Kuntzmania: Another Intrepid Journalist is Traumatized by Firing an AR-15 Rifle for the First Time

By
Dan Zimmerman
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149

It’s not easy being a journalist in America these days. The pay sucks, the business itself is financially questionable, and fewer people believe what you write every day. But you have to applaud the level of want-to that keeps those plucky scribes out there, wearing down the shoe leather, reporting all of the really important news in order to keep Mr. and Mrs. America informed.

That’s probably what motivated Kevin McCallum — a Pulitzer Prize winner, no less — who writes for something called Seven Days Vermont to visit the Green Mountain State’s first and only indoor gun range. Unfortunately, he managed to do his best impression of the famously fragile Gersh Kuntzman in the process.

Kuntzman, you may remember, is the hearty New York Daily News correspondent who was physically and emotionally undone by the experience of shooting an AR-15 back in 2016. As Mr. K described the life-altering experience . . .

The recoil bruised my shoulder. The brass shell casings disoriented me as they flew past my face. The smell of sulfur and destruction made me sick. The explosions — loud like a bomb — gave me a temporary case of PTSD. For at least an hour after firing the gun just a few times, I was anxious and irritable.

In a follow-up article justifying the emotional wreck he had become as a result of pulling the trigger on that fearsome rifle, he wrote, “I simpered because my experience with the AR-15 bruised me, body and spirit.”

The poor dear.

You have to appreciate what these ink-stained wretches endure, though, risking their physical and psychological well-being to bring us the truth.

Guns Save Life Girl AR-15 camp
Guns Save Life

So, in the grand Kuntzmanian tradition, Kevin McCallum screwed up his courage and ventured into Parro’s Gun Shop in Waturbury — which looks like a first-rate facility — to chronicle the experience of pulling the trigger for Seven Days Vermont’s dozens of loyal readers.

Unfortunately, after that experience he may never be quite the same. But remember, Vermonters…he did it for you.

McCallum managed to peck out the following with undoubtedly tremulous fingers . . .

I’m not a gun guy. I haven’t handled a firearm since I squeezed off a few rounds from an old .22 rifle at summer camp more than 35 years ago.

All the more reason to appreciate what he chose to expose himself to, right? He was intrigued by the fact that Parro’s rents firearms for use on their range. After a nice description of the store and its amenities, McCallum reveals what happened when he rented a Ruger 9mm pistol and an HK AR-15.

Inside one of the 10 available lanes, I stapled my target to the carrier, then tapped a touch screen that could send the target sliding out up to 25 yards. I started with five yards.

[RSO Josh] Noble showed me how to load the 9mm bullets into the magazine, shove the magazine into the grip, slide back the surprisingly stiff bolt, release the safety and prepare to fire. I lined up the sights as best I could, gently squeezed the trigger and — BAM!

Yes, that’s what happens when a trigger is pulled. Go figure. After an indeterminate number of rounds launched from the pistol, McCallum switched to the big black rifle.

While the pistol was manageable, even comfortable to hold and fire, the rifle was a different beast altogether. Everything about it — its weight, tactical scope and overall lethality — was downright intimidating.

Hang in there, Kevin. You can do this.

When ready, I lined up the target in the cross hairs, pulled the stock onto my shoulder, squeezed the trigger and — BA-BOOM!!!!!

Again, he seemed unprepared for what resulted when a trigger is pulled. Anyway . . .

It is difficult to describe the impact — physical and personal — of that first shot. It felt like a meteor had struck the earth in front of me. A deep shock wave coursed through my body, the recoil rippling through my arms and right shoulder with astounding power. Being that close to an explosion of such magnitude — controlled and focused as it was — rattled me.

Oh, dear.

I composed myself and continued to fire round after concussive round, the puffs of acrid gunpowder smoke carried downrange by a powerful ventilation system. My accuracy gradually improved until it became easier to hit the target with the rifle from 25 yards than with the pistol from five.

Whew!

Guns save life girl ar-15 rifle camp
Guns Save Life

It’s nice that McCallum was able to compose himself enough to finish out the magazine and put rounds on paper. However . . .

It was exhilarating, but I never got comfortable firing it. I’m not sure what scared me more — the power of that weapon or the fact that I could have taken one home that day.

Yes, owning an AR-15 is quite an emotional experience. One that only about 20 to 30 million Americans have been able handle so far.

