Ultraviolet
Member
Since you all seem seasoned shooters, I have a question. I was never raised around firearms, and over the last few years grew interested in them for personal protection, mostly for my wife who drives a lot in the southern States. I had fired a couple of .22 handguns and rifles many moons ago. About two years ago we did a shotgun course, since at the time I thought I'd get a shotgun for home defense. Fired .410, 20 gauge and 12 gauge shotguns. Of course there was anticipation, but honestly I was not having any huge issues with the noise.
Most recently we decided to go ahead and buy the handgun for my wife. Went to the range and rented a few guns to try, all 9 mm. We both wore hearing protection. Honestly, the noise and shear violence of the handgun really took me aback, and I ended up not shooting the guns and having a strong sense of fear while being on the range. Initially we were alone but at the end of our range time a few others joined which made things even more unpredictable for me. After the shooting session, in the showroom I still had the extreme 'fight or flight' response.
I'm trying to rationalize this, and have come up with few thoughts:
1. The absolute amount of noise - oddly enough, I perceived the shotguns to be 'quieter' than the 9mm handguns. Maybe this has to do with the closeness of the muzzle, or the fact I was more in control?
2. The fact I could not anticipate the occurrence of the sound. With one gun I could see the hammer move, which at least gave me an idea of when the sound would occur, although I'm not completely sure if this helped or not. Other striker-fired guns did not give the visual clue, which I seemed to do worse with.
3. I realized the anticipation and fear made me tense my body extremely.
4. I wonder in hindsight if I should have gone ahead and shot the guns, maybe the fact that I would be in control would have helped. However, by the time I got a turn I'd degenerated into a heap of fear unable to handle a firearm ;-)
So - here it is - I'm not sure if this proves anyone's point. I'm a forty-odd year old, professionally very successful and highly intelligent person, capable of handling many difficult situations in a variety of areas. I have spent a lot of time researching firearms, probably know and understand more of the theory and physics than the average firearm owner, and am really wanting to get into firearm ownership and shooting. However, the irrational fear of the noise seems to be innate. I have had similar fears in the past of fireworks and thunder - loud bangs just work on my nerves. Before you make fun and refer me to a psychologist - I was hoping to add to the discussion - many people probably have a similar response, and it would be helpful if a better approach could be found than just 'bite the bullet' (pun intended) ;-)
Most recently we decided to go ahead and buy the handgun for my wife. Went to the range and rented a few guns to try, all 9 mm. We both wore hearing protection. Honestly, the noise and shear violence of the handgun really took me aback, and I ended up not shooting the guns and having a strong sense of fear while being on the range. Initially we were alone but at the end of our range time a few others joined which made things even more unpredictable for me. After the shooting session, in the showroom I still had the extreme 'fight or flight' response.
I'm trying to rationalize this, and have come up with few thoughts:
1. The absolute amount of noise - oddly enough, I perceived the shotguns to be 'quieter' than the 9mm handguns. Maybe this has to do with the closeness of the muzzle, or the fact I was more in control?
2. The fact I could not anticipate the occurrence of the sound. With one gun I could see the hammer move, which at least gave me an idea of when the sound would occur, although I'm not completely sure if this helped or not. Other striker-fired guns did not give the visual clue, which I seemed to do worse with.
3. I realized the anticipation and fear made me tense my body extremely.
4. I wonder in hindsight if I should have gone ahead and shot the guns, maybe the fact that I would be in control would have helped. However, by the time I got a turn I'd degenerated into a heap of fear unable to handle a firearm ;-)
So - here it is - I'm not sure if this proves anyone's point. I'm a forty-odd year old, professionally very successful and highly intelligent person, capable of handling many difficult situations in a variety of areas. I have spent a lot of time researching firearms, probably know and understand more of the theory and physics than the average firearm owner, and am really wanting to get into firearm ownership and shooting. However, the irrational fear of the noise seems to be innate. I have had similar fears in the past of fireworks and thunder - loud bangs just work on my nerves. Before you make fun and refer me to a psychologist - I was hoping to add to the discussion - many people probably have a similar response, and it would be helpful if a better approach could be found than just 'bite the bullet' (pun intended) ;-)