Citizens Police Academy: Home on the (Shooting) Range

I learned a lot about guns and gun safety at Tuesday night’s Citizens Police Academy, but the biggest lesson I took away was this: I’ll never be an expert marksman.

That’s because I hope to never pick up another firearm as long as I live.

Don’t get me wrong. Week 9 of CPA was probably the best and most informative class yet. Sgt. Chris Burne and explained the golden rules of firearms safety (like treating every weapon as if it’s loaded and never, ever pointing a gun at something you don’t intend to shoot) to students before letting us take a look at some of the weapons Romeoville officers use.

The emphasis was on safety and taking the handling of firearms very seriously, but the instructors also made it fun.

Each of us was given a paper target and a lesson in using three guns: the .45 caliber duty weapon carried by Romeoville cops on a daily basis, an AR-15 rifle and a shotgun.

Burne showed each student how to stand and properly hold the weapons. As I stood at the firing line holding the handgun, I tried my best to heed his advice not to expect — or be afraid of — the kick when I pulled the trigger.

Despite my best efforts, though, I was pretty terrified. Until Tuesday night, I’d never so much as touched any kind of firearm, and I’ve seen way too many of those girl-gets-hit-in-the-face-with-a-gun YouTube videos for my own good. (And if you can watch those videos without cringing, kudos to you, because I tend to view them through my fingers with my hands over my face, like I’m watching a horror movie. The secondhand embarrassment is more than I can stand).

After firing the gun a couple of times, I was ready to call it a day, mostly out of sheer terror of hurting myself or someone else, but Burne patiently corrected my stance and my grip on the gun and encouraged me to try again.

Two of the shots appeared to have missed their mark, until Burne retrieved the paper target and we took a closer look: I’d shot the gun-wielding paper bad guy right in the hands. I guess that’s one way to disarm a suspect. I’d also managed to shoot it in the head, which sounds impressive — except for the fact that I was aiming for the chest.

The rifle was looked more intimidating but was a lot easier to shoot. According to Truhlar, who carefully showed each of us how to use it, the same weapon was likely used to kill Osama bin Laden.

I did a bit better this time, although at one point, I realized I was practically hyperventilating. So much for staying calm and relaxed.

To the disappointment of several of my classmates (and my husband, who later informed me that I’m a chicken), I decided against trying out the shotgun. I’d had enough shooting for one night.

Before we left, the officers gave us all a packet containing the information we’d learned in class, plus a Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card application. I think it’s safe to say I won’t be filling out the application; I’ll leave the shooting to my much more competent CPA classmates.

A special thanks to Sgt. Burne and Officer Truhlar for being patient with me (and for being brave enough to stand next to me while I fired a gun for the first time).