We sincerely hope that the effects of shooting a firearm like an AR-15 hasn’t been too psychologically jarring for Mr. McCallum. A case of acute Kuntzmania can be quite debilitating, but frequently passes in time. We suggest he take a Ruger Mark IV and a couple of magazines and call us in the morning.

 

 

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

149 COMMENTS

  1. “The recoil bruised my shoulder. ”

    Good grief, what a wimp. The recoil any little girl could handle bruises this poor gimp’s flesh. He should stay away from shotguns, he’d probably end up on his ass.

    • My 11 year old daughter who is VERY sensitive to loud noises is more a man than the author. She shoots .22lr, .223 and .300 blackout in an indoor range without issues.
      Tonight I’m taking her hog hunting. Hoping for a good evening. She has passed on shots before because she wants to make a clean kill.
      Anyway I’m sure she would laugh at the author knowing that a grown up was this silly.

    • if an ar bruised his tender shoulder I would lick to see him shoot my old Mossberg pump shotgun with a 30-inch full choke barrel on loaded with 2 3/4 miny Maggs in it or my old 45 cal. flint lock but heck he would not be able to hold it up

      • Or a lever action .45-70. You know, they’re not as deadly because they don’t look like scary black guns.

      • I’ve got a .45 Hawken percussion cap rifle and Knight Wolverine .50 caliber muzzleloader. They are truly mild to shoot because they’re relatively heavy and black powder burns fairly slowly.

        • A friend and I were out to the local shooting range field, shooting a Spingfeild 1861 .68 caliber replica. Great fun, slow, lots of delicious smoke. Had a bunch of milk jugs and juice bottles scattered around, some 100 yards away, and we did pretty good.

          Couple of oldies were 100 feet away practicing pistols. Every time that big old BOOOOM went off, they looked over at us. I finally went over, told them they were welcome to shoot along with us. They asked what caliber (it does look huge with its 42 inch barrel and all that smoke). Told them .68, “Oh my god it’s gotta kick like a mule!” Nope. They finally came over. One hit a jug about 50 yards away, we congratulated him, he said he was aiming at something closer. Both agreed it does NOT kick like a mule. A push, not a kick.

    • still remember a range sgt. putting that gun up to his chin and pulling the trigger…just to show us how puny the recoil was…what a wimp!…..

      • It was the same for me. The first thing he did was do a mag dump on full auto just to let us know what it looked like and just how fast it went.

        I remember him holding it up one handed against his chin and popping one off. That’s been 50 years ago. I just thought of that after reading your comment.

    • The underlying theme with these idiots is the profound lack of self-confidence. They don’t trust themselves. They think they can’t handle the awesome power. They think they might snap and take out their whole family during an argument over which avocado toast is best.

      They’re right. They can’t handle it. They should just leave the guns to gun people. A man’s got to know his limitations.

      • And because they don’t trust themselves their self righteous belief in their superiority over everyone else leads them to believe that nobody can be trusted with one. What a pussy.

      • I think part of it, is that deep down, they know they are wrong, or they are just playing a role. That’s why they’re so shrill.

        “The Lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
        Hamlet, Act III, Scene II

        • The psychological term is projection. Racists in denial call everyone racist. Liars accuse everyone of lying. In this case, the person who thinks they are about to snap doesn’t want anyone else to have a gun.

  3. When I got an AR-15, and my skinny teenage son shot it for the first time, he said, “that’s it?”

  5. “I haven’t handled a firearm since I squeezed off a few rounds from an old .22 rifle at summer camp more than 35 years ago.”

    This is exactly why my first firearm purchase was a 9mm handgun AND a .22 rifle. That was the best part of camp. I never shot with my dad. That was my introduction to guns.

  6. Recoil?!? Not much on an AR. I get the smoke,noise & lead. You have a loud explosion occurring quite close to your head. I hadn’t shot anything bigger than a 22 or a 410 shotgun when I shot a real gun some 11 years ago. I’m stealing “Kuntzmania”😉

    • I don’t get the “sulfur” smoke part either. Was it a blackpowder AR? Do they make patches for 5.56, or did he have to cut his own from pillow ticking?

  8. “Journalist”: NOOO! People shouldn’t own these! It’s loud! It hurts my shoulder! It smells bad. I got PTSD now!”

