well face it, with 9 pellets coming out of a round, you're going to hit something. But we still need to prove we can load it (combat load and tactical load) and shoot. I hated it this time, but only because I never really got it in "the pocket" of my shoulder. So, every time I pulled the trigger I took a recoil just below the shoulder joint and it hurt. I wanted to just throw the damn thing down and say "I quit" but... Hey I'm not stupid and I have more pride than that. It's still sore though.
Lastly, I had the regular 9m shoot, the one that really matters. It doesn't matter how good you do with any of the other weapons cos if you can't qualify to use the 9m you can't use the others - when you arm up with a shotgun or whatever, you have to carry the 9m as backup.
I was second in line to test and spent my time watching the shooters in front of me and practiced my shooting stance using my right hand as a fake "gun". I'm sure it looked odd, but the people calling the range would never fault any of us on practicing.
This is also where I first realized that girl - and one of her friends - were trying to fail on purpose... The friend missed the silhouette at the 3-yard mark. How the hell can you MISS at that range? ... unless of course you were trying to miss. Needless to say, neither girl scored out of the double-digits, and you have to score at least 180 to pass.
Oh, I might as well mention scoring too. You get 5 points for center-of-mass - mainly the center of the torso and the head, 4 points the outside of the torso, 3 for the arm, and then 0 points for the rest. And I was determined to ... not just to beat those two girls (cos that'd be insanely easy) but to beat some of the guys.
So... most of my shots were in the abdomen region, in the 5-point area. In fact they were pretty much in a cluster of maybe... 5 or 6 inches. Admittedly I did want a higher score than what I got, but... with a score of 217, not only did I pass, I also got a compliment from the woman calling the range. (She likes it when women show strength, and it was obvious that I wasn't one of the girls who was trying to get out of pulling their weight at work).
Then the bus took us back to "work". But... it was now 5PM, so there wasn't anything for us to do except wait to leave. I know the schedule says 6 to 6 but we always do things 30 minutes early, so just a little after 5:30PM they told us to be back the following morning.
Of course... I'd said to myself... "You know, now that I'm qualified, they'll probably make me arm up tomorrow."
Yeah they did.
The other gal had to arm up too, and I guess she was pissed. Me... I've carried at 3 different places now, so it's no big deal. The only thing I didn't like was wearing the vest under my work shirt cos it was too big for my shirt really. but o well.
And that's about it for my day of fun with guns.
(and my 12-gauge bruise is already turning yellow so it's not that bad, just a little sore).
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