Shots Fired: A Reporter Visits Vermont's First Indoor Gun Range

Overall good, At least he admitted he was novice and didn't try to demonize the whole process. I think the article was well written and presented a fair view of his experience.

"While the pistol was manageable, even comfortable to hold and fire, the rifle was a different beast altogether. Everything about it — its weight, tactical scope and overall lethality — was downright intimidating.

The fact that the first magazine refused to click into place didn't help either, further unnerving me. What if I just broke a $3,500 rifle? A fresh magazine worked just fine, though, and after loading it, I sent the target out to 15 yards.

When ready, I lined up the target in the cross hairs, pulled the stock onto my shoulder, squeezed the trigger and — BA-BOOM!!!!!

It is difficult to describe the impact — physical and personal — of that first shot. It felt like a meteor had struck the earth in front of me. A deep shock wave coursed through my body, the recoil rippling through my arms and right shoulder with astounding power. Being that close to an explosion of such magnitude — controlled and focused as it was — rattled me.

I composed myself and continued to fire round after concussive round, the puffs of acrid gunpowder smoke carried downrange by a powerful ventilation system. My accuracy gradually improved until it became easier to hit the target with the rifle from 25 yards than with the pistol from five.

It was exhilarating, but I never got comfortable firing it. I'm not sure what scared me more — the power of that weapon or the fact that I could have taken one home that day."

What a wuss!

I watch ladies, and even teens, shoot AR-15's all the time in our range, and they handle them very well. A lady was there with her son yesterday, and even though she had never shot his AR before yesterday, she very quickly acclimated to it. She beamed with pride when she showed me her target after they got done shooting. She was nervous at first, but quickly got over it, and started having fun shooting.

Here in central Oklahoma we have both indoor and outdoor ranges. They are open to the public and you can rent various guns to shoot. One in particular is open to use on your birthday for free. You can bring your own firearm and ammo or you can rent anyone of theirs. There are multiple outdoor ranges that you bring your own firearm and targets that are free to use. One that's situated in a game preserve requires you to have a hunting license but its free to use.