    Me, after firing my M1 Garand: “Haha rifle go ‘ping’.”

  9. On the Ruger 1911: “Locked back the surprisingly stiff bolt”

    Well at least he says he isn’t a gun guy.

    His reporting is basically “The church lady visits adult toy store, shocked at what’s for sale!”

  10. “The recoil bruised my shoulder…”

    I highly doubt that. Need photos to prove that statement, please.

    “I was disoriented by the spent brass flying by my face…”

    From an AR-15? Even if the author is left-handed, I doubt this statement’s truthfulness as well.

    “I pulled the trigger and…BA-BOOM!!”

    Hmm. Mr. McCallum was at an indoor range, and undoubtedly suited up with ear protection. Are we to believe that there were no other shooters at that range (with 10 lanes), and therefore no muzzle reports to be heard during the entire time he entered, prepared, loaded, aimed, and eventually fired the AR in his own lane? So he had no idea what to expect?

    ****
    Zimmerman is right in his opening remarks. Journalism is a sucky profession these days…

    • I might let the brass thing slide, because on an indoor range it can sometimes bounce off the walls of a booth in interesting ways. This is especially true if the booth is narrow and the gun ejects enthusiastically.

      But it’s probably just a BS line he threw in there because he thought it sounded cool.

    • Hello. Just stopping by to remind everyone it’s been exactly 7 months since Haz the spineless coward failed to heed President Trump’s urgent call to action. He talked real big, but when it came time for action, he hid. And gave the ‘fakedemic’ (his words) as the reason for his failure to step up. In short, ditch this 🤡 instantly, because when the SHTF, he’ll be the first to surrender, comply and narc of the true patriots…

  11. Pure propaganda.
    Pistol = moderately acceptable
    Rifle = scary and evil

    This was an intentional article to try and bolster support for banning ARs. I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see this “man” was connected to one or several of the big gun ban groups.

  13. Vermont ain’t what it used to be. I’ve personally seen the crowds drop flat and wet themselves when I pulled out my camera equipped with “tactical scope” to photograph the very underwhelming Queechee gorge.

  15. I’m not the most badass guy on two feet by any means, but I call his type MINO’s (pronounced Minnow)

    Male in Name Only.

    I’m a Boomer so apologies if I offended anyone….not.

    • Offensive, no. Silly and irrelevant, yes.

      Anyone who thinks that being male magically makes someone a defender of US Constitutional liberties is laughably ignorant of what happens in blue states (and even in RINO-heavy red ones), let alone the world outside our borders.

      • ‘Laughably ignorant’ is a good description of virtually everyone who posts here regularly. Especially that coward Haz and his personal salad tosser Geoff the Pervert.

  16. Two more examples of our ruling class overlords. People who have true psychological and emotional dysfunction and who project their fears and phobias onto the rest of us.

    These are the people who make our laws and tell us how we have to live our lives.

  18. He sounds so metro sexual. I hope the experience did not ruin his manicure. And the thought of buying such a weapon and taking it home on the same day obviously left him gasping for air and brought on the vapors.

    Somebody, Anybody…Put his remains in a box and label it Fragile, Handle With Care.

    • “While the pistol was manageable, even comfortable to hold and fire, the rifle was a different beast altogether.”
      The key word is “Beast” which he uses to describe both guns. Describing only one as a beast doesn’t fit his view that all guns are bad.
      Close attention must be paid to every pronoun (e.g. us) and adverb (e.g. all) the left uses, for they do not always include POTG.
      Dude’s and Dev’s comments make valid points, indeed.

  20. This Intrepid Journalist need to stick with a High caliber No.2 Ticonderoga lead pencil.
    His temporary man card is revoked.

  22. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we’re calling “men” in this country now!!??

  23. I have taken my grand kids shooting the past two weeks with my AR-15. The 7 yr old shot it once. I asked what he thought. He had big eyes and said he would shoot it again in two years. We laughed and he went back to shooting my .17 HMR with a scope hitting the target every time.

    Yesterday, I took my 14 yr old grand daughter. We tried a brand new 10/22 and it jammed almost every shot so I pulled out the AR-15. She shot it once and said she liked it. I now now an ammo deficit after she emptied 150 rounds on target. Not one misfeed or misfire.

    • I wonder what the problem is with the 10/22, those are generally solid guns.

