Novices Get Pointers on Handling Handguns

I've always wanted to fire a gun, just like the glamorous double agent played by Jennifer Garner in "Alias."

An d so it was that I found myself one Wednesday evening last month peering at a disassembled Smith & Wesson revolver splayed out on a counter in front of me. I was three hours into a beginner's shooting class at Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly, a box of .22 caliber bullets to the side and the smell of gunpowder in the air. Standing in the first lane of a narrow but deep, low-ceilinged indoor range, I listened intently to Mark Richardson, a shooting instructor who said he wears a gun 24-7 and has taught beginners for several years -- without incident. To my right were 14 more lanes, most manned by my classmates, each with a dif ferent weapon.

One such partner in arms, Dawn McKenna of Chantilly, said she had ordered a gun recently because her brother, who is in law enforcement, encouraged her to get one for self-defense. McKenna, 42, said she decided to take the class because she was "terrified of guns. When I held one for the first time I was afraid it might go off."

By the time our three instructional hours were over, we knew it was not possible for a gun to go off "accidentally," which was a comforting thought as I plucked a bullet from the box and tried to load it. I struggled to shove what felt like a disobedient brass Pez candy into an equally resistant dispenser but finally wedged the bullet in place, only to feel a wee bit incompetent when Richardson spotted my backward bullet and deftly reloaded it. A satisfying click later, as the magazine slid into place, the gun was ready to shoot. Quelling a small shiver of nerves, I slowly raised my revolver, set my sights on the bull's-eye and applied gentle, steady pressure to the trigger.

Kaboom! Ten beginners fired at once, and although ear protection muted the noise, the slight recoil and force made my insides quiver. My first shot went high, and Richardson gently corrected me on how to use the triangular dots set at the back of the gun to help with aim. The second time I fired, the bullet pierced the bull's-eye. It was exhilarating and empowering.

There were different guns, ranging in recoil, in each lane, so I moved to one of the last lanes and loaded bullets into a semiautomatic SIG Sauer P226. A crack of gunfire and a blast of orange-red fire erupted from the barrel, as the recoil lifted my arm involuntarily high in the air. Richardson had told us that the most common beginner's mistake is to "anticipate the recoil." I now understood what he had meant: It's difficult to keep your arm steady and fight the impulse to compensate for the recoil.

My classmates -- five women and three men between the ages of 23 and 50 -- were happily firing away in various lanes. Margaret Lindquist, 40, a teacher from Chantilly, had been a bit apprehensive during the classroom instruction. "It's a little unnerving thinking about shooting a weapon," she had said. But now she stood confidently, one eye squinting shut as she took aim and fired. "It's fun!" she yelled over the noise, flashing a broad grin.

It is fun. And as I headed back to my car in the dark parking lot that night, I walked with confidence in my step, feeling just a bit more like I could hold my own should I ever get my chance to be a Bond girl.

Blue Ridge Arsenal 14725 Flint Lee Rd., Chantilly Contact: 703-818-0230. http://www.blueridgearsenal.com. Cost: Four-hour beginner's class is $125. The next beginner's classes are Aug. 5 and Aug. 12 from 6 to 10 p.m. and Aug. 16 from 3 to 7 p.m. You can also rent a gun and a lane, as well as buy ammunition, at Blue Ridge Arsenal without taking a class, but you must first demonstrate that you know how to "clear" the weapon -- open the barrel or release the magazine and verify that there is no ammunition inside.