A week ago I would have said 'Nope, I've never fired a gun in my life'. Today I can say, 'Why yes, yes I have fired a gun, a shotgun' - Ha! So for those who know me, I'm a total pacifist and I do not endorse any kind of killing for leisure. But we fired at mock pigeons made out of clay (obviously), so there was no blood spilled (just tears - only kidding). So all is well S.P.A.!
So I had never fired a gun in my life before, so I was pretty nervous. For those other, gun-virgins out there let me just explain that a shotgun is HUGE.. ok so not bazooka-huge, but pretty darn sizable nonetheless. I like to think I'm a pretty strong gal, so I wasn't expecting to have any problems. Hah. It's heavy and has a mighty kickback (I have no idea of correct gun-terminology.. sorry). Anyway, I felt a bit like a toucan in a Parisian café (... out of place). But I decided to pose for a picture in the hopes of at least looking the part if not actually playing it. Sexy ammunition vests were obligatory.
A mighty fine day for shooting flying clay birds ol' sport!
So out of the 15 shots we had, fired from a static clay-pigeon-producing machine, I got... *drum roll* 1. So I wasn't expecting to be great first time around, but I was expecting more than one hit. I blamed the nerves and of course, something was definitely wrong with my gun. Indubitably so. I did however perfect my French 'poule'-shout, which launches the clay pigeon - so that was a plus.
Thankfully I was not the only gal, a couple of other brave ladies took the plunge too, some with better results than others :P
Anthony was up next, and of course he was utter crap! ... at missing the pigeon. Yeaaah, he was awesome. He had had a gun when he was young, hunting small rabbits and things like that, but nothing extensive really. So yeah, honestly, I knew he wanted to win the whole thing, obviously, being Anthony. But I was surprised how well he did. He was genuinely very happy, so I swallowed my pride and decided to bathe in the shadow of his glory instead :P
A little video clip of Anthony's first shot. I'm not uploading the video of me because Anthony filmed three films and I kept missing the target, after which I think he gave up hope and stopped filming :D
The guide, ready for first-time kickback :D
Look at the size of the gun!
The score-keeper and the one who told us when to move platform, 3 shots on each one.
'POULE!' BANG. He made a score of 12/15 shots. Crazy good.
We then decided to bring it up a notch. 25 clay pigeons to hit, but ejected in random directions this time, not always in the same direction as in the last game. So you really had to be quick as well as precise. For each pigeon fired you get two shots. By this time my shoulder was already in pain and Anthony's cheek had gotten a beating. But on we treaded!
Which way are you gonna go little rubber-ducky!?
Once all the scores had been calculated Anthony scored a whopping 16/25 and I made a 7/25, which to be honest, I was completely thrilled with. Somehow, I had upped my game. The accumulative scores were calculated and the 10 best players were set up to battle it out on a third round of 25 pigeons. Anthony, so far, had made the best score and was lying in 1st place. Somehow, even my name made it into the 10 best players, so... yeah, I was happy. Turns out I wasn't as bad as I had thought at first.
My arm however was in pain so I decided to forfeit my place unto another willing player and support my man from the sidelines by drinking Champagne. I was extremely successful in my noble endeavor.
Another girl, who was also placed in the top 10, took the leap and put up one heck of a fight. But (sadly) not good enough to beat Anthony, who managed to get 17 out of 25, winning the whole crew.
All in all it was a really fun day out doing something we would never had thought of by ourselves -thank you Arieanespace! And Anthony brought home a trophy and a new hat: Ball Trap Club Kourou. So yeah, he is all class now!
*coming up soon: C A R N A V A L !*
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