For the first time and it was actually cool. I hate everything about guns but it was an experience. Shot my friends Smith & Wesson M&P .40 And a Glock 23
It's a testosterone rush . . . isn't it? Not a big gun guy myself . . . but I get some strange power rush when I shoot guns. I have to admit it's kind of fun.
Agreed about the AR-15. I've shot my buddy's a few times. I plan on getting one in the next few months.
Avoid Glock. They have a reputation for jamming. A friend of mine is a firearms instructor. He was clearing his Glock 23 when it went off and blew half his hand apart. No finger on the trigger. Apparently it has happened to a number of law enforcement officers.
Probably more fishermen and trappers than hunters out your way. I've hunted with guns since I was 7, but have never been to a shooting range. For recreational shooting (clay pigeons, targets) I go to the woods. I shot at Tualatin Gun Club back when I took my boys through the Hunter's Safety Course. Pretty funny, we got matched up with a member who had a custom made Italian 12 guage over/under with gold inlays and scrollwork. Probably cost him $5k easy. He was clad head to toe in what I can only describe as a "sporting costume" reminiscent of wealthy europeans birdhunting in some old movie. The four of us each shot 3 rounds of 5 clays and my 11yo, shooting at a moving target for the first time in his life, using my $50 .410 break-barrel single-shot, not only hit all 15 but shot them so early in their flight it was startling. The member missed all but 3, and stopped congratulating my son after the second turn.
Not a big gun guy myself, but I did go through a firearms safety course, because I figured it was good knowledge to have. That being said, I was taught to shoot by my grandfather, who hunted because that's how he provided meat for his family.