Five Learnings from Firing a Shotgun

This is my first post of the year, so happy 2024!

I took off straight out of the blocks with my debut novel, The Godfather of Dance, coming out on Jan 1. If you’d like to read this mystery set in Houston, you can buy a paperback or Kindle copy from Amazon US, Amazon AU (or search your country website) or eBook versions on a variety of platforms including Kobo and Nook at Books2Read.

The novel is set in Houston, and in a wonderful stroke of serendipity, my husband, Andrew, had a work trip to Texas just as my book came out. I joined him, and we threw a launch party at the Dosey Doe Breakfast BBQ and Whiskey Bar in The Woodlands. It was a fun celebration with dear friends we’ve made over our expat years in Lagos, Houston and Doha, as well as in Melbourne. The afternoon launch extended into dinner, then into the evening—poker and drinks in the speakeasy, which was through a secret door in the bar.

While in Texas, I decided to do some research for my next novel, in which (spoiler alert) my protagonist may have to fire a gun. I needed to know how shooting feels, sounds, looks, and smells. My dear friend, Marc Hakala, pulled his guns from under the bed (okay probably from somewhere more secure than that, but you get my drift), polished them off, tested them, and took them (and us) for a day of skeet shooting—firing at moving clay targets—with shotguns.

We had another outing in an indoor range with handguns using paper targets. The least encouraging part of this experience was the bleeding control kit on the side of the indoor shooting range!

Here’s what I learned about shooting a shotgun:

1. The kickback is hard. Marc warned me about the kickback—a perfect demonstration of the old physics law: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction—but despite his excellent tutoring, I now have the bruises to prove this rule! The same principle can be applied to life; whatever you put out there will generate some form of response.
   
2. Faster than a speeding bullet is not just an expression. I had expected to see something besides the kickback as the shot was fired, but the bullets traveled so quickly that I only saw a wisp of smoke. This may sound obvious, but for the purposes of writing (and in real life), it made me realize the finality of firing a bullet. If you’re on the receiving end of a bullet, there’s no opportunity to dive out of the way. There’s not even time for a moment of reflection before you face potential annihilation.
   
3. The cartridge clue is real: While you can’t see the bullet, you can see the cartridge ejecting from the gun. Often, mystery novels and movies use a bullet cartridge as a clue—which the culprit conveniently leaves lying around with their fingerprints—but I’ve never really noticed how the cartridge leaves the gun. You don’t want to stand too close to someone firing a gun because you might get hit by a flying cartridge. There’s no question about the need for safety glasses when shooting. (See photos below of the cartridge flying out from a still of a video and cartridges on the range.)
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Smell: After the shot is fired, there’s a distinct smoky smell, like fireworks.
   
5. Sound: Guns are LOUD! This is why it’s mandatory to wear protective gear such as ear muffs, earplugs, or both.

I know I said five things about shooting, but here’s a bonus point…

Camaraderie: Shooting is a sport, and it’s heaps of fun. There’s a big adrenaline rush when pulling the trigger and I can see how people get addicted to the rush. For me, it was as much about spending time with friends as about trying to smash that target. And thanks to Marc, I now feel better equipped to write about guns.

Next time: take a look at the year in review in The Winding Narrative Turns Six