It has been a very busy few weeks, and I had not had a chance to go back to the range. Right now, I have a tournament to prepare, one of the largest karate tournaments I have done to date, and I have been working on that a lot, but my brain needed a break.

So, I went back to the range.

Here are my results this week:

Okay, first I have to admit, I am not very good yet.

I am kind of proud of the hole in the bull’s eye.

Odd thing about that though; Since I bought my S&W 686, I have only been running 38 Special cartridges through it. They are less expensive.

I brought some 357 Magnum cartridges today.

Wow, they kick like an angry mule!

But a point of pride for me – every one of the holes in the bull’s eye were from the 357 rounds I fired at the end of my visit. I am happy about that.

While I am not good, some improvement is clear, and I can accept that.

I admit that I am anxious to go to LTC (License to Carry), but I want to be better than this first. I have no qualms about admitting my lack of expertise. I will not pursue LTC until I am certain that, in the event of the unthinkable, I needed to use my firearm, I would not be a hazard.

I thank you for putting up with these posts as I share my horrible marksmanship, but the whole thing is a process, and I hope that people on the fence about learning to shoot can take some courage and see that learning is learning.

I am a martial artist, lifelong, but this is new territory to me, and while I get frustrated over not being a natural at this, the learning is fun. It reminds me of being a white belt. Everything was in front of me, yet to be discovered.

This is like that. I am learning and I have a desire to achieve at a level that I have not had in many years.

I am having a blast learning firearms and marksmanship.