      Then again, I am more of a Marlin 60 fan (which is now also Ruger).

      One of the things I love about the AR-15 is the fact that it has virtually no recoil. Teenage girls can shoot them all day long.

      My M44 Mosin has been known to bruise my shoulder a bit. My .270 also has a little kick do it, as does my 12 gauge.

      The AR, AK, and SKS are just pure fun.

      This dude is either (1) a total liar, (2) a total wuss, or most likely (3) both.

  24. “The horribleness and the awfulness of it will never actually be forgotten.” – Luther Heggs (Don Knotts) in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

  25. Bruised shoulder? Intimidated by the weight of the weapon? From an AR in 5.56?!?

    I’m wondering if the range actually gave these guys an elephant gun. I mean, it’s not like these “journalists” would be able to tell the difference….

    • would love to let him try one of my .44 magnums…but then i’d probably have to revive him….

  26. Someone needs to revoke Mr. Kevin McCollum’s *Man Card*, if he ever had one. For surely he is a 4 yr old coward in a mans body and dressed in a mans clothing. When I was 13 yrs old we had a word to describe his type that started with the letter P.
    Just think, his type is in control of our news media and maybe even the whole country.
    Now there’s something to be deathly afraid of.

  27. I hope the poor dear didn’t soil his panties. For a journalist, La Perla is barely affordable.

  28. “The recoil bruised my shoulder. The brass shell casings disoriented me as they flew past my face. The smell of sulfur and destruction made me sick. The explosions — loud like a bomb — gave me a temporary case of PTSD. For at least an hour after firing the gun just a few times, I was anxious and irritable.”

    LoL 🙂 I spit coffee all over the screen when I read this because it made me laugh.

    1. He must have the softest shoulders in the world because the AR-15 has probably one of the mildest recoils in the world. With his extra soft shoulders he is more likely to get a bruise from wearing his seat belt on a routine basis than he is to be bruised from AR-15 recoil.

    2. Disoriented from brass casings? Seriously? Did you have your face right over the ejection port?

    3. Bomb like explosions? Believe me Mr. soft shouldered disorientated McCallum, its no where near a bomb like explosion. Of course when stupid people are not wearing suitable hearing protection like common sense people do it can sound loud up close but its still not a bomb like explosion. You haven’t the slightest idea of what a “bomb explosion” sounds like up close, I do and what you describe ain’t it. So were you not wearing suitable hearing protection and the louder noise scared tender soft shouldered you?

    4. A temporary case of PTSD due to firing an AR-15? Seriously? What you had was a temporary expression of your inherent whiny wimp “ohhhh it go bang and I so scared”. First, there is nothing temporary about PTSD – you either have it for a while or you don’t have it at all and 90% of the time you have had it all along and just didn’t know what to call it or maybe did not recognize the symptoms. I’ll bet you still sleep with the same teddy bear you had as a kid.

    5. The smell of sulfur and destruction made you sick? Tell me, what does destruction smell like on a range with paper targets? Oh poor wittle you, all that bad smelly stuff from firing an AR-15 on a firing range at a paper target that you wanted to do, that you sought out, with your fragile whiny wimp self.

    6. Bet lets take another point from your article – this little tid bit of BS

    “It feels like a bazooka — and sounds like a cannon….

    I’ve shot pistols before, but never something like an AR-15. Squeeze lightly on the trigger and the resulting explosion of firepower is humbling and deafening (even with ear protection).”

    You have never fired a “bazooka” have you. They really don’t have much recoil thus the designation as “recoiless rifle”.

    The AR-15 sounds nothing lie a canon. You’ve never been close to a canon have you. I’ll bet you think a canon sounds like they do in moves and TV shows.

    And if the, according to you, “resulting explosion of firepower is humbling and deafening (even with ear protection)” then you were not wearing proper hearing protection. But that puts you in the category where you belong anyway which is whiny wimp liar.

    I’ll bet you spook your self with your own shadow.

  29. When a Kuntzman wants to have an assault weapon experience, it should be given a 22 chambered AR, with powderless rounds. That is as traumatic as I would allow.

    • “allow”? He is an adult (questionable) I don’t want him to miss the whole traumatic “experience” so that he can, at least, write from truthful observation rather than his current biased fiction.

      For a dipstick like this “journalist” I would hand him the Barrett M107 for his “assault weapon experience”…after a mag full, his whimpering waa-waa story would reflect more truth than the concocted, fictional tripe he published.

