BREAKING AWAY: There's more to shooting a gun than just squeezing the trigger

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BREAKING AWAY: There's more to shooting a gun than just squeezing the trigger Neal Covert, left, and Greg Smith, both of Merced, practice shooting at targets. TED BENSON/THE BEE Gun shop owner Gerry Mitchell inspects a .44 magnum handgun. TED BENSON/THE BEE November 27, 2001 Posted: 05:05:02 AM PSTBy CLARE NOONANBEE STAFF WRITER MERCED -- His philosophy shines through when Gerry Mitchell asks the two men standing in front of the counter, "You want to go downstairs and play?"Their playground is the shooting range at the Gunrunner Gun Shop, a getaway, to Mitchell's way of thinking."Shooting for most people who don't hunt is like a little mini-vacation," he says. "You have to get into a different world when you're shooting."He should know. Mitchell has been in the gun business since he started a repair shop in his parents' garage in the late '70s."Eighty percent of shooting is both mental and emotional," he said. "To hold the gun real steady, control your emotions, force your emotions to become calm, steady."Think about a time you were totally relaxed."While it might seem odd to use the word calm in the same sentence with the word gun, that's the way it is for many range shooters."It's a form of stress release for me," says Frank Bedoya of Los Banos.He tries to make it to Gunrunner on Tuesdays, one of his days off from his computer tech job at Intel in Santa Clara."I pop off a few rounds and 'Wow!' Maybe it's the feeling that I'm totally in control at that moment. Nobody else can pull that trigger, nobody else can load that clip," says Bedoya. "A 50-round box and man, I feel good."On this Tuesday, Bedoya is accompanied by co-worker Ignacio Torres of Turlock. It's Torres' first time shooting on a range.He admits being nervous as he dons goggles and ear protectors before shooting the Glock 9mm he rented from Gunrunner."The first couple of shots, yeah. The kick of the gun, it was kind of like, 'Wow!'" says Torres.But, "after you start shooting more, you get a lot more comfortable," he adds.It's $5 to use the range and customers can bring their own guns or pay $3 to rent one. The most popular rental is a 9mm, says Mitchell, because it provides a "big bang" without much recoil. Shooters must buy their ammunition from the shop, which for 50 rounds ranges from $1.69 for a 22mm to $17.99 for a .44 magnum.Range shooters are separated by partitions on either side and can shoot at distances ranging from 7 to 25 yards. They can choose moving targets, bull's-eyes or teaching targets that point out problem areas. For instance, if shots are to the left of the bull's-eye, instructions on the target say the shooter is using too much or too little trigger finger. Mitchell says men are more frequent range shooters. But he laughs as he describes women who "stomped their husbands" their first time."We try to encourage women shooters as much as we can," he says. "Women are probably the hardest to get involved in it, but once they do get involved in it, they're the most loyal."It's not easy to shoot a handgun, says Mitchell, 40. New shooter Torres backs him up."There's a lot more going into it than I thought," he says: "Your breathing, how you position your gun."Mitchell is happy to give a lesson or tips to the novice."Take out anything that will make you move," he suggests. "Take a big breath in, let it out. Hold it and squeeze the trigger."There are three focus points a shooter must pay attention to, Mitchell says: the rear and front sights on the gun, and the target.He helps newcomers find their dominant eye so they'll know which one to shut while looking down the sights.The other eye stays keenly trained on the target that leads to a different world.Bee staff writer Clare Noonan can be reached at 578-2085 or cnoonan@modbee.com. http://www.modbee.com/sports/story/1233185p-1301657c.html