So I am at the gun range here in LA, and there is this commotion going on to my right, just behind the firing line.  I peek my head out to see what's going on, and there are two girls, maybe 18. One is giggling and waving a 357 around while her friend, also holding a gun, is snapping pictures with her free hand using her iPhone.  There were also two guys, complete with their "pants on the ground" and flat brimmed Baseball hats getup, egging them on (oh, and the tattoos up the neck!). I look behind me for the range marshals, and they are nowhere to be seen.

On this day, I learned what the term "Sharted" means, and guessed that the range marshals probably ran off to the bathroom upon seeing this little event as well.  I quickly packed my guns and left, but not before I got a chance to pop off a couple bags ammo for a G34 9mm Glock.  Great thing about membership at most gun clubs? They have a huge collection of guns, and you can fire them for free. You just gotta pay for your membership & ammo (membership can run you around $200/yr. at your typical club).


I have read about the G34 for years, and have participated in civilian tournaments.  In each case, the winner of this tourney did it with a G34.  I fitted it with Tru Glo's (sights) which have a slight glow to them and help you target better at night.  With that aside, they also look pretty.  For fun, I shot new targets using a Glock 40 and Ruger 9mm.  The G34 put them to shame, was more accurate, had less kick, and weighed less than a less typical 9mm. I read somewhere that the LAPD would not issue these to their own officers, so many of them purchased and equipped themselves on their own.  I can see why. A new one like this beauty above will run $1,000 (used, about half that). I did end up competing against several police officers at a civilian tournament, and yes, they got the best of me.

Funny thing about these civilian tournaments. They attract all walks of life, and here in this place you've got a collection of cops, attorneys, mechanics, accountants...and what looked to be gang bangers.   For some reason, the culture of this place included an unwritten rule, this place was sanctuary, kind of like a target range safe house.   I went to a competition at Del Prado in Corona, CA not too long ago (for the record, this was not the place where the girl was waving a 357). Del Prado is famous for hosting the shooting portion of the Olympics in the 80's.  It's kind of run down after being flooded a couple times, but the staff there is helpful, and they were very creative with the shooting competitions they run there.

At Del Prado, there were 8 shooting areas or "bays", and in each area, you had to complete a different scenario.  For one of them, they pulled an SUV into the bay, and here is the scenario; You had to sit inside the passenger side of the SUV with your gun concealed, door closed. The exercise was a hostage situation where the bay guys (targets) were moving across the front of the SUV. You had to jump out and and take out the targets in a certain order with a timer running.  As I sat there sat there in the passenger seat for a few moments of quiet, just before the buzzer, I thought "This is f''ing crazy." Anyway, as Schwarzenegger says, "Good clean fun and not allot of blood." The bottom line is, if you ever decide to purchase a handgun, the Glock G34 9mm is your baby.