  30. You may not want to post pictures of folks shouldering the rifle (pistol) with an arm brace. Isn’t that what makes it illegal?

  31. Ok I will take things that are total BS for $100 Alex.
    I am on blood thinners and an AR won’t bruise my shoulder.
    But hey shooting a bullet the size of a 22 caliber will do that to a person lol
    I wouldn’t let him near a Henry 45/70. He might have a heart attack right there.

  32. Poor guy. I know 556 recoil is so punishing on the shoulder. I’ll let him try my 454 Casull revolver. At least there’s no shoulder trauma 🙂

  33. I can get past the rest of McCallum’s lie, but the “recoil bruised my shoulder” keeps me chuckling because its the first thing that points out that he’s probably lying.

    Little kids fire the AR-15 (under parent/guardian supervision of course) for the first time and one of the most common things they say is “is that it? I hardly felt anything.” I have never in all my years with the AR-15 platform, ever, ever ever, heard anyone say they got a bruised shoulder from firing an AR-15. When my wife first fired an AR-15 she asked where the recoil was, she thought it would be more.

    Heck, we took one of our neighbors to the range with us. She was 85 years old and wanted to shoot a gun, she had never fired a gun. She fired one of my AR’s and she didn’t get a bruised shoulder and liked pulling the trigger. She said “This is easy. I hardly felt anything”.

  34. My god what would have happened if he fired an AR10? His arm would have fallen off as he fell his ass. My 12 year old grandaughter fires both my AR15 and AR10 she weighs 90 pounds. I have a 50 Beowulf that I would have enjoyed watching him fire. LOL

    • I built an AR 10, and the first time we took it out I was quite surprised by how light the recoil was. I was expecting a lot more. The second time we took it out, the gas block came loose, so it was shooting just like a bolt action, and even that was essentially nothing. The same day I had a bunch of .45 Colt rounds loaded with 40 grains of black powder that had a lot more recoil (and smoke, and that great sulfur smell) through an 1873 than the .308.

      I’d bet if someone handed this poor chap a .300 Win Mag or a .45-70 he would never return to a gun range for the rest of his life. But at least he’d know that the “power” of an AR 15 (as measured by recoil and blast) is massively overstated.

  35. Why even report on this. We all know this is the type of person, who would lie down while his family is being ravaged by criminals, only to then justify his lack of action with being alive to tell the tale…

  36. Two comments…
    1. Bruised his shoulder?
    2, Yesterday at my range a father was instructing his 10 yo daughter in loading and firing his AR15. She shot the first couple, looked up with a BIG grin and proceeded to make one large hole in the target hung at 25 yds. Her weapon handling was careful and safe, her father was patient and explaining everything to her. I offered, with the Dad’s permission, to instruct her using my Colt (Walther) 1911-22. A few minutes of “classroom” and some dry fire practice and this young lady placed the first 12 rounds on the target at 3 yds.

    It was a GOOD day at the range!

  37. I’m in my early 30’s (not that old, is the point) and back in my day in good old rural NC, these fucking panty-wastes would gotten chewed up and spit out in High School. By the women. What an absolute travesty that this pathetic turd is counted as an adult, and as a man. Fucking disgrace.

  38. If this guy didn’t write this bullshit article he would be blackballed and unemployed in the very near future. These people are extreme hypocrites. He’s probably at home now watching videos on cleaning, disassembly, and reassembly. I have been turning gun hating women into gun fans for decades. Only one has complained about an AR but didn’t bitch about a .308 FN FAL.

    • It should be at what range can he drop a rat-tailed varmint… 🙂

  41. Well, guess he’s lucky to have not been subjected to a USMC RO barking instructions during his learning experience.

  42. “It is difficult to describe the impact — physical and personal — of that first shot. It felt like a meteor had struck the earth in front of me. A deep shock wave coursed through my body, the recoil rippling through my arms and right shoulder with astounding power. Being that close to an explosion of such magnitude — controlled and focused as it was — rattled me.”

    I think McCallum has read one trashy “romance” novel too many and has a bit of a dirty mind. With a few word changes it sounds like he enjoyed it

    “It is difficult to describe the impact — physical and personal — of that first orgasm. It felt like a meteor had struck the earth in front of me. A deep shock wave coursed through my body, the pleasure rippling through my arms and right shoulder with astounding power. Having an orgasm explosion of such magnitude — controlled and focused as it was — rattled me.”

