Kuwait Times

Published Date: July 20, 2007
By Rania El Gamal, staff writer

The smell of burnt gun powder filled the room along with the sound of loud bangs every time another person shot their guns.


I have always been fascinated by guns. It was neither odd nor unusual to be around guns while growing up, as several members of my family were in the army. And being the youngest among two brothers, playing with their old toy guns was the norm.
I must have been 10 years old when my brother taught me how to aim and shoot using his air rifle. I remember holding the rifle's buttstock against my shoulder, for support, and aiming at a tree in front of our house. It was somewhat of a scary experience for me at that time, and my shoulder really hurt from the power of the blast. However, later I would sneak into my brother's room when he was not around, hold the rifle and pretend that I was shooting in the air.
Last week, I went with a couple of friends to try a shooting range here in Kuwait for my first pistol shooting experience - I only used rifles in the past, but never a handgun. It was the weekend, we were bored with not much to do in Kuwait's 50-plus degrees and shooting seemed like a new adventure, and it was.
The excitement that goes with firing a gun was strange. I was like a kid who was trying something for the first time, eager to know how to play with a new toy.
At the reception, every person chose his/her favorite pistol from a list that has the picture of the gun, bullets capacity and price. As it was my first time using a pistol, I opted to go with the beginners' one, a 22 mm pistol which gives up to 20 ammo. There were different kinds of guns and I was really tempted to try a 44 mm revolver, but as another friend chose it, I had the chance to try it without hurting my hands.
After paying for the pistols, we head to the indoors range. I put my ear plugs before entering the sound-proofing corridor.
We opened the door to the actual shooting area and our short 'adventure' began. The smell of burnt gun powder filled the room along with the sound of loud bangs every time another person shot their guns.
Because it was my first time using a pistol, one of the instructors explained briefly the safety steps of shooting, how to load the gun, aim and shoot at the paper target. I loaded all the bullets I had, double-checked with the instructor that they were correctly loaded, grasped the gun firmly, pushed the safety catch, held the pistol straight, aimed and fired at my target. The loud bang was shocking and I could feel the blood rushing to my head. It was exhilarating.
I stopped for a second to see if I hit or missed, then I continued shooting one after the other. Though short, the shooting experience was thrilling and I was hooked.
As I got my paper shooting target back and saw out-of-range shots, I wanted to try again. We all went back and paid for another round. I went through the same steps and had a go at the powerful 44 mm revolver, which was a bit strong for me. My whole body jerked back after the first shot.
As we had to leave at some point, I took my perforated paper target and some empty bullet shells as a souvenir.
Although full of adrenaline, I was so relieved and stress-free after the shooting. I was ready to get through another hot-summer work day. I was not as bothered about the crazy drivers on the road whom I usually curse every day on my way to work, nor was I that irritated about the extreme heat and weak air conditioner of my car. It was like I found my purgatory.
For comments, email: elgamal@kuwaittimes.net