Get a little recoil therapy to get over 2020

What better way to usher in the new year than to get out to the range with a couple of rifles, maybe a handgun or two, and as much ammo as you can afford to shoot?

After a long year of things maybe not going quite the way you wanted them to, get out to the shooting range for a little bit of recoil therapy.

Even if you weren’t adversely affected by 2020, a trip to the range is a great way to kick off the new year. Basically, what I’m trying to say is, go get some shooting practice in.

I can always use some recoil therapy. I’ve made a trip to the backyard shooting range something of a tradition over the years. If the previous year was a good one, I’ll put up traditional targets. If it’s been a rough one, I’ll put holes in the calendars from the last year. For those especially egregious years, like 2020, I’ll put a jar of Tannerite behind the calendar and get both the satisfaction of the recoil as well as the joy of seeing that year get reduced to confetti.

Granted, this year, the amount of shooting you can do might be limited by the ammo you have on hand. Ammo is increasingly hard to come by, even if you’re a reloader. You might not want to send all the lead you have downrange. Maybe make sure you hold on to several boxes of each caliber.

But if you can spare some ammo, take it to the range. I spent a few hours Sunday plinking, and I even vaporized a couple of 2020 calendars. I didn’t shoot as much as I would if ammo were easier to get, but it was still enjoyable.

After I smoked those calendars, I switched to the .22 and let my boys join in the fun. I have a friend who does pottery as a hobby, and he gives me all his mistakes. He’s a pretty good potter, so he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, but I’ve collected a good-sized box of his outcasts over the years. And let me tell you, a chunk of hardened clay has a very satisfying reaction when you hit it squarely.

Here’s to a great 2021 – a year we hopefully don’t have to shake off with a day of recoil therapy.