You bought a what?!?

Exercising one's second amendment right is not as easy as it sounds:

A well regulated militia, being the best security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

The original statement in the Bill of Rights differed greatly from this watered down version, and is as follows:

That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper, natural, and safe defense of a free state; that standing armies, in time of peace, should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power.

It's an interesting read, that historical document we call the constitution. I reviewed it carefully before purchasing my current firearm, which I'll get to in just a moment. Even more interesting are the attempts by government to subvert the amendment, to change it to suit their needs. After all, what government in its right mind would want to arm the very populace they are attempting to control? I know, it all sounds very conspiracy-ish. But no other amendment has been re-interpreted so many times to suit the individual attempting to justify their particular agenda.

Whew. That was a mouthful. I hemmed and hawed for quite some time before purchasing my weapon, something I have wanted for a long time. No, I have no desire to shoot anyone, or kill small animals, or stop signs, or even Welcome to! signs dotted with buckshot spread across this country of ours.

Buying a handgun is not as difficult as you might think. You must purchase a permit-to-buy from your local police department (in my case, $5) then take that form with you to the gun dealer. There is a portion they are required to fill out, and then you must return the document to the police department within 10 days. Being the anal retentive individual I am, I got everything done in one day. I bought my Ruger P95PR semi-automatic 9mm dual action handgun from Classic Arms, the epitome of what a gun store should be. I walked in and was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer number of weapons available for sale. Handguns in several cases, rifles stacked neatly along the back wall. A gunsmith on site, ammunition for practically every make and model, eye and ear protection, targets, clothing, sights, scopes... the list goes on and on. If you live in Lansing and are interested in obtaining a firearm for sport or defense, or just cuz you like to shoot stuff, you should definitely check them out.
I was shown a large number of handguns, starting with a simple .22 caliber that was good for "shooting pop cans or paper targets" all the way up to the pricey, but still impressive Glock 17. This weapon, however, was a bit outside my price range. At nearly $600 (a deal for a glock, apparently) it was just a wee bit too much for what I was looking for.

So what was I looking for? I had asked myself that several times before even venturing into the "gun store" and had decided that definitely home defense, something with stopping power (I don't want to shoot someone at all, much less more than once) accurate at close range, and intimidating. I found all this and more in the Ruger.

The company Ruger that is based in Prescott, AZ gave birth to my handgun, their corporate site can be found here. I like Ruger. They're an upstart, an underdog that the biggies like Remington, S&W and the other large gun companies didn't think would make it. Online videos I have watched all praise the P95.

In this blog, I'll be detailing my experiences with the Ruger, my time at the gun range, my targets, posted with much humility and apprehension, and other tidbits regarding my foray into this strange new and exciting world.