It’s a bit of a wonder that I own any guns at all. My first experiences weren’t that great.

My husband had long owned a rifle. One of those .10/22 plinkers that are easygoing and cheap to shoot. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t ideal. I had some issue with the scope and my arms would tire as I tried to figure it out. And disconcertingly to a new user, the shells ejected to the right while I was using my left eye. I could understand people enjoying it, but I found it overall pretty uncomfortable.

Eventually my husband wanted to buy a pistol for practice. I went along to the gun show but didn’t have a whole lot of interest. I didn’t anticipate being involved. They looked mostly the same to me, and I wouldn’t have a clue what mattered. He picked up something at a great price.

Unfortunately, I absolutely hated it.

The grip was way too long so I could barely reach the trigger. My stubby little thumb couldn’t reach any of the controls. I thought I hated the “1911 style” (turned out I was totally wrong!). It was so completely unusable to me that I despaired. Really… I didn’t think I was THAT small.

Not a great start to a hobby.

Finally admitting defeat on this particular weapon, I was assured that there actually were options. We just had to find something that worked.

At that point, I wasn’t convinced that I wanted to bother, but we ended up going to a couple parties with guns and the appeal grew. I felt a bit left out and intimidated, and that was just not going to do.

We visited gun shops and gun shows. We tried out different models at the local range. I found that some modes were of appropriate size. I’m a serious shopper and I hate to be disappointed by my purchases. It took me months to figure out what I was looking for and make a decision. Years later, I enjoy the feel of them and how well they operate. I enjoy looking upon them and admiring them. Like a tailored suit, it’s nice to have something that fits and just feels right.