    LoL 🙂

    Seriously, did he copy this from one of those trashy “romance” novels and just change a few words to make it fit?

    but anyway….

    “It was exhilarating, but I never got comfortable firing it. I’m not sure what scared me more — the power of that weapon or the fact that I could have taken one home that day.”

    Your lack of confidence and reliability in your self scared you, not the AR-15.

  43. He better not go bowling. A 16 pound ball is hard to handle and those bowling pins are HEAVY and noisy when they are hit.

    • ‘Balls’ he lacks completely… 😉

  44. I’ll never forget the first time I pulled the finger thingy on my Ruger 10/22 Assault Rifle. After a 3 megaton detination, the trigger went back to where it started, allowing the option to do it AGAIN. The clip held ten round of cop killer bullets unleashing hate and pain on the fragile, innocent target. I pulled the trigger again and a portal of roaring sound and pain opened and I saw Hell on the other side. I stepped through on the third shot. Each subsequent shot brought an ever-growing crescendo from a chorus of demons. After the last shot, I awoke shivering in the fetal position on the range floor in a puddle of urine and brass. I raised my head, reached out for any help I could get… and was handed a BX-25. Everything went black.
    That was many years ago. Now, I write this between sessions at Thunder Ranch. This is my 5th trip here. I wear only Grunt Gear. I piss CLP and butter my toast with Frog Lube. On my back is a tattoo of the Holy Trinity, John Moses Browning, Eugene Stoner, and Gaston Glock. I pray to the mummified corpse of Jeff Cooper I dug up and keep propped up in a corner of my garage. Join us Mr. McCallum. Come to the dark side, Kevin. Gooble-gobble! Gooble-gobble! One of us! One of us!

  45. Folks, the point isn’t that he’s a wimp or whatever adjective you choose to apply.

    The point is, people who have never fired an AR-type rifle will read this tripe and believe it, because they don’t know any better.

    The point is to make the uneducated think the AR is more devastating than the main gun on an Abrams, and twice as scary, and that’s why they need to be banned.

    Got friends who don’t shoot? Take them shooting. Dispell the lies via experience.

    Heck, I put together a “woodie” AR – wood furniture, receivers Cerakoted a nice deep blue, stainless barrel. Non-gun people don’t recognize it as an AR, but it kinda reminds them of Grandpa’s deer rifle. So it’s a good way to introduce them to ARs without inducing a freak-out reaction. If you’re not expecting a Marvin-class earth-shatteting KaBOOM, why then, there happens to not be one. And the lies start to fall apart.

    • “Heck, I put together a “woodie” AR – wood furniture,…”

      That sounds like an outstanding plan for one of my extra AR-lowers.

      And details on what wood you used you could share?

      Please?

  46. Dude, yes it was exhilarating. I was similarly exhilarated when I first handled a 9mm. But keep going back and that rush of adrenaline–it is not fear, it is excitement– is reduced to a very tolerable level. I can see it in your words–YOU WANT MORE!

    • it was exhilarating…. but it bruised his shoulder, the brass shell casings disorientated him as they flew past his face, the bomb like explosions gave him PTSD, for at least an hour after he had fired a few rounds he was anxious and irritable, it felt like a meteor had struck the earth in front of him, and some way or another he could smell something no other human can smell that being the destruction of a paper target at 25 yards, and the experience bruised him body and spirit, and everything about it — its weight, tactical scope and overall lethality — was downright intimidating .. even experienced shooters would call that a bad day at the range but it was exhilarating to this guy.

      Now, this is a rental AR-15. The range here rents AR-15’s to people for range use, I have never seen one of them have a tactical scope on it. But maybe that’s just here, not sure about other places so maybe. But the rest of his story, it is too conflicting over all to be truthful, it uses descriptive prose about things that simply do not happen with an AR-15.

      Yeah, the exhilarating conflicting description by a person that has never fired an AR-15.

      He’s creative, I’ll give him that. Most experienced liars are creative.

      • obviously trying to make the gun out to be something it’s not…for editorial effect..what did you expect him to say?…”It’s just a popgun, folks”….

