Really Hit Home on Monday

[JoJoGunn]

I will try to be brief, but this just really got to me.

I was at home for lunch, flicked on the TV to watch a bit of it, I had about 20 more minutes left before I had to get moving.

We have Tru TV, a channel that carries the show C.O.P.S and Court TV etc. I happend to see the taped episode of a trial that really got to me.

We have a public shooting range nearby where an associate minister named Mark McCalla was callously murdered at that very range by an army deserter and his cohort because they wanted to steal his firearms. It was the second trial, this one of the actual shooter. He killed McCalla at a distance, shooting him in the head, right through his hearing protection, so McCalla probably never knew what hit him.

The part that really got to me is when they showed actual crime scene photos of the HUGE pool of blood by the bench where McCalla was shooting. It also showed drag marks through this blood where the other deserter pulled McCalla's body from the bench into some nearby high weeds.

I have fired from that very bench where McCalla was murdered, and it really didn't hit home until I saw those photos. Just gives me a strange feeling knowing a man lost his life at that very spot. McCalla was alone at that time, and when I go to the range, I never go alone, keep a pistol on me at all times and have an open eye out for those who may be around.

I hope I haven't rambled on too much, but those photos have really bugged me since I saw them. I do not need counciling or anything like that, but your thoughts here at D.C. would be most welcome.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Holdcard]

The media has 'desensitized' us, when it happens close to home it's kind of a wake up call. I follow the same range protocol.

Holdcard

[Rob P.]

You were "shocked" by what you saw and it left an impression on you that is hard to shake off.

We, today, don't live so close to death as our ancestors. We don't usually see our friends/family die. We don't gawk at strangers who are laid out for public viewings by the morticians. Funerals are private ceremonies and most people die in hospitals where they are immediately whisked away to the morgue and out of sight.

We are not used to seeing death. We are not used to seeing violent death and have few tools to deal with it when we come up against it. THIS is the main reason we have "gun control" laws. Death is ugly and we shun it from "modern" society.

You need to talk to someone about your feelings. Even if you don't think so, your post says otherwise. It doesn't have to be "formal" but you need to do this with someone even if it's just over coffee.

[QKShooter]

We do often tend to make a big mess when we EXIT Planet Earth violently.

[Eagleks]

I've seen many murder 'scenes', and autopsy photos and some autopsies, after awhile you get desensitized to them. There are a lot of things I do wish the public would see, and maybe they would get the point. It's too purified because the "public" can't handle it.

I have also seen films and photos of the holocaust by the very people who were there, took them, were in them, etc. They've never been shown to the general public because of how bad they are. I think it should be mandatory for everyone to see, then there would not be so many comments on whether this or that "really" happened.

Unfortunately it takes something to happen in someone's backyard before it really sinks in.

[JoJoGunn]

I hope I didn't give the wrong impression, the photos did indeed shock me, yet, I won't stop using the range just because I viewed them, and it won't make me crazy. It just really creeped me out for a few moments and made me think about it more than usual.

I was just wondering how others feel or have felt when they have viewed something like this, and the comments have indeed helped.

[Rugergirl]

There have been a couple of suicides at some of the local indoor ranges in my area in the past 6 months. It does play on your mind a bit, you start to wonder if it will happen again when you are there and how you would react. Of course other shooters will poor safety habits are always a concern too.
I think about it and tend to watch, but I don't let it bother me so much that it becomes an distraction when I'm at the range. I do tend to take a few minutes to watch the others before I get started, as well as watching the monitors inside the store before I actually go out on the range itself.

[retsupt99]

Real crime scenes are pictures of 'captured violence' and can be very chilling, but it's reality...not the 'movies'.
Those of us who go 'armed' have no guarantees, but as least a better chance of not becoming the focus point of such a scene.

Stay armed...stay out of the pictures...stay safe!

[atctimmy]

I have shot at that range. I quit going there after a bad experience.

http://www.defensivecarry.com/vbulle...day-range.html

[GunGeezer]

My wife, a devout Christian firmly believes that everyones end is known to God and nothing we can do will change the time and the place. Even being armed to protect yourself will not change what is pre-ordained. She thinks I am just paranoid. I often wish I could believe as strongly as she does. She dislikes guns but she humors me and my "collection".

[Paco]

My wife, a devout Christian firmly believes that everyones end is known to God and nothing we can do will change the time and the place.

I agree with her, BUT...

I also believe God has given each of us a responsibility to protect ourselves. This is for defense, shelter, food, etc.

God knows when our next meal is, but He leaves it up to us and our own free will to get that meal (unless you are an Israelite wandering in the desert).

IMO, be sure to not push the subject too much. after time she may come around with simple, subtle, hints. There are many Pastors on this forum who can give you scripture after scripture and a good exposition on the meaning and intent. Being Easter weekend I'll toss this one out, "Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear." - John 18:10.

Christ's own Disciples were armed.

"He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one." - Luke 22:36