After moving the last pallet from Thursday work to armory, Hide, Takeo, and Shizuka made the preparation for firearm course. Hide decided the first menu would be handgun, so they took all available handguns, two pieces for each type, along with several spare magazines, one ammo can of 9 mm round, and other things they needed and brought it into shooting range
The shooting range was brand new, so Hide also used their first training to put some set up on it. Then, after everything was ready, Hide, Takeo, and Shizuka gathered next to the creamy wall where the lift’s door located.
In a calm tone Hide opened the course, “This shooting range had measurement 205x25 meters, but the area we can use for shooting practice is only 200x25 meters. We call this area as shooting area.
At behind each black wall and black ceiling in the shooting area, laid a bullet trap system. Meaning, it’s totally safe to put a target in front of those wall or ceiling and shoot it.”
Shizuka suddenly raised her hand, and after Hide gave her a nod, she pointed at creamy wall next to where the three stood. “Do you mean we can’t shoot at this wall?”
“Correct,” Hide firmly replied. “And we call the area up to five meters from this creamy wall as back area. It was an area we use to rest, talk, or anything else as long as it’s not firing a gun.”
“Hide, can you explain why we can’t shoot this creamy wall?” Takeo curiously asked.
Hide immediately pointed at 30x20 cm LCD screen planted to the creamy wall next to him. “If we shoot this digital smart control panel, we will have serious technical problem.
While if we hit this solid and hardened creamy wall, in some scenario the ricochet will badly hurt or even kill one of us.”
Takeo nodded and said, “I see.”
Shizuka raised her arm one more time and asked another question, “That control panel, is that not the switch for the lighting and air conditioner?”
“Correct, but it’s also the system that generate the holographic target. If we broke it, we can only use paper target for the practice then, and losing the chance to practice on some complex menu.” Hide paused for a moment before asking, “Other question? Anything?”
“…”
“No question? Let’s enter the serious part then.” After clearing his throat Hide continued, “Bear in mind that every time you hold a firearm, it means you have the power to take someone life in your very own hand, intentionally or unintentionally.
In short, anything you do when you are holding a firearm is inherently freaking dangerous.
So, no matter where you are, shooting range or outside shooting range, as long as you have firearm in your hand, you have to strictly follow the basic rules for firearm safety handling.
Do you understand?”
After Takeo and Shizuka firmly nodded their head, Hide walked over to the electric whiteboard next to the digital smart control panel and wrote the basic rule for firearm safety.
“First rule. Treat all guns the same way you would treat a loaded gun.
Second rule. Always keep the gun in your hand pointed in a safe direction. Meaning, if you accidentally fire it, it would not damage something or kill someone you can’t afford to replace.
Third rule, keep your finger away from the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
Fourth rule. Know what you are shooting at and what is behind it.
Other than shaping your marksmanship, I will also drill these rules into your head to reduce the possibility you accidentally killing yourself or someone else around you. You got that?”
““We do.””
“Good,” Hide then took Takeo and Shizuka to folding table where he previously arranged all handguns available for the training, and pointed at each handgun as he said, “Glock 17, HK USP, HK VP9, and Beretta M92. Pick the gun you want to use for the course.”
“Do you have some tips for us?” Takeo asked. “You know, we are pretty much new in this field.”
Hide nodded and explained, “Every hand has different size and touch, so the best way to find the most suitable handgun for you is by putting it in your grip and feels it.”
“Feels it?” Takeo asked as big question mark appeared in his forehead.
“Yes, feels it,” Hide firmly replied. “Is your grip can melt and become one with the gun? Can your finger easily reach the trigger, magazine release button, slide stop lever, and other external mechanism?
Then, you fire a few rounds to make final confirmation to your initial feeling. Once you find your most suitable handgun, use it to build your foundation in marksmanship.”
As she put one of HK VP9 into her grip Shizuka asked, “Hide, why this gun is smaller than the other three?”
“HK USP, Beretta M92, and Glock 17,” Hide calmly said, “are full-size service handgun, while HK VP9 is a semi compact. Its size is comparable to HK USP Compact or Glock 19.”
“Between full-size and semi-compact handgun, which one is better?”
“The two have its own pro and cons.”
“Such as?” Shizuka curiously asked another question.
“Even a slightly longer barrel can give a significant additional stopping power in a close quarter fight. This is one of the advantages of full-size handgun. Its magazine also has higher capacity.”
“…”
“Meanwhile, semi-compact handgun is lighter. When you are hurt, tired, and your adrenalin completely dry, every gram of your handgun would be felt like a 10 gram, and every 10 gram would be felt like a 100 gram, and so on. This is when lighter handgun will increase your chance to survive.”
Shizuka nodded and said, “I see.”
Takeo then asked another question, “Hide, how about you? What handgun wills you chose?
“I don’t have preference,” Hide briefly replied. “But for you, the first handgun has to be the most suitable for your hand to accelerate your basic course.”
“If we pick one of the handguns now, can we learn how to fire the other model later?”
“You can. To be precise, I will teach you how to use every firearm in our disposal after you finished the basic training.”
“I see.” After putting the last HK VP9 on the table into his grip and felt it for a while, Takeo firmly decided, “I choose this one.”
“I will choose it too,” Shizuka said as she tightened her grip on HK VP9 in her hand.
“I will teach Shizuka first,” Hide turned his gaze to Takeo as he continued. “But as you choose a same model, you can also listen to my explanation.”
“Okay,” Takeo firmly replied.
Hide then put another folding table at 10 meters in front of closest black wall. After that, he gave an example how to carry handgun from the back area to the table in the shooting area. In short, he held it with his right hand closed to his chest pointed down to the floor, while his left hand carried a small basked filled with extra magazines, ammo, and other things needed for the shooting practice.
When he put the gun to the table, Hide also ensured its muzzle was pointed to the black wall where the target would be placed. As for the other things, he arranged them in a certain pattern and explained to Shizuka the reason behind that arrangement.
After that, he asked Shizuka to repeat his example on how to carry a handgun from the back area to shooting area for several times. Then, after teaching Shizuka how to properly wear the headset and eye safety glasses, Hide immediately explained some technical details of HK VP9.
*****
