Sunday, January 3, 2010

Gun Play




Guns are fun! My oldest friend Chuck is something of a gun guru. This weekend, my dad and I joined Chuck at the Angeles Shooting Range in Lake View Terrace for some target practice. The weather was perfect, a calm breeze at your back and bright California sunshine overhead.



My dad brought his 50 year old Winchester 308. We were curious to see how it held up after 40 years in storage. It's a classic hunting rifle, with a lever action that reloads after each shot. Chuck had something a bit more modern, a 338 rifle with a high powered scope.



This weapon is designed for taking down big game at long distances, up to 700 yards, and beyond. The bullet is nearly twice the size of my dad's 308 ammo. I was very nervous pulling the trigger, but the thrill of hitting a target hundreds of yards away was addictive.




Being an American Male of a certain age, I'm saturated in guns on TV, video games and film. In person, it's a much different experience; visceral, loud, frightening, shocking and yes, thrilling!





If modern society ever breaks down into total anarchy, Chuck is the first person I will look to for protection and food. A few months ago, he had us over for wild boar tacos, a boar that he shot after stalking it for a couple hours in the hills of Central California.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks fun.
Charlie is looking scary with that goatee.
Me & Ron go shooting from time to time too.
The 5 of us should go sometime.

Alex said...

Hey Brian! Happy New Year. I believe Chuck is sporting a Fu Manchu.

Victoria said...

nice work shooter!

Alex said...

Chuck sent me a followup: "the distance is 1700 yards for effective range with the 338 Lapua.  You should type in Lapua.  Anyone who knows anything about tactical rifles and super long range accuracy knows Lapua in 338"