The way to a girl's heart is through the gun range...

This is my AAR (aka "after action report"), and it's gonna be simple, because honestly? I might not be quite as shiny or squeaky, but I'm still a n00b.

Any errors in spelling, etc. are mine, I'm going off smudged pencil on a tiny, spiral notebook. Don't blame my teachers, who were nothing but awesome: patient, kind, thorough.

One of my best memories of being at the range is hitting the half-sized silhouette at 250 yards, turning to LawDog and exclaiming, "I HIT IT!" Only to have him reply with a gentle smile, "Of course you did."

THAT'S the kind of teacher who will make any student shine.

Thanks are due to Aepilotjim, Ambulance Driver, Old NFO, and of course the aforementioned LawDog.

Thanks also to all the cool kids who let me play with their toys! So nice of them to share.

Okay, I'm going to list the firearms I got to shoot, with my own little cryptic notes. I hope this makes sense. And I have no pictures yet, but I will eventually.

At Blogorado, I fired the following weapons:

-Bersa Thunder .380 (yes, the famous one)
Not to blaspheme, but I only felt this was okay, possibly because I have HUGE hands for a woman.

-Springfield 1911 MilSpec (this one was Jim's)

-Ruger 22/45

-Glock 17 (SQUEEEEE! I loved this. :))

-Heritage Arms Rough Rider .22 (fun!)

-Sig Mosquito .22

-Rock Island 1911 .45 ACP

-Smith & Wesson 5 screw .38

-Henry Lever Action .22 (again, FUN!)

-Single Action Rossi

-AR 15 with EoTech Sights (Meh, believe it or not)

-Citori 12 gauge shotgun (this one was FarmMom's, and I actually hit a few clays! w00t! MUCH FUN)

-Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 magnum. (Oh, my GOD. I lurved this gun! Thank you so much, Stingray! I knocked down a popper with each shot.)

-Smith & Wesson model 25 .45 Long Colt (VERY nice)

-Walther PPK (this was FarmGirl's; it was extremely cool to shoot, fit my hands well.)

-Taurus PT 140 Millennium

-Hi Standard HD Military .22 (I loved shooting this, because I finally took down my nemesis who had been taunting me all day: the full soda can. I hit that sucker TWICE.)

-Taurus Judge (shoots either .45 Long Colt or .410 shotgun shells; this is FarmMom's critter killer, and it's a beast! I loved it...maybe I'm a (gun) size queen?)

-Ruger Mark III 22/45 (my notes say I liked it!)

-Bersa .45 (ditto, this one was Gay_Cynic's, thanks, G_C!)

-M14 (kicked like a FUCKING MULE, but I didn't bruise. I was sorta/kinda hitting the target, and that's all that matters to me!)

DUNN, DUNN, DUNN:

-M24 in .308 caliber (hit a barrel that was 970 yards away, 3 out of 5 shots, and it was WINDY. Don't piss me off. ;) Funny thing about this is, so that I wouldn't feel intimidated, Jim told me I was shooting at the one that was 500 yards out. I only found out last night that I was shooting at the FARTHER one. Yeah, he's evil like that, and he admits it!)

Well, that's all, Folks. I'm sure I forgot a few guns here or there, I was so excited it was bound to happen. I'll have you know that I always waited until I was off-range and unarmed to do any squeeing or happy dances. Safety trumps squeeing, always.

I've definitely found a new hobby, certainly an activity I love.

I also have to remind myself to breathe...I was getting a bit out of breath from excitement, and from unconsciously holding my breath while aiming and firing. No worries, I'll get better!

Oh, and I hit the bull's eye on my first target with my third shot. Just sayin'...

(Oh, I know: Beginner's luck!)