  47. Somebody should have set him up with a Biden special: a double barrel 12 gauge shotgun. I doubt he’d write honestly about it, but if AR recoil is traumatic, 12 gauge would end him.

  49. That little Nancyboy is lucky. No taking a rifle home “that day” here in Illinoizistan.

    How could a father raise such a sissy?

  50. Reminds me of bringing home my first Golden Retriever puppy meeting our cat.
    Frist thing Toker did was sit back on his butt, hiss and display his claws to an 8 week old puppy. Jacy, the puppy, didn’t suffer any long term trauma.
    But she did end up with what I called “cat stupid” she would approach a feral cats thinking “I’m sure we can be friends”, she never got over that.
    My point is, you can’t fix stupid” Jacy was a wonderful companion but never got over not all cats are going to be your friend. She lived to 15.6 years old
    Some people are gun stupid!

  52. OMG, what is really frightening and giving me PTSD is reading about how traumatized he was firing a 9 mm pistol and 5.56 rifle. If anything, the 5.56 rifle is way easier to handle than a semi-auto pistol (unless it’s 22LR). SMH.

    Can you guys tell me something though? The photos in the article show a lot of arm braced pistols being mounted on the shoulder. At one point ATF said that incidental shouldering was okay, but I’ve never fully understood this. I know they are “supposed” to be attached to the forearm and fired like a pistol? But, I’ve never seen anybody actually use an arm brace that way. Do you think lay people might get the wrong impression of arm braces if they see pretty much everybody shouldering them?

    • The facts are, the BATF CLEARLY said, in an opinion, that the American people could shoulder them, and are now making noises they want to change their mind.

      That is after *millions* bought pistol braces. With millions now in circulation, that makes them “in common use”.

      The term, “in common use”, is very important constitutionally, because in the landmark ‘Heller’ decision, firearms “in common use” are expressly constitutionally-protected firearms.

      That is how we will hang them, legally…

  53. I’m not going to call this guy a big fat pu$$y or anything, but I hear his preferred mouthwash is Summer’s Eve and whenever he gets his beard trimmed, they upcharge him for a Brazilian.

  54. Probably an unpopular opinion, but other than the purple prose this seems like a decent writeup of someone’s first range trip. The description of firing a centrefire rifle for the first time rings true and amazingly even the gun part terminology is generally correct. He even describes the rifle as much easier to use than the pistol which I’ve found many non-POTG get backwards.

    Obviously I’m not ignoring the repellent anti-2A skew but it seems like there’s more here than the usual pure nonsense. It’s probably wishful thinking but I got the impression this experience might have moved this guy at least a little bit toward being a POTG.

    • “Probably” wishful thinking? If you think this guy was looking to do anything other than confirm the biases of his readership about how those scary AR-15s need to be banned ASAP, I’ve got a bagful of magic beans you might be interested in.

      • I doubt he believes the nonsense he’s writing about. It’s true, he’s looking to confirm the readers’ bias. Sensationalism has gone hand in hand with journalism since the beginning. It’s the lazy way of making your story interesting to read. Look, even we’re reading it.

        • Exactly. Never, ever underestimate the appeal, psychological capture and power of someone telling a story.

      • I get that (in fact I *said* that), but I prefer to be optimistic. In this case it costs nothing to be so.

        • Syphilis doesn’t cost anything in most cases, either. It’s still not something I’d be proud of having.

  55. Glancing at the photo i would have guessed the writer’s body accommodated testicles. Well, my bad. I learned not to assume gender. Sorry. Wont happen again Ms. McCallum.

  56. Troublesome recoil and loud noise from the firing of an AR-15 type rifle. Oh the poor dear. Wasn’t the idiot wearing hearing protectors of one kind or another?
    He wasn’t, why not?

  57. Fixed it for you, Kuntzman.
    “It is difficult to describe the impact — physical and personal — of that first shot. It felt like a meteor had struck the earth in front of me. A deep shock wave coursed through my body, the recoil rippling through my arms and right shoulder with astounding power. Being that close to an explosion of such magnitude — controlled and focused as it was — rattled me.”… and I soiled myself uncontrollably.

    “I simpered because my experience with the AR-15 bruised me, body and spirit.”… and, to this day, I wet myself everytime I remember touching an AR-15.

  58. Ol Chinstrap needs to get a hold of himself.

    Like the previous “Journalist”, using the term loosely, he should seek some therapy. His imagination is a little to worked up.

