No Points Outside the 7 Ring

This is going to come off sounding cold and I admit that up front; remember, this is a retired night shift cop spouting off about another human tragedy. An AP story out of Delray Beach, Florida reads, “Man Fatally Shoots Himself at Florida Gun Range” .

I read the story, half way expecting something along the lines of novice handler, accidental discharge or malfunctioning weapon; wrong on all counts. This was a straight up suicide and nothing more.

“Police say the man came to Florida from another state and rented a car Tuesday morning. He went to the range, rented a revolver and fired several hundred rounds. Police say he waited for two other patrons to leave before shooting himself in the head.”

“Authorities say they found a detailed suicide note with his belongings.”

Why did he pick Florida, or that particular gun range? Don’t they have places in other states where he could have done the same thing? Maybe he got a good deal on the car rental or just wanted to do some sight seeing before leaving this world. What goes on inside the mind of a person about to commit suicide?

He fired several hundred rounds, presumably he knew that dead center on the target is worth ten points; then as the target rings expand, nine, eight and lastly seven. All these are in the torso of the target; there are no points outside the 7 ring. You’d think this fellow would have known not to shoot himself in the head.

I can only imagine what he’s having to listen to while sitting on the bench outside St. Peter’s Gates.

“How long you been goin’ to the shootin’ range…and you couldn’t hit dead center even at point blank range…Bwahaaaa haaaaa!”

“Sonny, you ain’t much of a shot with that there pistol; maybe you should have stuck to shootin’ with shotguns…Bwahaaa haaaa!”

Can you conceive of going through the eternities putting up with horse feather jokes about your inability to hit the center of the target after having practiced all afternoon? Now, on top of being dead, he’ll have to worry about some anti-gun legislation being named in honor of his thoughtless act.