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Half-Caviteña Half-GI Jane = 50% Crazy 50% Trigger Happy

I have written about target shooting plenty of times, but, in reality, I have never fired a gun in my life. When I was kid, GI Jane was one of my favorite toys, but to finally hold a real gun in my hands? Ayayayay! It was a different story.

BAAAAAAAAM! The sound of piercing thunder reverberated inside my sorry eardrums. You see, ear problems run in my genes. But because I wanted to become GI Jane, I had to succumb to ear-splitting ratatatatat, never mind that I had to cover my sensitive ears with makeshift rolled tissue paper ear plugs. I had to keep in mind: This is all for the glory of GI Jane! And of course, being a half-Caviteña,  I had to live up to my “gallant” blood =D

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The Getup = FAIL!

Clad in my “kulambo” skirt, I was far from ready to become a GI Jane. We weren’t really planning on target shooting, but the tourism office recommended this place, so I guess the combatant decided to be girly that day.

The Guimaras Adventure Park, located in Alaguisoc, Jordan, is a 30-hectare property where you can play paintball, horseback riding, rapelling and target shooting. But once we arrived at the park, the caretaker was nowhere to be found. Our clueless driver said that we can shoot here for free, but we have to bring our own guns. Haha! That sounded weird and stupid, so we just decided to skip target shooting. But as we were about to leave the park, Mang Juvic, the target shooting instructor, saved GI Jane.

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My instructor Juvic

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Mang Juvic first taught us about safety, parts of the gun, proper stance and how to aim the target. Our guns for the day: the 9mm and caliber 40. I thought it would be easy. But my ears must have gotten the best of my mean side, my hands were actually shaking. I was afraid of recoil, and blood spilling out of an innocent person (you can laugh all you want, but I have a strange imagination hahaha). I was a sissy, I thrusted the trigger but I was unsuccessful. “Bakit ayaw???” I asked Mang Juvic. It turned out that my hands were a softie, I wasn’t pressing hard!

After a long long time of aiming and visualizing the universe’s meanest person as my imaginary board, I finally fired the 9mm. Synchronized with the booming fire was my wimpy shriek! I got more nervous, having felt the recoil. Alas, I launched it far from the target!

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But this sissy was unshakable. I fired the gun again. And this time…BOOM SHAKALAK! Bull’s eye for ya! Call it beginner’s luck, but my sissy hands and poor eyesight soon proved that I’m born to be a half-GI Jane (that’s my once in a blue moon arrogance for you!)   

PictureI think the gun fell in love with me too, that once, after firing my piston, the (smoking) shell found its way inside my top. Holy macaroni, I felt the burn on my chest! I screamed on top of my lungs. Thank GI Jane’s presence of mind, my jumpiness didn’t trigger an accidental shot!

PictureAfter plenty of squeals and nervous bouts, I finally perfected my GI Jane career. I was shocked to see my accurate shoots…right on target! Maybe it’s the laid-back feel of Guimaras that makes this place a perfect venue for target shooting. It’s far from those hi-tech target shooting ranges in Manila, but this is a unique place to enjoy target shooting, even for first timers like me. The target board is small (for advanced shooters’ kind of board). But with this getaway’s dead silence, you feel like a superhero about to save the world from the wicked. You can scream all you want. You can fire all you want. And as a bonus, it’s cheaper than typical firing ranges. Gun rental is priced at 150 pesos. They charge 20 pesos for the board and 10 pesos for every bullet.  

So next time you visit Guimaras, fire up the inner GI Jane or inner GI Joe in you. Who knows, maybe it’s not the half-Cavitena who worked wonders on this target shooting range 😉

Contact Juvic if you’re planning to go here. You must book ahead. Call/txt him at 09359623531. He’s a great instructor!

You can also contact the owner, Vince Corpuz at 09266064538

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