  59. One of the best opening paragraphs have read (or penned myself) regarding the state of the 4th Estate and it’s operative ‘urinalists’. Too many will say anything, like gun violence ‘researchers’, to avoid their family eating out of a dumpster. Can’t blame them, but can’t trust them either. And it will be a long time before the bulk of Americans have jobs again securely employed actually producing something material we all need (you know, like a house).

    Can understand the initial excitement and impressions of being on a gun range for the first few times. Very much like my first few times at yoga. And who knew the two activities would have so much in common. After getting over my initial moral aversions to seeing yoga pants in public that is.

  62. So obviously this man-child never served his country. I think thats a given. What the hell is wrong with men? What an ass hat. He shouldn’t be writing an actricle or anything for that matter concerning real men. Hell, I bet a hards day work and a glass of whisky would give this ass hat PTSD. I was more of a man at 15 than this guy as an adult. Then again, I was more mature at 15 than at 60. i’ll bet when this guy goes for a motorcycle ride he’s riding on the back.

  63. The term for this person (at the risk of misgendering they) is betamale.

  64. Every writers goal is to write something current, interesting and possibly trending. Guns fits the bill, sex is old, religion is out, police abuse is yesterdays news but AR rifles and GUNS, OMG, that’s it, that’ll get READERS. It just needs to be embellished a LOT. Clearly he can’t tell the truth because it would be anti-climatic to say the least. Think about it, what’s he supposed to say, it was easy, no recoil, light and easy to shoot, I might get me one because it was FUN??? MMMMMkay, that’s not going to be interesting but writing that firing the weapon shook every bone in his body and cut down a forest and it knocked his teeth loose and that night he had to take two 10mg Valiums and drink a 6 pack just to calm down is more interesting than the boring truth and he certainly can’t say it was a lot of fun, although that’s clearly the truth of it.

    • “Every writers goal…”

      Yep. He isn’t interested in what we think. His goal is to attract eyeballs, and he’s laughing all the way to the bank. It’s the American way.

  67. Reads like collaborative article written by the Trace and the DNC.

    Can anyone verify if he actually went to that particular range?

    Maybe some video of him? See if the video squares with his propaganda presentation?

  68. WOW, so much DRAMA, oh the vapors I might succumb to their toxic nature! OH enough B.S. I find the depths of which he speaks so self indulgent, Someone GET this “thing” a real mans rifle like every WWII American GI had basic issued the M1 Garand then listen to real crying! As a young child I remember at the age of 10 shooting my fathers friend Remington 7mm Mag now for a child that was all of 75 pounds that will bruise your shoulder and your soul but damn could it shoot straight!
    This kind of drama serves one purpose anti-gun belief, This kind of drama is not about “Truth” but to purpurate a lie as to how evil the AR-15 is with lots of superlatives to forcefully enforce the lie and ensure the narrative.
    Clearly journalism (objective) is dead in support of an agenda, SHAME ON YOU!

  70. Violent robbery situation …

    Kevin McCallum: “No, No, not my purse! Help! He has my purse!”

  72. he told his girlfriend that guns make him nervous
    it was right after that she told him that they should both start seeing other men

  74. I for one am quite glad to have read this so-called journalist’s account of his experience shooting a pistol and a, oh-so-scary, AR15.

    If things were ever to go badly here in America, we can all rest easy knowing there are, ahem, “men” out there of the rather blue political affiliation, that would simply wet themselves at the mere sight of a AR15, curl up into the fetal position, rock back and forth, whispering, “I am in my safe space . . . I am in my safe space . . . fluffy white clouds and kittens . . . fluffy white clouds and kittens . . . I am in my safe space . . . ”

    Seriously, what is not to like?

  75. Jeezus my 19 y.o. son carried an M-249 on his first trip down range & he & his GI’s were in enough firefights for 2 lifetimes. They laugh about them!

    Talk about “…I never got comfortable firing it. I’m not sure what scared me more — the power of that weapon or the fact that I could have taken one home that day…”

    This quivering, cowardly liberal girlyman is kept free to chronicle his pitiful passage thru life by the exertions of better & braver men than this shitbag could ever hope to be.

  76. This article is why no one trust journalists or the media.
    IMO, the author is embellishing his experience to support his political position. He’s a disgrace.

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