Addressing one of my biggest fears.

Happy New Year!

For the past few years, pretty much ever since I got out of the navy, I have had a relatively big fear of holding a gun in my hands. I know, this sounds silly, with me expressing a desire to join the army and everything. But one of my biggest fears, is actually guns. It's weird, because I have no issue with violent shooter video games. I think it's because I know that video games aren't real. The gun I am holding isn't a real gun, and the people that I shoot aren't real people. The same thing with movies. I know that the guns shot in movies are dummy guns, shooting blanks. Whenever someone dies, from being shot, in a movie, it's fake. The person is alright at the end of the take.

In order to combat that fear, I have begun watching YouTube channels, with guns as the main focus. Demolition Ranch is one of them. That channel practices safe gun handling, as well as educating people on the guns used. I used to watch FPS Russia as well, since that channel was meant to entertain about gun safety, as well as demonstrating just how destructive a gun really is. I found another gun channel, called Hickok45, which is being described, as a "drama-free, "family-friendly" shooting channel". I have yet to dig into the videos, but the titles and thumbnails look interesting.

Now, I want to attend a gun range at some point in my life. It would then seem fitting, that I visit one when I am in New York. I just need to figure out which one to visit, since there are a LOT of ranges to pick from. It has to be one that gives clear and good instructions, regarding safety, posture, education about the guns and generally makes me comfortable with shooting a gun.

This is where you come in: Do you know of any gun range in the Albany/Troy area, that practices any of the things I have listed? I would love to go to an outdoor range, if possible. Not a requirement, though :)

Please keep the comments to the topic. I will delete any comments that aren't relevant to the subject