The Range

This morning I need to be at the armory by 0600 with my weapons card and a lunch. I don’t have a history of overwhelming success with the M16, which I’m sure is because I can’t keep my eyes open when I squeeze the trigger: the rifle is too close to my face. I’m always afraid the charging handle is going to shoot back and break my nose and there’s going to be a big bloody mess. My fear doesn’t subside no matter how many times I check to make sure it’s locked into place. I squeeze the trigger and everything in my body tenses. The encouraging news is that I always manage to qualify even without looking at my target. Today, I’m really going to try hard to have faith in the charging handle god and to stay relaxed.