Today we were learning to wield and fire different advanced firearms. Chad was literally vibrating he was so excited. He had a huge smile on his face and had gone pee three times before class. The first gun they got to handle was huge. It was a 50-caliber heavy machine gun that was designed to be attached to a vehicle or other type of heavy base. The gun apparently weighed over 100 pounds. It had a huge barrel with a heat shroud that covered it. To cock the gun, you would pull back a huge bolt and then release it with a very satisfying clunk. The trigger was heavy, but once you started to fire the gun almost felt like it wanted to continue. They were instructed to fire the gun in small bursts. Pulling the trigger for a second would allow it to fire three or four bullets. Each shot was a loud deep boom that shook you to your core. Jack heard Chad beside him in the next firing pit laughing maniacally as he just held the trigger down.

The bullets were huge and blew giant plumes of dust up when they hit the ground. Every five shots were a tracer round. The tracer round was made of phosphorus and would ignite while flying giving the shooter a clear sight of exactly where his bullets were hitting. Anytime one would hit a thick metal or concrete structure they would bounce off and make whining and whizzing sounds as they did. It was exhilarating to fire the gun. They were allowed to fire a full clip that held 500 rounds. The students blasted away with the cannons, laughing gleefully as they competed on hitting different targets. Eventually, they were done and moved on to another gun.

The next gun was a huge sniper rifle. The gun was attached to a huge base and would pivot and turn on that base. The gun was designed to pierce almost anything. It fires .50 Cal copper-lined carbide-tipped bullets that are longer than Jack’s hand. He examined the huge bullet for a moment. The casing was brass, and it had a satisfying weight to it. He placed the bullet into the chamber and cocked the bolt. He pushed the bolt forward and locked it in place. Then he shifted to view down the sight. The targets on the range were 1000 yards. The scope had a magnification of 10x, and various data were also displayed. Wind direction, humidity, temperature. Apparently, at that distance, even the Coriolis effect came into play. Jack didn’t really know what that was, but it had something to do with the rotation of the planet.

It took a few seconds to adjust the gun with the settings. Using the scope, you would lock onto your target. Then it would show you where to aim for the bullet to hit its designated mark. Jack slowly turned the rifle to the left until the red dot showed he would hit the center of the target. He slowed his breathing and focused. Everything around him got quiet as he focused on his breath. First in then out. Slow and steady. He placed his finger on the trigger. The instructor had shown him to use his fingertip. You wanted to make sure you don’t pull the gun when pulling the trigger. You needed to slowly push the trigger in and should almost be surprised by the gun firing. Jack focused on his breathing. Then slowly pulled the trigger until the gun suddenly fired. A huge ear-deafening crack that hurt the ears through the earmuffs he was wearing. Jack fell out of his chair at the sudden explosion. After collecting himself he stood up and wiped the dust off himself. His instructor had a small smile on his face but didn’t say anything. Then he leaned over to look down at his spotter scope. His smirk grew into a big smile and said. “We might make a sniper out of you yet Warwick. Great job.”

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Jack went over to the gun and sighted the target. He had hit it perfectly in the center and the top had been satisfyingly blown off. Nice.

He was able to practice with the gun for a little while before moving on to another type. He was brought over to a table that was covered in various sidearms. Some were simple, others looked more complex. “Whoa.”

“Which one grabs your fancy?” the instructor asked.

Jack looked over the variety of pistols. One grabbed his attention more than the others. The pistol looked like a revolver, but the cylinder flutes that would normally hold the bullets were replaced by a glass crystal chunk. He almost reached for that one, before another one really grabbed his attention. The gun looked very simple. But it had an extra-long barrel. He picked it up and examined it. Looking closer, the barrel had a break in the middle. Upon closer examination, it appeared there was no magazine. He had seen weapons like theirs before. Jack bent the barrel, and it clicked open and rotated around a little hinge beneath it. He looked down the barrel. It was empty. There was a smooth riffling along the barrel. “That’s a Jakobs r911. One shot, one kill. It’s designed to use armor-piercing rounds or smart shrapnel rounds.”

“what’s a smart shrapnel round?”

“Oh, those are nasty buggers. You see, most people think it’s the big explosions and bullets that kill people in war. Nope. It’s the shrapnel. The little pieces of metal that go flying during an explosion. They are hot and sharp and can cut deep into your body. They shred you to pieces and you can get them out. A horrible way to die.” These bullets.” He held up a large bullet. “Are designed to explode when near their designated target.” He tossed the bullet to Jack. He caught it gingerly and lifted the bullet up to examine it. The casing was smooth brass, but the bullet tip was a graphite color. The bullet had small cuts from the point to the base. “Those small lines you see. They are where it’s designed to fracture and break. Each of those small pieces is shot off around the bullet. Below that is another layer and another layer. These are deadly. Try it out. See that target over there?” He pointed to a dummy that was barely visible. It had a large rock blocking most of the view.

“yeah,” Jack replied.

“Shoot just above the target’s head.” Jack loaded the pistol. Took a firing stance. Tightened his shoulders, aimed the gun, and fired. It had a hard kick and almost flew out of his hands. But he had shot true. It was a good shot; the bullet flew just above the rock. It flew surprisingly slow. You could almost watch the bullet with the naked eye. Once it reached above the dummy the bullets exploded. A huge plume of dust engulfed the area. “All right, let’s go take a look.” They walked over together, and Jack was blown away by the damage that had been caused. It was obvious where the shell exploded, and the center of the explosion was obvious. There was a large circle of shrapnel spread around from one point. If anybody had been within 10 feet of the bullet they would have been hit by multiple pieces.

“Wow,” was all Jack could think to say. He marveled at the ingenuity and design, but also at the lethality. He wondered how long they had worked on the design and wondered if they had put that much time and thinking into more humanitarian efforts where the world might be. Such a shame.

By the end of class, Jack had experienced a multitude of weapons. He and Chad went to lunch happily chatting about their favorite weapons.