Camera Used: iPhone 4S
Date Taken: 10/ 02/ 12
I love shooting photographs. Since I was very young I was exposed to photography and cameras. I had my first camera at the age of 9 and i've not stopped since then. However, shooting photographs was not the only hobby I had. I first picked up firearm shooting at the age of 16. I was brought to the range on my 16th Birthday as a present from my uncle. I fired my first pistol and rifle that day. From that day onwards I picked it up as a hobby. Whenever I had the time, usually weekends, i'd head to the range to shoot. I also developed an interest into firearms, up to a point that I can recognize the model and caliber.
So, this was the first time in 2012 I've actually visited a range. the 3rd in 3 years. When I flew down to Perth to pursue my studies, I had little or no time to hit the ranges. Other than that it was relatively more expensive here for me to shoot cause of the currency difference. So, in the past 3 years, I've been to the range 3 times, which makes it once a year. So my first time back behind a firearm in more than a year was pretty horrible. All my rounds were either spread wide or missing the target at 6m. There were 2 reasons to this. Number 1: I've not shot in more than a year. Number 2: The handgun I was shooting was something I've never handled before.
What i'm firing on this day was the Smith & Wesson M&P9 made in the US. Smith & Wesson was famous for their revolvers and M1911 style handguns. The M&P9 was a whole new type of handgun introduced to their handgun family. It had no external hammer just like a Glock type handgun. it fires the 9x19mm cartridge and is used by many Police forces around the world, including the Malaysian Prison Department. South Australian and Victorian Police use a similar model chambered in the .40 S&W round which has a harder hitting round than the 9x19mm.
So after 10 rounds (one full magazine), I got used to the mechanics and recoil of the gun. From that point onwards every round hit it's mark. In some of the pictures you taken on my iPhone (cause i didn't have a compact camera small enough to fit in my pocket and I didn't want to bring a DSLR), you can actually see the muzzle flashes after the bullet is fired. On this picture on the left, you can clearly see the brass (bullet casing in firearm lingo) kicking out of the gun. The raw pictures that were taken were a bit grainy and I had to fix them up with iPhoto.
60 rounds and 45 minutes later, we were done (I forgot to mention I brought a friend who had never fired a gun before in his life). The final picture shows all of my spent brass that i've picked up and put back in the container (it's a habit I picked up at the range so it's easier to clean and recycle them). So thats the end of this series of photographs. Enjoy.
