Clackamas
Community College Public Safety Training Center
www.cccpstc.org
12700 SE 82nd Ave.,
Clackamas, 650-6677.
Open 11 am to 8 pm daily.
The center offers
a number of package specials that include gun rentals, target
time, ear and eye protection and ammunition.
The drop-in fee is $20; private tutorials start at $39.99
for half an hour.
Membership fees range from $75 to $159 per person per year.
Before last week I knew next to nothing about guns. I had
never so much as held one. I knew the arguments for and against
gun control but had no real firsthand experience with which
to frame the issue. The knowledge I did have of things like
calibers and the different types of guns I picked up from
movies and TV. Then I spent two evenings at the Clackamas
Community College Public Safety Training Center. After firing
100 rounds in an indoor handgun range, I'm not calling myself
a shooting-sports enthusiast. Not yet, anyway.
The carpeted lobby at the center is as sterile as a medical
clinic. A receptionist greets you at the front desk and
directs you back to a tidy armory. Everyone is exceedingly
cordial and professional. The center, which opened in the
summer of 1998, didn't look at all like I had expected.
It was about as intimidating as a bowling alley.
"What sets this facility apart from others is the light,
bright and safe aspect," says program director Jim Wiseman.
"A lot of indoor ranges are dirty, and the lighting isn't
kept up; it's like shooting into a cave." Owned and operated
by Clackamas Community College, this 23,000-square-foot
shooting range was designed with the public in mind. In
addition to serving 1,900 police officers, sheriff's deputies
and special agents, the center also has nearly 1,500 civilian
members. Between 15 and 18 percent of those are women.
"We know that there is a tremendous amount of women out
there who want a place to come and shoot," says Wiseman,
who estimates that female membership will double in two
years' time. "We have that middle-of-the-road crowd--there
are no wackos, neo-Nazis or gang bangers who come here to
shoot."
There are only two other operations in the country that
compare to the state-of-the-art standard maintained at the
center--one in Los Angeles and another in Florida. The range
itself has 20 slots, half for public use and half for law
enforcement in-service training. The center also offers
classes in personal defense tactics training and concealed
weapon license certification. The facility requires all
shooters to use nontoxic clean-fire ammunition, and the
staff continually stresses safety above all else.
First-time customers must watch a 15-minute safety video
and pass a 12-question true-or-false test before they are
permitted onto the range. Private instruction is available,
and for novices, it's recommended. My inexperienced companion
and I spent an hour on the range with Michael Steen, a range
training officer who is also a firearms instructor at Lane
Community College.
Steen showed us how to load, unload, open the action (check
the chamber to see if it's loaded) and grip a .22-caliber
revolver and Ruger semiautomatic. We practiced these steps
many times before moving on to sighting and stance. The
first principle in gun safety is to always assume that a
gun is loaded. Steen also instructed us to remove our fingers
from the triggers when not firing, and always to point the
gun downrange.
With revolver firmly in hand, arms locked and strong, and
feet shoulder-width apart, I sighted my first target just
five yards away and tried to apply even, steady pressure
to the trigger. The first shot went a little wild. I felt
shaky. I tightened my grip and took aim again. Bingo. This
time the bullet hit just a shade to the right of the target.
I moved the target sheet further out, and each time I fired
I felt an undeniable power. Later, while firing the semiautomatic,
the shell casings would fly out the chamber and spin to
the floor with a ping. The warm pistol turned my thumbs
gray with cordite.
At the end of the session I was giddy with adrenaline and
a sense of accomplishment. Learning how to handle and fire
a pistol is an invaluable lesson in the event that I ever
have to use a handgun. And I now appreciate the sporting
aspect of target practice.
Happiness is a warm gun? At last, that Beatles song makes
sense.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Willamette Week | originally
published October 6,
1999
|
